In today’s global market place, multinational companies are facing the commercial, legal and financial challenges of creating and sustaining competitive advantage and value from international expansion. The path to globalisation opens up tremendous new opportunities, but the road to success is often fraught with many potential pitfalls along the way. In 2002, Hanh seized the opportunity to address the growing need of leading corporations for strategic support on globalisation issues and created her own consulting firm Strategic International Management Ltd. (SIM Ltd.), focussing on developing long-term partnerships with clients by thoroughly understanding their industry and business strategy.
Areas of Expertise:
Business Development International M&A Regulatory & Competition International Trade Strategic Planning International Litigation & Arbitration
Prior to starting up SIM Ltd., Hanh served as Deputy General Counsel of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), the world’s largest iron ore producer and exporter and Latin America’s largest mining company. During her 5 years with CVRD in Brazil, she successfully directed large-scale acquisition and antitrust projects in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States. During this period, she also served as a director on the Board of Bolero Association Ltd., a user association of Bolero International Ltd. which provides electronic clearance services for banking and shipping documents to many of the world’s leading international export corporations, banks, and shipping companies.
Before joining CVRD, Hanh worked for 3 years as an international lawyer with Baker and McKenzie in Hong Kong and Vietnam. During this period of heavy foreign investments in South East Asia, Hanh was involved in numerous projects for many international Blue Chip companies interested in entering these markets. During this time, she also has written and published on a wide range of foreign investment issues.
Before entering into the legal field, Hanh had a successful career as a banker with one of the largest banks in California, USA.
In 1994, she obtained her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree (JD) from the University of Washington School of Law. Her undergraduate years were spent at Oberlin College in Ohio, USA where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1986. While in law school, she worked as a research assistant to Nobel Peace Price Nominee Dr. Prosterman on land reform in non-market-economy countries.
Hanh has lived and worked in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. She has also travelled and worked extensively in Africa and the Middle East. Consequently, she is fluent in several languages and is sensitive to and well-versed in different cultural and business environments.
Along with globalization, business environments around the world are rapidly faced with dramatic changes which create unprecedented challenges and opportunities.
Key issues such as industry consolidation, concentration and internationalization of business partners, changes in antitrust regulations, and the behavior of customers and investors etc. touch the very core of many businesses; and when left unattended can form a serious threat to their profitability.
In order to truly take companies to the next level, full focus is needed on “execution” and “reliability”. This requires a strong and continuous alignment between strategies that work, business processes that create value and a team of accountable individuals committed to the timely delivery of the promised results. Only through a continuous and systematic optimization of this combination can deep business insights deliver a sustainable competitive advantage.
In 2002, Paul became a co-founder of Strategic International Management Limited (SIM).
Areas of Expertise:
Managing for Results Strategic Planning International Business Development and Growth Business Integration International Trade International CRM
At SIM, Paul advises senior executives and actively leads companies, ranging from start ups to large multinational organizations, on “getting the job done” and “delivering results”. His insight and 15 years of hands-on experience in setting up, running and integrating companies around the world allows him to optimize the link of the 3 key processes affecting every business: Strategy – Operations – People.
Prior to starting up SIM, Paul served for 8 years as a director and senior executive of Heineken Breweries in Latin America. During these years he successfully set up and directed large-sales marketing organizations. Furthermore, he built up and managed strong local production and distribution networks in close partnerships with leading companies like Coca-Cola, Kaiser Breweries (Brazil), and Quilmes Breweries (Argentina, Chile).
Before joining Heineken, Paul worked for over 7 years in South East Asia and South Africa where he directed in his passionate, engaging and result oriented style the regional and local operations of Ceteco, a Dutch multinational active in the production, sales, marketing and distribution of leading brands of beverages, foodstuffs and pharmaceutical products.
Before starting out on his business carreer, Paul served as an officer in the Royal Dutch Army, where the focus on timely alignment of strategy and operations became strongly embedded in his leadership style.
In 1988, Paul graduated from the Rotterdam School of Economics (HES) with a degree in economics and linguistics. During the same year he obtained his marketing degree from the Netherlands Institute for Marketing (Nima). Throughout his career he attended numerous courses and Senior Executive programs including INSEAD in France and the European Management Center (MCE) in Belgium. Paul has lived, worked and studied in Western Europe, the United States, Latin America, Asia and Africa. As a result, he is fluent in several languages and well in sync with the realities of different market places, cultures and economies. This allows him to successfully help leading international corporations to act locally and synergize globally.