IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1509763
IPC COMMUNITY 8 FALL 2023 Global Strength Requires Regional Focus COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS S o m e t i m e s t h e m e e t i n g s y o u arrange at the last minute, often in an informal setting, end up being the ones that move your organi- zation forward the most. Con- structive, creative meetings like these can take place anywhere, including hotel lobbies. In this instance, I'm thinking of the Platzl Hotel in Munich, mid-morning, 2022. I was finishing up a busy trip to Bavaria with my colleague, Sanjay Huprikar, president, IPC Europe and South Asia Operations. We had met with many industry executives who had shared with us their experiences of the indus- try challenges they were facing in Europe. Because we wanted to learn more—and find ways to help our European colleagues—we arranged another meeting in the lobby of the Platzl, the only place available on such short notice. Amidst the sounds of that busy hotel lobby, Sanjay and I had an in-depth discussion with an EMS executive about what was happening regionally—in fact, right up the street from where we were meeting. We learned that while European EMS companies were working hard to build products, these companies were not as well-known as the European OEMs; they wanted that to change. We discussed ways to help them gain visibility with policymak- ers and media contacts in their region so that the importance of EMS companies would be recognized. By John W. Mitchell, IPC President and CEO