Career Executive

At a high enough level, all senior roles in today’s corporation have an international dimension. Management mobility is considered an important asset and career executives with international experience have a strong competitive advantage. Rather than seeking specific nationalities when hiring, most international employers are modifying their structures from being country-focused to being global and their need for international experience has rapidly intensified.

Further, the demand for international experience will most probably increase dramatically over the next several years. Already in western Europe, and particularly in Switzerland, mobility is already considered highly important. Mobility is considered an important sign of agility and flexibility and intellectual curiosity, which are key indicators of success in global enterprises.

Despite cost, there is high mobility among European functional roles, particularly finance, marketing, HR, and technology, due to globalization, cross-border education and migration in western Europe. A sign of how functional roles are changing is the increase in the proportion of senior executives in Switzerland who have lived and worked abroad. In the past, executive mobility was most marked in general management, commercial and marketing roles. Recently HR roles have shown increasing demands for mobility.

Switzerland is one of the most popular destinations for executives relocating in Europe. Executives with experience in Brazil, Russia, India and China are now also in high demand. The important mix of business leadership and the operational skills necessary in competitive markets makes ‘country experience’ very valuable and guarantees that executives with country experience are sought after, particularly by organizations seeking to penetrate or expand in those regions.

Executive recruiters all agree that managers with emerging market experience can add critical value to a companies efforts to establish itself or grow in a such regions.

Swiss managers have in the past demonstrated a pronounced reluctance to relocate. In 2007, government statistics showed that over 40% of managers in the major Swiss and Switzerland-based multinationals were foreigners.

In the highly clubby environment of Swiss Executive culture, the fact that an executive seeks out international experience proves a degree of dynamism and entrepreneurial thinking which companies find very attractive. Swiss-based multinationals are looking for leaders to boost their company’s competitiveness on an international level. In Switzerland this is particularly appealing as many Swiss perceive international engagement more as a threat than an opportunity.

It is important to keep in mind that the value of international experience decreases with time: mobile executives should not lose touch with their own countries. Research has shown that career executives working in a foreign country add the most value to their roles after two to three years in that position. After five years, this value decreases, and simultaneously reintegration into their own countries grows more difficult.

Finally, while mobility is recognized in Switzerland as an important ingredient in success and promotion, it does not itself guarantee a successful career. In the highly competitive international environment that is Switzerland, results still determine career success.