FIRST there was Michael Hard. Then there was David De Leon. Then there was Darren Lockie. Now Richard Francis is expected to fill in the shoes of his predecessors as general manager of Microsoft Philippines.

On Holy Monday, Francis--a Malaysian national of Indian descent--became the fourth chief of the local subsidiary of the biggest software company in the world, and the third expatriate to take on the responsibility. The last expatriate to accept the job--Lockie--got mired with problems with his working permit and a legal battle which involved accusations of grave threats from Microsoft's favorite competitor, Lotus Software Philippines. According to Microsoft Philippines, Lockie has "left the Philippines to pursue other interests in the region."

Prior to his appointment in the Philippines, Francis was business manager for Microsoft Caribbean and Central America and was based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He also directly managed the Microsoft subsidiary in El Salvador.

Francis joined Microsoft in 1994 as channel manager for Microsoft Malaysia. He then moved on to become regional marketing manager for Microsoft's Latin America region.

In the Philippines, Francis finds himself in a market with an estimated software piracy rate of 77 percent, resulting in annual losses of over P1.24 billion, if data from the Business Software Associates are to be believed.

Inquiring minds want to know how Francis plans to lead the local subsidiary of Microsoft, which itself is beset with antitrust problems in the United States. Our resident comedian also asks Francis what his favorite beer is, and if his working papers are in order, in this e-mail interview.

QUESTION: In San Diego where I first saw Bill Gates, he was asked this question: "What is your greatest fear, and what is your favorite beer?" How would you answer the same question?

Francis: My greatest fear lies in not taking advantage of the opportunities I may be faced with. I would hate not to be ready when an opportunity presents itself. For example, right now we have so many projects lined up and we're making sure we'll be ready for these by hiring more people to help us. We just can't hire people fast enough.

My favorite beer? I'll have to say it's a Seattle beer called Hefeweizen. (Hefeweizen is also known as Red Hook, a Northwest version of a Bavarian favorite which derives its color and palate from wheat malt. It is originally from Oregon--Ed.)

Can you give us a general picture of how you are as a manager, how you would manage Microsoft Philippines?

I have a pretty open, pretty democratic management style. I like getting inputs from the whole team on the different issues we face. Microsoft has this very casual, fun-type of corporate culture and I would like to maintain that here in the Philippines. I like keeping my team happy--I believe the best way to motivate them would be to ensure that they're enjoying what they do.

I am also a firm believer of the ABCs of decision-making--basically that means Analyze, Brainstorm and Customize. Analyze the problem; brainstorm on possible solutions, which includes looking at how others have solved that problem; and customizing these solutions to suit one's needs.

But my top priority right now really is to build the team--hiring people and developing them so we could best serve our customers. Of course, we also would need to put focus on hitting our target in terms of revenues.

How do you plan to address the high piracy rate in this country?

I believe that the best way to combat piracy is through education. We have to educate people on how piracy impacts the community and somehow tie in the value of integrity. We need to build respect for intellectual property. But I think we should start instilling this with younger people.

One worthwhile campaign that Microsoft Philippines launched last year was the Microsoft Foundation campaign. It aimed to redirect proceedings from anti-piracy efforts to meaningful civic projects that would benefit communities. We plan to continue this campaign.

Do you think Victor Silvino went overboard with his "attack" on Lockie? Do you think Lockie could have handled the situation better?

I really cannot comment on that especially since I wasn't around then. I know Darren and I have great respect for him (Victor Silvino, the managing director of Lotus Software Philippines). We never really discussed that issue. We would always talk more about business.

What is your favorite website? Your favorite computer game?

I like going through news websites like MSN and the Star, which is Malaysia-based. Lately, I have also been hitting local news websites. I don't really get to play computer games. I have been so busy at work that when I get home, I just try to spend as much time as I can with my wife.

Aside from playing golf, what do you do to relax? What is your favorite sport?

I'm an outdoors type of person. I like diving, biking and roller-blading.

Will we see major changes in Microsoft Philippines now that you're on board? What kind of changes?

Structurally, there would be no changes. But I would be giving special emphasis on e-commerce. We're actually in the process right now of building a new business unit that would focus on e-commerce opportunities in the Philippines. Every customer we've talked to have expressed interest in getting into e-commerce and is looking to us for help. Currently, we are expanding and we are looking into increasing our headcount.

Aside from Bill Gates and Microsoft people, who among the information technology leaders today do you admire most?

Well, I have total respect for Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and Jeff Raikes. (Ballmer is president and CEO of Microsoft Corp., while Raikes is group vice president--Ed.) To me, these guys are real IT gurus--great leaders who will lead us well into the future.

Are you aware that Microsoft Philippines does not own the domain name to the local country domain of your company? What do you plan to do about it?

I have no plans of doing anything about that. Microsoft is based in the United States and everybody recognizes www.microsoft.com. Here in the Philippines, we do have our own website--www.microsoft.com/philippines.

This works pretty well for us and most of our customers don't seem to have a hard time finding us.

Darren Lockie was hit by a fierce competitor by looking into his working papers as an expat. I do not mean to offend you, but are your working papers in order?