As Chairman of NPAworldwide, it is my great privilege to recognize the remarkable contributions of our members. The highest honor within our network is the annual Chairman's Award, established in 1996, which acknowledges an NPA owner, manager, recruiter, or staff member whose service has had a significant and lasting impact on our organization. This year, the field of nominees was exceptionally high caliber, and any of the finalists would have been deserving of the award. After a recent secret ballot by the Board of Directors, I am delighted to announce that Taufik Arief of People Search International, Jakarta, Indonesia, is our 2025 recipient. The formal presentation will occur during the 2025 NPA Global Conference in Philadelphia, PA.
Taufik has made numerous notable contributions, including:
- Hosting the 2014 NPA Worldwide Bali meeting, where he initiated discussions that led to the creation of NPA’s second website, www.npaworldwideworks.com, which is still in use today.
- Serving as Asia Director and Asia Pacific Director, he drove significant changes, leading to a 31% increase in office locations from 2015 to 2019, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%, exceeding NPA's global growth target of 4%.
- Achieving top rankings in member satisfaction surveys for the Asia region.
- Restructuring the organization’s divisions in Asia from North Asia, South Asia, and India to five Area Leaders: two in North Asia, one in India, and two in ASEAN.
- Converting the bi-annual Asia Conference into an annual event, alternating between northern and southern regions, including Taiwan, Vietnam, India, and Hong Kong, consistently drawing 50-60 participants.
- Pioneering the early adoption of ZOOM video meetings in Asia.
- Establishing dedicated WhatsApp groups for Asia and other local/specialty channels for business and casual purposes.
- Introducing the joint Asia-Australia-EMEA conference calls.
- Implementing regular training sessions for new Marketplace users and for those looking to enhance their skills with the platform.
- Promoting adherence to NPA bylaws and best practices during regular calls, particularly for importers and exporters.
Taufik's leadership, innovation, and dedication have greatly enriched NPAworldwide, and his contributions will continue to benefit the organization for years to come.
Please join me in congratulating Taufik on this well-deserved honor! I look forward to presenting him with the award in Philadelphia as part of our Global Conference, and I hope to see many of you there celebrating as well.