Background

Can you briefly introduce yourself and your background?

My name is Bobby Franklin. I’m from the US and I have been involved in GCC for about 10 years. I came to China and started to work there seven years ago. As for me, GCC is a very good organization and it’s definitely very helpful to work with people from the US and China. Currently I’m based in Shanghai. I work in Giti Tire and I’m responsible for the international marketing including the digital marketing, the web communications PR, and I also communicate with our distributors around the world in different countries, so my job actually covers a lot of areas of marketing and I think it’s very interesting.

Could you please share your experience at GCC? 

I’m definitely an unusual GCC person because there was no GCC when I was in college and GCC is founded right after my graduation. I knew GCC from one of my friend when I was in Drexel University, and he worked with GCC then. I was really interested in GCC after I knew this organization especially because I’m interested in China and Asia business and everything related. When I was going to do my MBA program which relates to US and China, Daniel recommended me to get involved in GCC, so I involved in Beijing Chapter and we held a summit then. After that I was kept involvement in GCC and became the VP of marketing in 2012. I then worked with the chapter at my MBA school and later became a trustee. I also involve with GCC in the Shanghai local committee.

How did your experience with GCC help you in your career? How did you transfer your skills and knowledge learned at GCC into your own professional work?

That’s a good question. I think it’s really good experience to work with so many different people in GCC remotely and we didn’t really work together in an office. It makes it difficult to do so but also it’s a really useful skill to collaborate remotely because nowadays especially this year, a lot of people are not working together in person due to the pandemic, and it’s really important to be able to work online between teams and to manage people and projects remotely. I think GCC actually help us practice this skill in advance. Also, as a student, GCC can provide the opportunity to do some projects that you wouldn’t be able to get the chance to do in an internship probably.  So I think GCC is really good at helping students develop skills that really help you in career.

Could you talk about your role in American Chamber of Commerce and share your experience there?

The American Chamber of Commerce is a huge global organization to support the US domestic and overseas businesses and I mostly worked with China division. Basically what they do is that they are on the ground and they have all the organizations of the different businesses and different people especially Americans that are based in China. Their purpose is to be a bridge between the American government and Chinese government and help build a better ecosystem and understanding between US-China business. It’s very challenging especially in this year, there are some challenges of the relationship between the two countries. The US government people in general don’t understand China and the business here, and they may have never been to China before, but they’re making huge decisions that impact the relationships between the two countries. What The American Chamber of Commerce can do is to explain to those people the real situation in China on behalf of the American business in China. We try to help build a closer relationship with the business communities.  It also relates to GCC in a way because it’s also about improving the situation of the people and the relationship between the two countries.

Internship/ Work experience

Could you share your internship experience?

When I was in Drexel I participated in a co-op program, and I did three full time paid internships because that’s the main strength of the co-op program. I went to Beijing and Japan and I learned a lot in the co-op program, so I  highly recommend people to do this type of internships as you can gain a lot of experience and meet a lot of people. It gives you the chance to see the different companies and different business environments, and it also gives you the chance to know a little bit more about the work you might want to do as your career.  You will see that actually different companies have very different styles, and it will be a good opportunity for you to choose the one that matches your personality.

Do you think there is any essential skills for all of the internships you did?

I think it’s is more of the mindset than an actual skill. 1)don’t be too overconfident 2) always be willing to learn and work with the team 3) be adaptable.  College students can be more successful if they can do those things and people will like you more.

How did you find your passion and decide to work on marketing?

I think I’m always interested in marketing and especially digital marketing. When I was 13, I started my own ebay business. I bought and resold on ebay and I made a few thousand dollars. Ebay was a really young business at that time, so I need to teach myself some HTML to make my webpage look nicer. This experience also helped me to be more interested in the marketing in general, and I’ve always been doing marketing jobs since then.

Currently, you are working at Giti Tire. What makes you choose this company? What does a typical day look like for you?

I built a connection when I finished my MBA program in the US, and this person knew Giti Tire in Shanghai. Giti Tire is actually a global company founded in Southeast Asian. It has factories in US and elsewhere. I think the reason I got this job is because of my previous experience in China. I also met my current wife here.

My day-to-day work is not the same but I worked a lot with our digital platform, our websites, social media, and also with the different types of campaigns. I also need to work with our distributors in 130 different countries. They are the ones who actually selling our products so I have to work with them to discuss how to do the marketing and things like that. I used to travel to those different countries but not that much this year because of the pandemic. I’ve been traveled to a lot of places such as Asia, Europe, Middle East, US, South America. Travelling is a part of my job and I think it is pretty interesting.

Advice

Do you have any other advice for college students or recent graduates?

I would say if you are college students, don’t only focus on your studies and your score. Hang out with your friends and build connections with others. I think meaningful connections in your life are really important and join in GCC can be a good option. Also, maybe just try to hang out with your classmates. It’s not a waste of time if you can build meaningful relationship with others. As for me, I got one of my jobs because I built a connection with a person I met in bar and he referred me. If I just stayed at home study and hadn’t hang out with my friends, I would never get the opportunity. Study is important but it’s also really important to stay connected with people, to be involved in different groups especially the one you’re passionate about.