When Alex Li attended his first meeting as head of Lenovo India, he understood less than 40 per cent of what was said. After being asked if he wanted the job in April 2009, the then marketing director for the consumer business at China’s largest PC maker found himself in New Delhi just three weeks later – with no more than the rudimentary English skills left over from high school English classes and a Lonely Planet travel guide as preparation. Lenovo has 40 Chinese executives posted overseas, more than double the number just two years ago. Its expansion mirrors that of other Chinese companies, making Mr Li one of a growing army of managers sent abroad by “China Inc”.
當(dāng)Alex Li作為聯(lián)想印度業(yè)務(wù)(Lenovo India)負(fù)責(zé)人第一次參加會(huì)議時(shí)，會(huì)上的發(fā)言?xún)?nèi)容他聽(tīng)懂了不到40%。2009年4月，他正擔(dān)任著這家中國(guó)最大個(gè)人電腦制造商的消費(fèi)業(yè)務(wù)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)總監(jiān)，當(dāng)時(shí)公司問(wèn)他是否愿意到印度工作。而三周之后，他便來(lái)到了新德里。至于準(zhǔn)備工作，不過(guò)是高中英語(yǔ)課殘存下來(lái)的一點(diǎn)基本英語(yǔ)能力，以及一本lonely Planet旅游指南。聯(lián)想派駐海外的中國(guó)籍高管有40人，是兩年前的一倍多。聯(lián)想的擴(kuò)張與其它中國(guó)企業(yè)的情況十分相似，Alex Li成為“中國(guó)公司”(China Inc)不斷壯大的海外經(jīng)理人大軍的一員。