Opportunity, not crisis

Alintuck's first job in China was with Burson-Marsteller, another leading international PR company, but since 2003 he has headed Edelman's China business.

Shortly after his appointment, Alintuck was faced with a textbook crisis-management case when the company's biggest client, P&G China, had to cease its contract with Edelman China after the parent company Edelman signed with consumer goods competitor Unilever.

"It was really a difficult time when revenue dropped dramatically and people left the company in droves, but Alintuck held on and kept the company on the right track and wisely moved the business focus from an events organization to strategic consulting," said Jennifer Wu, who worked with Alintuck for half a year and now is the account director of an international PR competitor.

According to the China International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) 2006 survey on the Chinese PR industry, international companies enjoy obvious advantages over homegrown companies in the more value-added business of strategic consulting rather than event execution, which explains their much higher per-capita annual revenue.

According to Edelman's prediction for the year of 2006, a 49 percent revenue increase is expected over 2005, the largest growth rate ever for Edelman China. And an industrial survey by CIPRA in March 2006 ranked Edelman China one of the top 10 international PR companies in China for the fifth year in a row.

With Alintuck at the helm, the company also has witnessed a staff expansion from 51 in 2003 to 120 by the end of this year and relocation of its head office to Beijing Fortune Plaza, one of the most expensive office properties in town.

Alintuck's brand new 30-square-meter office on the 33rd floor gives a bird's-eye view of China's vigorous and vibrant economy in the form of bustling traffic and mushrooming skyscrapers holding the fruits of imagination, like at Edelman.

"I think China is a fantastic place for me to pursue American dreams," Alintuck said, his brown eyes beaming. "I see a country of people starting to dream great dreams and I feel very lucky that I can be in the middle of it."

Turning 'PR' into 'professional'

Although the PR industry in China has only a nascent development history of 20 years, the potential is huge. According to Chen Xiangyang, deputy secretary of CIPRA, the whole industry has maintained an annual revenue growth of over 30 percent since 1998 and the momentum would be accelerated with the nearing of the 2008 Olympics.

"China in 10 years in terms of communication in public relations has achieved what took the United States 30, 40 or 50 years to do," Alintuck said.

And he has been in the corner office, spearheading the PR revolution.

In the eyes of Wu, her former boss has a great sense of humor, a quick mind and wonderful management skills. She used "professionalism" to summarize what she learned from Edelman under Alintuck. She spoke highly of a monthly staff meeting Alintuck initiated where he reported the latest engagement to everyone and awarded star employees. It is practiced in all three offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou today. "He attached a lot to instilling the proudness of being an Edelman employee into everyone," said Wu.