French expert shows deep faith in China

Shanghai-based scholar shares ideas on country's business landscape

Dominique V. Turpin, the newly appointed European president and professor of marketing at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), is not a typical academic in the field of professional management and marketing.

While most of his peers traveled west to the United States to pursue higher education, he made the decision to go east.

After receiving a master's degree in marketing from the French business school ESSCA, Turpin went to Japan where he earned his doctorate in economics from Sophia University in Tokyo in 1986. He also spent several years in Tokyo as a representative of a French firm.

"I feel that the choice I made to go to Japan was a very good one," the 65-year-old Frenchman said during the 2022 Pudong International Talent Hub Forum held last week in Shanghai. This was Turpin's first public appearance in China since his arrival in November.

"All my friends went to the United States for their MBAs. Everybody was going in one direction. If I had gone to the US, I would have had a different career, but I think I have a richer career because Asia is more interesting. This is the future. This is where humanity is going to be," said Turpin, an executive education veteran who presided over Switzerland-based IMD Business School from 2010 to 2016.

He was also the International Institute for Management Development Business' Dentsu Chaired Professor of Marketing and the Dean of External Relations until 2022.

Born into a family of entrepreneurs, Turpin developed an interest in Asia when he was young after he was inspired by one of his close relatives who spent most of his life in the east. Turpin once learned Hindi and can speak and write eloquently in fluent Japanese.

In the 1990s, when CEIBS asked his then superior at the IMD to lend a helping hand in establishing their business in Shanghai, Turpin jumped at the opportunity even though Shanghai's Pudong New Area then was full of rice fields and nowhere near as developed as it is today.

His reason was that China "is going to become a very important power".

Today, decades after becoming a member of the CEIBS Academic Council, his foresight has proven to be right — China is now the world's second-largest economy and home to a massive supply chain and domestic market.

To Turpin, China's economic development shares many similarities with Japan, the country that China overtook as the world's second-largest economy in 2010. He noted that there are many lessons China can learn from Japan, especially in terms of innovation, which he described as one of the driving factors behind Japan's rapid growth after World War II.

"The best way for China to have great brands is to come up with innovations," he said.

Turpin used Huawei as a good example of a Chinese brand that has won the hearts of global consumers with its continuous innovative efforts.

"Motorola was once the leader in the first generation (of telecommunications); Blackberry was the leader in 2G; Nokia was the leader in 3G and Apple and Samsung led the 4G.In 5G, it is Huawei," Turpin said.

"In the beginning, Chinese brands mainly competed on price and many people saw Chinese products as cheap. It will take time (for China) to move up their brand positioning just like Europe and Japan did."

"What they (the Chinese) are missing is branding. Branding is about emotions and perceptions," added Turpin, who has worked as a consultant and management educator for many global companies including Coca-Cola, Nestle and Philips.

"You need to bring something innovative and meaningful to consumers."

Turpin, who has authored over 100 books, articles and case studies, listed several Chinese brands, including Lenovo, Tencent and appliance manufacturer Haier, that have already been recognized globally and praised Chinese companies for having a global mindset, a quality that he believes Japan lacks.

"The Chinese are very smart when it comes to developing in both the domestic and global markets. They are doing well in both," he said.

Turpin, who joined CEIBS in September, is now hoping to share his expertise with his students.

"I want to make a difference," he said. "When you reach the curtain time in your career, you just want to share more."