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SYNOPSIS

As you walk around any major city in China today, it is evident that the country is rapidly transforming itself to be at the cutting edge of technology, creativity and innovation. While once infamous for being the factory to the world, mass producing poorly made and regulated products, things are changing.The nation is now too rich to continue growing at a double-digit pace by simply putting more people to work in its factories to undersell competition. Amazingly, for a country where wages are a tenth of those of Europe and the US, China is already losing out to cheaper labor markets, like Vietnam. But what is more significant, is that like its Asian counterparts, China recognizes it is now time to move up the value chain and return to its inventive roots. Before the walls were raised to the outside world, this was an innovative country that was leading the world. Paper, movable type, the compass and gunpowder are all life changing inventions we owe to China. Dick van Motman, President&CEO, DDB China Group explores how China is changing from being the world’s factory to becoming a creative and technological hothouse in its own right. “China: From Factory to Studio” looks at these development and the opportunities they present for Western companies.
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BIOGRAPHY

Mr. Dick Van Motman
President and CEO
DDB China Group

All over the place is probably the best way to describe Dick. He's of mixed descent: Dutch/Indonesian, Portuguese/Jewish and grew up in Holland. He graduated in Marketing and Economics from the University of Amsterdam. He moved to Asia before his 30th birthday and has been here ever since, living in Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and now Shanghai.

Dick's worked at Ogilvy & Mather as well as D'Arcy across Asia before he joined DDB as MD International Division in 2004 in Singapore. He focused primarily on embedding the Philips account, which had consolidated its entire business with one agency for the first time in history. Soon after he became Executive Vice President, based in Singapore, focusing on International Brands and Integrated Services and a member of the Asia Operating Committee. Dick moved to Shanghai in 2005 as President & CEO of DDB China Group. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of DDB Asia.

In his spare time (which is not so often!) he loves renovating houses, traveling, listening to jazz and hanging out with his family and pets.