Expats in UB
Each week our Editor Allyson Seaborn will be speaking personally to interesting expats who aren’t afraid to share what makes them tick, what they’re reading, who inspires them or how they feel about living in UB.
Our first Personally Speaking column features UB newcomer and young entrepreneur, Adrienne Youngman.
I invite Adrienne Youngman to join me for a chat and can’t help but hug her when she walks in. We’ve met briefly before, but this is the first time I get to ask all the questions and I’m thrilled that I get her all to myself for an hour. Adrienne is unique in that she graduated from Cambridge University with an honors degree in English Literature. What’s refreshing about her, however, is that she puts on no airs or graces -Adrienne is as down to earth as they come and wants to talk about Mongolia and her love of the country she now calls home. With her fair skin and strawberry blonde hair, she doesn’t look like a local to many, but she is indeed just that. Her office and the apartment she and her husband Tom call home are all within walking distance of where we sit at the Grand Khan cafe.
Shortly into the conversation I find out that Adrienne is not from England as I assumed, but from the west-coast of Ireland. “I grew up speaking Gaelic until we moved to Zimbabwe where I learned to speak English.” I’m intrigued and she continues “yes, we moved to Zimbabwe when I was three – my parents were both expatriate teachers.”We’re already off to an interesting start.
We discuss many things and I’m keen to hear about her wedding to Tom last year in Greece. Adrienne describes the beach setting, hand-picked bouquets of wild flowers and people plunging into the ocean. It all sounds very much like a scene from Mama Mia with Meryl Streep, but with much finer cocktails. As the Global Marketing Manager for Captain Morgan Rum, Adrienne was able to get the best of everything flown into to Athens for her wedding, compliments of parent company Diageo. This is the multinational organization she resigned from in order to come to Ulaanbaatar.
“I shocked quite a few people, first by quitting and then by explaining I was moving to Mongolia. Most people at the time didn’t know much about Mongolia.”
“And what happened after the Greek wedding?” I ask, head on hand like a child not wanting a bed time story to end.
“Well, we wanted to go and see the world and stumbled upon Mongolia. Three months into marriage, Tom and I realized that if we were ever going to do something it was now or never.”
Adrienne laughs; her light green eyes twinkling and refers to this as “her window of insanity.” She then describes how “three months into our marriage, we moved to Ulaanbaatar and set up a company in a market we were brand new to and in a language we couldn’t yet speak.” The company to which she is referring is Mongolia Talent Network which she and Tom set up last year. Mongolia Talent Network or simply “MTN” is Mongolia’s largest recruitment or “headhunting” firm which supplies employers with staff. Some of MTN’s big clients are organizations like Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Macmahon, Petrovis and Wagner just to name a few.
“Our company is about helping people reach their potential through options and about bringing little transparency into the market. We help companies and individuals by ensuring that the right candidate gets the right job on fair wages, something you don’t always see in UB.”
But why recruitment? I ask.
“Well, we wanted to start a company that was profitable, yet at the same time something that had a social purpose, something that was good for Mongolia. I know that the process of finding a job in Mongolia can be extremely difficult and cause a lot of anxiety. Here you need connections. Unfortunately, a lot of bright Mongolians don’t have those contacts. High school leavers are given no career advice and they’re told by their parents what to do and often without having a clue. In the UK if you don’t know what to do, you simply go see a head hunter, but in Ulaanbaatar we kept being told that didn’t exist. We wanted to fill that gap.”
I ask Adrienne where she sees MTN in one to two years. “Well, we’ve already gone from two employees to eight in only six months, so I see a team of thirty plus in the next couple of years. Eventually Tom and I would like to have different sectors of expertise within our organization, so there is a greater depth of understanding when a placement is made. We have such great Mongolian staff already. One of the reasons head hunting can be a great career path for locals is that you don’t need an MBA to apply yourself. You really get the chance to prove yourself no matter what your education level is.”
I make some inquiries and find out that Mongolia Talent Network is actually the first Western style head-hunting firm in Mongolia with a stable and consistent standard of service. What’s also great is that the company has a free, bilingual job board and gives career guidance material.
I ask Adrienne what she likes best about her job and she says that she is just fortunate enough to be meeting such talented and smart young Mongolians.
Our time is over and Adrienne insists she must keep her next appointment so I walk her back to MTN headquarters. On our way I ask her to tell me the most useful Mongolian phrase she’s learned. It turned out to be one which sums her up in a nutshell.
Adrienne looks at me matter-of-factly and answers in perfect Mongolian: “Би жуулчин биш.”
“And what does that mean?” I ask with a puzzled look on my face, having not heard this before.
“I am not a tourist,” she proudly beams.
Q & A Time:
-How long do you plan to call UB home?
-Indefinitely!
-What is the best thing about living in Mongolia?
-The best thing is the people. I meet such talented young Mongolians every day, and all have been incredibly warm and helpful. The next best thing is the countryside – absolutely stunning!
-Describe a perfect weekend in Mongolia.
-Given how intense our weeks get, it would have to start with a small lie in and a cup of tea! Then I’d head out to the countryside with a few friends to enjoy a couple of days of wide open spaces.
-What’s your advice to UB newcomers?
-Get out?! No, seriously, the countryside is so beautiful it would be a shame not to see it! And make the effort to try to learn some Mongolian – it’s a long way from easy but well worth it.
-Is there anything you can’t live without in UB?
-Friends.
-Have you managed to learn any Mongolian?
-We’re doing ok I think but it still feels like there is a mountain to climb. We try to have three 2 hour lessons a week and probably average out at two.
-What’s your favourite UB restaurant?
-I discovered the French restaurant last weekend and am still thinking about their steak… So I guess it would have to be that! There’s also a great Thai place and Hennessy’s provide a nice taste of home. The best food we’ve had to date is Khorkhog, but that’s always been out in the countryside so I’m not sure if it counts?!
-What’s your favourite pastime?
-At the moment it’s hard to stop thinking about work. The company is growing so quickly and I’ve never been particularly good at work: life balance anyway….. The only time I switch off a little is when we’re outdoors – so hiking, riding, cycling… anything that provides a little break from the working world. I’m also a sucker for a good spa day!
-What music do you listen to when you’re stuck in UB traffic?
-We walk pretty much everywhere!
-How has UB changed since you first arrived here?
-I think I’ve changed more than anything – UB has become more familiar to me. It’s started to feel more like home.
-Who inspires you?
-Lots of people! I’m generally inspired by people I know, particularly bright professional women. I grew up with huge admiration for my mum and it has only grown over time so she started the trend. I find most people inspiring in different ways, some very obviously, others you have to scratch the surface. And UB seems to have more than its fair share. People like Carolyn and Jo at PWC, Lis at Minter Ellison, Bayaraa and Ariungoo at Minter Ellison, Enkhmaa at Petrovis, Bulgan at Transwest, all of our team here… Amka, Urangoo, Bolor, Nadya, Orgilmaa, Bolormaa. You! I guess I’m spoilt!
-What was the last book you read?
-The e-myth.
-Do you have a favourite quote or motto to live by?
-“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.” Doug Larson.
Our first Personally Speaking column features UB newcomer and young entrepreneur, Adrienne Youngman.
I invite Adrienne Youngman to join me for a chat and can’t help but hug her when she walks in. We’ve met briefly before, but this is the first time I get to ask all the questions and I’m thrilled that I get her all to myself for an hour. Adrienne is unique in that she graduated from Cambridge University with an honors degree in English Literature. What’s refreshing about her, however, is that she puts on no airs or graces -Adrienne is as down to earth as they come and wants to talk about Mongolia and her love of the country she now calls home. With her fair skin and strawberry blonde hair, she doesn’t look like a local to many, but she is indeed just that. Her office and the apartment she and her husband Tom call home are all within walking distance of where we sit at the Grand Khan cafe.
Shortly into the conversation I find out that Adrienne is not from England as I assumed, but from the west-coast of Ireland. “I grew up speaking Gaelic until we moved to Zimbabwe where I learned to speak English.” I’m intrigued and she continues “yes, we moved to Zimbabwe when I was three – my parents were both expatriate teachers.”We’re already off to an interesting start.
We discuss many things and I’m keen to hear about her wedding to Tom last year in Greece. Adrienne describes the beach setting, hand-picked bouquets of wild flowers and people plunging into the ocean. It all sounds very much like a scene from Mama Mia with Meryl Streep, but with much finer cocktails. As the Global Marketing Manager for Captain Morgan Rum, Adrienne was able to get the best of everything flown into to Athens for her wedding, compliments of parent company Diageo. This is the multinational organization she resigned from in order to come to Ulaanbaatar.
“I shocked quite a few people, first by quitting and then by explaining I was moving to Mongolia. Most people at the time didn’t know much about Mongolia.”
“And what happened after the Greek wedding?” I ask, head on hand like a child not wanting a bed time story to end.
“Well, we wanted to go and see the world and stumbled upon Mongolia. Three months into marriage, Tom and I realized that if we were ever going to do something it was now or never.”
Adrienne laughs; her light green eyes twinkling and refers to this as “her window of insanity.” She then describes how “three months into our marriage, we moved to Ulaanbaatar and set up a company in a market we were brand new to and in a language we couldn’t yet speak.” The company to which she is referring is Mongolia Talent Network which she and Tom set up last year. Mongolia Talent Network or simply “MTN” is Mongolia’s largest recruitment or “headhunting” firm which supplies employers with staff. Some of MTN’s big clients are organizations like Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Macmahon, Petrovis and Wagner just to name a few.
“Our company is about helping people reach their potential through options and about bringing little transparency into the market. We help companies and individuals by ensuring that the right candidate gets the right job on fair wages, something you don’t always see in UB.”
But why recruitment? I ask.
“Well, we wanted to start a company that was profitable, yet at the same time something that had a social purpose, something that was good for Mongolia. I know that the process of finding a job in Mongolia can be extremely difficult and cause a lot of anxiety. Here you need connections. Unfortunately, a lot of bright Mongolians don’t have those contacts. High school leavers are given no career advice and they’re told by their parents what to do and often without having a clue. In the UK if you don’t know what to do, you simply go see a head hunter, but in Ulaanbaatar we kept being told that didn’t exist. We wanted to fill that gap.”
I ask Adrienne where she sees MTN in one to two years. “Well, we’ve already gone from two employees to eight in only six months, so I see a team of thirty plus in the next couple of years. Eventually Tom and I would like to have different sectors of expertise within our organization, so there is a greater depth of understanding when a placement is made. We have such great Mongolian staff already. One of the reasons head hunting can be a great career path for locals is that you don’t need an MBA to apply yourself. You really get the chance to prove yourself no matter what your education level is.”
I make some inquiries and find out that Mongolia Talent Network is actually the first Western style head-hunting firm in Mongolia with a stable and consistent standard of service. What’s also great is that the company has a free, bilingual job board and gives career guidance material.
I ask Adrienne what she likes best about her job and she says that she is just fortunate enough to be meeting such talented and smart young Mongolians.
Our time is over and Adrienne insists she must keep her next appointment so I walk her back to MTN headquarters. On our way I ask her to tell me the most useful Mongolian phrase she’s learned. It turned out to be one which sums her up in a nutshell.
Adrienne looks at me matter-of-factly and answers in perfect Mongolian: “Би жуулчин биш.”
“And what does that mean?” I ask with a puzzled look on my face, having not heard this before.
“I am not a tourist,” she proudly beams.
Q & A Time:
-How long do you plan to call UB home?
-Indefinitely!
-What is the best thing about living in Mongolia?
-The best thing is the people. I meet such talented young Mongolians every day, and all have been incredibly warm and helpful. The next best thing is the countryside – absolutely stunning!
-Describe a perfect weekend in Mongolia.
-Given how intense our weeks get, it would have to start with a small lie in and a cup of tea! Then I’d head out to the countryside with a few friends to enjoy a couple of days of wide open spaces.
-What’s your advice to UB newcomers?
-Get out?! No, seriously, the countryside is so beautiful it would be a shame not to see it! And make the effort to try to learn some Mongolian – it’s a long way from easy but well worth it.
-Is there anything you can’t live without in UB?
-Friends.
-Have you managed to learn any Mongolian?
-We’re doing ok I think but it still feels like there is a mountain to climb. We try to have three 2 hour lessons a week and probably average out at two.
-What’s your favourite UB restaurant?
-I discovered the French restaurant last weekend and am still thinking about their steak… So I guess it would have to be that! There’s also a great Thai place and Hennessy’s provide a nice taste of home. The best food we’ve had to date is Khorkhog, but that’s always been out in the countryside so I’m not sure if it counts?!
-What’s your favourite pastime?
-At the moment it’s hard to stop thinking about work. The company is growing so quickly and I’ve never been particularly good at work: life balance anyway….. The only time I switch off a little is when we’re outdoors – so hiking, riding, cycling… anything that provides a little break from the working world. I’m also a sucker for a good spa day!
-What music do you listen to when you’re stuck in UB traffic?
-We walk pretty much everywhere!
-How has UB changed since you first arrived here?
-I think I’ve changed more than anything – UB has become more familiar to me. It’s started to feel more like home.
-Who inspires you?
-Lots of people! I’m generally inspired by people I know, particularly bright professional women. I grew up with huge admiration for my mum and it has only grown over time so she started the trend. I find most people inspiring in different ways, some very obviously, others you have to scratch the surface. And UB seems to have more than its fair share. People like Carolyn and Jo at PWC, Lis at Minter Ellison, Bayaraa and Ariungoo at Minter Ellison, Enkhmaa at Petrovis, Bulgan at Transwest, all of our team here… Amka, Urangoo, Bolor, Nadya, Orgilmaa, Bolormaa. You! I guess I’m spoilt!
-What was the last book you read?
-The e-myth.
-Do you have a favourite quote or motto to live by?
-“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.” Doug Larson.
Comments
Post a Comment