Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Nairobi - Conveying the Naked Truth


Places of Interest: Innovation Hub, Nairobi Fairmont Hotel, Nakuru National Park

Third trip in past six months to Africa, this time brought the whole gang, my colleagues with me to Kenya. It is a different feeling. Normally when I talked about Africa, or anyone else for that matter, one keeps talking about opportunities, sharing observations, convey excitement, uncertainties and issues only through own eyes; own rhetoric in the context of whatever is being discussed. And you never can be sure how it is perceived. Whether people around you think you are like a news reporter talking on this far away land where only wars and famine or coups happen. Or they think you are talking about an exotic land where man hasn’t taken over the animal kingdom yet; or specially concocted for a movie set-but for sure somewhere on a planet not within today’s world.


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Visiting a South African township

Self-sustaining community center meets technology

First ever place I landed in Sub-Sahara Africa is Johannesburg. It was late 90’s. I remember exactly how it felt: I was stunned and kept on trying to register why I knew so well this was the tip of Africa. It was warm with green beautiful trees I never saw before; and had this amazing color of a sunset falling on the thousands of people walking from work to their townships. The city has gotten much more advanced and crowded since.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Learning to like London

And how to cope with wanting to know everything…


Destinations: Foyles bookstore, Charing Cross. Red Fort Indian Restaurant, Dean Street in Soho.
  
I feel like a carnivorous tonight. Well—technically I am a carnivorous. I am talking about emotional hunger to buy books and learn much deeper about the places I visited in past couple of months. Finally I died and am in book heaven called Foyles.

Friday, January 20, 2012


Akdenizin her iki yakasındaki kadınlar soruyor: birbirimize nasıl destek olabiliriz?

Birbirinden çok uzakta, okyanusun iki yakasında, farklı kültür ve coğrafyalarda olsalar da dünya kadınlarının sorunları ve istekleri ne kadar da aynı. Bu kadınların birbirlerine yardım etmek istediklerini görmek ise bir o kadar sevindirici.

Women on both sides of the sea talking—How do we help each other?

I have been real lucky this month: was first in Barcelona, Spain for a business women summit together with Mediterranean women from southern Europe and northern Africa and Middle East; and then I was in Rabat, Morocco with women from all over the Middle East.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Driving innovation and lessons in leadership

       "Story of what happens if you throw eight people from Ireland, South Africa, Turkey, France, Poland, Israel and Russia in one small room for ten days."         

When I saw that I was invited to Barcelona to attend a leadership course—I pondered a while. It was almost the busiest quarter of my life; not only I had to be on the road for many weeks straight but we had the ultrabook to launch; had big challenges with the world economy not being in the best of its shape. I would be taken away from the team and my life almost 11 days straight.