Helen Yuxin Shu (Goizueta MBA, 2004) believes that curiosity, flexibility, and an interest in people are the keys to success in any international position. “Having a respect for people’s differences and showing them an eagerness to participate in their customs goes a long way toward demonstrating your openness and ability to work with people from diverse cultures,” says the Shanghai native whose career and schooling have taken her to the U.S. and back to China.
As a Chinese student at Emory University, Shu was president of the International Business Association, which exposed her to many more cultures (thirty-three percent of Goizueta’s student body is international), and gave her an even greater appreciation for worldwide diversity. But one of the most valuable experiences during business school was the opportunity to serve as student director for the China Lead Week, an annual field trip that puts students on the ground in global emerging markets to expand their understanding of different economies and cultures.
“It was so interesting to observe how the world perceives China,” says Shu, who got to host her classmates in her own country. “Their (her classmates)’ perception regarding China as learned through the media and school was one thing, and I believe they quickly realized how different it truly was based on their own observations and experiences.” Shu believes that such trips are necessary for students to understand cultural differences. “Not everyone thinks the same—and there are many challenges associated with working with multiple cultures.”
After graduating from Goizueta, Shu joined UPS’s corporate office in Atlanta as an international marketing manager and led a variety of projects spanning the Asian, European, and Americas markets. During this experience, she says, it was strongly reinforced that customer behavior and the business environment are very different in the markets the company serves. “Beyond the cultural differences, you are dealing with practical topics like currencies, time zones, customers, competitors, and markets,” she points out. She learned that, while striving to build a similar brand presence in each market, any company’s universal strategy must be built so it can be localized to reflect the local market and customer differences. Shu says, “A strategy that doesn’t keep this in mind just won’t work!”
Now back in China, Shu is the corporate communications manager for the Shanghai office of Ogilvy & Mather, one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. And she’s brought a little bit of American culture with her. “I found that in the U.S., everything is possible as long as you dare to dream and dare to work hard to get it. My Goizueta professors always encouraged us to challenge the norm. They were always receptive to new ideas and pushed us to act when we had a good idea,” she says. “I think I’ve brought this ‘dare to dream’ and ‘can-do’ attitude back to Shanghai.”
With a whole country of opportunity spread out before her—the 2008 Olympics are just around the corner, and after that the 2010 World Expo comes to China—Shu is living her dreams. “My international experiences have made me very proud of China and being Chinese. Everything is developing so fast here, and I really like that I am able to be a part of it.”
By Pam Losefsky
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