Q&A with Jessica Spence, VP Commercial at Carlsberg in Hong Kong

This is the second feature from our series “Leading Women with International Careers”. In this interview Jessica Spence, VP Commercial at Carlsberg, based in Hong Kong, shares her experience of moving internationally and describes how being globally mobile has benefitted her career.

What was your route to Hong Kong?

I started out my career in London, working in advertising, but very quickly started working on an international account, covering Middle East and Africa, so got a taste for travel early on. I decided to do an MBA to make the transition from agency to client-side marketing roles, this took me to France, and Singapore for a very rewarding year. Following my MBA I joined SABMiller, first in the London based global team, then I moved into operating roles in Moscow, Slovakia and Poland. I moved to join Carlsberg in the Asia regional team based in Hong Kong just over two years ago.

What’s your role now?

Currently I head up the Sales and Marketing functions for Carlsberg’s Asia region, which is the fastest growing part of the business globally. Our regional team is in Hong Kong, but we cover 14 markets across Asia, including India, China, Vietnam and much of South East Asia – so I spend most of my time on the road, travelling across the region to work with our local commercial teams.

How has moving internationally impacted your career?

Obviously moving internationally has given me fantastic breadth of experience– the range of roles I’ve been able to do has given me a much richer set of experiences, and capability, in a shorter timeframe than I could have gained by staying put in one location. I do believe that my willingness to move has opened up more interesting roles, and faster progression than I could have achieved otherwise.

I’ve also found, particularly in developing markets, you have the chance to take on a much broader scope than you would in a more developed market. Role definitions tend to be more flexible, and it becomes a case of turning your hand to whatever will get the job done – so you learn much more about the broader business than you would in more settled team structures.

More personally it has brought me two things. Firstly it has taught me how to think much more laterally and pragmatically. You are constantly put into new situations, where the data, the people, the business situation are like nothing you’ve worked with before. You have to become very adaptable. You can’t fall back on the way you used to do it, so it forces you to become more creative and pushes you into perpetual problem solving mode.

Secondly I also think that it has given me much stronger coaching and capability building skills. As an expat the expectation is that you leave the team behind substantially stronger – I notice now that my most lasting legacy has always been the team I built. So my focus has become very much around the people agenda and building capability that will last beyond my time in the role.

 You’ve worked in a number of different countries, what were the highlights?

There have honestly been so many! I think for me, about once a month, I have a moment where I suddenly realise how incredibly lucky – whether it’s a dawn visit to the Taj Mahal before a business meeting, tramping through knee deep snow in the Russian forests during a team building session or spending an evening eating and drinking and talking history with local consumers in rural Vietnam. There are downsides to this life, but the rewards are phenomenal, and you have to take the time to savour those moments, and remember how lucky you are to be given the opportunity to experience so much variety and richness of life.

What did you do to prepare for your relocation?

I’ve got a lot better at this as I went along! The first expat move I did was rather chaotic and last minute (not helped by the fact that I was getting married at the same time as moving to Moscow) I think I also tried to do too much myself – there are generally pretty good support networks; relocation agencies are a font of useful knowledge, there are usually good expat women’s groups you can tap into and the school networks are often strong. I now have a checklist now for key tasks, and I try wherever possible to get my apartment sorted out in advance so I can move in as quickly as possible. I find the hardest stage is before you have your home set up; living in hotels or serviced apartments out of a suitcase is pretty soulless – so getting my home fixed quickly is my first priority.

What were the main challenges you faced when relocating?

I think in most moves, there is a point at which you hit some sort of “rock bottom” – it can be anything that sets it off and usually it happens in the first couple of months. I think what hits you hardest is the realisation you have to build up a whole “life knowledge set” again; from working out where to buy basic things, finding a good doctor, locating the nearest petrol station, even finding a hairdresser you can communicate with…! It’s tough to go through that repeatedly. It’s also hard to start a social life, from scratch each time. Particularly at the beginning when you are dealing with a new role and team, finding the energy to go out and meet people, which in the first stages very relaxing, can be exhausting. I’ve had Friday evenings in the early stages when I’ve had a hell of a week at work, and the last thing you feel like doing is going for dinner with a group of complete strangers to “unwind”. But you have to make the effort or you won’t build the network you’ll need to really make the most of your time in each place.

If you were to move again, where would you like to go?

At the minute we are loving living in Hong Kong, so it’s hard to imagine the next move just yet, but I’d be excited at some point to live in a different Asian city.

What is your career plan from here?

I love my current role, and have got a lot to do in the next years to keep me busy! Moving forward I’d be keen to move towards either general management positions, which may will mean more moving, or move into a global role to get an even broader geographic scope – and more travel!

Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about mobilising their own career?

Professionally you have to think about what you find rewarding. Generally international careers are excellent for gaining breadth and building up a broader business skill set. If you prefer developing deeper specific expertise, this may be harder to do in this type of career path. Also think about what doors this move will open, or potentially close. You can never plan out your career path precisely but have conversations across the business with people who can give you advice on what skill set you are likely to gain, and what the role will position you for going forward.

I would also think through times when you were “out of your comfort zone” – either at work or personally. How quickly did you adapt to the new situation and how did it impact on your performance and emotional well-being? If you found these types of experiences very challenging in the past, you need to consider whether you have the coping mechanisms you will need to undergo this experience repeatedly and continue to perform at a high level.

Lastly but most importantly I would think hard about the impact it will have on you, and your family, and take the decision as a group. It is massively rewarding, but also destabilising, and the whole family will go through a roller-coaster in the first 6 months. You have to be committed to the experience to get through that, and trust that you will settle. I’ve in a sense been lucky that my husband has worked in all the locations we’ve been in together, so he’s been able to settle relatively easily, but it’s tough if you feel you are putting your family through difficult adjustments – it needs to be a family decision. Also take the time to go and do a thorough “look-see”. Most companies will arrange this – but make sure you take a few extra days by yourselves on top of the more organised part to get a real sense of the place and what it will feel like living there, and ideally choose the area you want to live in so you can brief very precisely when it comes to house-hunting.

If you’re exploring the possibility of making an international career move, read my recent article ‘Move yourself’ for further advice and guidance.

Our other ‘Leading Women with International Careers’ articles:

Q&A with Jill Von Berg, CIO at Calix in San Francisco 

Q&A with Gill Meller, Legal Director at MTR in Hong Kong