COUNTRY MANAGERS

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“Think globally, act globally” describes one of our core values. Now, who’s better to tell about conquering foreign markets than our country managers here at Tesonet. So please, meet these three marketing gurus and listen to their intriguing stories on how to use local creativity to drive global success.

CYRIL POLAC (France)

Everyone who has met our Country Manager Cyril Polac can tell: this guy has a savage sense of humor, friendly personality, and a broad-minded attitude. But when it comes to business, he’s more than serious about sharing experiences among colleagues and reaching for global success. In this interview, Cyril tells us more about his field and explains what it takes to manage a foreign market.

So tell us about your role at Tesonet and how you started in the industry.

Hey guys! So, it’s already been more than two years since I started my job as a Country Manager for the French market here at Tesonet. And to be honest, the story of how I came to this industry was quite random. After working for several years in a totally different field as a key account manager in Paris, I decided to take a short break. That was the moment when I chose to move to a different country for new challenges and opportunities. Yes, it was Vilnius, Lithuania. Luckily, after my first interview at Tesonet, I was offered the position that I instantly was so excited about. Even my lack of experience in Digital Marketing at the time seemed more like a cool challenge that I needed to face. Finally, I managed to get a great position and I keep learning new things every day.

And what’s the mission of a Country Manager?

Not sure about any other country managers, but a French Country Manager plays foosball twice a day and sells some baguettes for the rest of the day. Ok, but seriously, the main mission is to improve results in the dedicated market by localizing campaigns, by optimizing the work of every department with your knowledge of the market. Well, it may sound cool but it wouldn’t work without all the talented people in other departments that we collaborate with. So basically, it means daily interactions and understanding of what all these departments do, how you can help them. Also, this position requires to source the market constantly, be aware of what is happening on this specific market, develop strong relationships with new and existing partners. So in short, a Country Manager is both a salesperson and a bit of a project manager (when it’s time to develop the campaigns you have imagined).

While working with the international market, you constantly face cultural differences. Do you have any interesting stories to share from your experience?

What I’ve noticed while living here is that Lithuanians are actually sharp with time. French folks have a bit of a different understanding of punctuality. Also, sometimes people here can’t resist mocking me on being French and making numerous hints about kruasanas, cheese, white flags, etc. Another case is when folks pretend to speak French and say “Gracias” to me… I always tell them that their French skills are impressive! But most cultural differences come from the language barrier. A simple example comes to mind - when Lithuanians say “Nu” instead of a “Yes”. I still find it a bit confusing sometimes.

How do you deal with the demands of constant travel?

I guess it’s more about how I manage my trips: I try to plan meetings with all the partners during a single business trip. Make it 2-3 meetings per day and 3-4 days overall). Of course, it may depend on more factors, like the team that’s coming to visit strategic partners with me. But still, it takes 2 yearly trips. And speaking of fairs, I usually try to evaluate the potential before going to any of these since it can be more time consuming than productive.

In your opinion, what are the qualities of a successful team?

Great communication, understanding, and trust would be the core qualities. Then I would distinguish flexibility since we’re working in such a fast-evolving industry where it’s extremely important to adapt quickly. Also, I believe that each team member should feel valued and responsible for their work and common goals can truly help here to get a sense of ownership, and belonging.

ALIONA MICHNEVIČ (China)

Besides being industry professionals with a can-do attitude and willingness to share our knowledge with others, we’re proud of how diverse our hobbies and backgrounds are: an actress in a Chinese film? We even have that one. Our Country Manager Aliona Michnevič has starred along with such huge movie stars like Jackie Chan himself! Yup, there’s a lot she can tell you about. Now, in this interview Aliona shares some insights from her impressive business experience in the foreign market.

Let's talk about your role at Tesonet and how you started in the industry.

Hey! I’ve come to Tesonet from a bit different area (ICT) and after 7 years living and working in China, Beijing, 6 months in Australia, Sydney, and 1 year 2 months in Shanghai. My parents used to have business with China as early as at the beginning of the 2000s. So, I can say I’m familiar with this market since my young age. Also, I had Asian relatives a few generations ago and I do have Asian blood running through my veins. For instance, I used to spend all my summers when I was a schoolgirl, in Kazakhstan, in a magnificent place surrounded by the woods and beautiful lakes. The biggest driving power why I decided to enter this position in Digital Marketing was the company itself, its people and company’s leaders, innovative approach, and one of the most important things - constant persistent intellectual work on how to grow your business, how to develop, how to keep it steady and strong, and at the same positively affect our society, young generation, and our country. That’s honestly motivating.

Have you noticed any differences in management methods from one country to another?

Firstly, everything is done very quickly in China. Quickly and with a large number of human resources allocation, because there’s no time for a delay. The delay means lost money and money is the “financial religion” in China. Its state-owned enterprises, for the most part, are regulated giants that are experimenting with Western management practices. Chinese companies have learned to manage differently over the past 30 years because they’ve had to cope with a turbulent and quickly changing environment, massive urbanization, and huge local markets, fierce endemic competition. Chinese management is collectivist in nature and this collectivism is part of the Confucian code of ethics. However, the new generation of Chinese managers is less collectivistic and more individualistic.

The Chinese management has for centuries emphasized the values of 䎔系 “guanxi” (relationships) and 人情 “renqing” (obligations) even in business transactions. However, in today’s Chinese management the ideas of obligations and reciprocity are falling down before the forces of a market-oriented economy globally. China is not a closed country anymore, it’s a rapidly developing giant with a second economy in the world.

What is the best way to do market research in a foreign country?

Online research constantly. In my view, international marketing decisions must be based on accurate and up-to-date information and intelligence. The approaches to marketing research and information systems are the same internationally as locally. In China we observe quite a big influence of ‘guanxi’ personal connections, this factor can not be ruled out. Thus, it’s inevitably important for us as a company to participate in different kinds of exhibitions, forums, and seminars, etc.

And what is the greatest challenge of expansion in a new country?

Not having our strong presence on the Chinese market. Not going openly with our trademark. Impossibility of opening an office in China. Naturally, this comes up from the nature of our cybersecurity field and the vulnerability of our products on the Chinese market, in relation to China’s Cybersecurity Legislation, etc. Another challenge is to know your potential customers. To conquer your place under the sun and hold on to our position in that region among other strong competitors. The one with a clear vision and inspiring leaders, also, intrinsically motivated, reliable, positive, empathic, able to multitask, understanding the industry, having synergy as a team. Through that special synergy, a good team is able to create an end result far outweighing what each individual could produce themselves. And I strongly believe we have all this here at Tesonet.

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JOANNA RUSIN-ROHRIG (Germany)

Even though our Country Manager Joanna Rusin-Rohrig has joined Tesonet quite recently, she's already super serious about taking the German tech world by storm. While living and working in Frankfurt, she already has a lot of experience in collaborating not only with Lithuanians but also with many other nationalities. In this short interview, Joanna shares some insights on cultural differences and what it takes to conquer a global market.

What’s your role at Tesonet? How did you start in the industry?

Ok, so I’m a Country Manager for the German market. I honestly believe that Germany has a great potential for growth and it’s a great place to be right now. Before I’ve worked in many different industries but Tesonet is my start in the cybersecurity industry. I’m personally very excited since it helps to develop great products and the need for them is only increasing.

While working with the international market, you constantly face cultural differences. Do you have any interesting stories to share from your experience?

My career has always been very international so I constantly communicate with people from different backgrounds. And I have a nice story to tell you. It was the end of the year and our budgets were almost used up. But one day a vendor approached me with a really great offer that they wanted to sell with a discount already and he still was talking six-digit numbers here. On the other hand, it was a very nice opportunity: it was exactly on the target group, and we could have had very good extra visibility at the end of the year. So I wanted to have it, although I only had half of the amount they asked. And I thought about one team member who was originally from Egypt. As we all know, people from Arab countries are true experts in negotiations so I approached her asking to teach me. She was more than happy to do that and gave me proper coaching so I was ready to try my luck. When I called that guy, I couldn't believe that everything went exactly as she told me it would. I have closed the deal getting the offer for half of the price. And it was so unusual for me since in our culture we’re quite hesitant, not so pushy and ask if at all only for a little bit like 10% or 15% to be taken down. It turned out that it was actually possible! I guess it’s a nice example of how learning from other cultures & different backgrounds only enriches us.

Let's talk about business. What is the greatest challenge of expansion in a new country?

If seen from the internal perspective, the greatest challenge is balancing the performance zo

part, the direct revenue part which is tight to our KPIs. Also, seeing the bigger picture and trying to set a long-term route to winning more customers for the product. So the main challenge would be to balance between the performance, direct impact, and long-term awareness-building activities for the product to fill the marketing funnel.

Could you share what challenges you faced during the quarantine? What should we do in order to turn this crisis into an opportunity, once it is over?

Speaking of the whole WFH situation, I have mixed feelings about it. The positive side is that most German companies have noticed that their teams are not drinking cocktails in their balconies but actually working and getting things done, even if they’re not in the office. That it’s possible, it works and it’s more than fine. On the other hand, I think there's always a natural need for human interaction. The social life at the workplace is essential: we need personal interaction and feedback to get motivated. So I guess, especially in the long term there's a risk of alienation which would decrease the levels of energy and motivation.

And the last question - what are the qualities of a successful team?

I think one of the most important things when working in a team is respect. Respect towards other people, other mentalities, other opinions. And I find it very valuable if there is an open feedback culture - both giving and receiving. Also, it’s a willingness to learn from other people and to listen to other’s expertise. I honestly believe that the exchange of various skills can drive the team forward.

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SO WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN TODAY?

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