Features

Jeremy Pink

31 Mar 2008 by business traveller

Jeremy Pink, CNBC Asia-Pacific president and managing director, is a network veteran with two decades of media experience spanning three continents behind him. At the recent CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards, held for the first time in Seoul, the Columbus, the Ohio native lets Margie T Logarta in on some tips on relaxed flying.

WHY ARE THE AWARDS BEING HELD IN SEOUL?

We’ve been hosting the event in many cities globally and in Asia before this, and for us, Korea is a vibrant and dynamic place. There is some interesting technology here, and there’s now our new partnership with Digital Chosun of the Chosun Daily Group of Companies, which is exciting.

Digital Chosun has its own financial news channel, which we provide with some English programming.

YES, SEOUL HAS DEVELOPED SOME VERY ATTRACTIVE AND SOPHISTICATED TOURISM PRODUCTS OVER THE YEARS. HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND GIVEN THE LANGUAGE BARRIER?

Very poorly – it’s difficult, but that’s part of the fun, the stumbling. Let me tell you, I went with a friend to a baseball game.

OH, IS IT POPULAR HERE? HOT DOGS AND ALL?

Very big like in Japan and Taiwan. Korea has a professional league, and I’ve gone to three professional games.

We had these large Japanese rolls, you know the ones wrapped with seaweed. I collect baseball caps – I have a bunch of Japanese ones, so I bought my boy and girl Korean caps, and everytime they wear it in Singapore where we live, I always think about Korea. That’s what I love about this place – there are opportunities to do things like going to a baseball game.

Seoul has soul but you gotta look for it.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH ALL YOUR TRAVELLING? YOUR SLEEP PATTERNS MUST BE ALL OFF.

(Editor’s note: the week before the Awards, Pink was in Las Vegas; then he flew home to Singapore for a night before heading to Shanghai for another night and then to Seoul before heading home again to Jakarta and Sydney. And that’s just an example.)

I’m usually asleep before the plane takes off. You just have to condition yourself. I take night flights, have my meetings the next day and fly back immediately. At the end of the day, our TV network is a product, and I want to spend as much money on this product, so how or when I fly isn’t the issue. It’s more of a question of what is most efficient for the business. Flying Economy doesn’t bother me.

But take your shoes off I tell people, especially during long flights, as your feet do swell. Last Christmas, my wife gave me two great travel gifts: the first was a Bucky sleep mask from Harrods, which is incredibly comfortable, and the second were noise-cancelling headsets, which are fantastic. Having ridden the Airbus A380, I can say now the other planes are really noisy.

HOW CAN THE INDUSTRY SERVE CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU BETTER?

If I come back from a trip and have no strong recollection of the experience, then that means the service worked for me. Of course, the first thing I do in my guestroom is check whether CNBC is on!

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