Is This The Ultimate Career Experience?
The story of internal mobility at RELX
For some of us, moving overseas with work is the ultimate career experience. New cultures, new people, new opportunities and a clear statement of ambition.
It’s not an everyday occurrence. After all, any move needs to be good for the long-term career development of the person in helping them expand their world-view; it must be good for the business areas involved and good for RELX. And, there must be a clear and compelling strategic rationale to move expertise from one location to another.
But sometimes, just sometimes, the universe conspires to align these needs and our people find themselves primed for a move overseas. So, how does moving halfway across the world or shifting into an entirely new business, or both, work out for our people?
We picked up the phone to ask some of those who have recently made the leap.
HaeBeom Song
I first became interested in RELX when I was introduced to its impressive story of digital transformation during my time in business school. In June 2021, I joined RELX as an associate in the office of the chairman at Elsevier and supported international business development based in Seoul, South Korea. In June of 2022, I had the opportunity to work at ICIS, part of the Risk business, and relocated to London in September of the same year. I am currently working as an analyst based in London, where I analyse the supply and demand of the ammonia and urea markets.
Since graduating with a major in business analytics, I have been eager to gain experience in producing content that incorporates data and generates valuable insights. With this goal in mind, I searched for an industry where numerical data is prevalent and a company where all colleagues are aware of the importance of business analytics. I am now surrounded by amazing colleagues who have expertise and skills that I can learn from, and I believe this presents a great opportunity for my personal and professional growth.
Although I enjoy pushing myself out of my comfort zone, I must admit that I felt a sense of loss when I was unable to access some of my favourite Korean foods and drinks. Nevertheless, my first international move was quite smooth and I believe it couldn’t have been better thanks to all the support I received from RELX, including transportation from Seoul to London, immigration, visa, tax and temporary living arrangements.
It can be challenging for anyone to step out of their comfort zone, but some may experience anxiety about staying in a familiar environment for too long. Having lived in Korea and worked in the Korean content and media industry for five years, I am now experiencing a dynamic adjustment to a different industry, role and cultural environment. I may not notice it now, but I believe that in a few years' time I will realise that every moment I spent here was crucial to my personal and professional growth. For those seeking growth opportunities, I highly recommend taking advantage of the mobility opportunities across RELX.
Yihan Liu
I joined RELX in 2021 and am currently a support engineer for the Risk business in the Sydney office in Australia. This role allows me to provide guidance to help our customers do business more efficiently online.
I lived in Sydney for about four years before the pandemic. It was great and I was deeply moved by the multicultural nature of the city and, of course, the amazing views. So, my husband and I decided to move to Australia and live in Sydney for the rest of our lives.
When I was in Beijing, after I got my master’s degree, I was working in the customer support team within the STM business. Luckily, there was a support engineer opening in the Risk business in Sydney - so I went for it. Our company’s great mobility policy and my relevant skills helped me secure this position.
Moving overseas is never easy. When we arrived in Sydney last year it was exciting, but I was also anxious. I was overwhelmed by all kinds of problems from work and life. I was so blessed that everyone around me was so kind and helpful. The company also provided comprehensive support to make the whole process easier.
After the inevitable bumps at the beginning of my move, I was able to quickly adapt to the new role thanks to the strong support from the company and my family. RELX has a great mobility policy which can help promote personal development.
Aya Riola
I am the general manager of our LexisNexis Legal & Professional business in New Zealand, responsible for formulating and executing business-critical strategies and programmes to promote and ensure the organisation’s continuing success and advancement.
I joined RELX in 2011 as part of the pioneering REPH leadership team in the Philippines, where I was hired as operations director to help set up the Manila shared service centre. In 2014 I was appointed general manager to build out our second REPH site in Iloilo. From there I went on an international assignment in 2017 to support our commercial teams in Dayton in the US as director for operational effectiveness for the Legal business. In 2022 I relocated to New Zealand for my current role.
The multiple opportunities I have pursued and diverse roles I have undertaken throughout my career at RELX have allowed me to expand my commercial knowledge, business acumen and most importantly people leadership. The cultural learning from working with esteemed and talented colleagues across the business have been the most fulfilling aspect of my journey.
The one true differentiator of working for a global organisation like RELX is the commitment of investing in talent and sustained professional development. Taking the leap of faith by leaving my comfort zone and pursuing higher learning has been a truly worthwhile engagement. Throughout my 12 years in the business, RELX has showed nothing but genuine intention to provide the guidance and support to ensure my continued success.
Embrace the learning journey and make it count, is what I always say.
Chinmay Panigrahi
I’ve been working as the director of customer discovery within the Exhibitions business since 2021. I am based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and work in the digital product management group. Leading customer discovery entails exploring opportunities for the business and using customer discovery and lean experimentation to assess their potential benefit and risk. In early 2023, I completed 10 years with RELX.
When I look back at my eight years in the STM business, before joining the Exhibitions business, I feel I have subconsciously made career choices which helped me build important product management skills which I used to take on more responsibilities and to grow my career. Starting with ScienceDirect, the flagship product, I became better at stakeholder management. With Elsevier product insights for customers, I got closer to sales and marketing and finally while launching SciVal Grants, I honed my commercial skills. At this point, I was ready for something outside the world of research and academia, so in 2021 I traded my Elsevier principal product manager boots for those of the director of customer discovery at RX. Here I’m leading efforts to uncover more avenues to offer value to our customers at and outside our events.
From a distance it could seem like RELX runs almost identical businesses in many domains - information and analytics solutions for critical customer needs built on great content assets. This offers plenty of opportunities for colleagues in multiple business functions to move from one RELX business to another. One should feel empowered and confident enough to pitch themselves for a role in a sister business as it’s a great opportunity to gain a fresh context in the familiarity of the RELX family.
Martine Van Brussel
I work as Director of Business Development in the RELX Corporate Finance team in London. Our team is responsible for oversight of all RELX’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities globally, so we work closely with the senior leadership and all the RELX business areas which makes this an extremely interesting role. I only joined the team in February 2023 and so far, I have really been enjoying it. It’s a great opportunity for me to use my previous experience and learn more about all the products that RELX has to offer.
I first joined RELX in 2015 in Singapore where I was leading the business development activities of RX in South-East Asia and Australia. In that role I worked closely with the corporate development team at HQ in Richmond in the UK. I subsequently joined that team in 2017. In that role I worked on a broad range of commercial projects across the globe as well as M&A. For the latter, I worked very closely with the team I have just joined. So, for me this has been a natural progression of my career which has allowed me to first work across RX globally, and now across the RELX group globally.
My first internal move in RELX was an international one from Singapore to London which was very exciting. But moving countries and starting a new life is also very stressful so I was very grateful for the support RELX gave me not only practically but also on a personal level. My second internal move from the Exhibitions business to RELX was also seamless. On both occasions, the incoming and outcoming teams have been very supportive which helped with the transitions. Plus, every time I still got to work with some of my previous colleagues in my new role, so it was never a real goodbye.
RELX has so much to offer, the company is at the forefront of analytics and technology that in so many different ways helps to make the world a better place each day. It also takes care of its people. I feel truly privileged to work here. The breadth of exposure and experience you can achieve at this company is unparalleled. I highly recommend my colleagues to first investigate more about all the great things that RELX does, trust me there is a lot you are not aware of until you dive in, and then just get out of your comfort zone and explore opportunities to move. It is a great way to learn and fuel both your professional and personal growth.
Toshihide Saito
I joined Elsevier in Japan in 2017. In January 2022, I relocated from Tokyo to London to become a member of the Elsevier strategy team. My role is director of strategic and commercial projects and I am currently supporting the development of project-based strategy in the international market.
My main reason for choosing my current position was to further my own career development. My entire career of more than 20 years has been in sales. I believe that stepping out of my comfort zone and becoming more holistically involved in the business will have a positive impact on my career development. I also thought that by moving out of Asia Pacific, I would be able to meet more colleagues from the company and learn new things from them. I am still learning, but I now feel I can look at things from more angles.
I have a wife and two children, aged 8 and 6. Relocating to London with the whole family was filled with a lot of hope and a little worry. It felt like starting a long journey on a boat with my family of four. RELX and my colleagues were very supportive and helped to ease my worries and those of the whole family. Now, a year after relocating, we are fully enjoying life in our new location. The worries we had in Japan before we left are now completely gone. I appreciate all the people who supported our relocation.
The question I asked myself when considering a career change within the company was: "Is this a positive change for positive reasons?” I also told myself that not taking a risk is also a risk. These words gave me the confidence to take on a new challenge for myself. My advice to anyone considering a move within RELX is to remember that we operate in a variety of sectors and are sure to have internal opportunities that would interest you, and that RELX is also a company that supports the career development of its people.
Regor Ortiz
I was a business controller in REPH in the Philippines for three years before moving here to the STM business in Amsterdam in 2022 as a senior business improvement analyst.
I decided to make the move because I believe that I’ll be able to grow and learn more by being closer to my stakeholders. It also gives me a better understanding of what their needs are thus enabling me to provide better solutions.
My family is still back home in the Philippines. There are many personal things to consider before they move out here with me. I need to check on those first before we can decide. But if everything works out then hopefully soon, they will be with me.
In making an overseas move like this it’s most important to really know what you want and be open with your manager about it. Then look around for roles that may be suitable for you.
Alexander Mountain
I started working for RELX in 2016 in Leeds in the UK as a business development executive in the tax and legal sector. After four years, I was promoted to business development manager looking after the Tolley Tax Market and then in 2022 I transferred from the Legal business to ICIS within the Risk business. I saw a new opportunity to enhance my career and learn a new industry. I am now located in Dubai looking after the Middle East as a business development manager and my job is to proactively identify and secure new businesses for ICIS.
I was ready for a new challenge and wanted to advance my own personal skillset, I also found that there was more opportunity to develop my own career and I was ready for a new experience. I also saw better opportunities to provide for my partner and daughter who are still in the UK as we are looking to buy our first home and the UK market has been extremely challenging.
My family is still in the UK, but they have been able to come over and stay with me which is nice for me and them as they get to experience the nice weather. I have also been able to visit the London office a few times and will be spending a couple of weeks in the summer over in London which gives me additional family time outside of work.
Take a step outside your comfort zone. If it doesn’t work out and you have built up a good reputation and network within RELX, there will always be other positions. I can honestly say the risk I took has paid off and I am already on my way to securing my first home for my family.
Don’t think what if it doesn’t work? - think what if it does?.
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