About the Authors

The authors bring widely divergent experience to this book. Each has a unique perspective on the expatriate experience in China.

Yue-er Luo, D.B.A.

Dr. Luo has 25 years’ experience in both the consulting and corporate environments in Greater China. Her first period of experience in mainland China started in 1989 with Development Dimensions International (DDI), based in Hong Kong as the marketing director for DDI Asia-Pacific. In that position until 1996, she was one of DDI’s pioneers in helping clients adapt their selection and leadershipassessment system and leadership development training for the China culture. The clients she consulted with included Motorola, Nortel, SC Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, United Technology, Chengdu Aerotech, Pfizer, and Shangri-La Hotels.

From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Luo was back in Shanghai on the start-up team for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. Working with a local team, she created and set up the HR systems to recruit, train, and develop the first 800 employees for the company’s Shanghai operation. Dr. Luo currently teaches a strategic human resources program in the EMBA program of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (Beijing). She also is a visiting professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Teaching at these business schools, Dr. Luo leverages her HR insights while educating China’s CEOs and senior executives. Dr. Luo’s consulting experience makes her one of the unique veteran expertswith both the strategic and operational experience to address such hot China human resource issues as talent development, retention, and performancemanagement.

Erik Duerring

Erik Duerring is an American expatriate in China. He spends a great deal of time with both expatriate and local senior managers consulting on selection, executive assessment, coaching, and  development programs. Mr. Duerring, DDI’s director of consulting services in Asia, has more than 12 years’ experience in succession management, assessment, and leadership development,covering a variety of industries. Across eight locations he is responsible for formulating and executing DDI Asia’s consulting strategies through a team of consultants, executive coaches, project managers, trainers, instructional designers, and support resources. Since 2002 he has worked with DDI’s Asia  operations, offering project management, consulting, and sales support. In 2006 he launched  mainland China’s first executive assessment center.

In 2007 Mr. Duerring was honored by HRoot and World Management Review magazine as a winner of the prestigious 50 People of Human Resources in China award. The award recognizes those entrepreneurs, experts, and scholars who make remarkable contributions to and stimulate the development of the human resource industry in China. Mr. Duerring is frequently interviewed and quoted in the mainland China and Asia news media as an expert on talent management. Throughout China and Asia he has spoken at numerous public conferences and MNC senior leadership forums on the strategic selection, assessment, and development of human talent.

William C. Byham, Ph.D.

Dr. Byham is cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Development Dimensions International. A frequent traveler to China, Dr. Byham contributed his insights from the perspective of DDI’s global research into selection and leadership practicesand DDI’s interviews with more than 40 CEOs in China as part of CNBC’sAsian Business Leaders Award (ABLA). Dr. Byham also leverage his own experiences leading an international organization and his years of personal experience helping organizations throughout the world realize their productivity, quality, and retention goals.

Over the last four decades, Dr. Byham has pioneered a number of important human resource technologies and systems that have had a significant impact on organizations throughout the world. These technologies include the assessment center method, behavior-based interviewing (Targeted Selection®),  Behavioral job analysis methodology, results-based employee and management training and development (Interaction Management®), empowerment, retirement management, and the use of the Acceleration Pool® as a method of succession management for high-potential individuals. These technologies have been described in the 23 books and more than 200 articles and monographs he has either authored or coauthored.

The DDI China Team

Many of this book’s insights into the challenges that expatriate managers face in China came from consulting and executive coaching done by DDI’s teams of Chinese nationals. DDI’s network of Asian offices has been supporting both multinational and local corporations in Greater China since 1990.

In the Greater China region, we currently have more than 80 associates serving clients from four major cities: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei.