Consulting veteran provides the long view

This year marks consultant William M Mercer's 25th year in Hong Kong, and the firm is also now opening a branch for human resources work in Guangzhou, its third on the mainland after Beijing and Shanghai. To celebrate the events, Peter Coster, president of Mercer Consulting Group in New York and a member of the board of parent holding company MMC (Marsh & McLennan Company), is passing through, between stops in Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo. He made a little extra time for FinanceAsia, along with Hong Kong-based Steve Butler, managing director, and Jim Johnston, director of investment consulting.