Jet lag is the one side effect of Jean-Pascal Tricoire’s “ruthless” schedule he cannot stand.
That is unfortunate, as he has spent 200 days a year on the road since he joined Schneider Electric’s executive committee in 2001. And since becoming chief executive in 2006, the lean, gap-toothed 55-year-old has reorganised the energy management systems business so he must travel much further to meet senior colleagues.
In 2011, he scattered his leadership team — to North America, the Middle East, Asia, and other parts of Europe — and relocated himself from Paris, the historic centre of the 180-year-old company, to Hong Kong. A third of the team, about 40 people, moved to Asia.