London Day 2

On our second day in London, we had our first two Business visits. We attended meetings with the US Embassy in London as well as Kessler's International.
The US Embassy was quite the experience. Most other Embassy's in London were your average buildings. The US Embassy was completely fenced in and we had to go through a security screening just like you would at the airport. Very cool. Once inside we were taken to a meeting room where we met with Ms. Anjana J. Modi, economic officer and Mr. John Coronado, Commercial Attache. Here we discussed how the Embassy is run and what their individual role is for the Embassy. The Ambassador is the head of the the Embassy. All agencies within the Embassy report to the Ambassador. Ms. Modi belongs to the department of state which is broken down into five areas: economics, political relations, public diplomacy, management, and consulant services. Ms. Modi is in the economic department. Her roles includes faciltating US economic policy, obtaining market access, and recently put together a London Economic Summit to set policy measures for the financial crisis. Mr. Coronado's job is in the US commercial interest. His job entails promoting US exports and to explain US foriegn policy.
To become an officer or work for the US Embassy overseas there is only one main requirement: be 20 years of age and pass the foriegn service exam. Both members we spoke with had already had overseas experience with their schooling which helped greatly when applying to work for the Embassy. It is an intense job and requires commitment to be away from home. Their positions and locations are switched every 3-4 years. After serving a few terms, it is more likely to be able to have a say where you would like to be stationed.
After the Embassy, we went across town to Kesslers International for an innovative marketing presentation. Their family owned company mainly focuses on production of marketing and promotional tools. They create show pieces, plastics, metals, etc. Their company is completely opertated out of their wharehouse and they have a fantastic turn around time compared to their competitors. They have a strong focus on employees and making sure they are in a healthy enviroment. One fact I found interesting was that instead of just relying on attendance time cards, the operations director Mr. David Pearson personally walks around each morning saying hello to everyone to ensure they are present and well. Kesslers has a long term commitment to their customers. They have been serving such companies as Swatch for 40 + years. Their main goal is to "draw people in with the stand, but then make the focus transfer to the product."
Both companies were very interesting to listen to and I learned a lot about management and marketing from both.
Our evening concluded with a trip to the theatre. We saw the performance Chicago. The story takes place in the 1920's about a woman who goes to jail. It's a musical with lots of singing and dancing! I loved it!!!!