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By JOANN S. LUBLIN
U.S. and European multinational corporations are raising their bets on booming emerging markets. The trick is finding the right executives to play their hands.
In rapidly growing countries such as Brazil, China and India, tapping expatriates is becoming obsolete. Instead, global businesses are looking for leaders who have the ability to move easily between different cultures and have deep local roots as well as international operational experience.
Finding such executives "is very challenging," said Peter Felix, president of the Association of Executive Search Consultants. "The talent pool is very small."
China, India and Latin America will see the greatest shortage of executive talent this year, according to a December poll of 210 AESC members. It marked the third straight year that China and India landed on top of that list, though the first time that Latin America has ranked No. 3.
New hires with coveted backgrounds can command rich pay deals in hot emerging markets, recruiters say. For instance, a Brazilian executive joining a multinational there earns at least 15% more than his or her counterpart managing greater revenue in a developed market, according to recruiters.
Competition for talent can be fierce, which promotes a lot of poaching. Earlier this year, social-networking giant Facebook Inc. hired Alexandre Hohagen as vice president of sales for Latin America, based in São Paulo. He created Google Inc.'s operations in the region and managed them for almost six years, Facebook said in a Feb. 14 announcement. Facebook and Google declined to comment.
In this tough environment, recruiters Fatima Zorzato in Brazil, Steve Mullinjer in China and Anjali Bansal in India often succeed in snaring star executives for global companies. Each works for a major U.S. search firm and won votes from at least three rival firms for being one of the top recruiters in their country.
Here's a look at some of their recent big executive catches:
Brazil
Foreign multinationals in Brazil are seeking executives who "add value in terms of the strategy" rather than merely follow headquarters' orders, said Ms. Zorzato, a managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. in São Paulo. Ms. Zorzato, who is Brazilian, was country manager for the firm between 1997 and 2010.
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Fatima Zorzato, a managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates in São Paulo.
In 2010, Ms. Zorzato placed 16 executives in Brazil, five of whom joined foreign multinationals there. Ms. Zorzato helped the big U.K. information-technology services concern Logica PLC's land Edson Ferreira Leite as president of Brazil in 2009—despite his four competing offers.
Mr. Leite's experience included 21 years with Electronic Data Systems Corp., where he eventually became a key Latin America executive for the U.S. computer-services giant. EDS is now owned by Hewlett-PackardCo.
Logica hoped a Brazilian national like Mr. Leite would push its local unit into fresh areas faster than prior expatriates by leveraging "real detailed knowledge of the cultural characteristics of the local markets," said Stephen Kelly, Logica's chief people officer. Mr. Leite soon demonstrated the ability "to position Logica more strongly in new client opportunities beyond our traditional sectors,'' Mr. Kelly said.
Last year, Mr. Leite said, Logica's Brazilian unit gained its first telecom, media and manufacturing clients.
India
Big foreign companies in India want executives with "the ability to seamlessly move between the world of the multinational and the India market," said Ms. Bansal, managing partner of India for Spencer Stuart in Mumbai.
Ms. Bansal learned about such "cultural fluency" early in her career. Educated in India and the U.S., the Indian recruiter was a McKinsey & Co. management consultant in both countries. She joined Spencer Stuart about five years ago.
In 2008, Cairn Energy PLC, a U.K. energy concern, needed a new chief operating officer for Cairn India Ltd. It expected to hire an Indian-born executive living in the U.S. who knew the oil and gas industry.
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Spencer Stuart's Anjali Bansal, pictured at her office in Mumbai, learned about "cultural fluency" early in her career.
"We found that potential talent pool to be very small," said P. Senthil Kumar, human-resources director for Cairn's India unit. Instead, Ms. Bansal's client chose Rick Bott, an American who had never lived in India. Among his past employers were Devon Energy Corp. and Tenneco Inc.
"He had demonstrated his ability to work in different cultures within the oil and gas industry due to his stints in Indonesia and the Middle East," Mr. Kumar said. "It has worked out well."
Yahoo Inc. went the other way, finding a top Indian executive who understood multinationals. Assisted by Ms. Bansal, the Internet company selected Arun Tadanki as its managing director of India in 2009.
Mr. Tadanki had spent seven years at Monster.com, where he reported to the CEO as president of its Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. A certified disc jockey, he once was named "hottest young executive in India" by Indian business magazine Business Today. His career began at food giant Nestlé SA in India.
Yahoo officials wanted Mr. Tadanki to enlarge its leading regional market position, and they're very happy so far, according to a spokeswoman.
Spencer Stuart declined to divulge the number of executives placed in India last year by Ms. Bansal.
China
China represents "the single most strategic investment market in the world for multinationals," said Mr. Mullinjer, managing partner of China and North Asia for Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. in Shanghai.
The veteran Australian recruiter, who speaks fluent Mandarin, has worked in China for 20 years. He said prospects tapped for key China posts need to know how to work with a company's highest executives as well as people across the across the region.
Daniel Zhang typifies this shift. Assisted by Mr. Mullinjer, Owens Corning in 2009 named Mr. Zhang managing director of its Asia-Pacific building materials group, a huge portion of its business. Mr. Zhang had held management posts inside and outside of China for other global manufacturers like Leggett & Platt Inc. and Lear Corp.
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Mullinjer, managing partner of China and North Asia for Heidrick & Struggles International in Shanghai
A company spokesman said Owens Corning preferred a mainland Chinese executive for the role, previously occupied by American expatriates, because it wanted greater continuity of leadership.
Mr. Zhang "has had a very positive influence on the organization," partly by restructuring his management team, Mr. Mullinjer said. The spokesman declined further comment.
Last year, Mr. Mullinjer recruited 17 executives to work in China for multinational businesses, some of which operate with a Chinese partner or through a joint venture.
The ideal China pick can prove elusive. H-P has looked for a marketing chief for its $4 billion consumer-electronics operation there since last summer, said Train Luo, a former Korn/Ferry International recruiter. He handled the assignment until the Shanghai recruiter switched to CTPartners, a Korn/Ferry rival, in late February.
H-P declined to comment.
The competition has pushed up compensation. High-tech multinationals today pay midlevel China executives at least $300,000 a year, twice what they paid six years ago, Mr. Luo said.
Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Fatima Zorzato is a managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. in São Paulo, Brazil. The name of the Brazilian city was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
Fatima Zorzato is a managing director at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. in São Paulo, Brazil. The name of the Brazilian city was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
source; WSJ.COM
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