My Meeting With President Barack Obama

Last week, I was invited to sit down with President Barack Obama for a private meeting in his hotel suite with a few other CEOs for approximately an hour to discuss business in Asia. I was surprised that President Obama had done his homework ahead of the meeting. As he shook my hand when we first met, he announced to everyone in the room that I was a martial arts expert, and that everyone should not mess with me. We all had a good laugh.

Without a doubt, President Obama possesses an extraordinary presence, a rare charisma, and a sharp intellect. His questions were thoughtful and his comments insightful. Equally important, he always looked everyone straight in the eye and gave his full unwavering attention. He was gracious, humble, and kind. I learned a lot about leadership that day just by observing how he treated all of us. Not only is he one of the greatest US presidents in history, but President Obama is a real gentleman with a heart of gold.

As a big sports fan and basketball player himself, President Obama could immediately appreciate the important role that ONE Championship has in shaping culture, values, and society for the next generation around the world. I explained how ONE Championship is a celebration of Asia’s greatest cultural treasure, and its deep-rooted values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion.

Through the power of storytelling and the magic of our heroes, ONE Championship ignites hope, celebrates values, creates dreams, inspires nations, and changes the world. #WeAreONE

Chatri Sityodtong is a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist from Thailand. His rags-to-riches life story has inspired millions around the world on BBC News, CNN, Financial Times, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, and other major media. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ONE Championship, Asia’s largest global sports media property in history with a global broadcast to over 2.6 billion potential viewers across 150+ countries around the world. Forbes most recently selected Sityodtong as one of Asia’s next generation tycoons. Sityodtong was also named “Asia’s King of Martial Arts” by the Financial Times and the “2nd Most Powerful Person in Sports in Asia” by FOX Sports. He is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD, Europe’s top business school. Inducted recently into the Black Belt Hall of Fame, Sityodtong is a Kru in Muay Thai and a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.