Adrien de Wolkoff is Head of Digital Paid Marketing Asia-Pacific (APAC) at LinkedIn, based in Singapore. He graduated from EDHEC International BBA in 2006 and he agreed to tell us more about his international professional journey in digital marketing.

I spent all my career in the tech/digital industry, working for both big tech names (Google, LinkedIn, Rakuten) but also smaller start-ups (Deliveroo, Rocket Internet). Mostly, I worked in the APAC region: Shanghai, Tokyo, and now Singapore.

EDHEC Business School helped me to have a global mindset and vision. Back in 2005, I did an academic exchange at the European Business School in London: this experience was a life-changer for me, and it totally flipped all my assumptions. I would recommend anyone to experience living abroad to step out of their comfort zone and to discover new cultures. Ever since this lifechanging experience in London, I’ve always worked abroad and in global companies.

I chose to build my career abroad to experience diversity. Whether it is in a new language, a new ethnicity, a new culture, or a new region, it always comes as a blessing. By working abroad, you get to see a bigger and broader picture of the world and your profession.

I've chosen to work in the Digital industry because I also got very inspired on how Tech firms such as LinkedIn/Google/Facebook want to truly make the world a better place (connecting people and also professionals together, make any information universally accessible and useful). I do agree that their growing power may scare and they have made a few mistakes but I love that they are on a mission to change the world to be a better place (And not solely to make short term profits). I also appreciate that the entire industry changes every two years and that anyone is accessible for an informal chat. You can openly chat with any Vice President or even a C-level which I believe may be impossible for some other more traditional companies. The tech firms are also very inclusive: you can bring your true self at work, regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity… There is no glass ceiling.

EDHEC Business School helped me to have a global mindset and vision

I would recommend EDHEC Business School to anyone wanting to do a bachelor’s degree in business administration. The EDHEC International BBA program offers a great balance of academic lessons and internships. You don’t spend 4 years reading books only, but you also get to explore the work-life during your very first year. EDHEC is also well connected throughout the world thanks to its growing alumni network and you get to do an academic exchange with some of the world’s most prestigious universities.

My advice to the next generation of international marketers would be:

1. Don’t aim for big companies during the first 5 years of your work life. Go for startups, the earlier stage the better, so you’ll get to have a strategic and holistic role. This will help you a lot to get strong expertise quickly.
2. After 5~7 years in SMB/startups, go for a corporate role. This is where you’ll learn how to best communicate and influence stakeholders. This is vital for your career.
3. Before you turn 30, get out of your comfort zone! Looking back at my twenties, I am so happy I jumped from the comfortable Google job I had in Dublin to this hectic small startup in Shanghai. Initially, I really thought it was the biggest mistake of my life, but it turned out this experience really elevated me so much on a professional and personal level.
4. Use your EDHEC alumni network. Alumni are a great way to get feedback before you join an industry, a company or go to a new country. I would value those discussions over anything else!