New Black Caps coach Mike Hesson would have ticked a lot of boxes - and some of them would have been during the psychometric testing the applicants had to complete as part of the interview process.
The 37-year-old former Otago and Kenya coach is one of those individuals who was always heading to the top.
He is an extremely capable man, with superb organisation and communication skills. We can only imagine that he aced that psychometric test.
Hesson was earmarked very early in his coaching career and quickly promoted through the ranks. So the news yesterday that he will take over from John Wright came as no great surprise.
He is committed through to the 2015 ICC World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The contract is only good, of course, as long as Hesson is delivering positive results or meeting his KPIs (key performance indicators). The Blacks Caps' record suggest that will not always be an easy task.
But Hesson has the confidence which comes with past success.
In a six-year stint with Otago he was able to bring together a diverse group and mould them into a formidable limited-overs unit.
Otago broke a 20-year drought to win the one-day tournament in 2007-08 and backed up the following season by winning the twenty/20 title.
He brought England batsman Jonathan Trott to the province for a season and also lured batsman Neil Broom south from Canterbury and strike bowler Neil Wagner from South Africa.
Players like Aaron Redmond, Nathan McCullum, Derek de Boorder and Ian Butler flourished under his guidance.
Otago limited-over teams were well respected during his stint but results in the Plunket Shield were not as impressive.
While the Otago first-class side was hard to beat, the team was not able to force many results, struggled to take 20 wickets and some of the declarations were on the conservative side.
Hesson, though, was always keen to see his team represented in the best possible light and worked tirelessly to promote the Volts.
That led to some tension but phone calls never went unreturned and he was always the consummate professional.
Hesson's promotion will lift the scrutiny to a new level.
Dealing with criticism, fair or unwarranted, will be among his biggest challenges.
Disappointingly, some of the commentary can get quite personal and already there have been comments posted on social websites suggesting Hesson was last New Zealander standing, came cheap and will conform with the new regime headed by NZC director of cricket John Buchanan.
Others have attack his lack of cricket pedigree and the fact he has not played the game at the top level.
But Hesson will have the respect of the players and that is half the battle. He has coached many of them during his stint as coach of New Zealand A or Otago and, in particular, has tight relationship with Brendon McCullum.
McCullum commands a lot of respect and will be a powerful ally. But there will still be a period of adjustment.
Hesson is a meticulous planner and relies on careful analysis, whereas Wright leans on his vast experience and cricketing instinct.
They are contrasting styles but Wright acquitted himself very well and has been a popular leader.
Had it not been for his prickly relationship with Buchanan, he may well have agreed to stay on in the role.
Hesson is more of a diplomat and should be able to navigate around the different personalities he strikes. And that is important, because ultimately he should be judged on whether he can get the best out of his charges, not whether the Black Caps win or lose.
