People on the move: Eduardo Suarez Fernandez

From Spain to Argentina to Brazil, Eduardo Suarez Fernandez has explored the world of Electrolux Finance through various positions.

You have spent most of your career at Electrolux in finance. What do you enjoy the most about this area?

One of the nice things about finance is that I get to be in contact with all business areas within the organization. Being in finance isn’t restricted to just analyzing the financial figures and complying with accounting standards and policies. It’s also about being able to share, support, and translate the different strategic and business initiatives into financial behavior. This helps the organization understand if we are on the right path and how to achieve our goals.

How have you seen yourself develop professionally over the past 15 years?

I’ve learned a lot by working across different sectors and regions. I’ve grown step-by-step in all of the positions I’ve had – from the detailed financial analyst job that I began with in Spain, to controller responsibility (for a sales company), to a broader responsibility as Regional Controller for factories and sales divisions. When I put all those experiences together and add in the multicultural exposure, I definitely feel prepared to face the challenges ahead.

Briefly describe your current position.

As Sector Controller I provide support information to senior management so that they can understand the main drivers behind profitability and cash flow. Here I am also responsible not only for the consolidation of the financial figures across Europe, but for the integrated report, budget process, treasury/cash management, internal controls system and merger & acquisition analysis.

You have lived in several different countries throughout your career: Spain, Argentina, Brazil and now Belgium. Having worked in mostly Latin cultures, what are some of the differences in business styles you have noticed after being in Brussels?

Of course there are a lot of well known stereotypes, but really for me there are two main differences I’ve noticed after being in Brussels this past year. The first is the very high level of creativity applied to daily business matters in Latin America, where solutions are brought to different kinds of problems and challenges mainly due to the constant changes of the business environment and more volatile markets. The second is more of a social thing. Latin style requires constant interaction with people, discussion and working groups. In Brussels, there is less personal contact in those same ways.

What has been the biggest change for you personally in moving to Brussels?

The biggest change for me was to leave behind friends and colleagues in Brazil and Argentina. This is always one of the biggest challenges to being an expat – every five years you start from scratch, trying to make new friends and get used to the new environment. The positive thing is that good friends remain, so you end up having them all over the world!