196 IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON maintained a policy of organic development by nurturing talents internally, or "bringing young people to the top," according to Allen Ku, Ping An's senior vice president and chief HR officer. Through the performance appraisal system, Ping An identified top perform- ers and placed them in a "Talent Pool," from where they might be short-listed for the "Successors" pool in preparation for joining the management team. Financial Training Institute. Ping An started building the Ping An Financial Training Institute near Shenzhen in 2003 to provide training courses for its employees. The institute was designed by Takashi Okamoto of Nikken Sekkei Ltd., Japan's largest independ- ent architectural and planning consulting firm. It was completed in January 2006, and included an extensive library, complete with e- books and electronic periodicals. The institute occupied more than 2 million square feet, with a