Ep 142: I've Done Something Many Haven't Had the Opportunity to Do | Lucas Lu (Head of Zoom Asia)

Meet Lucas Lu - Head of Zoom Asia.


And also a fellow Sarawakian!


Lucas has had an illustrious career going from GM of Systems
Technology Group at IBM Malaysia where they closed large deals
within the first 6 months, leading to Lucas winning ASEAN Rookie
of the Year - his first big recognition.


He ended up staying at IBM for 10 years and won 2 Global Golden
Circle Award before moving on to become:


General Manager, Astro

GM (Tech Sales Malaysia), Oracle

Senior Director (APAC Enterprise Commercial Sales &
Industry), Microsoft






Prior to his current role heading the Asian arm of Zoom, covering
ASEAN, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan.


While at first glance, Lucas appears to have had a very varied
career, he has also been very intentional about every career move
he’s made. 


And has had no zero regrets with how it has turned out.


So we dive deep into this episode into all things career
development:


How has Lucas chosen the roles that he has? 


What is his secret sauce to climbing the corporate ladder? 


How should one find mentors/career sponsors? 


How does he plan his career & life (he has a plan for
everything, including for his family members!!)?


Please do listen & leave a rating & review!





Highlights:


1:50 My first 15 years

2:27 Shell City

4:22 No one leaves Shell, but I did…

5:26 Getting the call from IBM

6:05 Switching to tech

6:59 Lucas’ unfair advantage over other people

7:50 Lots of planning & reflections

11:55 What should you do when you first take on a regional
role?

14:06 Career sponsors

14:41 Secret to landing career sponsors

15:22 The first time doors opened for Lucas?

16:15 Moving on after 10 years

17:14 Bringing a corporate mindset to the startup world?

19:09 Measuring returns for media projects

19:41 Moving to Oracle

21:01 Kilimanjaro

22:55 Element of luck

24:16 Dealing with failure

25:55 No regrets?

27:37 Moving to Microsoft

29:14 Takeaways from being fully immersed in a country 

32:00 Did hiking change how he approaches sales and work?

32:25 Why Zoom?

33:43 Checklist for Lucas’ next career move (no compromise)

34:24 How to determine if someone is the right person to work
for?

35:33 Most influential person in Lucas’ career

37:28 Managing the strawberry generation

39:15 What Lucas hopes to achieve at Zoom

43:58 The second act in Lucas’ career

46:45 What STIMY listeners can help Lucas with






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Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/142 


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