Although my family background is from India, I was born and raised in Dubai – that’s “home” to me, and where I joined Allianz Trade as a business development manager. Since then, I’ve moved to Singapore, Hong Kong, and back to Singapore – and the journey has been incredible.

My first chance to go abroad cropped up in 2012 when the Commercial Director position for ASEAN opened up in Singapore. There are so many considerations when planning a move – the culture, language, cost of living – and it would mean the first time truly moving away from my family. But the opportunity was too good to pass up. So, my wife and I decided to take the plunge.

Coming to Singapore was the best thing I could have done – the ASEAN business needed fresh blood and new ideas. Together with our new CEO, we were able to grow these ideas into actions and become one of the top-performing business units in Asia from a commercial perspective.

In 2016, I became the Regional Director for World Agency in APAC, where I would lead the business for large corporations and multinational companies. This required another move, from Singapore to Hong Kong, and we faced new challenges. However, we’d done it once already and used those learning experiences to ensure the transition was smooth.

Five years later, the role of CEO of the ASEAN region opened up, based in Singapore. Prior to this, my roles at Allianz had always been on the commercial side, but becoming CEO encompassed all aspects – commercial, risk, HR, Finance and more. This was a big change that I was excited to embrace. On a personal level, my family—now including 5-year-old twins—needed to rebuild our social network – during Covid! But we made it work.

In August 2022, my current role as Head of Commercial for the APAC region became available. This time, I was able to forego another move because half of the APAC regional team is based here in Singapore.

Flexibility opens a lot of doors. I believe the key ingredients for success in today’s world are technical skills, people management skills and mobility – including functional mobility. Your next move doesn’t need to be vertical to still hold incredible value for your career.

It’s true that moving abroad requires sacrifice; it means “missing out” on occasions back home. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’ve had incredible opportunities and my children are in school surrounded by other students of numerous different nationalities. They’re becoming genuinely international citizens. And it’s an adventure – we’re growing and exploring as a family. I hope they will still have that buzz when they’re older!

I would have loved to travel when I was younger, like my own children. It opens your eyes and changes your mindset. It enables you to see beyond the stereotypes that are built on what you read in the newspaper or see on television. By living in another country, and interacting with other cultures, you get to experience people for who they really are – and it changes everything.

Your management style will transform, too. I manage team members based all over Asia. Some are native to those countries, some have relocated – you need to understand them all to be an effective leader. Open communication is key. Help your team understand how important they are to the operation. Learn what makes them tick. I’ve adapted in ways I never thought possible simply from working with so many different people.


If you’re considering geographic mobility, the bottom line is: just do it! You can weigh the pros and cons all day long, but you’ll never know until you try. It won’t always be perfect, but the experience and learning will be with you for a lifetime.

Got questions? Connect with Shan

Shan Aboo

Regional Commercial Director

Allianz Trade in APAC