EMEA Recruitment Podcast #130 - Staying Open to New Opportunities - Lou Corapi

Thank you to Lou Corapi, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Gulf Cryo based in Dubai, for joining us on the EMEA Recruitment podcast.  "I love that it's not simple, that the challenges are changing – it keeps me very engaged." Lou spoke to Paul Toms from his "second home" in Barcelona, where he met his wife and where their first daughter was born while he was on an assignment with GE. When he's away from his friends and family, Lou likes to stay connected through technology, such as playing virtual games of Scrabble against his dad. In fact, staying connected was his New Year's resolution this year; having lived and worked across Asia, Europe and the USA, Lou has always found it a challenge. The pandemic, however, made him appreciate quick calls and messages – he had assumed that everyone was simply too busy in the past. Experiencing different cultures and working with different people in his career has taught Lou that there is not really one best way to get something done. He's learned how to be empathetic and be more patient, expressing himself more clearly to colleagues. Lou tells Paul how he got into Finance in the first place; it was more a process of elimination than a true passion for the discipline. Nevertheless, thanks to his strong beginnings at GE, Lou feels "pretty lucky" to have ended up in Finance. Lou spent over 12 years at GE, starting on its "gold standard" rotation programme straight out of university. It was a challenge, but Lou felt that he was making a difference. He was also exposed to different areas of the business, as well as senior leaders, which helped him when he moved to Xylem in 2010. Joining such a big company, Lou enjoyed the fact that there was always something going well, always something inspirational happening, but also that there were always challenges. He's also proud of Xylem's mission to make the world a better place, through bringing safe water to people. With the rise of data and artificial intelligence in the Finance discipline, Lou has advice for anyone early in their career. He is adamant that Finance should be seen for more than just hard skills and that employees should be clear about what would make a difference to them in their work lives. Regarding his own career journey, Lou likes to stay open-minded. He explains that he'd never have picked the path he's been on, so he won't try to guess what the future will look like.   If you're looking for a particular part of the episode, you can use the timestamps below: 01:55: The last thing that made Lou smile03:46: The importance of staying connected05:54: What Lou has learned from working around the world08:09: Staying open to new opportunities10:14: How Lou "ended up" in Finance16:12: Starting his career at GE21:35: Does Lou feel like he's made it in his career?24:44: How the Finance function has evolved28:42: Advice for young Finance professionals32:18: Focusing on the soft skills36:41: Developing a culture that people thrive in39:07: Lou's future career path41:37: How to connect with Lou If you'd like to contact Lou, you can connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucorapi/   The EMEA Recruitment podcast is brought to you in partnership with Operation Smile. We're proud to raise awareness and funds for Operation Smile to continue its work providing free surgery to children born with cleft lip and palate. To find out more, please visit our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/operation-smile   This episode was hosted by Paul Toms, Founder of EMEA Recruitment, and Rose Jinks, our Senior Marketing Executive. Read about our specialist professional services recruitment, including Finance & Accountancy, through our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/  You can also keep up to date with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emea-recruitment-limited/  Connect with Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paultoms/  Or follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paul_toms    To share your thoughts about the EMEA Recruitment podcast, please contact Rose: [email protected]    #emearecruitment #emearecruitmentpodcast #loucorapi #paultoms #operationsmile #finance

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