Corporate chief goes green

Former business head explains how his battle changed from economic to ecological

Getting involved in a project to save the Tibetan antelope from extinction was a defining moment in Jim Zhang's life, leading to a radical change of career and a re-appraisal of his personal life.

The former Ericsson corporate warrior, who once signed contracts worth millions of dollars and clocked up millions of air miles, became passionate about conservation after a successful campaign to raise funds to protect the severely endangered Tibetan antelope.

It ultimately led to him walking away from the corporate world to head up the North Asian region of The Nature Conservancy, the world's leading conservation organization. It's a job that now sees him trekking through forests or climbing mountains rather than hosting high-powered budget meetings.

Zhang's personal life has also gone green, reflecting a commitment to doing his bit to help save the planet. He has adopted measures that include sticking to a meat-free diet, cycling, using water sparingly when brushing teeth and taking showers, and recycling wherever possible.

"For the previous job, you pick a business goal, approve it, and then try to achieve it. You are looking at cost and staffing," he says. "In those days, I was in the air 287 days one year. I could sign contracts worth $300 to 400 million.

"But many of the figures have gone. What I do remember clearly though is when I held a Tibetan baby antelope whose mother had been killed. That kind of heartbreaking event really sticks in your mind."

Thanks in part to Zhang's efforts, the Tibetan antelope currently number about 200,000. There were only 30,000 a decade ago. Funds raised by him, in collaboration with his then employer, Ericsson, allowed the implementation of a warden scheme, which managed to stop widespread poaching of the animals, whose fur is prized for its softness.

"This was the driving force for me to change my lifestyle from a businessman into the lifestyle conservation area," Zhang says. "It gave me something meaningful to think about. The Tibetan antelope was saved, and it was seen as a success story. These simple antelopes are so lovely but they were being killed for their fur which could sell for large amounts in London and Milan but it needed 20 antelopes to make just one shawl."

Zhang, 57, joined The Nature Conservancy after a long and distinguished business career. He started his working life with the former ministry of posts and telecommunications in Beijing before moving to the private sector with Ericsson, where he witnessed the company grow from eight local employees and a handful of expatriates to more than 4,500 employees.

He later joined a Chinese company, Asiainfo, and co-founded the China Entrepreneur Club, a forum where business heads discuss deal-making, plan mutually beneficial lobbying strategies and socialize.

All those roles have given him a formidable contacts book, useful when asking for funding or support for Nature Conservancy initiatives, such as the campaign to save the golden monkey in Yunnan. One of his personal passions is trying to stop the killing of sharks for their fins. Zhang persuaded 400 corporate heads to pledge not to order or eat shark's fin soup.

The executive becomes animated when discussing the enormity of the task ahead and the very positive strides the Nature Conservancy is making. He can rattle off carbon emission figures and trees-per-hectare counts with the same aplomb he used in his days of sealing mobile phone deals.

"The job I do now, conservation work, involves a total view to look far into the future," he says. "With this job, the respect and recognition you get from society is completely different from commercial achievement. There is a feeling of value for life, which is much different to the value of a contract.

"It is like being on top of a hill and looking in the distance at wherever you want to go, but you still have to get down from the hill and into the valley to get where you want to go. We really need to have a long-term commitment and a long-term plan.

"This year is very busy. Now provincial and also local governments are really aware of the environment and how it will impact the future, and they are working very hard on the green economy.

"I think in China, after 30 years of strong and fast growth, we need to debate our future natural resources and the environment. Now I am very happy as I think we are helping to move things in the right direction."

It is easy to see why Zhang is such an effective leader. The softly spoken individual is friendly and open, but passionate, serious and very persuasive, when focused on key topics.

Clearly, flexibility to move with the times is also part of his personal skills portfolio. Zhang has two accounts with Chinese social media sites, drawing audiences of up to 2 million who follow his views, and news, on conservation issues. Many, he says, are young people, including his own daughter, who now runs her own conservation charity.

At home, the boss has also gone as green as possible, even to the extent of planting a garden on the roof and cycling whenever possible. Zhang's main after-work hobby is heading out to hike in the hills around Beijing

"I am probably one of only a few people in this city who does not use air conditioning," he says. "I wear casual clothes and try to reduce my personal effect on the earth. It is small things but it makes a difference.

"For example, I bought a bicycle. I didn't have one for 19 years. I stopped eating meat, although I am not a vegetarian. I still eat fish. I also try to recycle things and pick up clothes I bought many years ago and put them on again. I am very careful with water, even for brushing teeth. I don't leave the tap running. I take a shower instead of a bath. These are personal life-changing things.

"I always tell people to plan life in different phases. The first phase is earning your future, get an education and get experience at work. The second stage is to make your best effort to contribute to your country, or your people, and then for the last phase of life to use all your experience to put back something. I am very happy, as I feel I have achieved the first two and now I am into the third phase."

China Daily