Powerful people have a certain quality, a serenity that comes from not needing to be loud or demanding to get their way. What they want done gets done.
You recognize it as soon as you meet Eva Cheng, the woman who runs Amway in China and Southeast Asia.
She walks into a room softly. Smiling, she settles into the corner of a sofa for her interview.
Her diamond earrings sparkle in the morning light. Her suit is elegant in navy and white. A native of Hong Kong, she speaks perfect English.
You can easily believe Forbes magazine ranked her among the 100 most powerful women in the world last fall. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Sheila Bair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman, led the list for 2008.
What’s surprising is how far she has come from a humble start — a young mother who took a job as a secretary in Amway’s small Hong Kong office in 1977.
With a business degree, she liked the idea of working for an American company: “I thought I would have a chance to learn by reading everything that came into the office. You learn a lot if you are diligent.”
Logo from Amway