Personal View: Myron Oakes

* Name: Myron Oakes

* Position: vice president of pump division

* Company: BWIP Holdings, Long Beach

When Oakes travels around the world for BWIP, an international manufacturer of industrial machinery, he finds he loses less time and reduces jet lag by heading west instead of east.

“On an extended trip, for example, I’ll try to visit first Japan, then Saudi Arabia, then Europe--instead of the reverse order. By traveling on a westerly course, I gain time that would be lost by traveling in an easterly direction.”

When Oakes’ travels take him to the Netherlands, where BWIP operates two factories, he likes to visit the Keukenhof gardens at Lisse. “Keukenhof means kitchen garden,” explains Oakes. “It’s a spectacular spot where commercial growers display the latest hybrid bulbs of tulips and other flowers. The best time to visit is in April.”