Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple and author of nine books with the latest being “Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging and Outmarketing Your Competition”, will keynote the 7th Abacus International Conference from October 13-16.
Kawakasi, who is also co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures, will speak at the event, held in Ho Chi Minh City, on “The Art of Innovation”.
Also a columnist for the Open Forum of American Express, Kawasaki was also chief evangelist of Apple although in his blog, he says he doesn’t have any connections to the company anymore and has to queue up in line like anybody else for the latest Apple gadget.
In his address at the AIC, he will lay out the strategic steps on how to create new products and services by drawing upon his rich experience with Apple, as well as his study of dozens of world-class companies.
Robert Bailey, president and CEO, Abacus International believes that the AIC 2010 delegates will be inspired by Mr Kawasaki’s presentation.
“There is no doubt that Asia is going to play a significant role in the optimistic year-end growth that International Air Transport Association has forecasted. The improving economic environment has revived travel.
“However, it has also brought with it changed business mindsets and travel practices which have impacted the fundamentals of the travel industry. Now more than ever, an innovative way of thinking and approaching business is critical to address these changes.”
He continued, “The rules of the game are changing and we need to learn to deal with this challenge as an industry collectively. I am very pleased that Mr Kawasaki is able to join us in this conference. I am confident that we will gain interesting and useful insights from his experiences.”
Said Kawasaki on his upcoming gig to address the top travel agents around Asia.
“The travel industry has been combining technology in its overall customer experience in so many ways. It is a fascinating industry and I am excited to be speaking at the Abacus International Conference and share my experiences on how organizations and individuals can become more innovative.”
AIC 2010 will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam over four days. The theme for the AIC 2010 is “Dynamic Asia” and will be attended by over 500 participants from Asia’s most influential travel organizations.
In addition to Kawasaki, the conference features a list of exciting and renowned speakers from the travel and technology industry on topics such as business sustainability in the new travel landscape, how online technology can help mitigate business cycles as well as some of the latest developments and applications in augmented reality.
Held alongside the conference is an exhibition highlighting the latest trends in travel solutions and services in the areas of front, mid and back office, online as well as corporate. Abacus will be showcasing the most-up-to-date mobile offerings, online and productivity tools as well as the Abacus Next Generation Point-Of-Sales software.
Rounding off the conference there will be an Awards and Gala Dinner to recognise the movers and shakers of the Abacus-connected travel agencies around Asia.
