If the definition of good publicity is making the front cover of Time magazine, then the absolute reverse probably looks something like the one-paragraph mention Richard Li Tzar-kai received recently.
Last April he appeared on the cover and was referred to as the 'Superboy' with a 'spanking new empire' after Asia's biggest takeover outside Japan - Pacific Century CyberWorks' merger with Cable & Wireless HKT.
Then, almost exactly a year later, came the paragraph in a column listing 'People to Watch in International Business'.
'Li, 34, had much more to explain recently than his company's US$886 million [HK$6.91 billion] loss during 2000. For instance, why did he claim to be a 1987 Stanford graduate when he had spent only three years there? . . . The Stanford admission may have made credibility as big a problem for Li as profitability.'
The market analysts who made him their darling had also started muttering about the company's need for reform and a lack of management depth.
There was speculation that big-name executives would be hired as line managers - a move the company in effect said was possible yesterday.