Robert S. Conlee: distributing new opportunities.

• Author: Creager, Janine S.
• Position: Spotlight

If XanGo CEO and President Robert Conlee could pick one word to describe his life and work, it would probably be kaizen--a Japanese word meaning continual improvement that not only defines his work ethic, but also the global experience he brings to this latest appointment.

"Its a cliche business term [in Japanese], but I really value it personally," says Conlee who lived and worked in Japan for almost a decade. "Every day I'm trying to get better and better. When I stop growing and learning, that is the time I won't be able to meet [the challenges I face]."

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Conlee has a great ability to acclimate to new environments, a skill he learned as a child when his family lived in numerous states before coming to Utah. Moving frequently at a young age required him to find his place in well-established situations. "I think I had to really understand people well to make friends," he says. "I had to be able to engage in new situations, come into situations that were already solid and find my place there."

When he came to XanGo last October, Conlee brought 18 years of executive and management experience in the direct sales industry he obtained while working at Provo-based Nu Skin. During that time, he served as president of Nu Skin Japan and president of the North Asia Region, where he gained appreciation for and expertise in working with other cultures and peoples.

In order to do business in foreign environments, Conlee draws on his...