Networking Power

Colin Whitehead, CEO, Rentwise Sdn Bhd

Colin Whitehead finds that Vistage is good for foreign CEOS who want to build business networks.

Colin Whitehead, though far away from his roots in Scotland, feels at home in Malaysia. Since settling here with wife and children, he has become familiar with various facets of life in this country. For business networking, he highly recommends that foreign CEOs join Vistage so that that they can tap the local CEO network.

Colin heads Rentwise, a company that markets operating leases of standard desktop operating environment (computers and IT equipment). As CEO, he focuses on business development. Most customers are large, local corporations that use extensive hardware and software in their operations. The company was a start-up nine years ago, controlled by venture capitalists and later sold to new investors four years ago. Since then, Rentwise has chalked up impressive growth, with rental books jumping from RM4 million to RM40 million in 2008.

Colin suggests choosing a Vistage Group that has a good mix of foreign and local CEOs. ‘Most foreign managers don’t know how to build a local network, They need this to comprehend how to do business locally,’ he points out. He adds that they cannot just ‘transplant a group sales structure’ from abroad and localize it. Colin should know as he has worked in the management consultancy and venture capital industries in different parts of the world.

While In his 20s, Colin had heard of Vistage (then TEC) in the United Kingdom from his mentor who was a Vistage member in UK. He only realized the power of Vistage when he joined about three years ago. To him, networking has been the major benefit as there have been many opportunities to get new business. Colin says that he has widened his access to key people who are potential customers. ‘We can get to the level of just a phone call to the right person, ‘ he explains.

When in need of business advice, Colin acknowledges the valuable feedback and ‘tons of money saved’ from CEOs in his group who offer solutions based on real experiences. He remembers the useful advise he obtained when Rentwise was planning to expand overseas to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Colin gets additional insights from resource speakers selected by his Chair and at Vistage Annual Events. ‘As CEOs, we cannot assume that we know it all,’ he says. He is grateful that his Chair goes out of his way to organise dinners outside the normal Vistage meetings so that members can network and meet other speakers. Topics are not just on business, but also on current affairs, history and local politics.

Rentwise is a strong supporter of the Vistage process. Colin and Rentwise’s Chairman Emily Kok are VCE members while Chief Financial Officer Tham Yew Chong and Rentwise founder Leane Ooi are KEY members. Others in the company also benefit as Colin has implemented one-to-one meetings with his key staff. ‘As CEO, 50% of your time should be with our people,’ he says. He does a one hour, one-to-one meetings with all his Heads of Department every month, and is pleased with the results.