The multilingual automotive executive with a 100-country travel goal
This month, February 2022 we get to know Serkan Baysal, the Regional Business Manager Middle East, Caucasus and Mauritius at our corporate member Volvo Cars. Serkan was born in Istanbul and speaks four languages fluently which he is constantly using while travelling and working around the world.
HEJ SBC Member!
Serkan Baysal, Regional Business Manager Middle East, Caucasus and Mauritius, Volvo Cars.
Who is Serkan Baysal?
I was born and raised in Istanbul. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics in Istanbul and completed my Master’s Degree in International Marketing in Giessen Germany and Copenhagen Denmark.
I lived in 5 different countries including Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Russia and the UAE; I wonder what will be the next😊. Among those 5 countries, I have worked in 4 of them at different multinational corporations. Living and working in different international environments, gave me the great possibility of doing direct business with more than 40 different countries in the world and led me accumulate vast experience. It is especially worth to say that living and working in Moscow Russia for 2,5 years was the most unique one and a meritorious experience for me.
I travelled to 97 countries for both professional and personal interests. On top of my native language Turkish; I speak English, German and Russian fluently.
Spending my childhood in a transcontinental, vibrant city like Istanbul, living many years abroad and travelling a lot; fortunately transformed me into who I am today. As a result, I can describe Serkan Baysal as a well-travelled, open-minded person with positive attitude who is hungry for travelling and learning more.
I am also into sports and I actively play basketball, which is also a real passion for me.
Serkan in Iceland - achieving one of his many travel goals.
You were born in Turkey but have studied in many countries including Denmark and Germany. Today, how do you find the education you achieved? Would you have done something differently?
I am very thankful to the education which I received in Turkey, Germany and Denmark. I studied International Marketing in Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen in Germany and Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. In both countries, the curriculums were very strong and comprehensive; in addition to that the environment in both programmes were very international with fellow students, attending those Master’s Programs from all around the world. That was a great chance for me to learn the theory of the business, get to know different cultures and improve my intercultural communication skills which structured a very strong basis for my future career.
Being a travel enthusiast, I also enjoyed living in Germany and Denmark in my early 20s due to their central locations in Europe; which made it very convenient for me to travel to almost all other European and Scandinavian countries during those years. I am happy with the paths I chose and what life is bringing me so I would say I would not do anything differently.
Lt General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and Public Security with Serkan in Gotheborg Sweden
Today you are working for Volvo Cars. How do you find the Swedish culture compared to the previous companies you have worked for?
I worked for different companies in different countries with different cultures. It is easy for me to adapt to different cultures. In the core of my values, it is very important for me to protect our environment and to be sustainable in everything what we do. In that sense, I admire Swedish culture as the main notable aspects of Swedish Culture are the respect for the environment and commitment to sustainability. I see this also in our company, which is really good and I am very comfortable as it is also perfectly matching with my values.
What are some of your favourites about Swedish?
First time when I visited Sweden, I was in my early 20s while I was studying at Copenhagen Business School. During my time in Copenhagen, I was lucky to have likeminded friends with whom I was able to do several road trips to different cities in Sweden. Particularly driving through the country side of Sweden, visiting smaller cities rather than the big ones, meeting different people were great chances to see and understand Sweden and its culture. I am always impressed with the wonderful nature and the history of Sweden.
Every country has it own traditions and these traditions are very important because they provide a sense of belonging and meaning to our lives. In that sense; as I love nature, summer and Sweden, “Midsommar” is definitely my favourite Swedish tradition.
What are your dreams?
I feel myself so lucky that I have always achieved my dreams as I planned them.
Since my childhood, I always wanted to have an international career, good communication with people and travel a lot. Moreover, I was able to blend my professional and personal dreams at the highest level as they could move further together.
Besides having a sustainable career in which I can keep learning and contributing to the organisations and surrounding people in a positive way; my future dreams are mostly related to travelling.
I am a serial traveler 😊 and I enjoy travelling to remote places in the world. I travelled to some hard to reach locations like almost all cities in Russia and Siberia, Cape Horn in South America, Antarctica and etc.
In terms of travelling, my short term dream is to complete 100 countries as soon as possible and then in a long run my dream is to cross the Bering Strait.
Thank you Serkan for sharing your story! A true traveler indeed. Keep it up and we wish you all the best!
Serkan Baysal, Regional Business Manager Middle East, Caucasus and Mauritius at our corporate member Volvo Cars
Email: serkan.baysal@volvocars.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/serkan-baysal-35955434/
Website: http://www.volvocars.com/en-ae