An unusually hectic travel schedule this summer took me to four great cities in four weeks: London, Chicago, Dubai and Beijing. In each, I learned about at least one interesting organisation. In London, I added to my knowledge about Unilever, the well-known consumer goods giant whose products range from soaps and shampoos to ice creams and soups, when I met the head of a unit called Unilever Foundry that engages with startups. In Chicago, I attended a Father’s Day event at Willow Creek, a non-denominational megachurch that averages over 25,000 attendees every weekend. In Dubai, I learned about Aramex, a company sometimes referred to as “the FedEx of the Middle East”, whose Chairman Fadi Ghandour was the recipient of the 2017 Academy of International Business (AIB) Executive of the Year award. Finally, in Beijing, I visited the Nasdaq-listed JD.com, China’s first internet company to be featured in the Fortune 500.
