Bo Le Associates

In the business of picking the best brains By EUGENE MAHALINGAM, The Star Malaysia

December 2008

HARVARD-EDUCATED Louisa Wong Rousseau, the group managing director of China-based international head-hunting company Bo Le Associates Ltd, believes in being aggressive.

When she decided to start her own firm 12 years ago, Rousseau did not just open one office - she set up three!

"We set up offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong all at the same time," she tells StarBizWeek.

"My goal at that time was to build a network around the region, to be the best in each market and ultimately to become the best in the Asia region," she says.

Today, Bo Le is one of Asia's leading international executive search firms.

"We have always been aggressive and will continue to be," Rousseau says.

To date, Bo Le, with seven offices, is the largest executive recruitment company in China.

"We were the pioneer in the China market in terms of executive research," Rousseau says.

"There are many head-hunting firms in China today and it is growing increasingly difficult to stay in front. But we are committed to staying ahead and remain the leader in the China market."

Bo Le has 17 offices worldwide and has over 200 consultants and support staff. The company has been present in Malaysia for over eight years and employs about 12 to 15 workers now.

"We will continue to invest in more local staff and are very interested in the development of the economy in Malaysia, which we feel has more stability compared to other markets," says Rousseau.

Apart from head-hunting, Bo Le also offers human resources consultation services. Its expertise is in consumer products, retailing, financial services, industrial, and pharmaceutical sectors.

It has head-hunted for international clients like Phillip Morris, Kraft Foods, Dell, HSBC, Christian Dior. On the local front, Bo Le has recruited executive talents for Nestle (M) Bhd, SP Setia Bhd and Sunrise Bhd.

Louisa's determination has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, US-based business magazine BusinessWeek had named her one of the most influential head-hunters in the world.

On what her job entailed, Rousseau says: "We deal with people, their ambitions and their fears. We help them understand themselves better and to have the confidence to make changes in their lives."

She adds that maintaining honesty and sincerity is Bo Le's philosophy at being successful.

"We deal with people. Unless we are honest and sincere with our advice, we cannot earn the respect and trust from our clients and candidates.

On an interesting note, Rousseau says she named the company after an ancient Chinese character ("Bo Le") who was a horse-judging expert capable of distinguishing the fastest horse among a herd of horses. "According to Chinese history, Bo Le was a person who could find the best among the very best. I felt that the name represented our profession perfectly - to be able to choose the best candidate among the very best.

"A lot of our clients are leaders in their respective fields and have high ambitions and it is our job to find the best candidate to help them realise that ambition," Rousseau says.

* Originally published in Star Malaysia, December 20, 2008, please click here to download the original article.