As the Chinese economy has grown, so have local business behemoths and their needs.
In recent years, supporting the emergence of China Inc. at home and abroad has become a unique opportunity, one squarely in the sights of Linda Lee and her Acewood group. "Our motto is: 'We train and entertain,'" the Beijing resident of six years says of her company.
Ms. Lee, whose official title is chief entertainment officer, launched Acewood in 2006. It primarily manages the careers of artists, and organizes events and training for corporations. It has three full-time employees.
One of the communications consultancy's most high-profile ventures has been managing Tia, who is one of China's most promising vocal talents. A soul singer in the tradition of young, attractive stars like Joss Stone, Tia is "a big voice, from a small town" and her debut album is due in the spring, under a big Chinese record label. The singer enjoys a solid reputation as a favourite performer at the events of several international blue-chip companies, from Pepsi to Motorola to Lexus.
Despite the global banking crisis, many large businesses in China have continued expansion plans and are maintaining activities to improve intra-company relationships. "Last year there were budget cuts and freezes for meetings and things like that, but this year it looks like budgets are back. Not a big increase, but there is money for reasonable projects," Ms. Lee says.
While she cannot publicly discuss fees for such gigs, nor will she reveal her annual revenue, she concedes that the events offer "good money."
China Inc. has made the country the third-largest meetings, incentive, conventions and events (MICE) travel market in the world, following the United States and Britain. Yao Hong, a senior official in charge of the business sector at state-controlled China International Travel Service, said that while foreign companies slashing budgets led to a near 40-per-cent drop of inbound-MICE travel, business from China-based corporations has held up.
The Acewood CEO found her niche rationalizing that at many big meetings there would be demand for professional acts such as Tia because having a top-notch performer enhances a event. Ms. Lee quips: "It is better than just sitting there and eating. You need entertainment."
She has a stable of unique talents including a magician and an improv troop.
A fluent Mandarin and Cantonese speaker, Ms. Lee began working in China in 1991, becoming Shanghai correspondent of financial news channel CNBC Asia. In 1998, she joined the Hong Kong office of Burson-Marsteller, where she was a director, eventually moving to the Chinese capital with the job, leaving to start Acewood, though she does consulting projects with the global PR firm from time to time.
Ms. Lee, who has an honours degree in political science and French from the University of Western Ontario, is one of the few non-mainlanders at her level in the talent industry, and she is in high demand for her ability to work with local and international clients. Also an events organizer, she was tasked with staging a dinner for more than 200 guests in honour of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's official visit in October, 2008. Working with a senior chef of the Metropolitan Hotels group, Ms. Lee produced an elegant party featuring Canadian wines and ingredients at the Shanghai Museum, at which Tia performed.
More recently, the singer took part in a show called "A Walk Through Time and Changes" at the Tianjin Concert Hall, a brief history of music, from Bach to Michael Jackson. In it, Tia sang a few gospel songs in addition to tracks by Marvin Gaye, The Beatles and Jill Scott. This concert was assembled by Kemin Zhang, a young Chinese-Canadian. Performances continue in Beijing in April and Ms. Lee hopes to take the show on the road throughout China.
Despite the glittering promise that emerging China offers, Ms. Lee speaks frankly about the challenges and how complicated the regulations can be. In her line of work, this often includes navigating various government offices for permits, a system she has become familiar with.
"Anyone who has lived here long enough knows about how the rules keep changing. If you talk to five different people, you get five different versions of how to get things done. You can take it with two attitudes: 'Oh my God everything is chaos,' or 'Ok, we just look for a way and take the risk.' That is what being an entrepreneur is about."
The Acewood boss remains very close to her Toronto-based parents. Despite her own successful career in big, multinational organizations, she points to her mother as a strong inspiration and a mentor in how she runs her company. With her two daughters having left home, in 1991, Mrs. Lee opened her own flower shop in Toronto's Richmond Hill suburb, an enterprise she continues to operate and man to this day, taking holidays to visit Beijing, where Linda gives her the star treatment.
Special to the Globe and Mail
Alexandra A. Seno has written about economics and business trends in Asia since 1994. She is a regular contributor to Newsweek, the International Herald Tribune and The Wall Street Journal Asia. She lives in Hong Kong.