#37 First guest episode with Kimon Fountoukidis! Plus RWS-SDL, China NLP Ban, AB5, Translation at WTO

Florian and Esther are joined by 🎤special guest 🎤Kimon Fountoukidis, Founder and Chairman of Argos Multilingual for a frank and animated discussion about the language industry.Florian also provides an update on the market reaction following the breaking news last week that RWS plans to acquire SDL later this yearEsther talks international trade — more specifically how translation and interpreting are run at the World Trade Organization (WTO) —, sharing insights from Josep Bonet, Division Director, Language and Documentation Services Division at WTO.Florian reviews the latest developments in the AB5 saga over in California, where interpreters, translators and LSPs are celebrating their success in getting exempted from a bill that would have compelled LSPs to hire freelancers as direct employees in the State. Hopping to China, he talks about several language technologies that have made the list of restricted exports, as the US and China’s tech battle intensifies.Florian and Esther conclude the rundown of the week’s news with a discussion about the positive upswing in the Slator Language Industry Job Index figure for September before they are joined by the first ever SlatorPod guest...👉Don’t miss Kimon sharing his experience of developing Argos into a USD 22m LSP through sales, tech and ops savvy, M&A and a passion for entrepreneurship. Kimon weighs in on all the burning topics, gives expert project managers their due praise, and makes a case for paying good translators more 💰money💰.