Business Case - General Manager China
Situation
The client company is a world leader in specialized equipment for the Telecommunications Industry. The company’s core competencies are to design, develop and manufacture customized products as well as a range of standardized products for the telecommunications industry.
The company exports about 90 per cent of its production and, in addition to subsidiary companies in Europe, the USA and China, it has an extensive dealer network throughout Europe.
The company’s entry into China had been motivated by the obvious high-potential of the country in terms both of low production wage costs, and the sales potential of its products on the Chinese market.
The entire Chinese organization needed to be built up from scratch. The assignment was to find the right person to start up the operation by building an organization, establishing a production base, and subsequently driving sales of the company’s products in the Chinese market.
Search
The requirement was to find someone with solid experience in China, and who was either living or who had lived there over a longer period, and who was familiar with Chinese conditions. The person would have roots in production management, and the skills for a General Manager position.
We developed a position and candidate profile and initiated the search process focusing on candidates with an engineering education and with broad experience from product development, production and logistics – both operationally and strategically. We concentrated our search process on candidates with some years experience of secondment to and/or working in China, and who as a result were either already resident and integrated in the country, or interested in moving back to China.
Additional critical key words were the ability to retain a good overview and to lead a Chinese production operation, and an effective and involved leadership style that would create an inspiring working environment.
We presented a number of candidates who fitted the candidate profile and who had a broad production-oriented background from manufacturing companies and who were experienced in handling large projects.
Results
We found a General Manager with considerable experience in running projects in all stages from idea and concept development through design and installation to production start and handing over to the client.
The person in question was living and working at the time in China, and was prepared, together with his family, to continue his career in Asia, if the right challenge were offered.
He is an engineer with a broad base of experience from a number of different industries as well as solid experience in production management and Chinese conditions including the hiring of Chinese employees. In addition, he possesses the knowledge and skills required to understand cultural differences, for example in communication with employees and the Chinese authorities.
The results have been very positive. The Chinese company has grown, confirming the potential, and the future outlook in China is extremely encouraging. The client is very happy to have worked with us and is highly satisfied with the result of the search. The successful filling of the position has since resulted in our performing a number of very interesting assignments for the company President and CEO.
The client company is a world leader in specialized equipment for the Telecommunications Industry. The company’s core competencies are to design, develop and manufacture customized products as well as a range of standardized products for the telecommunications industry.
The company exports about 90 per cent of its production and, in addition to subsidiary companies in Europe, the USA and China, it has an extensive dealer network throughout Europe.
The company’s entry into China had been motivated by the obvious high-potential of the country in terms both of low production wage costs, and the sales potential of its products on the Chinese market.
The entire Chinese organization needed to be built up from scratch. The assignment was to find the right person to start up the operation by building an organization, establishing a production base, and subsequently driving sales of the company’s products in the Chinese market.
Search
The requirement was to find someone with solid experience in China, and who was either living or who had lived there over a longer period, and who was familiar with Chinese conditions. The person would have roots in production management, and the skills for a General Manager position.
We developed a position and candidate profile and initiated the search process focusing on candidates with an engineering education and with broad experience from product development, production and logistics – both operationally and strategically. We concentrated our search process on candidates with some years experience of secondment to and/or working in China, and who as a result were either already resident and integrated in the country, or interested in moving back to China.
Additional critical key words were the ability to retain a good overview and to lead a Chinese production operation, and an effective and involved leadership style that would create an inspiring working environment.
We presented a number of candidates who fitted the candidate profile and who had a broad production-oriented background from manufacturing companies and who were experienced in handling large projects.
Results
We found a General Manager with considerable experience in running projects in all stages from idea and concept development through design and installation to production start and handing over to the client.
The person in question was living and working at the time in China, and was prepared, together with his family, to continue his career in Asia, if the right challenge were offered.
He is an engineer with a broad base of experience from a number of different industries as well as solid experience in production management and Chinese conditions including the hiring of Chinese employees. In addition, he possesses the knowledge and skills required to understand cultural differences, for example in communication with employees and the Chinese authorities.
The results have been very positive. The Chinese company has grown, confirming the potential, and the future outlook in China is extremely encouraging. The client is very happy to have worked with us and is highly satisfied with the result of the search. The successful filling of the position has since resulted in our performing a number of very interesting assignments for the company President and CEO.
