f.r.e.d

I believe it was only recently (read: several months back) that it finally dawned upon me that the only people who rise up to manage companies–at least mine and in the tech sector i write about–are sales people.

Excuse me, why has it taken you so long to comprehend how the corporate world works, you say? It’s all about bottom lines and EBITA, so naturally the number crunchers/money-driven folks are tasked to run them businesses. (Big disclaimer: my first job was at a non-profit organization. Hehe.)

So for a while now i’ve been in a victimized mode, wallowing in self-pity that my calling is certain to never get me anywhere near the top ranks. And being a (Sg) journalist, my sucky pay added salt to the injury.

But thankfully, that has changed somewhat when i met the chairman and CEO of a well-known consumer electronics brand yesterday (given this post is published after midnight). Sitting across the table from me was a man who was a journalist for 20 years, rose up the ranks and headed the U.S. media giant (which incidentally bought over my company several months ago) and then became the first foreigner to run the consumer electronics giant.

There’s hope!

Only, two decades of being a journalist/editor/producer sounds way too painful =P