Head of Zoom Asia: "I've Done Something Many Have Not Had the Opportunity to Do" & Have No Regrets

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 Gordon Circle Awards 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.

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 and rating & review!

Highlights:
0:00 Introduction
1:22 First 15 years
2:10 Shell City
3:59 No one leaves Shell, but I did...
5:13 Getting a call from IBM
5:49 What it was like switching to tech
6:43 Lucas' unfair advantage in his career
8:23 Bulldozing others?
9:27 How Lucas plans his career
9:27 What should you do when you land your first regional role?
13:49 Landing career sponsors - the secret
15:05 When did doors first start opening?
15:58 Moving on after 10 years
16:57 Change management
18:52 How to measure returns for media projects
19:24 Why move to Oracle?
22:31 Push on! And element of luck
23:59 Dealing with failure
25:39 Any regrets?
26:25 Trick to balancing career & work
27:21 Moving to Microsoft
28:57 Immersing in a country
31:25 Sales is about summiting many little peaks
31:43 Did hiking change Lucas' approach to sales & work?
32:19 Why move to Zoom?
33:27 Checklist for making career moves (non-negotiable)
34:07 How to decide who is good to work for
35:16 Most influential person in Lucas' career
37:12 Managing the strawberry generation
38:58 What Lucas hopes to achieve at Zoom
43:41 The second act in one's career
46:28 What listeners can help Lucas with
48:15 Do you feel like you've found your why?
52:19 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
52:55 What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful person?


Special Thanks: Limpeh Studios ( @hepmilcreatorsnetwork5697 ) for the studio in Singapore for this recording!

🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/142

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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, a Malaysian lawyer & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality. I’ve interviewed Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

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⌨️ I’d love to hear from you! Just leave a comment below or email me at sothisismywhy(at)gmail.com