TODAY

U Zaw Myo Hlaing, managing director of Unilever (Myanmar) Services Ltd until end-June, has turned executive director of Unique Network Marketing (UNM).

Education background
I obtained my B.Com from Institute of Econo-mics, Yangon in 1994, and MBA in 2000.

On Your Work Experience
I started to work in 1993-1994, when the country was just opening up. That work of an accountant was somewhat mismatched to me as I am sort of an extrovert. Marketing was opportune then; as such I got into Ovaltine’s merchandizing project. Then I became Team Leader in Ovaltine’s Merchandizing Team. After one year, while working at a famous ad agency I shifted to Unilever.
Maybe my life as a careerist began in Unilever, and that career has covered 19 years.In 1996 I was Unilever’s Sales Supervisor responsible for Lower Myanmar, working hand in hand with Distributors. After two years I became Sales Manager, and at the same time continued studying for MBA. In about 2000 when Unilever was required to stop operations and leave Myanmar I got transferred to Laos. There I built a Distribution Set-up as Sales Manager, worked for two years and transferred to Cambodia. In Cambodia I was Sales Manager for four years and Head of Sales and Market-ing Unit for another four years. Later I was promoted to Customer Development Director post to manage both Cambodia and Laos markets. I initiated Ice-cream Business in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Afterwards I trans-ferred to Thailand as my Base and was held responsible for Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In 2010 Unilever returned to Myanmar. For two years I went about my work in Myanmar while myself and family were still residing in Thailand. In 2012, Unilever, wishing to be based in Myanmar, appointed me Country Director to lead its Myanmar functions.

Differences you confront for working in countries with different cultures
In reality I had misgivings as to my taking a leading role in countries other than Myanmar. Employees in Laos take it easy at work, that is, they work at normal speed. Generally Myan-mars are likely to work hard and fast so the management type has to change. As such I must be coordinative instead of pushy. New Generation in Cambodia work vigorously because their parents have had a very hard time in their history. They could be urged to work at required speed. My management style had to adjust when in a management position in both Cambodia and Laos. Maybe I was lucky as my Team Members could speak English. So there was no language problem. At the beginning I was unsure of my language skill. But it was, like, When thrown into the sea, you have nothing to do but swim for your survival.

ZTK Foundation and Formal Education
ZTK Foundation is willing to help out in formal education. Currently it offers scholarships at two Basic Education Primary Schools _ to the benefit of poor but bright school children. We still need to invest a lot in Education. The government is doing what it can but individual businessmen also should invest in education. If you made it in life, you should share , apart from money, your professional knowledge among the surrounding.

Management type regarding employees
You set the employees the desired Goal, and satisfy Skill Gap. Every one cannot meet your desired type. Filling up the gaps are line manager’s responsibility, to do so according to individual employees’ development. An empl-oyee’s development happens by 70:20:10. Sixty percent comes from giving Right Assignment to an able person. Right man in right place is 70 percent Development. His working for Goal would be helped 20 percent by line manager and Peer Coaching. The remaining 10 percent of Training to fill up skill gap, External Training and reading books should make for an unavoidable success. Then watch an employee’s Career Path _ not for a year but what he wants to be in five year’s time, and set him the work that suits the Goal. Only when a businessman handles Right Man in Right Place well will the organization succeed. The final important requirement is definite Performance Culture. Employees must have courage to take on what they would not like to.

New plan, if any …
Under my leadership I would like to establish a most systematic and highly efficient Distribu-tion company in Myanmar. I would like it to have mostly Myanmar management, with a possibility of some foreigner participants. It should be a widely respectable com-pany not bent for profits only but fulfilling of people’s needs also. Next, we would like to offer extensive support to social and education sec-tors, especially the establishment of a Vocational School which had out-side investment initially but would run through self-funding later.