By Bryan Livingston
Executive Vice President and Principal

Attending M&A International’s 61st Fall Conference certainly put a spring in my step. The environment in Bangkok, Thailand, was energetic, to say the least. I will have more to say on the economic and deals outlook in Indochina in a later post.

Any gathering with our MAI colleagues from around the world is always a heady and stimulating experience. This meeting took things up a notch, however, and not just in terms of the amazing Thai foods we enjoyed in one of Southeast Asia’s most engaging cities. MAI is approaching the end of a two-year strategic overhaul of the way we, as member firms, do business together. At the Fall Conference we had an opportunity to see firsthand how revamped systems and a new strategic approach will make us more effective at pooling the resources and expertise of over 600 professionals worldwide.

For several years, MAI has welcomed new member firms at our international meetings. The Bangkok meeting was no exception as HFG Financial Advisory Company of Shanghai, China, joined our ranks. HFG grows MAI’s mainland China team and adds considerably to the reach that we at Capital Alliance have available through MAI. We’re now up to 46 tightly-knit members in 41 countries. Also at the Fall Conference, two observing members pitched their credentials to us in hopes of full membership. One firm hailed from the U.S., the other from Vietnam.

I say ‘tightly-knit’ because all of MAI’s member firms are finding new ways to draw on each other’s expertise and intimate knowledge of our local business environments. At the conference we got an update on the new MAI internal IT system, which will improve our ability to work as a seamless and effective team for any client anywhere in the world.