Shape shifter
Liu was not destined for a career as a CEO. At Peking University he studied
physics. He then went on to Yale University law school and a job as an attorney
in New York. After feeling a tug back to China, he took a job at private equity
firm Orchid Asia Group Management Ltd, one of the first international private
equity investors in China.
In 1999, Orchid decided to fund Zhaopin. "I thought, this is a fundamentally
sound business," Liu says. "If it doesn't work it's not because of the business
model but for other reasons within the company."
As an investor, Liu saw potential in Zhaopin. As a man hungry for yet another
career change, he saw an opportunity.
"This is such a young industry in China," he says of online recruiting. "The
growth potential is hugeit's going to be dominated by two or three players, and
as long as you are in that group you are safe."
In 2002, Liu took over the online recruiting firm. The first thing he did was
to fire the top management. The second was to get a cash infusion of US$500,000
from Orchid. He says the moves gave a boost to moral and made employees realize
he was serious.
Still, for a person more comfortable with boardroom negotiation than
speeches, the transition to company leader was not easy. Liu says during the
first talk he gave to his staff of 100 he was "miserably perspiring."
"Managing a company requires a different personality," he says. "On that
front, I had to adjust a lot, I had to be a lot more outgoingto pay more
attention to morale and all these things."
Four months into his tenure, during the height of the SARS scare, Liu made a
decision that analysts say was the key factor in the company's survival. While
other companies holed up due to SARS, Liu negotiated with CCTV for a programme
on job recruiting. The show was a hit, and lifted Zhaopin's brand name "by a
mile," Liu says.
Over subsequent years, Zhaopin added 1,000 employees and expanded to 18
offices around China. It was profitable for a short time, but quickly sunk its
money into expansion for future growth.
In the future, Zhaopin may try to go public. If they do, will the
shape-shifting Liu still be around? It seems likely.
"I'm still learning here every day," he says, "and I enjoy
that."
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