The Business Side of Style

Private Eye People to Watch

Chloe Shou

When she first joined Antal, Chloe's manager worked in the automotive sector. At the time, Chloe didn't know much about cars or the industry, but her boss opened the door for her, and Chloe developed an expertise in the auto sector.

Chloe (1982) is the Principal Consultant and Team Leader responsible for managing the aerospace division of Antal International in China. She is actually the person who opened the division. Chloe recruits aerospace professionals majorly for aerospace manufacturing companies such as Airbus and Boeing, but also with suppliers like United Technology Corporations, Rolls Royce, GE, Honeywell, all manufacturers of aerospace components. She studied at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Management of Information Systems. She then moved to Australia to do her Masters degree of Commerce in Human Resources at the University of New South Wales. Moving to Australia was not easy for Chloe as she confesses, “I think when I first came to Australia, I got this 'culture shock' because I didn’t speak English well enough at that moment.” However she cherishes that experience saying “it’s very interesting because I never had that exposure before and you start getting acquainted with foreign people and they have different habits.” Her education career is very interesting, the most interesting part is that it was accidental since she had originally applied for another major while pursuing her Masters degree, but because she had a delay with her visa papers the course she wanted to attend had already started, so she asked to switch to a different major. She started going to class and loved it and that brought her where she is now. She is in a good place in her life, saying “I didn’t know that I’d be so happy and, time passed, and I realized this is the job I can really enjoy myself.” She adds “somehow, you can use your profession to help others. That’s something that makes me feel joyful.” Chloe always wants to learn new things “I’m someone who likes to make new friends, like to travel around the world, also I’m interested in learning all different types of languages.” She speaks Chinese, English, Spanish and French and is looking to improve her language skills further. She lives her life according to rules and values, and her motto is "lead a simple life. Every day is new." Chloe is young, unmarried, and in a committed relationship with a Spanish man from Valencia. She likes culture-related activities such as visiting museums, art galleries, and the theater. She says, “I recently watched Richard III, the one who Kevin Spacey played inside, in China, in Beijing and it’s very interesting. I find it’s like a BBC TV series.” Chloe likes sports that can be done alone, such as jogging, swimming, walking and especially snowboarding. She became interested in snowboarding thanks to a French friend who introduced her; she likes the challenge and often snowboards in the mountains near the Beijing suburbs. Chloe doesn’t know where she sees herself in 10 years from now, but after extensive discussion with friends and family she came to the conclusion that she has two ways to go, as she explains “so either if I stay in this industry – I’m a team leader, so I can still move up. I can manage, I can continuously grow my team and reach the highest levels in a company,” and adds “or drop the career and try something different. There’s still some adventuring element in my blood. I’m always curious to learn something outside of my industry and consider having my own business.”•

Private Eye People to Watch

Ismet Ucarli

"What you really need to do if you want to be happy in the country you are living in, is to understand how people are thinking and responding to things, how they are responding to jokes even, so that’s why I always try very much to understand people – ever since I was a child."

Ismet (1977) is a marketing manager at Jotun Boya. Born in Norway to Turkish parents, he spent his childhood in Norway, and later moved to Turkey where he attended high school and university. After university he decided to move back to Norway to start a career, but fell in love with a Turkish girl and decided to move to Istanbul. Norway and Turkey are certainly very different: Norway is a small country and Istanbul has the population of almost three times that of Norway. The shift for Ismet was huge, he says “Turkey is a very hot country. There is always very much action here. And people express their feelings very, very easily. When you look into Norway, Norway’s a bit more calm, and people are not as extroverted as they are in Turkey.” Ismet also talks about Turkey as a country that is often hit by a crisis, whether it be economic or otherwise, and this has helped Turkish people learn to adapt to new circumstances very quickly, whereas in Norway things seem unchangeable. “Turkey is very much a fast moving and fast-changing country compared to Norway, actually.” Ismet studied to become an environmental engineer, with the idea of practicing the profession in Turkey where the market was still very much open, compared to Norway, but while studying he realized he liked the business part more than the engineering part. So when he graduated, he decided to do a postgrad course in what he loved: marketing and communications. As a marketing manager with communication-related hobbies, Ismet's life is dominated, 24-hours-a-day, by work. But Ismet loves every minute of it, as he says “when you look at marketing and communications, it’s kind of pop-culture engineering. You’re actually shaping the future and shaping what people are looking for in the future,” and, he adds “when I see the shift in behaviors, and shift in the thoughts of people...on a mass scale, I really love it, as I love art, advertising is a form of art.” Ismet likes contemporary art; he’s always chasing after new, young and talented artists no one knows of; he often visits galleries and does it as often as he has the chance to such places as Barcelona, London, Paris, and Berlin. Ismet is also a storyteller: he likes to be at the top of the game, always knowing new things that he doesn’t keep to himself but enjoys sharing with others, he explains “I like new stories that people are fascinated about. I like to inspire them; I like to tell them new stories. That’s my thing.” Dilek, Ismet’s wife, also works in advertising, so Ismet’s life is very much centered in the communication world. Being very busy, they like to spend time doing what they love, as he says “I see people who have plenty of time but they are not happy with the things they’re doing.” He continues, “do what you really like to do and if you are doing the right thing, the things that you’re passionate about, success will come, happiness will be there, everything will be there. But when you’re waking up in the morning and thinking that you’re doing something wrong – then if you don’t want to go to that place you’re about to go, don’t go.” •

Private Eye People to Watch

James Cussen

Tired of two jobs that weren't for him, James decided to take on a new challenge and started carving ice. He is now an ice sculptor who owns his own company, IceArt, and his life is immersed in nature.

James Cussen (1979), is owner and a sculptor of IceArt. Born in the U.K., he lived in Saudi Arabia until the age of 7, moved to the U.K. and then, at the age of 12, moved permanently to Cape Town in South Africa. He considers himself a South African, saying that South Africa is always portrayed in the wrong way in other countries, and that South Africa is actually a very welcoming country. It is a country of many challenges as well as opportunities, he says, a country where one who has dreams can make them come true. James describes himself as creative and optimistic, unlike his wife, who is a realist. He always sees the glass half-full, and says “I see opportunities where others can’t.” James worked at Porsche in Dubai, he explains “I was working in the marketing department for the Porsche Cayenne, then I was laid off because the company was shutting down, so I went to work in oil rigs all around Asia: places like India, Malaysia and Brunei.” He hated the job and the time spent on platforms, so he decided to move back to South Africa where he started working in the telecommunications industry. Eventually, James realized he didn’t like that job either. It was then that he remembered the beautiful ice sculptures he saw in Dubai...“Eureka!” As the type of person who always gives it a go. Relying on his artistic background and adventurous spirit, he decided to go for it. He ordered a mould from Australia and started the business. “At first”, he says, “it’s all about practice, practice, practice.” The advantage is that ice carving is easier than wood or stone carving; you could finish a sculpture in a hour. That timeframe gave him the chance to practice a lot and learn through the “hands-on” experience. The mould he had ordered from Australia was very poorly built, so that, when business started getting better, he began to produce his own ice mould. James’ primary passion, however, is nature. He goes hiking in the mountains with his two Ridgebacks (also known as African Lion Hounds, they are dogs bred mainly for hunting). He also enjoys climbing, and has taken on several mountains in the surroundings of Cape Town and South Africa. James thinks that dreams are the reason to live, and that they have to be chased, however hard it might be. He says, “you could win the lottery, but you can’t waste time waiting for the day when you’ll finally guess the right numbers; you have to put yourself out there and play the game.” His current dream is going to live in nature, leaving the city behind. He confesses, “in five or ten years’ time, I’ll be owning a farm, growing my own food and be at peace spending time in the environment I like the most.”•