克雷格·莱恩的国际经验很重要

dafa888bet手机版想向你介绍克雷格·莱恩, 风险管理副总裁, 他是MunichRe America公司新当选的董事会成员. Let’s get to know more about Craig and his thoughts about the important of international experience.

你为什么加入世界事务理事会的董事会?

I was attracted to the mission of the World Affairs Council in promoting international understanding and engagement within the community.  I give back by helping to shape the organization and share my professional experiences. I have also met a bunch of fantastic people through the Council and learned about the many international restaurants as a “newly arrived native” of Cincinnati!

你现在正在与dafa888bet手机版分享哪些专业知识?

在编程的基础上, I share my background in international business which helps in designing content. My experience with corporate boards was a fit to join two of the Council’s working committees.  是能力建设和财务委员会成员, I help in strengthening the World Affairs Council’s processes to achieve its targets.

你如何描述你的国际职业生涯?

I long had an interest in international topics but attending the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service really lit a fire for the type of career I desired.  我的第一份工作是在美国的一个承包商那里.S. Agency for International Development where I helped administer the largest USAID foreign assistance project at its time.  拿到MBA学位后, 我完成了一次海外任务的职业——实际上是生活——目标, 我在波兰工作了三年,在那里我遇到了我的妻子.  My profession as a financial risk manager for several international financial organizations has allowed me to engage with a variety of different cultures.  除了住在波兰, I spent a year living in 澳大利亚 and had short term assignments across Europe, 日本, 加拿大, 印度, 和新西兰.

你对即将进入国际职业生涯的人有什么建议?

The best approach to decide if an international career works is taking advantage of study abroad opportunities in college or exchange programs in high school.  This is a great opportunity to discover if one is comfortable living overseas for an extended period.  I have studied and worked overseas and wouldn’t have done the latter without the former.  如果你不能出国,那就学一门外语.  语言培训使你对其他国家的文化更敏感.  掌握另一种语言也会增加一个人的职业机会.  当然,参加任何世界理事会的活动!

你在哪里留学,你的经历如何?

要从乔治敦大学毕业,我必须通过外语水平考试.  After years of learning 西班牙语 in high school, I started with 法国 in college and was awful!  我知道我需要通过能力考试才能拿到学位, I spent my final college summer immersed with a family in the 法国 region of Normandy.  Living with a family required me to learn the language well enough to converse at the dinner table, 在小镇里航行, 购买生活用品, 看电视.  这是一次很好的学习经历,我确实通过了我的能力考试.

当然会有一些工作上的挑战. What are things that you learned on the job in working with a variety of cultures?

The biggest challenge I’ve seen is the difference between the American approach to business characterized as fast paced, 快速决策和事务性参与. This can conflict with the approach of other cultures where focus is on socialization, 共识, 和构建关系.  This can be seen as a cultural clash but it is just different approaches to reaching the same goal. 

And I’ve seen how different cultures address conflict– some will bury it while some are open about it.  在澳大利亚, I saw a junior staff member tell the CEO that his business idea was crazy and then they went for a beer at lunch. That was an unusual experience after having worked in the US where there is some deference to organizational hierarchy.  

在另一个国家工作也可能是一种令人谦卑的经历.  在波兰, I would try to express complex business concepts to consulting clients but my language skills were on par of a 3rd 平地机.  我不得不使用简单的词语,有时也会感到沮丧.

你在这些国家的办公室里一天是怎么过的?

我在波兰和澳大利亚都注意到了, 它们在某种意义上是西化文化的不同形式, 他们的工作从咖啡时间和社交活动开始.  在美国,人们在去办公桌的路上喝杯咖啡.  午餐更悠闲,这在一天中创造了一个美好的休息.

在波兰这样不同的国家, 澳大利亚, 和加拿大, 与美国相比,美国文化更注重家庭时间的平衡.  与此形成鲜明对比的是, I worked in 日本 with colleagues who would join us visiting Americans for a late night of dinner and drinks and then go back to the office to sleep at their desk for the night.  In 印度, it’s mostly an arrive-late leave-late environment due to long commutes and weather factors.  整体, the hum of commerce in a big city whether in the US or overseas is very similar: meetings, 电话会议, 项目, 等.  

How would you describe life in a large or small city when working and living abroad?

我在国外的时间是在大城市,但有不同的经历.  We spent our year in 澳大利亚 living in Melbourne which is rated as one of the world’s most livable cities.  It has a very communal feel where neighbors meet at the local “green” for the playground, 做运动, 遛狗, 和朋友见面.  These neighborhoods ring a well-defined central business district with a big-city feel.

在90年代中期华沙, the impact from decades of centralized communist planning left a city that felt big but dreary.  与此形成鲜明对比的是, the cities of 印度 are big and busy and full of life in a chaotic way.  东京很大,很繁忙,但很有秩序.  外国城市在某些方面与美国城市相似, 然而,由于生活方式的不同,总会有一些调整.  过了一段时间不想家是很不寻常的.  

Since your wife is Polish, are there any traditions that you include in your family holidays?

Christmas Eve is traditionally a meatless meal in Poland, so we have no meat on Christmas Eve.  My family has also adopted some colorful phrases such as those that translate literally to “cramped chicken!”.  这样的短语是学习语言的一个有趣的部分.

关于世界事务理事会,你想让别人知道什么?

一个人是否能一年做几个小时的志愿者, 一周几个小时, 或希望在董事会任职, 每个人都有做志愿者的机会.  My time as a Board member has been very rewarding and it’s great to support the World Affairs Council.  I donate my time and money to the Council because it makes an impact on community by bringing the world to our community and expanding our region’s presence to the world.  This only works through the countless hours contributed by the incredible volunteers!

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