Wow! I would love to get my hands on a truly global brand," Robert Polet told the headhunter from Russell Reynolds touting the vacancy for the top job at Gucci. Six months into the new job, Mr Polet, a former ice-cream salesman from Unilever, is battling with all the challenges globalisation can throw at the modern brand manager.

Founded in Florence, in Italy, in 1923, the leather goods maker is now run from a townhouse in London's Mayfair. It sells shoes, handbags and other "Made in Italy" luxury items in 396 boutiques around the world to a customer base made up in large part of highly mobile consumers from Asia. The company was listed in New York and Amsterdam until its recent takeover by a French conglomerate. To complete the picture, Mr Polet is a Dutchman, born in Malaysia and educated in the US, who lives in the Notting Hill area of London.