If you've worked in several European countries at a senior level you are well placed for a top corporate job. Sharon Voros, of CareerJournalEurope.com, explains.

Nearly all successful executives are headhunter targets in today's market for leadership talent. But pan-European executives - managers who run operations in multiple European countries, work with a variety of cultures and speak multiple languages - are a particularly hot commodity, according to executive recruiters.

The European monetary unification in 1999 set the recruiting ball rolling for many European-based companies. Such corporations as Unilever, Philips and Alcatel, among others, have added a European management layer between their chief executive officers and individual country managers. As the continent consolidates, other companies are hiring executives to combine dozens of individual country operations
into continent-wide multinational businesses.

Additionally, many small US companies have recognised an opportunity to manage Europe as a consolidated global unit, creating numerous new opportunities.

Consider Vignette Corp, a five-year-old US supplier of e-business applications based in Austin, Texas. After its operations in Europe increased more than 300 percent in 1999, it hired Kasper Rorsted, a Dane who was vice president and general manager of Compaq's Enterprise Business Group. Rorsted is directing Vignette's expansion throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as general manager and senior vice president for the company's European region.

"Vignette is experiencing tremendous growth in EMEA and Kasper's knowledge and depth of experience in these markets will help us capitalise on our current momentum," says Greg Peters, Vignette's chief executive officer.

Route to the top

Consider Frenchman Alain Andreoli, general manager of international operations, global services and e-business for StorageTek, a US maker of data-storage systems based in Louisville, Colorado. He had been vice president and general manager for StorageTek Europe. Before becoming CEO of Redwood City-based shipper DHL Worldwide in 1998, Rob Kuijpers headed the company's European effort as president, Europe-Middle East-Africa. He joined DHL in 1988 after serving as managing director for HJ Heinz Europe and, earlier, managing director of Continental Airlines.

Only superstars need apply for these fast-track assignments. The candidate profile that most companies seek includes formidable qualifications. Recruiters say Barbara Kux, who heads Ford Motor Co's Central and Eastern European operations, represents today's European ideal.

One of a handful of high-ranking female executives in Europe, Kux held a series of top management positions at Swiss food company Nestle before joining Ford, where she oversees manufacturing, sales, distribution and service operations in 24 countries. Her background also includes a master's of business administration from INSEAD, one of Europe's top business schools, as well as five years as a McKinsey & Co consultant in Germany.

Essentials

Recruiter Roger Bekius, managing partner of the Amsterdam office of executive-search firm Ray & Berndtson, says ideal candidates have six to 10 years of experience in senior-level management positions, divided equally between the US and Europe; an MBA from a well-known university; an appetite for working in different locations; and a flexible family situation - your spouse and children should be willing to live overseas.

Recruiters say that candidates also should demonstrate the "soft" skills that can drive management success in Europe.

Language skills

A study published by The Association of Executive Search Consultants Europe found that European CEOs speak an average of 2.8 languages. Although English has become the language of international business, local tongues are far more important for effective management in markets abroad. Most multinational companies prefer candidates who speak at least one major European language, such as French, German or Spanish. If a candidate can converse socially in two or three additional tongues, so much the better.

While fluency isn't essential, learning another language well enough to handle small talk demonstrates interest, commitment and emotional intelligence. Rorsted, the former Compaq executive who now heads Vignette's European operations, speaks four languages in addition to English and his native Danish.

Cultural sensitivity

"Today's pan-European managers are adaptable, internationally experienced and fluent in a variety of cultures," says Maury Peiperl, assistant professor of organisational behaviour at the London Business School.

Top candidates know that differences go beyond handshake etiquette or business-card protocol. They're also well aware that European countries differ fundamentally on basics like corporate structure, management style and employee rights. And they recognise that Europeans have a hard time embracing the egalitarian culture of US businesses.

"Although European workers have more rights than American workers, they operate in a highly unionised environment where workers and management view each other as different species," says Don Utroska, a partner with Chicago recruiting boutique Dieckmann & Associates, who has recruited European executives for more than 20 years.

"Europeans almost always find the American notion of 'team spirit' difficult to grasp."

Roger Bekius recently completed a search assignment for a vice president of compensation and benefits with a Euro-American pharmaceutical venture. Based in Holland, the company desired a European executive who could shift the organisation's culture from a formal, traditional German style to a culturally flexible, multinational approach.

The client wanted a top professional with multinational experience who could work equally well in the formal corporate culture of a German company as well as the casual culture of most American businesses," says Bekius.

"We presented candidates from Ireland, Spain and Finland, and the company ended up selecting the one who worked in Belgium for a Japanese company. He also had lived in Germany for more than six years, had spent some time in the US and was highly mobile among US and European as well as Japanese corporate cultures."

Immunity to jet lag

Can you live in an airport? Large, established companies as well as start-ups eager to expand throughout Europe want candidates with enough personal flexibility and energy to travel constantly.

Most EU managers spend the majority of their time away from their offices, visiting country managers, customers, manufacturing facilities or joint-venture partners. Those who work for American companies typically make bimonthly trips back to the US as well.

"Anyone who has jet-lag problems should think twice before accepting a pan-European position," says Kai Hammerich, managing director of Russell Reynolds Associates' Copenhagen office and leader of the firm's European technology practice.

Sharon Voros is president of Voros Communications, a management and career communications consulting firm in Fort Worth, Texas. She's the author of Leadership Presence (Adams Media, 1999) and The Road to CEO (Adams Media, 2000).

Subject: Expat Career tips