FPLA presents futurist Dr. Michio Kaku and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani

Dr. Michio Kaku – world renowned futurist, theoretical physicist and popular scientist

The First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA), the dedicated corporate university of the First Pacific Group of Companies and a leader in providing management and training solutions for the business sector, academe, and government, together with the London Speaker Bureau, invites the public to the latest edition of its Executive Series.

To be held on November 7 (Thursday) at the SMX Convention Center in SM Aura Premier, Bonifacio Global City, the FPLA Executive Series entitled: “The Business of Innovation: Transcending Business Through Innovation”, will feature world renowned futurist, theoretical physicist and popular scientist Dr. Michio Kaku and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani. It follows the recently successful lecture given by the world’s top leadership coach, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, held last July.

“We are truly delighted to present these two innovators who will be in the Philippines for the first time. This will give all of us a chance to listen and learn about the fascinating world ahead of us as innovation plays that pivotal role in shaping destiny. Through the Executive Series, we get to interact and learn from two of the most sought after speakers in the world,” said Roy Agustin K. Evalle, General Manager for Leadership Succession and Development for the First Pacific Group.

Dr. Kaku is one of the most widely recognized figures in science in the world. He currently holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York. He graduated from Harvard University in 1968 as summa cum laude and topped his physics class. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1972, and has been a professor at CUNY for almost 30 years. He is also a bestselling author of several science books and has appeared in many television and radio shows. He is also the Scientist-in-Residence of The Discovery Channel.

Azran Osman Rani - AirAsia X CEO

Azran Osman Rani is presently the CEO of AirAsia X, the world’s first truly low-cost long-haul airline, a position he has held since 2007. He led the team that developed the business plan, raised capital, secured relevant licenses and approvals, acquired aircraft and launched AirAsia X’s first inaugural flight to Gold Coast, Australia in November 2007. At a time when the global aviation industry was strained by world economic trends, AirAsia X expanded its fleet from one aircraft to 15, tripling revenue to RM750 million, increasing passenger volume to over 1 million passengers by 2009, and breaking the RM1 billion revenue mark by its third full year of operations in 2010. The Malaysian-born business executive holds a Masters degree in Management Science and a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, both from Stanford University.

The FPLA Executive Series presents experts from all over the world where they speak on a variety of topics that focus mostly on leadership and management. Initially exclusive only to members of the First Pacific Group, it is now available to the public this year so that more people get the privilege of listening and learning from the masters in their fields. Some of the previously featured speakers include Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, NBA champion coach Erik Spoelstra, Wharton School of Business professor Dr. Thomas Donaldson, Team Obama campaign strategist Roger Fisk and recently, management guru Dr. Marshall Goldsmith.

Get to know more about “The Business of Innovation” on the Web via www.bizofinnovation.com.ph and the FPLA’s Executive Series and their leadership and management programs at the FPLA websitewww.fpacademy.net. For inquiries & reservations, send an e-mail to mmtagulinao@fpacademy.net or call 696-3051. The First Pacific Leadership Academy is located at Km. 27, Sumulong Highway, Antipolo City.

First Pacific Leadership Academy’s Executive Talk features Roger Fisk, the Man Behind Obama’s Back-to-Back Presidential Victories

CAPTION: Roger Fisk (center) with presidents and CEOs of First Pacific Group of Companies. At leftmost is Roy Agustin K. Evalle, FPLA Executive Director.

Elections season has officially begun in the Philippines, and the thousands of candidates for the Senate, Congress and various positions in local government have already waged their campaigns at all fronts. A new dimension – social media and other innovative ways to persuade and convince voters – has been added to the forthcoming midterm elections.

Enter Roger Fisk, the man who was widely acknowledged to have played a key behind-the-scenes role in the back-to-back electoral victories of US President Barack Obama. Fisk’s visit to the country was part of his Asia-Pacific tour where he recently delivered talks to full-house audiences in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.

The First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA), the corporate university of the First Pacific Group of Companies and a leading provider of leadership & training solutions for the academe, government and business sector, together with the London Speakers Bureau, deemed it timely to invite Mr. Fisk as he shares valuable tools and strategies not only about social media strategies but also personal insights about Mr. Obama and his character.

“We are privileged to have Mr. Roger Fisk as he talks about battle-tested lessons on how to plan out social media to engage millions of people in long, sustained marketing and promotional strategies,” said FPLA Executive Director Roy Agustin K. Evalle who introduced the speaker. “We thank him for sharing with us a deeper view of the power of social media and how it can change the game in any event, social sector and industry.”

Fisk’s lecture was this year’s first in FPLA’s Executive Talks Program, a series of leadership talks which aim to inspire corporate leader-students by inviting experts who share their ideas and experiences. Started in 2012, it has invited the likes of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, NBA Champion Coach Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heats, and Wharton School of Business Professor Dr. Thomas Donaldson to speak on various aspects of leadership.

The audience at the Meralco Theater last March 8 listened on and even studiously jotted down notes in the talk by Fisk called, “Lifting the Hood: The Obama Engine & How It Worked from Day One,” which narrated insider perspectives on how Team Obama launched a brand in early 2007 that would be best described as game-changing, and how they were able to fine-tune their approaches to the political climate, voter engagement, uses of social media networks and timing resulted to the historic back-to-back victories in 2008 and 2012.

Fisk started as senior aide to then-Senator (now Secretary of State) John Kerry, who introduced him to Obama in 2007. “Of course at the beginning, you question what this man [Obama] can offer to us, can offer to the country. Little by little, through conversations, I began to discover what is it about this man that made me stay,” he shared. He described Obama as “approachable, someone not easily defeated by setbacks; encouraging.”

Fisk said that winning the 2008 election “may have been won by luck, but I would like to think that we won it because of timing and strategy, which we later tweaked such that it assured our chances,” he said. He described the 2008 win as “sweet,” and the 2012 as “fulfilling.”

Creating (and Perfecting) the Obama Brand

Fisk conceived the idea of engaging with voters through a medium that spoke to them – the Internet and social media networks. His team started Obama’s social media campaign through the launch of his official website, www.mybarackobama.com, which he candidly referred to as “MyBO.”

“MyBO was an open platform to maximize growth of our supporters. Through the website, we taught them to self-organize – that they become the campaign themselves. We relied on these supporters to clinch the win for us by personalizing the campaign through their own connections and relationships with their family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers. Also, it forces organizational principles to be real and meaningful,” he said.

“The key to our 2012 campaign was to ‘start a conversation’ with a persuadable voter, months before the election day itself,” added Fisk. By that, he meant being agile and more effective in responding to that voter’s priorities than if they first hear from them a few weeks before Election Day – to put it succinctly, the goal was to engage the voter with the Obama brand effectively and consistently.

Data is the Compass, Analytics is the Map

Fisk told the audience, composed mainly of First Pacific leaders and managers, that the crucial factor that gave them the two victories was the data. In any venture, businesses need to build individual data profiles to combine their customers’ support habits, consumer data, online profile data and issue interests.

“Use these data to determine the most effective message, deliver it with the most effective tools, and target the most receptive audiences,” he said. He added that timing and frequency means everything: “Be strategic about these two. Test everything and test often,” concluded the veteran strategist, who is currently working on America Was My Office, a book that shares the stories and lessons of travelling the country across three presidential campaigns.

To know more about FPLA’s leadership and management programs, please call 632-8111 or log on to www.fpacademy.net. FPLA is located at Km. 27, Sumulong Highway, Antipolo City.