"We recruited Robert in 2009 for the key position of East Regional General Manager, overseeing about one third of TNT’s business in China. During our interview, Robert shared what appeared at first glance to be merely a success story: son of a Chinese family that built a transportation business in the Philippines; graduate from Manila’s top university; a business leader with good credentials from Best Foods, Mars, Inbev and Maersk. In an effort to understand his accomplishments, we also explored Robert’s management style. A team-builder not shy about using his authority when necessary, Robert extolled his confident decision-making. At that time, we faced significant resistance throughout the East region to the changes we felt were necessary to ensure TNT’s future. Several local branch managers with long tenures and strong opinions remained firmly entrenched in their ways of doing things. Robert seemed to be the right person to address these challenges, although I was concerned he may be even too forceful and confident."