When did you join LG Electronics and how did you come to head the Malaysian office?
I joined LG Korea about 20 years ago after holding positions at several other companies. Until I joined LG, the other companies weren’t a good fit for me in terms of my desired career path. My dream was to run a business and it was LG that provided the best opportunity for this. A year after I joined as a salesman, I was given the chance to manage the Middle East and Africa region. Although I wasn’t managerial level, I was still given the autonomy to set my objectives and determine my responsibilities. I respond well to this sort of empowerment and have worked very hard.

Around 1997, I was placed in charge of North America and I worked for two years in Canada as a sales and marketing director for LG. Since then I have worked for LG’s European mobile company and last year I was the managing director for Singapore. This year, I have taken on Malaysia along with six other emerging markets including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Where are you based?
While I’m technically based in Singapore, I spend 80% of my time outside of it. In fact, about 70% of my time is spent in Malaysia as it has been identified as a key potential growth area for LG.

Would you describe your management style as hands-on?
Very much so. I focus on the people involved — all work is ultimately carried out by people. If a person is not capable or has the wrong attitude or mindset, everyone around them and the work suffer. To retain that person requires guidance and education — identifying people who need this is my first priority. My next priority is, when I find someone capable, to empower them to do their job. Finally my management is also focuses on teamwork — almost all our businesses rely on teamwork. There is no room for lone heroes. A lack of teamwork would hinder our business so there’s a need, as a manager, to focus on building teamwork and synergy.

What measures have you taken here to build teamwork?
One thing I’ve instituted in the Malaysian office is something we call the ‘Morning Cheer’ — a daily 15 to 20 minutes for teams to get together and share what’s going on and clarify what they’re doing with the leaders they report to. I myself meet with the top management this way when I’m at the Malaysian office. I also support my managers by not entertaining executives who wish to complain to me over their direct superior’s head. I want to encourage employees to go through the proper channels. I also encourage the ‘LG Way’.

What’s the LG Way?
It’s our corporate philosophy and code of conduct — our path to achieving a top spot in the global market. First, customer satisfaction is a key factor. To achieve this you have to have the right people giving the right service under the right management. Finally, work should be carried out in the right way — meaning ethically. No cheating or stealing. By being ethical, leading by empowerment and focusing on customer satisfaction, we will be No 1 in the world. It’s a culture I’m still trying to instil in Malaysia.

You have worked in and currently manage quite a few markets. What is your approach to taking on a new market?
Before I take charge of any country, I gain some initial exposure by visiting the country and conducting some research. Then, my first move as country head, is to identify a key person on whom I can rely on to be my guide to the new country. Then I identify, listen and learn from other key personnel.

How have you found Malaysians different from the other markets you manage?
It’s hard to pin down, but I feel there’s a difference in the high priority Malaysians place on maintaining friendly relations with each other. In Singapore, employees are far more competitive and are unafraid of upsetting a colleague in order to get a job done well. Malaysians on the other hand are reluctant to challenge each other. It goes to show that even if two cultures seem very much alike on the surface, you still can’t assume.

You mentioned Malaysia is a key market. How will you be developing LG Malaysia?
About three to five years ago, LG decided to focus on Indonesia and Thailand as its main markets in Southeast Asia simply based on population strength. As a result, our brand image and market share here are not as strong as they could be. But I believe we can do better in Malaysia and starting last year, we focused more on Malaysia — which is why I spend 70% of my time here. To grow our market share here, we will start bringing in new products faster and promote them more aggressively. In the past, it’s true that it’s taken a while for the latest products to get here, but that will change.

We will also differentiate ourselves with our technology — going beyond ‘me-too’ products and providing added value our competitors don’t have. For example, the LG LED TV uses panels of LED light instead of strips — providing greater clarity and brightness. We will also be launching our affordable smartphone, the Optimus 1, early this month (November). It’s priced around RM800 to RM1,000, rather than the usual smartphone price of around RM2,000. However, we will continue to release high-end, high-quality products like the smartphone Optimus 7 in the higher price range. My aim is to build our market share and build the LG brand’s position as a masstige (mass prestige) brand with uniquely innovative products.

If you weren’t doing this job, what would you be doing?
As a child, I wanted to be a pilot like my father. I learned all about airplanes from him and took some lessons. But my eyesight is so poor I had to abandon that profession. This dream is partly why I joined LG. Since I can’t be a pilot, I’ll be a passenger and travel the world that way instead!

This article appeared in Management@work, the monthly management pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 830, Nov 1-7, 2010.