Joyce Cheng

Thanks to all my project partners, mentors, friends and colleagues worldwide, for all the wonderful moments over the years. My last month with ZF was highlighted by company results, 3 board-level media interviews, setting the scene for success in the only global auto show in H1, handover and many, many farewell gatherings online.

Looking back the last 45 months, I drove a few typical global shows among... hmmmm… the first-ever China International Import Expo, first major test-drive event in Asia Pacific; also received national leader and delegation over 2 weeks’ preparation, and saved a pitch event by bringing in external innovation partners etc.

<img alt="ZF's presence on the very first CIIE turnaround our brand value in China. We chose to proactively engage media and teased ProAI, at a time when nobody cared about the show. Our strategic investment of time and efforts gave us flying ROI and much pride. A colleague ran to my office on morning, to tell me how excited she was hearing ZF in Shanghai Radio morning news; she even woke up her husband to catch my interview. German Chancellor Merkel visit at ZF plant in Beijing was way less emotional to me – it was just a 12-day problem solving exercise. " data-media-urn="" data-li-src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/C5612AQHcofjtYLNMWQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0/1617712331415?e=1730332800&v=beta&t=fQ6q2HerVMRfitrAAUKxT7MpDH5kpspOlOQyga4t0Yw" src="//:0"> I also handled the typical, oooooh yes it’s supposed to be typical tasks for communicators – crisis management (it just happened to have the name COVID) and storytelling (one recovery story that appealed to both WSJ and The Reference in Beijing at the same time) etc.

I admit that I have lost some momentum recently. I didn’t prioritize proving myself e.g. by comparing the share-of-voice or the number of clippings in my first vs. last month with this company. To ZF internals, many of the projects you recently heard were not my babies at all – most were sparkled and implemented by my team members while I only gave green light and sometimes a strategic touch. I probably have forgotten many projects already.

Zooming out a bit, between 2013 and 2020 I managed 6 global auto show communication programs as the host lead in Beijing/Shanghai; put aside Guangzhou and a long list of other global events in Detroit, Las Vegas, Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris and Tokyo etc. etc. To compere internal town hall for Carlos Ghosn in 2014 was not my best moment in Nissan; it’s been only remembered as one week after my relationship collapsed for the first time.

Let’s not pretend – not every day has been equally beautiful. Challenges are challenges and by nature challenging. Disagreement, competition, literal discrimination and hate exist, and would not completely vanish even though vast majority explainable - thus manageable - by talking misunderstanding and differentiated aspiration. “If they go low, we go high” is a great approach in handling, but I could tell it demands enormous patience, tactfulness and optimism.

During one appraisal session in Beijing, a Chinese staff said to me, “I always know and accept the glass ceiling. But since you become my boss, now I feel that glass ceiling has gone up.” I still see this the best compliment throughout my so-called years in the automotive industry.

<img alt="My interview in “24 Hours of Autocans” a documentary series by Shanghai-based AutoLab. I talked about I dropped an agency offer to join Nissan, after hearing about how cars liberate many women. That part did not make to the final cut, but I remain grateful to the director who kept this quote of me: Happiness is at your choice." data-media-urn="" data-li-src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/C5612AQFi0ZM_0CcWWQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0/1617712442234?e=1730332800&v=beta&t=0u3tDNcFCMkkyghTg8Vd3iXBmlDuvLI1fEPeXd49qoc" src="//:0"> Since 1st April I am on my DIY sabbatical. After 16 years’ back-to-back corporate roles, it’s time to reflect, adjust lifestyle and get ready for a new world, may it be the bigger picture or my small universe. I will remain physically in the UK while active on this platform – if you see we have more commonalities or complement potentials, we could chat in private message box. If you just feel interested in reading my posts, simply leave a comment below and stay tuned 😊 It all just started.

Joyce Cheng

London, England, United Kingdom 3K followers 500+ connections

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Public Speaking, Marketing Strategy, Writing, Event Planning, Trade Shows, Project Management, Public Relations, Business Consulting, Strategic Planning, and Executive Coaching

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