Pascal Coppens

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Pascal Coppens

Who is Pascal Coppens?

Pascal Coppens is one of the most sought-after experts on China. He is the author of "China's New Normal" on China's innovation leap and "Can We Trust China?", which gives a different view of China. Pascal is internationally known as one of the most influential YouTubers on China. He has a Master's degree in Sinology from Ghent University and a Bachelor's degree in Commercial Engineering from VUB (Free University of Brussels). He is a technology entrepreneur who lived and worked in China and Silicon Valley for more than 20 years from 1996. Pascal has managed, collaborated with or competed with hundreds of Chinese engineers and innovators. After a year of training organised by the European Commission in Beijing in 1999, Pascal started his career in the technology sector at Shanghai-Bell, the Alcatel joint venture. In 2002, Pascal moved to San Francisco as global marketing manager for the software company Wind River Systems. In 2004, he co-founded the Silicon Valley start-up PolyCore Software. A year later, Pascal returned to Shanghai to help European companies launch their cutting-edge technology and support it locally in the Asian market. In 2010, he founded the start-up Letsface, the first offline digital community platform for premium brands in China. In 2017, Pascal returned to Belgium after a 20-year international career for Sinnolabs, a Belgian growth accelerator operating in Shanghai. Today, Pascal is a partner at the inspiration platform nexxworks (founded by Peter Hinssen, Steven Van Belleghem and Rik Vera) and an international speaker on all things Chinese, with in-depth expertise in Chinese innovation, digitalisation and leadership.

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    China's New Normal

    China's New Normal: How China sets the standard for innovation (title of Pascal's first book - 2019) China wants to become a world leader in innovation by 2030. This gives Western companies less than 10 years to get ready for this tsunami from China. Pascal's keynote "China's New Normal" provides clear insights into modern China, revealing new forces, ideas and models from China's lightning fast innovators. With radical innovation increasingly coming from the East, this eye-opening keynote is a pure delight for anyone concerned about disruption or excited about the opportunities. This keynote discusses how China has evolved into an innovator, what its strengths are, and how China has in recent years made a leap into the future of innovation that is currently troubling even Washington.

    Can we trust China?

    Can we trust China? Another look at a country in transition (title of Pascal's second book - 2022) A new world is emerging today. Our democratic model is under pressure. The Cold War mindset is coming back to life. We are suddenly seeing our purchasing power disappear. The world is also in a deep crisis of confidence. China wants to take on the role of superpower in this new world, something that creates a dire sense of fear in the West. A fear that is further fuelled by the reports about an unfree China. Reports from China about the COVID protests, Hong Kong, the Uyghurs and China's role in Africa, among other things, make us feel that China cannot be trusted. This keynote answers the many common questions we have about China. By looking at these topics through a double lens, we learn how the Chinese feel about them themselves, why they trust in their system and future more than we do, as well as how China currently views us. In this passionate presentation, Pascal focuses on the positions and tensions between China and the West. Based on eight circles of trust, Pascal delves with great nuance into a Chinese reality that opens up a strongly polarised world view. An open mind is definitely required for this highly charged story.

    Survival Leadership

    Survival leadership: How the Chinese succeed in turbulent and uncertain times. The business world and its leaders are stumbling from one crisis to another: pandemic, talent shortage, inflation, war, disrupted supply chains, etc. We are therefore looking for more guidance: savings, business focus, core values, restructuring and more control. We think from a reductionist mindset to enable us to rebuild from there. In China, business leaders often respond very differently to the same crises. They don’t look for solutions internally so much, preferring to find most of the answers outside the organisation: new trends, new relationships, new focus, new markets, a new normal, etc. This keynote provides an out-of-the-box inspirational session for business leaders and managers who welcome ideas that help them learn how to survive and continue growing in times of sudden external disruption. Pascal takes you into the corporate culture of Chinese teams: the team mindset of a pack of wolves, the agility and resilience of Chinese leaders, the China-speed and personalised customer focus of the organisation, building more trust in people, data, technology and ecosystems. This story is an explosive cocktail based on China's modern business world combined with China's three major corporate philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism. With many examples from China, Pascal takes business leaders somewhat out of their 'Western' comfort zone in order to arrive at new insights and actions.

“Pascal is an amazing storyteller. His sharp sense of communication, expertise and passion for China transformed what could have been a standard presentation into a real journey and an eye-opening session. Thank you, Pascal for your presentation, our team was highly enthusiastic and is now looking forward to knowing more about China through your book!”

Géraldine Verbrugghe

EuroCommerce Adviser SME Policy and competitiveness

“I would like to thank you for your participation as a speaker to the International business Coaches Meeting earlier this week. Your amazing presentation has been very much appreciated!”

Maria Collura

Senior Country Advisor at BNP Paribas Fortis

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