I'm no yes man, says Hutchison boss Murray

IT IS hard to envisage, but Simon Murray, Hongkong's best-known and possibly most powerful chief executive, cut his business teeth selling lavatory pans and jars of jam in Bangkok.

While this unabashed recollection might raise the odd smile among boardroom contemporaries, that particular period of his highly unusual background is no more surprising than his opting out of a leading British public school before his A-level exams, the subsequent months he spent peeling potatoes on a tramp steamer to South America, his unhappy brush with a potential career in engineering, and his five years in the ranks of the French Foreign Legion.

Small wonder, his mother was worried about his future - like, did he have one? Of his lavatory pan-selling days, Mr Murray, 53, says: ''That was 26 years ago, when I was beginning the 14 years I spent with Jardine Matheson. I loved every minute of it, and sold other things, too - nuts, bolts, wallpaper, steel ingots, anything. I had some fancy title like marketing manager, but, at base, I was a salesman. That's what I have always been really, and I've always enjoyed it.

''I also made good money for the company by selling things to United States Army contractors based in Thailand, even though my managing director told me not to try because the soldiers would not be in Vietnam for very long. I thought otherwise . . .'' Since 1984, Mr Murray has, as Hutchison Whampoa managing director, been right-hand man to Li Ka-shing.

Mr Murray is also an outstanding person to work for: Everyone, but everyone, says so and this is why he enjoys enviable levels of loyalty and effort from subordinates. ''My chairman [Li Ka-shing] thinks I'm rather too soft on my managers,'' he admits, ''but nothing is gained by my crashing down on someone. Most people screw up sooner or later. The guy who doesn't make mistakes probably isn't doing anything worthwhile in the first place.

Despite the demands, Mr Murray sees his job in somewhat simplistic terms, but which he puts over with an infectious enthusiasm. ''I think that in working one's way up the ladder in an organisation or in anything else, it is important that you enjoy it. For me, the whole process of working through the system is exciting and enjoyable because I like my colleagues and the business environment - the deals, the selling, the hassle, the panics.'' He experienced the same kick (while learning some of his hardest managerial lessons) in the years between leaving Jardine Matheson and joining Mr Li's group. ''That's when I ran my own engineering consultancy, Davenham Investments. I used to bring consortiums together and go after major capital-intensive projects such as Singapore's MRT system. It was a huge challenge and, at times, very stressful. One might chase a project for two years before knowing if you were successful.