A Small World?

An ad agency is an ad agency. There is similar dialogue in every single boardroom in every single agency in every part of the world," says Tony Granger. "There are different accents but the same issues." Granger, a South Africa native, knows a few things about transcontinental job-hopping. The 42-year-old spent the bulk of his career at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris in Johannesburg, lived in the New York area for two years when he served as executive creative director at Bozell and in March moved to London to be ecd at Saatchi & Saatchi. Like other uprooted agency execs, Granger says that although the broad strokes are consistent from country to country, the nuances are where emigrants can trip up.An executive coach gave Granger tips on mastering the finer points of American culture and corporate politics. "South Africans are brutally honest—they tell it like it is," says Granger, who tried to finesse the way he expressed his opinions. But since good ideas export well, he says, he made no changes to his creative style."If you are going to live in another country, you have to expect to change the way you work and the way you live," says Jerry Judge, who spent his 30-year agency career in London before he was named CEO of Lowe & Partners Worldwide in New York in 2001. "If you try to impose your lifestyle, you just screw up."Judge, 53, says that after he moved his family to Greenwich, Conn., "I decided to live an American life, not be a strange expat." (He visits American landmarks with his family and has become a Rangers fan, but says he'll never quite understand football.) Keeping in mind that Brits "have a history of arrogance" when it comes to U.S. advertising, he says he's made a priority of respecting American business practices. "I'm firm when I think I'm right, but I don't play the 'We do it this way' card," says Judge.For those much lower on the totem pole, the problem is persuading potential bosses that you're speaking the same lingo. Zimbabwe-born Phillip Madanire, 35, says that as a foreigner, it's that much harder to get thoughts and opinions heard at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, where he has worked as an art director, mostly on IBM, for about a year. "People think they can't give you work because you don't understand the culture," says Madanire, who was schooled in India and moved to the U.S. in 1995 to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. "It's tough to break through in another country. You need to have an extraordinary book and must be aggressive marketing yourself." Speaking the same language, literally, was one of Cindy Gallup's first priorities when she became president of London-based Bartle Bogle Hegarty's New York office. She stopped saying fortnight and calling a sweater a jumper; lifts became elevators, and holidays are now vacations. But U.K.-born Gallup, 43, has been adapting all her life—she was raised in Brunei, and after seven years in BBH's London office, spent two years in Singapore, setting up its Asia Pacific operations. The move to Asia taught Gallup to shift her mind-set. "I had to stop thinking of all the things I missed in London and think about all the things that are great about Singapore," she recalls.Chris Becker, the German-born executive creative director of Foote, Cone & Belding in New York, has made a career out of moving. His first ad job was at GGK in Madrid, then he logged time at Ogilvy in Barcelona, Frankfurt and New York, went on to TAPSA\MW Ayre in Madrid, then worked at Bozell in Mexico before landing in New York in 2001. "I'm a gypsy, so I adapt myself very easily," he says.In the U.S., Becker has learned, there's more red tape. "In some countries it's much easier to be unexpected," he explains. "For big clients, you definitely have to go through lots of layers here. In other countries, it's more visceral." Becker's survival tips? "Bring your culture and your experiences, but don't bring your boxes. You must be as open-minded as you can." Tell us about your experiences as a foreign-born agency exec adapting to America. Send an e-mail to mberelowitz@adweek.com.

Brand Marketing

A Small World?

Jennifer Comiteau

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Jennifer Comiteau