Driving corporate strategy for Samsung
- Keep In Touch
- Le 16 décembre 2016
Current position: APAC strategy, Operations & Digital - Head, Samsung Electronics
About my company: Consumer electronics, $184 billion, 319,000 employees
Degree earned at Audencia: Master in Management 2006
Nationality: French
Residence: Singapore
My work
My role: I am in charge of corporate strategy for Samsung Electronics, covering the South-East Asia & Oceania region. I am also acting head of digital and media for the same region.
Soft skills: The “why” skill and the “why not” skill. The “why” skill is your sense of purpose, the reason that, when everything goes banana (trust me it will), keeps you solid as a rock emotionally and professionally. Find and cherish your “why”. The “why not” skill is your daredevil attitude to jump on any meaningful project that may seem far stretch for your expertise and your bandwidth.
Hard skills: I cherished my domains of expertise and tried to have 2 or 3 (acknowledged by my management). Across industries and functions, only one thing never varies: corporate finance. It is the language of every business decision. If you are going to be in non-finance roles, please study it. It is the last time you will be exposed to the domain that damages the credibility of non-finance employees.
How it started: After several years in consulting on business optimization and capturing growth opportunities in Asia, I decided to explore first hand this part of the world. I chose to join a real East-Asian company to understand how they work and succeed. After Audencia and my first years of work experience, I was able to further boost my career thanks to my MBA from INSEAD.
My world
Culture shock: To adapt to the South Korean workplace is another dimension. I feel that survival boils down to being genuine to yourself within the limit of politeness. After a few forgivable mistakes, you are good to go. Personally I study and sometimes teach the history of my host countries to foreigners. It helped to demonstrate respect and get a bit of forgiveness when I accidentally cross an invisible boundary.
Why choose an international career?
I didn’t choose an international career as much as I chose to leave France. Don’t get me wrong: I love my country, its past and it’s potential. How could I get ahead of the millions while so young and inexperienced? I had to go, to learn and prove myself. I believe, by succeeding abroad and keeping in touch with the "French reality, I may be able to come back one day and contribute to the country I love the most.
☛ Be genuinely open to others’ way of working, respectful in disagreement, be aware of your own biases and don’t impose them on others. Make sure you understand, and be clear in your approach and always rational.
“Jean-François’ career path has been exceptional for developing a global strategic mindset.”
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Developing new business for biotech projects in the Middle East, North Africa and Russian markets
Name: Siddharth Akolkar Current position: Business developer and project manager, Technovation Healthcare Ltd About my company: Biopharmaceutical consulting and industrial engineering, 50-100 employees Degree earned at Audencia: IMM 10 Nationality: Indian Residence: Pune India “Always go for the experience. Money will follow automatically. Look at roles where you will learn instead of fancy job titles!” My work My role: My main responsibilities are new business development, project management and key account management for vaccine and biotech projects in the Middle East, North Africa & Russian markets. Soft skills: Team building skills/ negotiation skills. Hard skills: English and French/knowledge of vaccines, biosimilars industry, industrial engineering and MS projects. My company: Technovation Healthcare Ltd, India is a niche sector start-up. A lot of multitasking is required. A flat organisational structure is the heart of our company. We believe in learning by doing. How it started: Through the industry network in India and personal recommendations. My competitive advantage was my strong domain knowledge in a similar industry (vaccines) and my proven track record in new business development and project management. My world Culture shock: Honestly, my motivation was far too strong so I wasn’t too afraid of challenges. Fun fact: I ended up at the residential address of a Thai Government company’s CFO instead of his office address due to language barrier with the taxi driver in Bangkok! Why choose an international career? Different cultures and the complexities of working in a diverse environment were always the motivation. Siddharth's advice "You need to appreciate cultural differences. Be honest in all dealings as it is the most sought-after quality anywhere in the world. Never hesitate to talk to strangers because there is nothing like perspective building."
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