Press Release

The "Right Guy" to Lead Your China Iniative

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA , October 18 th , 2006- JJ Wellesley Group recently studied a number of successful and failed China initiatives by western companies (including initiatives JJ Wellesley was directly involved with) and developed a list of key qualifications that we believe to be essential for a western business manager to possess if he/she were expected to successfully lead a China initiative.

Ms. Lidia Zhang, a senior analyst at JJ Wellesley's Shanghai office commented, "A big US consulting firm recently claimed that less than 10% of Chinese university graduates are qualified to work in a multinational corporation (MNC)! This is an interesting and bold claim. What we have also been often wondering is that how many of the managers that are currently leading western business initiatives in China are truly qualified to do their jobs. What we know from our frontline observations is that more often than not whether a company has the right guy/gal to lead their China initiative is what determines the success or failure of a company's entire China effort!"

JJ Wellesley is currently finalizing the China managers' qualification list, which is expected to be published iin JJ Wellesley's online column "JJ Wellesley Insights" in mid November, 2006.

JJ Wellesley Group Discussed Business Innovation and Corporate R&D in China with Fortune 500 Executives

SCOTTSDALE , ARIZONA , January 30 th , 2006-Mr. Jun Zhao , co-founder and principal of JJ Wellesley Group, LLC led a half day seminar on business innovation and corporate R&D in China at the Fifth International Congress on Co-Developing Products with Partners, Suppliers, and Customers. Executives from a number of leading US and international companies including P&G, Intel, Palm, and BP participated in the event.

During the 4 hour seminar, Zhao, through a combination of lecture and case studies, systematically examined the major opportunities and challenges presented to international companies seeking to pursue business innovation and corporate R&D in China . Discussion on topics such as human capital development, culture/language barriers, and intellectual property protection (IRP) all generated energized participation from the attendees of the seminar. "Despite all the challenges, there is no doubt that China, along with a few other emerging economies such as South Korea and India, will emerge as a major center of business innovation in the not-that-distant future," concluded Zhao at the end of the all morning event, which was co-organized by The Management Roundtable, Inc. and Product Development and Management Association.
>>>Click here to download a copy of Zhao's seminar outline

JJ Wellesley Group Shared Insights of Ways to Create Successful Distribution Strategies in China

LOS ANGELES, October, 2005-Mr. Jun Zhao , co-founder and principal of JJ Wellesley Group, LLC discussed the key factors driving successful distribution strategies in China during an interview with the Corporate Board Member Magazine , a monthly publication for officers and directors of publicly traded corporations, top private companies, and Global 1000 firms. During the interview, Mr. Zhao emphasized that it is crucial for sales executives of international companies to "develop a basic understanding of the market reality in China " before setting up any distribution arrangements in the Middle Kingdom.

Mr. Zhao pointed out that foreign industrial products manufacturers and consumer product companies are faced with different kinds of challenges.

"Having a clear and compelling value proposition for your Chinese distribution partners is the key for industrial goods manufacturers," proclaimed Mr. Zhao. "A clear and compelling value proposition actually means a clear path to incremental revenue/profits in the near future" added the consulting veteran. "Exactly opposite to the cultural stereotype that Chinese people are patient and only interested in long-term business opportunities, many Chinese distributors, particularly those young and owned privately, are an extremely fast-moving and short-term bottom line focused bunch. They are not interested in putting any resources behind a fancy product that is not an instant 'market hit'. They sometimes agree to carry a product with a prestigious foreign brand just for the sake of the prestige; but do not fool yourself to think that they will actually try to push your products."

"For consumer products companies, the number one issue is probably about understanding the unique nature of the channels connecting the manufacturers to end consumers in China ." "If you want to push your products to the rural consumers, you need to get to know the many wholesalers specializing in selling stuffs to the 'mom and pop' shops in the villages." "Trade promotion in this case will be extremely important and the way you do it will be very different from what you would engage in with a large super market chain in North America or EU."

JJ Wellesley Group Discussed Private Equity Investments in China in Interview with The Economist Publication

LOS ANGELES, September 12, 2005-Mr. Jun Zhao,, co-founder and principal of JJ Wellesley Group, LLC discussed key factors driving the success of international private equity investments in China in an interview with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis arm of Economist Group, the organization that publishes the world-renowned The Economist magazine. During the interview, Mr. Zhao shared JJ Wellesley's insights of a variety of important issues, including deal flows, due diligence, and developing local Chinese management teams.

Mr. Zhao pointed out that both venture capitalists and other private equity investors should continue to pay close attention to the "returnee community". (A term refers to Chinese nationals who return to China after gaining an advanced degree and a substantial amount of business experience in major western countries such as the US and Canada.) "Even some of the large state-owned enterprises that have gone public have had returnees as key management players." Mr. Zhao pointed out.

Mr Zhao also emphasized the importance of creativity in deal structuring. "Deals need to be structured in a way that problems, to the extent possible, are structured out"

The complete article is published on EIU's Business China publication, which is available to readers on a subscription basis.

Jun Zhao To Speak At The Fifth International CoDev Conference

Jun is going to lead a half day workshop, sharing with the participants the JJ Wellesley insights of the opportunities and challenges US companies face in outsourcing product development and other R&D activities to China. For more information about the workshop, please contact the organizers or
>>>click here to visit the conference website.

Asia Pacific Institute, Tecnologico de Monterrey Visited JJ Wellesley Shanghai Office

SHANGHAI, March 17 th, 2005-JJ Wellesley Group' s Shanghai office was today visited by a delegation from the Asia Pacific Institute, Tecnologico de Monterrey, a Mexican organization that promotes educational, research, and business interactions between Asia and Mexico. Headed by Dr. Thomas Wood, president of the institute, the delegation also included Dr. Mauricio Cervantes, director of the organization, and Ms Mercedes M. Gonzalez Juan, head of the group's Shanghai office.

During the visit, both sides expressed optimism for strong future business growth between Mexico and China . "We believe that there are many Mexican businesses who would like to explore opportunities in China " explained Dr. Cervantes. "We have been serving clients on a global basis for a number of years now; and we certainly feel excited about the prospect of working more closely with our friends in Mexico and the greater Latin American community" proclaimed Mr. Michael Zhao, Managing Director of JJ Wellesley Group's Shanghai office.

Enter the US IT Market with A Winning Strategy

BEIJING, November 18, 2004-JJ Wellesley Group is planning to host a 2-day symposium aimed at helping Chinese software development and IT service companies to craft winning strategies to enter the highly sophisticated and hyper competitive US IT market. The international consultancy has tentatively decided to hold the event in Beijing in early 2005.

"To successfully enter the US market, Chinese firms need to first understand the market reality here in the US . We also believe that they can learn a lot from the experiences of the successful Indian firms," proclaimed Mr. Manish Gupta, a Principal of the firm. "So our keynote speaker for the event is a "heavyweight" in the Indian IT industry, who has spent years working in both India and the Silicon Valley, helping Indian companies to win business in the US ."
>>>more info on the symposium

JJ Wellesley Group Launched "Free 60-Minute Consulting" Service

SHANGHAI, June 28th, 2004-JJ Wellesley Group launched "Free 60-Minute Consulting" Service "International companies run into tough issues in China all the time. They need professional assistance. But before they can commit to a potentially resource-intensive consulting project, they want to get some help to define the key challenges they are facing. The unique cost structure of our firm enables us to provide this free service, which will be mostly provided via the phone. But a face-to-face meeting is possible if the client and us can find a mutually convenient location." explained Mr. Manish Gupta, a Principal of the firm .
>>>take advantage of this service

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