May 20, 2013
September 2007. The Middle East. Meeting clients during Ramadan is something that is known to be tricky. We knew about this challenge as we set out to talk to clients about our new Islamic financing product. Working through the challenge was something we thought would be better than putting the meetings off and trying to […]
May 13, 2013
November 2003. Mumbai. My first ever trip to India. It’s hot and sticky as we move between meetings in the sprawling metropolis. The juxta position of affluence and abject poverty is s sight that shocked me then and on my subsequent visits. As we meet with our clients I am feeling very queasy and consume […]
April 30, 2013
03:00 Lennox Hill Hospital Emergency Room, Upper East Side, New York City. Its early December 2001. I am far from home and one of a dozen people waiting for help. My throat is aching, I can hardly speak. Not life threatening, but painful. At the very least I need some drugs to make this bearable […]
April 23, 2013
Lunchtime, March 18th 2003. Downtown Riyadh. A series of client visits has brought us to the Saudi capital. Trouble is brewing in Iraq and a second Gulf war is likely. We had thought about canceling the long planned trip and decided that turning up was the right thing for generating good will. After all, we […]
April 16, 2013
03:00, early February 2001. Passport control, Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv. “Welcome to Israel. would you like us to stamp your passport?” It might be late and it is my first trip to Israel, but I am alert to that one. A quick ” No thank you,” saves me from future travel complications. With no […]
April 8, 2013
I have traveled a lot; to the nearest 250 times, I really do not know how many planes I have been on. That travel has taken me to many countries, many clients and many offices. Mostly a simple routine of early start-taxi-airport-plane-taxi-hotel-meeting room-taxi-airport-plane-taxi-home late. There have been some really adventurous outings though. Over the next […]