In the School of Business of ECUST, there are a group of visiting professors with diversified industry backgrounds and rich experience. They systematize and refine the business insights accumulated over the years, and turn them into wonderful insights in the classroom, bringing fresh perspectives and inspirations to students. --Dr. Anu Rathninde, who was invited as a visiting professor in April 2021, is one of them.

Dr. Anu held a series of senior positions in many well-known international companies such as Aptiv and Johnson Electric. He has recently joined Johnson Controls as President of its Asia Pacific business. As a highly accomplished and experienced foreign “boss”, Dr. Anu makes no secret of his love and familiarity with Chinese culture. He often quotes classics in conversations, referring to Chinese cultural classics such as The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The Analects of Confucius. In fact, this entrepreneur, who has long been associated with ECUST and China, has long incorporated the essence of Chinese thought into his business life.

Be deeply attached to China and promote sustainable business development

Anu Rathninde was born in Sri Lanka. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Besides, he holds an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business USA, an Master’s degree in Global Management (M-GM) from Thunderbird University USA, and an Master’s degree in Mechatronics Systems from the National University of Singapore. Dr. Anu also holds a PhD in Complexity Leadership. After graduating, he focused on technology development and made his way up the engineering ladder from engineer to general manager and president.

The story of Dr. Anu’s relationship with China goes back to 25 years ago, when he was an engineer in Singapore. For work reasons, he first came to China. “China in the 1990s was in the midst of rapid development, and although it was not yet as prosperous as it is now, it was already very fascinating.” He remembers being delighted by China’s profound culture, its mouth-watering food and the “human touch” of the neighborhoods and towns.

In Chinese parlance, Dr. Anu is now approaching the age of “knowing the mandate of heaven”. Rich work experience and life experience make him well aware of the importance of environment and opportunity. Six years ago, a multinational company urgently needed a president for the Asia Pacific region, and they reached out to him who is fascinated by China, which made him very “excited” . At that time, he made a quick decision: China was the starting point for him to set sail again.

At the beginning of this year, Dr. Anu joined Johnson Controls, a century-old leader in the construction industry. According to the Global Status Report on the Building and Construction Industry 2021 released by the United Nations Environment Program last year, the construction industry accounted for 40 percent of CO2 emissions worldwide in 2020. How to achieve net-zero carbon emissions for the company and create a green and bright future driven by innovation and smart technology? This has become the focus of his immediate work.

Dr. Anu is gratified by the fact that Johnson Controls was named to the “2022 Global 100: the world’s most sustainable companies” list by Corporate Knights in May of this year for its high level of transparency and excellence in environmental, social and corporate governance. “At Johnson Controls, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. We have increased our investment in innovative R&D for climate-related products to 75 percent, and we have made a long-term commitment to driving sustainability to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.” Facing the future, Dr. Anu, who has taken office as a new official, is full of confidence.

Focus on “details” and “goals” to make employees better

With a long-standing admiration for Chinese culture, Dr. Anu has studied many of the great works of the ancients. He recognizes a sentence in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: “If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you don’t know your enemy and know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you don’t know your enemy and don’t know yourself, you will be imperiled in every battle.” With the method of “using details to win”, Dr. Anu applies Chinese military thinking to corporate management and employee training. In his opinion, every employee is a “detail” in the production process, and the attitude and quality of the employees’ work directly determine the success or failure of the company. However, emphasizing on details does not mean putting all the attention on the smallest details. He believes that senior management should combine the “big picture” and “small picture” to help improve employee participation and productivity, so as to improve the company’s performance.

During a staff meeting, Dr. Anu raised a question, “Why do you want to be successful?” He was impressed by a young female employee’s answer. She said her mother was the motivation for her to work hard and to be successful. As a single mother, her mother raised this young lady alone and did everything she could to support her studies in the face of enormous pressure from family conditions and circumstances. In return for her mother’s selfless contribution, the female employee works hard every day and makes this her goal in life.

This employee’s sharing aroused Dr. Anu’s thoughts and emotions, “I think the meaning of life lies in the power of aspiring to a goal, and people who have this power are lucky because they often overcome difficulties and achieve success.” This communication also made him determined to guide his employees to find and achieve their goals and help them become even better. At the same time, he is also practicing his own value in life -- to cultivate excellent talents for the company and contribute to the development of the society.

In addition to using “goals” to drive his own efforts, Dr. Anu also places special emphasis on the power of “learning”. “Confucius said, ‘you should keep learning as long as you are alive’, and Chuang Tzu said, ‘my life has an end, but my knowledge has no end’, so learning is a lifelong task for me. And I find that many young people in China also hold this attitude. They are not only good at learning, but also ‘never stop learning’. Whenever I see them, I am reminded of the time when I was a student. I love working with them and am more than willing to use my abilities to help them improve themselves.”

Committed to education and public welfare, delivering every bit of kindness

In April 2021, Dr. Anu officially became a visiting professor at the School of Business of ECUST and participated in the appointment ceremony held at the school. For him, being appointed as visiting professor is both an honor and a responsibility. “East China University of Science and Technology has a deep technical heritage with solid roots in many scientific and technological fields such as chemistry, physics and engineering. Students here are humble and down-to-earth, with a solid knowledge base. I enjoy interacting with them and can feel the sense of accomplishment in their quest for knowledge.” This is exactly why he wants to take an active role and spare no effort to help the students.

For the past few months, Dr. Anu was temporarily unable to meet with the “lovely Chinese students,” but he didn’t forget them: he has been communicating with them online, answering their questions, and meanwhile encouraging employees to contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Anu and his colleagues joined the community volunteers, helping to maintain the order of the nucleic acid testing, assisting in scanning codes, delivering supplies, providing assistance to the elderly living alone and ensuring the safety and health of people around them.

It may seem uncommon for a foreign president of a multinational corporation to volunteer in person, but it couldn’t be more normal for him. His enthusiasm for public welfare and philanthropy, just like his love for Chinese culture, is well known by colleagues and friends. Outside of the workplace, Dr. Anu is also a teacher at a charity organization. He has visited many foster families, comforted elderly people in nursing homes, and sponsored poor students, giving his kindness in small ways.

In his view, it is a civic duty to contribute to the public good. Companies are also considered “social citizens” in the social environment, so they need to actively participate in charity and give back to society. Johnson Controls, where he works, has a key part of its 2025 sustainability strategy: to form employee groups to volunteer 2.5 million hours on 20,000 projects around the world. The high degree of personal affinity with the company’s culture is one of the key reasons he chose Johnson Controls.

Dr. Anu has lived in China for six years and he has long been immersed in the life here. He is a fan of Chinese food and especially enjoys Cantonese dim sum. In his spare time, he often invites three or two friends to enjoy tea and chat with him. “I’ve been all over the world, but the Chinese way of life makes me feel extraordinarily comfortable. It’s a very powerful country with a humble and introverted spiritual core. I believe China will play an increasingly important role internationally in the future, and I would like to be here to witness its growth.”