On Friday, November 6th, I was invited by Marcus Stuttard, head of AIM (the London Stock Exchange’s growth market), to participate in the London Stock Exchange market opening ceremony, which takes place daily at 8:00 am.
The ceremony offers companies joining London Stock Exchange’s markets the opportunity to mark their success on the day of their admission. The event was followed by drinks and breakfast.
The reason why I was invited is because one of my companies (Kanteron Systems) had been selected as a member of the #ScaleUpClub 2015.
On Thursday, coming back home from a meeting, I run into the Million Masks March. While I assume I agree with most of their anti-system protests (the truth is I did not bother to read them), I think their choice of Guy Fawkes as an “icon”, even if a graphical one as proposed by the comic/movie “V for Vendetta”, is a very stupid one. Just read about what that historical figure had in mind and judge for yourself.
Last Thursday, on my way to a business meeting, I stopped by the Southbank Center, to view the World Press Photo 2015 exhibition. It was a great collection of pieces, but I particularly liked (or was most shocked by) the work of Tomas van Houtryve (2nd prize stories), Cai Sheng Xiang (1st prize singles), Turi Calafato (3rd prize stories), and Arash Khamooshi (3rd prize stories).
Definitely worthwhile visiting.
I have business meetings all the time. Sometimes in person, sometimes via videoconference.
It’s always about the people you meet, and the business you discuss. But sometimes, the location is extraordinary, or fun, or interesting for whatever reason. So once in a while I will add a few comments or pictures about those meetings. For example, check out the views from the 32nd floor of the Tower 42 building, or the reception room of the Royal Institute of British Architects!
On Sunday October 31st we went to the World Illustration Awards Exhibition at Somerset House (London). It was a pure delight. Not only it was hosted at one of my favorite venues in London, but the selection of works by contemporary illustrators was quite good. The one I liked the most was Malika Favre’s Futurist-inspired posters for the BAFTAs 2015, but there were many remarkable ones, like Bartosz Kosowskis perfect poster for Kubricks Lolita, the cheerfully cute drawings of Chris Haughton for the Royal London Children`s Hospital, the super busy “Larger Than line” by Mattias Adolfsson, the powerful and colorful “Alice in Wonderland” art by Grahame Baker-Smith, or the iconic “Autism” work by Aad Goudappel (one copy of which I acquired for our private collection).
After a quick 12 hour “pit-stop” at home, to give my family some gifts I brought them from Japan, to pack again and to sleep a little, I went back to the airport. This time headed to Lisbon, where IBM invited me to participate in their Business Partner Executive Summit.
Some quick notes from that trip and event: always delighted with Portuguese food; lots of European executives speaking weak English with strong accents; fake smiles and a surprising amount of distrust amongst “business partners” hidden under fake camaraderie (is this a “European thing”?
On Saturday I had my flight back. But since it was late in the day, I decided to make the most of it, so I checked out of the hotel early, hopped on the subway (with a little help from a British Airways flight attendant), and headed to Shibuya, where I left my luggage in a coin locker, got a map (just in case, although I feel I know the area well), and started walking around Cat Street, Omotesando, and Takeshita Dori.
