SEGUE TO CHINA Interview by Sue Van Der Hout

When we first met Sarah she was in search mode, looking for a work opportunity that would satisfy her professional and personal life. She found it in a niche space. Networking got her there.

What brought you to this place in your work journey?

My current job has turned out to be my dream job. While I have been dealing with China for 20 years, since studying Mandarin in university, I have always worked as a marketer and manager who happened to know Chinese and had China as an interesting element to my background. Sometimes my job involved China explicitly, sometimes indirectly, and other times not at all (those were the years I had to keep up my Mandarin through frequent visits to the local Chinese restaurant). Since joining the CCBC in 2007, China trade and investment has become the focal point of my job, with marketing and management as the interesting (and useful) elements to my background. This is something I´ve wanted to do for years, but without a permanent move to China, it´s hard to facilitate. The Executive Director job is really one of a kind in Canada, and it only opens up every three to four years, so good luck and fortunate networking brought me to it at the right time.

What does it challenge you to do?

This job challenges me to think like a small business owner. We are a nonprofit organization focused on helping members increase trade and investment between Canada and China, with a small staff and big goals.

Almost 30 years old, the organization faces the challenge of what it should be now that it´s "all grown up." The opportunities are limited to our own creativity. For me, as the COO and executive director, the biggest challenge is to spend my time on activities that add the most value toward realizing those opportunities, even though my days can easily be consumed by other administrative tasks.

Success in my life comes from a combination of health, happiness, and achievement. I have a good sense for the balance required to keep these three things at the right levels. When they go out of whack for a while, both my work and my personal life suffer.

How do you define success in your life and how is this new job contributing to it?

Success in my life comes from a combination of health, happiness, and achievement. I have a good sense for the balance required to keep these three things at the right levels. When they go out of whack for a while, both my work and my personal life suffer. I work very hard, but I do so on my own terms. Most lunch hours are reserved for exercise. With two small children, I´m home by six each night so that I can spend a couple hours with the girls and put them to bed. But then I´m back in my home office for a while, which works well since my staff members in Beijing and Shanghai are starting their day. For me, flexibility contributes a lot to success in my life, and this job provides a good deal of it. I also have the great pleasure of a 20-minute walk to work - something I´ve discovered adds significantly to a feeling of satisfaction!

01.10.2007

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Sarah Kutulakos is Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Canada China Business Council, a Toronto-based nonprofit membership organization focused on Sino-Canadian trade and investment. She joined CCBC in April 2007 after 16 years in marketing, innovation, and general management with firms in China, Taiwan, and the US. Sarah has an undergraduate degree in marketing and international business and an MBA in finance. She is a fluent Mandarin speaker who strives to use the language as much as possible, including speaking it exclusively to her children, ages six and 15 months. The Canada China Business Council has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Beijing, and Shanghai, and more information is available at www.ccbc.com.