The China Expert Series

Martin Klimek, CFO at Synapticon, on turning a China sales office into a sourcing hub, hiring through trusted networks, and high-tech status.

Kristina Koehler-Coluccia on employer-of-record hiring in China: what it actually costs, where the arrangement goes wrong, and when to move people in-house.

Ricardo Kiehnle of Zig Ventures on using cross-border e-commerce to test Latin American brands in China, rebuilding after a distributor collapse, and live-stream selling.

Paul McCourt of Hamilton Litestat on fighting a brand squatter, 3C certification, dormant-entity filings, and switching to distributors in China.

Kristina Koehler-Coluccia on China's first-to-file trademark system, the cease and desist that cost her a company name, and why registration cannot wait.

Daniel Bateman of Brit Bridge on digital marketing in China, building a following as a key opinion leader, and what changes when you go solo in Shanghai.

In this episode of The China Experts, Kristina Koehler-Coluccia is joined by Sissi Zhao, Partner at GoGlobal, in a rare episode recorded with both of them in the same room in Luxembourg. Sissi's work runs in the opposite direction to most of Woodburn's clients: she helps Chinese companies expand out of China rather than foreign companies into it. That reversal is what makes the conversation valuable, because the difficulties she describes in running a Chinese team are almost

Matt Wills of Floob Creative on why brand mascots beat logos in China, educating clients, and setting up a studio in Shanghai.

Daniel Poppleton of Whittard of Chelsea on building a British tea brand in the home of tea, choosing markets, and how live streaming economics have shifted.

Adam Sandzer of Hot Pot China on a decade building Speedo in China, working inside a distributor before going direct, and what the market really looks like.

Leanne Dal Santo of Surface Measurement Systems on incorporating in China faster than in Europe, corporate banking, and relocating staff.

Ryan Molloy of RedFern Digital on building a Shanghai agency, why marketing can absorb half of a first-year China budget, and localising a China team.

Manfred Steinkellner of Steinkellner China Search on his China journey, what foreign companies get wrong on their first local hire and why entity comes first.

Baptiste Basset, Managing Director of Shearwater Group, on his route into the Chinese market, the challenges he met there and his advice for new entrants.

Jimmy Robinson, co-founder and CEO of PingPong Digital, on building a career in China, founding a China media agency, and why brand building in China depends on your entity.

Ben Rotheram of the China-Britain Business Council on supporting UK-China trade, living in four Chinese cities and China's personal data protection rules.

Anne Guslandi on her Shanghai journey, the do's and don'ts of doing business in China, and helping expats and multicultural teams adapt to the market.

In this episode of The China Experts, Shlomi Mahfouda, Founder of Up 2 China, talks about his route into the Chinese market, why he chose to become an entrepreneur, and the challenges he has faced building a business there. Who is Shlomi Mahfouda? Shlomi Mahfouda is the Founder of Up 2 China. His work sits at the intersection of brand strategy and cross-border eCommerce, helping international companies reach Chinese consumers without necessarily starting with a full local ope

Jean-Paul Schmitz, Co-Founder of Asia Assist, on moving from the Netherlands to Shanghai, founding an eCommerce agency in China, and what he has learned helping foreign brands enter and scale in the Chinese market.