Business trips used to be time-consuming and costly; at one time, the traveler had to take everything including the kitchen sink. Goods were bought in far-flung places like Istanbul and Shanghai, crated, and hauled back to North America.
Clearly the world is different now. The Internet allows orders, transactions, and even conferences to take place with a quick click, even without a phone call.
Well, what used to require a ship, now, realistically, requires an attaché case.
The world has gotten smaller, and communication is simpler. An attaché case with a laptop is enough to conduct business just about anywhere.
But the reality is that face time is still important. Personal relationships will never go away, and at a time when everything, including communication, is commoditized, having the right person to represent your company is more critical than ever before.
My goal is to land such a position, fusing my background in both overseas experience and business development.
Hence this site: Leon the Attaché
I've lived and worked abroad, and have held business development positions where I was responsible for building business overseas. And build I did. Now I am ready to ramp it up and hold a higher-profile position with a multinational corporation.
To me, the challenges of conducting business abroad are also its greatest rewards. Walking into a situation where the locals may first be skeptical is a setting in which I thrive and a task that I always look forward to.
What I enjoy are the factory visits in the remote towns; the office negotiations late at night; and furiously typing reports after a long financial reporting symposium.
I will be that manager with the attaché. Trust me to make sure the factory is manufacturing your product responsibly, with the right specs. Send me to those markets that may be out of the way, but promise huge opportunities for your company's growth. With 50 countries under my belt, 10 in which I have conducted business . . .
The Attaché is waiting.
