It's All About the Face-to-Face

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MTV's Roedy travels the world to bring the network to varied cultures Jude Edginton/Redux

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Yet he found himself with a rare case of butterflies in mid-September as his flight from London was set to touch down in the Saudi Arabian city of Jiddah. Roedy was in town to persuade the mayor of Mecca to give his blessing to MTV Arabia, the network's biggest global launch, which had the potential to reach 200 million Arabs across the region. "Presidents and sheiks don't normally watch MTV, so we have to help them overcome stereotypical views they have," says Roedy. "Nobody was more important than the mayor of Mecca, the religious center of Islam. We had to get it right."

Despite a hectic schedule that included trips to Budapest (to launch MTV Hungary), Prague (to attend a sales meeting), and New York (to discuss 2008 budgets), Roedy carved out as much time in Saudi Arabia as he could. While there he attended recording sessions with the Arab rappers Jeddah Legends, where he learned that their lyrics tended to be about family and religion—themes that he would draw on during his meeting with the mayor of Mecca.

Finally the day arrived, and Roedy found himself providing assurances to a barrage of questions: Will there be opportunities to educate young people? (Yes.) Will there be a regular call to prayer? (Yes.) And, of course, there will be no skin, right, Mr. Roedy? (Correct.) To help seal the deal, Roedy attended an elaborate dinner in tents by the Red Sea. Ten days later, back at his London base, Roedy learned MTV Arabia could launch as scheduled in November. "Those meetings were crucial," he says.

Mark Sullivan, CEO of WhittmanHart Consulting, which advises clients about information management, flies up to 300,000 miles a year and knows well the strain constant travel can put on a family. "My profession is riddled with failed marriages, broken families, and people who get swept up with the lifestyle," he says. Sullivan remains a road warrior for one reason: face time with his employees. About a year ago the firm's popular founder died. Sullivan, then president, knew voice messages, e-mail blasts, and memos wouldn't do. So he and two board members hopped on a plane and in two weeks traveled to nine offices around the U.S. to console bereft employees. "They needed a chance to swing away at you, to air concerns," says Sullivan. "If it's urgent, you've got to be physically there."

Ministering to clients, of course, is always urgent. Few know that better than Valerie E. Germain, a managing partner at global headhunting shop Heidrick & Struggles (HSII). Her job is recruiting executives for some of the world's biggest financial behemoths. Her clients often don't care if the person she is searching for hails from Hong Kong, Zürich, or London. The Thursday before Christmas, a client called to say he needed to meet with her for a few hours. In person. "They were like, Can you get to the side of a mountain in the Alps by Saturday at 6:00?' And the answer is Yes.' You travel round-trip for 31 hours to spend three hours with a client. If one wants to be global, you have to be willing to do that."

Recently, Germain was in London, only to find the candidate she wanted was in Zürich and wouldn't be back all week. Thinking he'd be perfect, she told him she'd meet him for dinner in five hours, rearranging seven scheduled interviews. "It's a risk-reward bet," says Germain. "You've got to figure out, do you risk pissing off seven other people for someone you think is the right candidate?" She bet right: The candidate took the job.

Even Masters of the Universe have little choice when called. In late November, Credit Suisse's Calello was in São Paulo, Brazil, attending a party celebrating an investment in a local wealth management company. As his fellow revelers partied on into the night, the investment banking chief was on a red-eye to Manhattan—his third 12-hour plane ride in as many days. Calello had to be in New York because he and his executives had a meet-and-greet breakfast with a guy named Barack Obama.

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