The Olympic Games

Two Games inside Panasonic’s Olympic partnership

Panasonic has been a Worldwide Olympic Partner since the programme began in 1988. I was one of a select group of Panasonic managers who attended London 2012 and Rio 2016 as part of that partnership.

Since 1988Panasonic: Official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the audio and visual equipment category, the highest tier of Olympic sponsorship.

London 2012Panasonic's largest audio-visual supply to any Games to that date: 45 large LED screens across 28 venues, about 12,000 TVs and the first Olympics broadcast in 3D to homes.

Rio 2016Panasonic LED displays, sound and broadcast systems across venues, from the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre to the Live Sites at Copacabana.

Sources: Panasonic press release, 30 May 2012 · Panasonic, Rio 2016 technology

London 2012

The London 2012 Olympic Games

In the summer of 2012 I travelled to London with the Panasonic delegation. It was a chance to see, at the largest scale there is, what our partnership with the Olympic Movement meant: Panasonic screens, sound and broadcast equipment carrying the Games to the venues and to the world.

Being in the stadium as part of the company's own team was a reminder of why brand trust is built over decades. The work we did every day in our markets was part of the same story.

From the Games

Kamran Pitafi in the stands of a London 2012 indoor arena — **London 2012 · In the arena**

Kamran Pitafi among the flags of competing nations — **London 2012 · Flags of the nations**

Kamran Pitafi in a Panasonic London 2012 jacket in front of the North Greenwich Arena — **North Greenwich · London 2012**

Rio 2016

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Four years later I was invited again, this time to Rio de Janeiro. The programme brought together Panasonic colleagues and partners from across the world, from the opening welcome evening at the Panasonic Stadium of Wonders to the competition venues.

Attending two Games with the company is something I still value. It showed me how a global brand works when the whole world is watching, and how much depends on preparation, coordination and teams from many countries working as one.

From the Games

Kamran Pitafi at the entrance to the Panasonic Stadium of Wonders in Rio — **Panasonic Stadium of Wonders · Rio 2016**

Kamran Pitafi with his Panasonic partner pass in front of the Olympic rings at the Olympic Park — **Olympic Park · Rio 2016**

Japan

Learning at the source

Strategy programmes over several years at Panasonic’s facilities in Hirakata, near Osaka, with managers from Panasonic offices around the world. I represented the UAE office.

These sessions went to the heart of how Panasonic thinks about business. Across the programmes we worked on:

Product development and the business philosophy behind it
Business strategy and long-range policy, and how to turn it into plans
Demand analysis and sales-trend analysis
Every channel: retail, wholesale, distribution and e-commerce

Colleagues from

United States
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Italy
Korea
Philippines
UAE
Japan

2011

GMS Marketing Management Seminar · 17–21 October 2011

A week-long marketing management seminar in Japan: presenting the Middle East perspective, completing the programme, and a visit to the Panasonic Center in Osaka.

Seminar sign: 10/17 (Mon) to 10/21 (Fri), GMS Marketing Management Seminar

Kamran Pitafi presenting in a training room in Japan — **Presenting · 2011**Sharing the Middle East market view.

Kamran Pitafi receiving a document from a Panasonic executive — **Programme completion · 2011**Recognised at the close of the programme.

Programme participants outside the Panasonic Center in Osaka — **Panasonic Center · Osaka**With colleagues from several countries.

2012

Global managers programme

A larger international group: sessions in Hirakata, team work across regions, and an evening of recognition.

Panasonic programme participants in a Japanese garden in autumn — **The 2012 group · Japan**Managers from Panasonic offices worldwide.

Programme participants with team headbands — **Team spirit · 2012**The cohort at the close of a team exercise.

Kamran Pitafi receiving a gift from a Panasonic executive at an evening event — **Evening of recognition · 2012**With the host team in Japan.

2014

Strategy and planning workshop

Hands-on planning work: market and channel plans built on the boards, then presented to the group.

Managers working at planning boards in a workshop room — **Strategy workshop · 2014**Market and channel planning in teams.

Kamran Pitafi speaking with a microphone — **Presenting the plan · 2014**Taking the group through our findings.

Kamran Pitafi with colleagues in front of the planning boards — **At the planning boards · 2014**With colleagues from other regions.

2016

Middle East regional strategy meeting

A strategy meeting for the Middle East region in Japan, with time in Kyoto between sessions.

Kamran Pitafi in a dark suit with a travel bag in Japan — **Arriving for the meeting · 2016**In Japan for the Middle East regional strategy meeting.

Kamran Pitafi in the Arashiyama bamboo grove with two women in yukata — **Arashiyama · Kyoto, 2016**In the bamboo grove between meetings.

Saga Torokko Station in Kyoto with the Japanese flag — **Saga Torokko Station · Kyoto**A day in Kyoto during the 2016 visit.

The Panasonic delegation with African partners in front of a product display in Nairobi — **With the delegation · Nairobi, 2009**Panasonic leadership and African partners.

Nairobi, Kenya · 2009

Africa Strategy Meeting

In 2009 Panasonic brought its leadership and African partners together in Nairobi, Kenya, for a regional strategy meeting. I was part of the Panasonic team at the meeting, working with partners on plans for the African markets.

A product briefing for Panasonic executives and African partners in Nairobi — **Product briefing · Nairobi, 2009**Walking senior visitors and partners through the range.

Kamran Pitafi speaking at a Panasonic podium in Malaysia — **Panasonic manufacturing · Malaysia**Presenting to the factory and product teams.

Malaysia · 2016

Bringing partners to the factory

In July 2016 I led a visit by Middle East dealers to Panasonic's manufacturing operation in Malaysia. Partners saw the product range, the production floor and the quality systems behind the products they sell.

Visits like this close the gap between the people who make a product and the people who move it. Partners return with confidence they can pass on to their own customers.

Middle East dealers at the Panasonic showroom in Malaysia — **Middle East Dealers Visit · July 2016**Welcome at the Panasonic showroom.

Dealers reviewing quality-improvement boards on the factory floor — **On the factory floor**Reviewing the plant’s quality-improvement work.

Product demonstration of Panasonic VIERA televisions to visiting dealers — **Product briefing**A demonstration of the VIERA and 4K range.

Iraq · 2012

Erbil International Fair

In October 2012 I represented Panasonic at the Erbil International Fair in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, working the stand with our local partner and meeting dealers and retailers from across the north of the country.

Iraq was a market we were building at the time. Being there in person, on the stand and in partners’ stores, is how trust in a new market starts.

Kamran Pitafi with two partners outside a Panasonic store — **With partners · Erbil, 2012**Outside a partner’s Panasonic store.

Kamran Pitafi in the exhibition hall of the Erbil International Fair — **In the exhibition hall · Erbil, 2012**The fair brought exhibitors from across the region.

On the world stage with Panasonic