Have you ever left a job you loved? This was my first "proper" job after 11 years in entrepreneurship, and it was very hard to walk away from.
All roads lead to Grab
People are asking about my decision to leave WPP’s GroupM. After all, people who know me well know how much I love my job. I mean…GroupM even let me make a VR recruiting video, code a Chatbot, and build a community. My team are dedicated and talented, we’ve won a ton of fame and acclaim together. It’s been five years of nonstop fun.
Since I joined GroupM, WPP stock has risen from GBP 6.26 to almost 3 times that (at time of writing) 17.80. GroupM have doubled in size in the APAC region. Our future outlook is bright.
So leaving GroupM is a decision I didn’t take lightly.
The magnetic pull of Grab...
Purpose
Grab is Driving Southeast Asia Forward. To achieve this, they are on a compelling mission. This mission is to help millions of people in the region by providing them with the safest transportation platform.
Imagine the puns
I’m working in Recruiting and I’m going to work for a company called GRAB. Editors at WIRED magazine get into actual fights over puns. Who wouldn’t ____ that opportunity?
Forward, together
Grab became a leading tech business by unlocking the passion of Grabbers. They’ve risen to stardom by concentrating very hard on culture. I’m looking forward to making new friends in an environment where people are challenging convention, and solving real-world problems. You only have to spend a few minutes at the Grab offices to feel the spirit of the place, the spirit of mutual respect, intellectual rigor, cohesion, and above all, a relentless drive forward.
Compass
I’ve lived and worked in Asia for 10 years. It’s about time I work for an Asian company, where the center of gravity is here, not London or New York. Here, I’ll get to work with Anthony and Hooi Ling Tan, the Grab founders, and Chin Yin, Grab’s Head of People, on the architecture of the whole company. Grab are born here in Asia, focused 100% on Asia, and as such they are hyper-local. Our $1b capital position is fully focused on SEA, and we claim market leadership across third-party taxi hailing, cars and bikes.
Consumer
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to work for a high-velocity consumer business. Now I finally have a chance. I’ve been a user of the Grab app since it launched and I can’t deny, my brand love runs deep. Grab doesn't only get me from point A to point B. Grab provides me with a daily, pocket utility that I can always trust.
I’m going back to my roots
I believe the technology part of GroupM is far more advanced and valuable than her direct competitors, especially in areas like data science and programmatic. However, my original roots were not in advertising. I spent years advising some of the greatest mobile technology companies on talent plays, and it will be great to return to this field. I want to identify, attract, engage and hire people who code, again.
I love a fight
The battle for transportation market share is being fought out globally, and very fiercely here in South East Asia. Bloomberg Technology call it “A fight of Biblical Proportions” Make no mistake, Grab are competing with one particular company who according to TIME “has shown time and again it will do whatever it takes to reach its goals’ and who are the most funded startup in the world. I feel I should make a Star Wars type analogy here, but I’ll resist.
Whilst we may not have the valuation of our giant competitor (who have already been beaten once on Asian turf) I’m optimistic about winning. Our model is diversified, our GrabPay offering has a shot at ubiquity, and truly localized solutions are almost always best suited to meet local needs.
Not forgetting our capable and very hungry recruiting team…
Bottom line is that I love a fight, and it’s very motivating not to be the biggest or haughtiest competitor in the ring.
So that’s it. Carpe Diem! Walking away from the people, and sheer power of GroupM was really, really hard. I’m going to be Grabbing the day from now on.
Have you ever left a job you loved? Did it pay off? Can you come up with a good recruiting pun for Grab?
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