A CFO’s Warning: Europe Needs to Rethink How It Competes. China is Winning !
Why does China launch at 80% while Europe waits for 120%? Patrik Ziman, CFO for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Boehringer Ingelheim, joins ABROAD STAGE to discuss China vs Europe, cross-cultural leadership and building an international career.Originally from Slovakia, Patrik has worked across six countries during 18 years with the same company. His career took him through Central Europe, Russia, Germany and China, bringing his wife and two daughters along for a life of new schools, languages and cultures.Now based in Shanghai, he shares what working in China has taught him about decision-making, motivating teams and questioning the European habits he once took for granted.One of his clearest examples is product development. In his view, Chinese businesses are often willing to launch, gather feedback and improve while European teams are still testing. By the time Europe is ready, a competitor may already be on its third version. But he also challenges the assumption that being busy means being efficient, or that the differences can be explained simply by who works harder.We discuss why an international promotion does not motivate everyone, why a “yes” might not mean agreement and how WeChat brings business communication and private life together in China.As a finance leader, Patrik explains three skills that helped him grow: making decisions with incomplete information, communicating across departments and speaking confidently at every level of a company. He also shares what he looks for when hiring, why developing your successor matters and how his understanding of leadership changed after university.Beyond work, we talk about raising children abroad, the competitive school environment his family encountered in China, cultural attitudes towards money and how living in Asia changed his view of Europe.Best parts of the episode:🌍 Working across 6 countries with 1 company🌍 Moving abroad with children and starting again🌍 Why overseas career opportunities do not motivate everyone🌍 WeChat and the reality of doing business in China🌍 Being busy vs. being efficient🌍 China’s 80% approach vs. Europe’s pursuit of perfection🌍 What Europe can learn from China and where it still has strengths🌍 Money, savings and long-term economic planning🌍 3 essential skills for an international finance career🌍 What a CFO looks for when hiring🌍 Career advice for young professionals who want to work abroadIf you are building an international career, managing multicultural teams, considering a move to China or trying to understand Chinese and European business culture, this conversation offers a perspective shaped by working and raising a family across borders.What should Europe learn from China, and what should China learn from Europe? Share your perspective in the comments.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━👤 GET IN CONTACT WITH PATRIK ZIMAN🔗 LinkedIn: / patrikziman ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙 ABOUT ABROAD STAGEHosted by Oana, ABROAD STAGE explores the lives and careers of people who built a life abroad.Each conversation looks at international careers, entrepreneurship, leadership, cultural differences and the personal lessons that come from starting again in another country.
