Building high-tech home comforts

Construction giant Saint-Gobain establishes a market-leading strategy with focus on quality

Javier Gimeno, 51, sleeps for just five hours every day, but is a bundle of energy for his tightly scheduled mornings that are usually marked by meetings with colleagues, clients or the media.

The chief executive officer for the Asia-Pacific operations of the 350-year-old Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, a French habitat-and-construction giant, said the fast-changing market keeps him focused like a thorough-bred horse, his Chinese zodiac sign.