Hungarian FMCG experts abroad (Part 4)

József Tasi is a food industry engineer who also earned a degree in foreign trade. He started working for Benckiser, then moved on to Bonduelle, after which came stint at Unilever. Next he joined the Cora team, but after Auchan took over Hungarian Cora stores the latter’s parent company invited him to work for them in France. At the moment Mr Tasi is the director of one of France’s biggest Cora stores and is responsible for the non-food departments in the whole region. Having worked with French people for 18 years his experience is that they take their time in accepting non-French colleagues but once they did, there is real cooperation. They work hard for success and he has learned a lot from them. In his view personal relationships are very important if one is working in France. For instance when his Cora store set up a little amusement park in the parking lot – which shoppers could use free of charge – the last day was reserved for store staff and their families. Mr Tasi welcomed everyone at the entrance personally, offering parents a glass of wine. They appreciated the gesture and afterwards their working relationship became more personal. When asked about his advice to colleagues who would like to work abroad, he told that it is a good learning opportunity. One has to be receptive to an unknown culture, to traditions and to the behaviour of locals. If one has a positive attitude towards new things, it is easy to get used to living abroad. There is great food and superb wines to enjoy in France. Even if one speaks French they have to be aware that this language is full of surprises – learning French is a lifelong process. Mr Tasi closed the interview with wishing good luck to everyone who decides to try themselves in the beautiful country of France. Balázs Laczkó has been a member of the Nestlé team for more than 10 years. He has been working for the company in Germany for 3 years now, his job is managing relations with key partners such as Metro, Real, Kaufhof or Media-Saturn. He resides in Frankfurt and he really likes what he does. He jumped at the opportunity of working abroad. He was attracted by the professional challenge, by the good salary and of course the fact that getting to know a new culture and language would be a great advantage for his children. About the work Mr Laczkó also told that Nestlé’s cultural diversity is one of its strengths. He is also impressed with the precise planning of Germans – although it sometimes becomes so precise that it drives him crazy… He told that the trade union is strong in Germany and this helps employees in their efforts to achieve a balance between their private life and work. His experience is that Germans put less emotion into their business matters or into doing their job than Hungarians. They tend to see opportunities more than problems. They have a positive attitude which is a real guarantor of success. German people are really friendly and open to foreigners, however, they don’t make friends easily. Their obsession with rules sometimes results in funny situations but at the same time it is obvious that this is the engine that drives German society and economy. When asked about the future, Mr Laczkó told that he feels he still has tasks ahead of him in Germany. Probably the family will stay for a couple of years longer. However, they are open to new experiences too, either in their home country or some other foreign place. Only one thing matters: his marriage to Nestlé should continue.