Charles Li Xiaojia will not officially become the chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing until next month. But into his third month as Paul Chow Man-yiu's shadow, he is already making waves.
Critics call him an 'extravagant misfit' while supporters characterise him as an 'intelligent reformer'. I am not going to cast my vote here. Instead, I'll show you what I have gathered from insiders. The 'trivial' but juicy bits first.
Li, a former JP Morgan head of China, asked the board to give him a full-time driver and a golf club membership in Beijing.
No commercial entity would bat an eyelid over these. We are talking about Beijing, where these are daily necessities in the corridors of power.
At the exchange, though, it's a different story. For almost a decade, the arrangement has been to hire a part-time driver and nice car only when the chief executive or chairman is in Beijing; and the current chief executive, Chow, does not play golf.
This type of cost control and a flat expense curve for nine consecutive years are what the management is most proud of. After all, the exchange leadership seldom goes to Beijing and yet the deals continue to come.