theceomagazine.com | 37L
ike a refreshing year off after high school to travel
and learn more about yourself before launching into
the next stage of life, there’s a school of thought
that points towards the value of C-suite members making
a move overseas during their career to inject a new energy
and perspective, not to mention kudos with peers and
prospective employers.
For Sharon Melamed, her ‘gap year’ working for
a Japanese multinational in New York during
the dotcom boom and bust of the 1990s,
was a truly formative experience in
her business career, and led her
along the path she has
followed ever since.“The speed and agility of
the market and the entrepreneurial
culture was incredible. It shaped my
approach to business,” she says.
Melamed is fluent in Japanese and also
headed up her company’s international business
development department in the US. She also made
41 trips to Tokyo during her decade abroad before
she returned home to Australia in 2005. Within two
years, however, the lure of being overseas beckoned
once again, and she spent a year in Israel as a consultant.
“Israel is known as the start-up nation: I wanted to be
immersed in its culture of innovation and entrepreneurism.”
After returning to Sydney permanently, Melamed founded
the online business-matching platform Matchboard. She
based the business on a trust model that she discovered in
Japan, whereby she relies on suppliers to divulge the value
of a deal facilitated by Matchboard.
“It was an enormous leap of faith and many people in
Australia told me that it would never work because people
aren’t honest enough. If it wasn’t for my experience in Japan
where relationships and trust are paramount, I probably
wouldn’t have had faith that it could work. But it has, and
I’ve silenced my critics.”
She’s a passionate advocate of the value of working
overseas, saying it can open doors upon one’s return.
“Now, more than ever, companies are looking for people
with international experience to help them track global
markets. Once you’ve had that job in New York, or Tokyo
or wherever and you put it on your CV, you get people’s
attention. I think there’s a real shortage of people with global
experience and so having it definitely fast-tracks your career.”THE DATA AGREES
Evidence appears to show that international experience
among executives often leads to an appointment as a CEO.
In a 2017 survey, recruitment company Robert Half found
that almost 60 per cent of ASX200 CEOs had international
experience. The majority had worked in the Asia–Pacific
region, followed closely by Europe and North America.
Around 10 per cent of those with international experience
had obtained it in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Similarly, the 17th CEO Succession Study by PwC found
that in Australia, in particular, international experience is
highly valued. The average incoming CEO is almost 10 times
more likely to have worked internationally before becoming
a CEO than their counterparts in China, and more than four
times more likely than CEOs in the US and Canada.
“Increased global experience in the incoming CEO cohort
reinforces the observation that Australian boards have
recognised the need to engage talent with a wide experience
base to help increase their company’s success in an
increasingly globalised marketplace,” states PwC’s report.HAVE A FLEXIBLE PLAN
Melamed’s advice is to be strategic about where you go.
“If you see yourself going down the entrepreneurial path,
then the US and Israel would have to be the top countries
in the world, whereas if you’re in the fintech space you’d
probably go to London. Think about what your ultimate goals
are,” she suggests.
Her other piece of advice is to keep an open mind and
be prepared to stay much longer than you anticipated.
“Don’t think that you’re going for just a year, because
the pace and financial benefits can become addictive.”
Chris Reed can also attest to the benefits of working
overseas. After spending 10 years as a CEO and entrepreneur
in London, he left for Singapore in 2009. He spent the first
four years honing his knowledge about doing business there
before attempting to launch his own business.
“At first, I tried to develop my business from the UK but
it simply didn’t translate. There were too many cultural
differences and logistical issues, which is why I created
Black Marketing instead.”
He established his B2B marketing consultancy five years
ago and tells The CEO Magazine he has no plans to return to
the UK. Singapore simply has too many advantages to ever
contemplate leaving, and he recently applied for citizenship.
“Singapore is entrepreneur-friendly and tax-friendly, and
it’s English-speaking as wells. The airport is one of the best in
the world in terms of being able to get in and out quickly. And
its climate is ideal for 24/7 networking.”
His advice? Just do it.
“It’s a bit like starting your own business: there are so
many reasons to not do it. But what’s the worst that could
happen? You have a terrible time and you go home. And
if you stay a while you’ll take back experiences that you’d
never get from an MBA.”Broader horizons | INSPIRE