Why diverse teams matter

Magelang, 8 August 2021

Today is my last day with my wife and son in Magelang, Indonesia. I will next see them again in December. A good time to reflect on who I am and what defines me.

I am a proud dad, a family person, and I adore my wife. I will miss them dearly. But I feel pulled away also by a broader cause: the emergence of a “West against the East“ narrative, which I think is wrong.

And there is another family that I miss too as I haven’t seen many of them for quite some time – the Silverhorn family.

The Silverhorn family is also multicultural. We have assembled something of a mini United Nations: a group of people with very different backgrounds, characters and approaches to life. This diversity of thinking gives us the ability to solve any issues together, and opens our eyes and minds to the world. We can overcome the most challenging of obstacles.

We can also build a powerful bridge between Asia and the rest of the world.

At Silverhorn we don’t know China, India, Indonesia, or the Asia-Pacific from hearsay. Rather, we were either born, have lived, and/or worked for all or most of our lives in this region. We always seek to know what is happening on the ground. That drives us to be a trusted local partner for global investors wanting to have an exposure in this region. In turn, we also represent and understand the cultures outside Asia.

In a world of fake news, information overload, social media hype, and restricted ability to travel our personal and institutional network and partnerships with specialist investors across the Asia region have become more powerful than ever.

What I could only imagine when I first set foot in 1991 in Mainland China is today a reality. The 21st century is Asia’s century. We are home to over 4.6 billion people. The Asian Consumer, in particular the 400 million strong Chinese middle class, is the most sought-after customer for global brands. This is formidable soft power.

We think that this Asia that is our home and which we represent deserves an honest voice. A voice free from political agenda, authentic, balanced, and well-informed.

At Silverhorn, we live and breathe all of the above. We are not only passionate about connecting international capital with Asian productivity, we also wish to do things the right way. We don’t only want to be trusted partners for our investors, we also want to be the same for our local specialist partners, entrepreneurs and employees.

For me personally: just as our Indonesian-Persian-Swiss son is a result of my wife’s and my passion for connecting cultures, so too the growing Silverhorn family is an expression of the same passion and drive to bridge cultures and investors with entrepreneurs in Asia.