At $4.4 billion NII, which markets wirelesscommunications in Latin America, Daniel Freiman has to managetreasury operations across different countries, cultures and timezones. “Coordinating things so they are all aligned is achallenge,” Freiman says. “For example, a focus lately is fundingour Brazilian operation, so we have to make sure we know who issteering and who is in the passenger seat. We drive the strategyhere at home, but in executing some of the tactical issues, thelocal office takes the lead.

The physical separation from his team can be difficult, he adds.“There can be a lot of barriers to communication, includinglanguage. I end up doing a lot of traveling. Face-to-face meetingsare important.”

Cultural differences also play a role, “not just between theU.S. and Latin American countries, but among the Latin Americancountries,” Freiman adds. “We all have the same goals, but how wego about getting there is different,” he says. “Here in the U.S.,we like to move fast. But in Brazil, for instance, people are veryfocused. They can analyze and look at things for a long time beforemaking a decision. Whereas in Mexico, people are willing to workfaster and make decisions from their gut.”