A working day for Towle

Towle gets to his office in Tesco's Guangxin store on Zhongshan North Road in Shanghai at 6 am.

"It is quite a common trait with retailers to get into the office early, " he said.

He spends his first hour going through the previous day's figures and dealing with emails which have come in overnight from the UK.

Then at 7 am he begins a series of meetings with the people who report directly to him as well as seeing various experts from the Tesco business flying into China.

"We have got a lot of infrastructure going in place now and there is a lot of planning required as to how we are going to organize this," said Towle.

Lunch is either at his desk in Shanghai or if he is on the road, "something light", often at a dumpling restaurant.

Towle spends the first half of the week at his office and the second half looking at sites around China, visiting suppliers and other external meetings.

When in Shanghai, he leaves the office at around 6 pm and works out at a nearby clubhouse.

"I enjoy exercise and if I am staying at a hotel I like to workout in its gym too in the evenings also," he said.

At weekends he likes to "slow things down" and spend time with his family, which can involve dining out or going to a show when something is on in Shanghai.

He also takes breaks with his family, taking the opportunity not just to travel around China but other parts of Asia.

"I would say my children have a broader vision of the world as a result of living in China. My daughter, Katy, now speaks Chinese and chats to people on the streets and in the markets," he said.

(China Daily 05/25/2009 page8)