Ever wanted to learn more about the book & publishing world?Hear from the person who brought Sanrio/Hello Kitty to Singapore?You've come to the right place.Kenny Chan is ex-diplomat who later pivoted to rise to the top of the publishing world, becoming Senior Director at Kinokuniya Book Stores (Asia Pacific) Kenny began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, where he was posted to London as their Trade and Culture Attache.He then switched to bookselling, first at Popular Holdings Limited, then MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd, and back again at Popular when they launched their IPO!Prior to his retirement, he'd spent ~20 years as Kinokuniya's Asia Pacific's senior store and merchandising director.So you could say that he knows a thing or two about books & storytelling. ? and what it takes to rise to the very top!Highlights:1:01 The Punisher1:50 Don't judge people by their educational level2:59 Do your best in everything that you touch3:58 My education was a roller-coaster5:31 Didn't want to be a bookseller!7:56 Getting into foreign affairs9:51 Hunted down a book for Lee Kuan Yew & the power of connections11:35 Lee Kuan Yew was a hard task master14:54 Life isn't fair18:32 How to get rid of inventory/books for bookstores20:21 Leaving Popular for MPH21:00 Introducing comics & Sanrio (Hello Popular) to Singapore22:12 How Kenny knew it was time to bring Hello Kitty in24:07 Memorable stories26:43 What was it like working in his dream company?27:46 Becoming store manager of the MPH Stamford Bookstore28:22 You need to be a dictator32:22 A great success36:23 The IPO37:11 The secret behind buying books? Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy ? YouTube: https://youtu.be/1uCeI8LOI5Y ?Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/145? Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍? Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442