Who should write to me, and the subjects I must decline

I am most glad to hear from three kinds of correspondent. The first is a nominating committee chair or search adviser with a non-executive seat in mind: please tell me the company, where it is listed or intends to list, the committees involved, the meeting calendar and any dealings it has with Lumaren, the Seah family or Calderwick Capital, so that I can check conflicts before we speak. The second is a leader or family member in a family company working through a succession or the arrival of an outside investor; I am glad to compare experience, without a fee. The third is an organiser of discussions on medicine procurement, regional registration or family-business governance, especially where officials and manufacturers will be in the same room.

There are things I cannot do here. I do not discuss open or pending tender bids, the process for Calderwick's stake, or Lumaren's results before our board has seen them. I do not answer questions about individual medicines or patients; a pharmacist or doctor should. Product, supply and distribution proposals belong with our commercial teams, not with me. I read every message myself and usually reply within ten days, in English or Mandarin.