Anthony Nappi

Spending more than a third of the year on the road has led Anthony Nappi to develop two strict criteria when booking a hotel: whether it has a gym, and whether it's open at 5am.

Nappi's routine has stayed the same for the past 26 years: wake at 4.30am, gym by 5am for a 90-minute weightlifting and cardio session, work by 7.30am. This stays the same whether he's in Hong Kong, London, New York or Tokyo.

"It's a great start to the day and a great stress reliever. It's the only time of the day when no one is pressuring me; I relax and go at my own pace," says Nappi, 55. "There's usually nobody there except me and the security guard."

Nappi is chief administrative officer at Citi group, Asia Pacific, responsible for the company's overall support functions. A New Yorker, he's lived in Hong Kong for more than 13 years.

Previously a night owl, he developed his routine when his first daughter was born. "I came home from work and started putting on my gym gear when my wife said, 'Where are you going? It's your turn to take care of the baby so if you want to go to the gym, you better find a different time to do it'," he says.

He traces his militaristic fitness discipline to being an overweight child.