Spanish-born executive Arturo Cardelus has spent eight years trying to master the Russian language. As head of Russian operations for the Italian chocolate giant Ferrero, Cardelus says speaking the language is a vital part of winning over workers. "If you want to motivate them, if you want to be close to them, if you want to guide them, you had better do it in their language," he says. "This has become an obsession for me."