International Experience Matters with Craig Lane
The World Affairs Council would like to introduce you to Craig Lane, Vice President of Risk Management, MunichRe America who is a newly elected Board of Director with the Council. Let’s get to know more about Craig and his thoughts about the important of international experience.
Why did you join the World Affairs Council’s board of directors?
I was attracted to the mission of the World Affairs Council in promoting international understanding and engagement within the community. I give back by helping to shape the organization and share my professional experiences. I have also met a bunch of fantastic people through the Council and learned about the many international restaurants as a “newly arrived native” of Cincinnati!
What kinds of expertise are you now sharing with the World Affairs Council?
On a programming basis, I share my background in international business which helps in designing content. My experience with corporate boards was a fit to join two of the Council’s working committees. Being on the Capacity Building and Finance committees, I help in strengthening the World Affairs Council’s processes to achieve its targets.
How do you describe your international career?
I long had an interest in international topics but attending the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service really lit a fire for the type of career I desired. My first job was with a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development where I helped administer the largest USAID foreign assistance project at its time. After getting my MBA, I fulfilled a career – actually life – objective for an overseas assignment, spending three years working in Poland which is where I met my wife. My profession as a financial risk manager for several international financial organizations has allowed me to engage with a variety of different cultures. Besides living in Poland, I spent a year living in Australia and had short term assignments across Europe, Japan, Canada, India, and New Zealand.
What advice would you have for someone getting into an international career?
The best approach to decide if an international career works is taking advantage of study abroad opportunities in college or exchange programs in high school. This is a great opportunity to discover if one is comfortable living overseas for an extended period. I have studied and worked overseas and wouldn’t have done the latter without the former. If you can’t go overseas, learn a foreign language. Language training sensitizes you to the cultures of other countries. Knowing another language also enhances one’s career opportunities. And of course, attend any World Council event!
Where did you study abroad and how was your experience?
To graduate from Georgetown, I had to pass a foreign language proficiency exam. After years of learning Spanish in high school, I started with French in college and was awful! Knowing I needed to pass the proficiency exam to get my degree, I spent my final college summer immersed with a family in the French region of Normandy. Living with a family required me to learn the language well enough to converse at the dinner table, navigate the small town, purchase groceries, and watch TV. It was a great real life learning experience and I did pass my proficiency exam.
There are of course going to be a few work challenges. What are things that you learned on the job in working with a variety of cultures?
The biggest challenge I’ve seen is the difference between the American approach to business characterized as fast paced, quick decisions and transactional engagement. This can conflict with the approach of other cultures where focus is on socialization, consensus, and relation-building. This can be seen as a cultural clash but it is just different approaches to reaching the same goal.
And I’ve seen how different cultures address conflict– some will bury it while some are open about it. In Australia, I saw a junior staff member tell the CEO that his business idea was crazy and then they went for a beer at lunch. That was an unusual experience after having worked in the US where there is some deference to organizational hierarchy.
Working in another country can also be a humbling experience. In Poland, I would try to express complex business concepts to consulting clients but my language skills were on par of a 3rd grader. I had to use simple words and had moments of frustration.
What did your day look like at the office in these countries?
I noticed in both Poland and Australia, which in some senses are very different forms of Westernized cultures, their business day begins with coffee hour and socialization. In America, people grab a coffee on the way to their desk. Lunch is more leisurely which creates a nice break in the day.
In countries as diverse as Poland, Australia, and Canada, the culture puts more balance on family time than what is common in the US. In contrast, I worked in Japan with colleagues who would join us visiting Americans for a late night of dinner and drinks and then go back to the office to sleep at their desk for the night. In India, it’s mostly an arrive-late leave-late environment due to long commutes and weather factors. Overall, the hum of commerce in a big city whether in the US or overseas is very similar: meetings, conference calls, projects, etc.
How would you describe life in a large or small city when working and living abroad?
My time abroad has been in large cities but with different experiences. We spent our year in Australia living in Melbourne which is rated as one of the world’s most livable cities. It has a very communal feel where neighbors meet at the local “green” for the playground, play sports, walk the dog, and meet up with friends. These neighborhoods ring a well-defined central business district with a big-city feel.
In mid-90s Warsaw, the impact from decades of centralized communist planning left a city that felt big but dreary. In contrast, the cities of India are big and busy and full of life in a chaotic way. Tokyo is big, busy but very orderly. Foreign cities have some aspects similar to US cities, yet there will be adjustments because the way of life is different. It’s unusual not to get homesick after some time.
Since your wife is Polish, are there any traditions that you include in your family holidays?
Christmas Eve is traditionally a meatless meal in Poland, so we have no meat on Christmas Eve. My family has also adopted some colorful phrases such as those that translate literally to “cramped chicken!”. Such phrases are a fun part of learning the language.
What do you want others to know about the World Affairs Council?
Whether one can volunteer a few hours a year, a few hours a week, or desires a position on the Board, there are volunteer opportunities for everybody. My time as a Board member has been very rewarding and it’s great to support the World Affairs Council. I donate my time and money to the Council because it makes an impact on community by bringing the world to our community and expanding our region’s presence to the world. This only works through the countless hours contributed by the incredible volunteers!
