One answer could lie in domain specialisation. Often, successful matches are about balancing off the expat leader’s specialisation with the cultural functional void in his/her profile. When Brian Tempest was employed in Ranbaxy Laboratories, the R&D expertise that he enabled helped the company immensely. K. R. Kim, former LG India head honcho, was taken up by Videocon as the company planned a radical branding and business transformation. And the top management is quite pleased so far with his efforts. “Appointing a foreign national as the CEO of a company such as Tata Motors and Ranbaxy with deep Indian roots makes sense when the goals to be achieved are clearly defined,” says Vikas Pota, MD, Saffron Chase. Infosys goes one step ahead. It recruits a person in the top management position only if the individual – irrespective of nationality – has grown within the company over time from lower positions (and thereforeknows the company’s culture inside out), “but a leader has to have specialisation in at least one domain,” says CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan.
The aviation industry has been striving for global standards of service, so it is logical that expats make their presence felt. Nikos Kardassis, who held the post of CEO at Jet Airways from 1993 to 1999, truly transformed the way global counterparts looked at the Indian aviation industry. Kardassis joined back Jet Airways in 2008 and was appointed as the acting CEO in 2009 after Wolfgang Prock-Schauer resigned from the post. Similarly, Bruce Ashby, who was the President at Indigo Airlines from 2006-2008 played a major role in establishing Indigo as a prominent player in the Indian aviation sphere. But Jet Airways learnt some painful lessons while dealing with expats. Schaeur, for instance, first resigned in 2007 to join Kingfisher Airlines but Naresh Goyal persuaded the Austrian to stay back. But things got complicated, as the Indian pilots and other employees developed an acrimonious relationship with expat employees. Schaeur was practically invisible from the rift between the airlines and the pilots last year.
Organised retail is another instance of a sector in India seeking global best practices. People like retail truly stood out. During his four-year stint at the company, Andrew Levermore, Ex-CEO, HyperCity, successfully created the brand from scratch. Similarly, Andrew Denby, Ex-CEO, Aditya Birla Retail played a major role in establishing the More brand and after his exit, the retail chain has lost track. However, a report titled ‘India’s Retail Sector: Time to Take Stock’ explains that “relying on foreign talent alone may not a viable long-term option as retention can prove to be a major challenge. Expat salaries itself could cost companies between $500,000 and $600,000, including perks and stock options.” A survey across four continents by HSBC Holdings Plc. says that India comes at the top in terms of earnings and savings and third in terms of a luxurious life for expats. However, it ranks the lowest when it comes to longevity, which measures the score of a country in terms of attracting and retaining expats.
The aviation industry has been striving for global standards of service, so it is logical that expats make their presence felt. Nikos Kardassis, who held the post of CEO at Jet Airways from 1993 to 1999, truly transformed the way global counterparts looked at the Indian aviation industry. Kardassis joined back Jet Airways in 2008 and was appointed as the acting CEO in 2009 after Wolfgang Prock-Schauer resigned from the post. Similarly, Bruce Ashby, who was the President at Indigo Airlines from 2006-2008 played a major role in establishing Indigo as a prominent player in the Indian aviation sphere. But Jet Airways learnt some painful lessons while dealing with expats. Schaeur, for instance, first resigned in 2007 to join Kingfisher Airlines but Naresh Goyal persuaded the Austrian to stay back. But things got complicated, as the Indian pilots and other employees developed an acrimonious relationship with expat employees. Schaeur was practically invisible from the rift between the airlines and the pilots last year.
Organised retail is another instance of a sector in India seeking global best practices. People like retail truly stood out. During his four-year stint at the company, Andrew Levermore, Ex-CEO, HyperCity, successfully created the brand from scratch. Similarly, Andrew Denby, Ex-CEO, Aditya Birla Retail played a major role in establishing the More brand and after his exit, the retail chain has lost track. However, a report titled ‘India’s Retail Sector: Time to Take Stock’ explains that “relying on foreign talent alone may not a viable long-term option as retention can prove to be a major challenge. Expat salaries itself could cost companies between $500,000 and $600,000, including perks and stock options.” A survey across four continents by HSBC Holdings Plc. says that India comes at the top in terms of earnings and savings and third in terms of a luxurious life for expats. However, it ranks the lowest when it comes to longevity, which measures the score of a country in terms of attracting and retaining expats.
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