by Robert Breyer, class of 1989 Area Sales Manager Intel Corporation - South Africa I recently moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, for Intel Corporation. Besides being a great career move, it has given me a new perspective on what it's like to live and work abroad. First, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I had completed my BSEE in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1983, and my MBA degree at UC Davis in 1989 with a concentration in marketing and high technology management. After graduating from UC Davis, I joined Intel and worked at the Folsom facility for three years as a senior product marketing engineer, followed by two years in Portland, Oregon, as a product line manager.

Moving To South Africa

Until my relocation to Johannesburg in mid-1995, Intel had no direct presence anywhere on the entire African continent. That's hard to imagine since most U.S. high-tech companies rushed back to South Africa following the normalization of the political situation in 1992. 

In South Africa, my role with Intel was two-fold: officially I was there to focus on marketing, but unofficially, I was Intel's business consultant charged with "scouting out this new territory." As part of that duty, I had to convince key Intel executives that South Africa offered opportunities for sales of Intel products. Every few months I flew to Europe to try to promote South Africa to Intel's European management since South Africa forms part of Intel's European sales territory. 

During my first year in South Africa, I wasn't very successful. At that time, Intel was focused on investing in large, established countries like the U.S., Germany and Japan. My big break came six months ago, when I was finally able to convince the vice president of sales to visit South Africa for the first time. We did a whirlwind 3-day tour, after which he told me that "the Robert Breyer experiment" had been a success and that the next move would be to set up a proper sales subsidiary in South Africa. 

Getting Things Done

Doing business in America is very easy and comfortable— the U.S. economy is very consumer- and service-oriented. A Hertz Gold Class car reservation takes 30 seconds; picking up the car doesn't take much longer. You can buy a cellular phone plus the airtime package in 15 minutes. Getting gasoline at a self-service gas station, where you pay with your credit card, is incredibly quick. Americans take all of this efficiency for granted, as I did too when I lived in the U.S.  

Outside America, these kinds of things are, at best, difficult or even impossible. For example, while planning for new office space, we wanted to purchase furniture that was 100% formaldehyde-free. Furniture manufacturers looked at me as if I were from another planet. Getting new phone lines connected in the U.S. is a question of making a phone call to Pacific Bell and waiting a few days. In South Africa, I ordered our phone lines in November to make sure we got them installed by March! 

Hiring Employees

I have been involved in hiring several new employees recently for Intel in South Africa. In the hiring process, I encountered some surprises. With the new South African government, the country also got a new constitution. That constitution included a new labor act that does not include an affirmative action component. Of the 50 applicants I interviewed for five openings, only one was black (while 80 percent of South Africa's population is black). Change is coming, though. When I attended Wits University in South Africa 15 years ago, only about 10 percent of the students were black, today that percentage has risen to about 50 percent.  

Crime

One of the downsides to living in South Africa, or any emerging country, is crime. Johannesburg, in particular, has a serious crime problem. With the opening of South Africa's borders to the rest of the continent, Johannesburg has become the central hub for the import and export of drugs. Home break-ins, and the much feared carjackings, are becoming almost a part of everyday life. All houses in Johannesburg are surrounded by 6-foot high walls, barbed wire, sometimes electrified fencing as well. As a result, I chose to live in a high-security townhouse complex, which makes me feel relatively safe. Crime is not so much racially motivated as economically motivated. For example, stolen South African cars are being exported by the thousands to neighboring countries, and have been found as far north as Kenya.  

Has The International Job Experience Made a Difference in My Career?

Moving to South Africa has given my career at Intel a big boost. I did very well with Intel in the U.S., but was a very small fish in a very big pond— employee number 55506 to be exact. In South Africa, I am Intel employee number one and area sales manager (a.k.a. a very big fish in a tiny pond). I am also very much my own boss. My only connection to the rest of Intel is a weekly e-mail report, the occasional phone or video call and a quarterly business trip to Europe.

Today, about 60 percent of Intel's revenue is generated outside the United States. This translates into a bright career picture should I decide to stay in international sales. However, Intel, at it's heart, is still a technology-driven firm with a large marketing focus. Consequently, senior executives have historically come from either a technical or marketing background, not sales. Maybe it's my turn to change that. 

I have some serious concerns about the route my career would take should I move back to the U.S. Right now, I'm part of Intel Europe. If I decide to continue climbing the corporate ladder in the U.S., I could be at a disadvantage because people may have "forgotten" me. It's the typical "out of sight, out of mind" problem. However, to keep my options open, I try to keep in touch with key people in the U.S. by meeting with them at sales conferences and other events to make sure they remember me two years from now when I send them my resume.  

How to Get a Job Abroad

If you want to work outside the U.S., I recommend that you find a job with a U.S. multinational firm, work in America for a year or two, and then transfer abroad. I know of two other GSM graduates at Intel who also have successfully done this: Scott Schafer now does marketing for Intel in England, and Paula Levy is in sales for Intel in Australia. The key to a successful transfer is to develop an expertise in the U.S., then apply for a transfer. I highly recommend a few years of international work experience for anyone interested in traveling. It has been good for my career, and, on top of that, it has broadened my perspective of the world we live in and on life in general.