|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
After years seeking out international exposure, Frederico Egli’s green card showed up this April. He completed average five-year stints for companies operating in Brazil with international ownership, but Egli is now in America, working for one of the most well-known multinational tech companies in the world, IBM. The head of real estate for the US is operating out of the Research Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife and family in tow.
However, Egli says getting to the US took years.
Overcoming Obstacles to Bolster an International Career
“If you’re hoping to work internationally, it takes an incredible amount of work,” Egli says. “It wasn’t just about working hard and demonstrating my value. I was always advocating for myself, speaking to my bosses about opportunities that might be available, and letting them know that I was interested in growing my career.”
The real estate head is still sort of amazed at the field he found himself in. At university in Brazil, Egli’s first major was advertising. He only took up a second major in architecture because he figured he had enough time to fit in an entirely different career focus. Early on, Egli’s first job was copywriting for an advertising agency in Brazil, DPZ Propaganda, while finishing his architecture degree.
“It’s so funny how life can change so quickly,” the executive says. “I never thought I’d go back to architecture. Now, I literally use it every single day.”
Out of Fashion
The fashion world would provide Egli with his first real design work, though, crafting store experiences and aesthetics. He joined Ellus, a luxury apparel brand, as a coordinator after DPZ, managing merchandise, media channels, and points of sale materials. That work eventually gave way to broader retail work for the professional. Egli worked with franchises to validate store locations and help unify store experiences across brands. Egli calls the work “vague,” but it was his first opportunity to begin building the skills that would later encapsulate his career.
As Egli looked to move from the fashion world, he pivoted to real estate, securing a gig as a Walmart real estate manager. While the American retail giant is no longer operational in Brazil, it was where Egli would truly earn his stripes. The executive would get promoted twice over four years, resulting in a regional real estate manager role.
“There were jokes about me when I first came to Walmart,” Egli remembers. “Was this guy here to fold shirts or what? I had to prove myself, and so I dedicated a lot of time to learning the industry and how I could be of value.”
The Opportunity Finally Arises
Those skills would ultimately bring Egli to IBM in Brazil. A different sort of person would jump at the offer without question, as a married man (Egli met his wife at Walmart) with children. But while the opportunity was a great one, Egli’s responsibilities meant he would have to be strategic about trying to secure an international assignment.
“My early schooling involved a lot of international students who maybe spent one year in one country, another year somewhere else, and I didn’t want to do that to my children,” Egli says. “I didn’t want to have to move back and forth if I got assigned to another country. And, fortunately, it’s worked out so well here.”
“Fred seamlessly adapted into his new working environment, embracing new approaches and partnered with us to drive the transformation of work at IBM,” says Stephen Thevaseelan, JLL Senior Director for the IBM Account. “Our partnership with Fred and his team is built on collaborating on innovative, end-to-end CRE solutions that pave the way for evolved workspaces fit for the future.”
In coming to the United States as an employee of the US-based part of IBM’s business, the company sponsored Egli’s transition. For those who hope to find work in the US, Egli doesn’t sugarcoat the potential challenges.
Navigating the Challenges of Relocation
“There are so many of us who chase the American dream and my recommendation is that you work hard in your home country and get assistance to make it here,” Egli says. “There are so many challenges in moving your family. And if you have to add looking for a job to that list, it’s going to be overwhelming.”
Those challenges include the things many US residents inherently take for granted. When Egli moved to the states, his credit rating reset. He was suddenly a husband and father with no credit rating whatsoever. He paid cash for a minivan for his wife and kids, buying a used 1978 Triumph Spitfire convertible to get himself to and from work. The classic car had seen better days, but Egli didn’t want to go through the entire financing process without having established credit.
“That was hard enough, but IBM provided the infrastructure for the visa requirements and the entire process,” Egli says. “Getting invited here is hard, but you can make it happen if you advocate for yourself.”
Shaping the Future of Work at IBM
Like so many leading real estate teams, Egli is deeply invested in figuring out what the future of work looks like for IBM’s talent. Gone are the days when snazzy furniture and a nice office are enough to lure hybrid employees back to the office a few days a week.
Egli says that a developer he’s partnered with made a great analogy for those in the tech industry: It used to just be about the hardware, the buildings; But getting employees back to the office is now about the software. Today, for the real estate team, retaining employees is all about sponsoring curated events and speakers, the right start-up neighbors that create an inviting and exciting work ecosystem, and the right stores that create a more inviting neighborhood for employees to enjoy.
“Hybrid employees have a lot of great reasons not to want to come into the office,” Egli says. “But there are benefits that outweigh those reasons. There is the culture. There is the collaboration. And frankly, for a company as prevalent as IBM, there is the knowledge that you’re contributing to a broader community through investment and aren’t leaving these uninhabited spaces in cities.”
Egli didn’t move to the US, because he thought his job would be easy. But he believes he’s made the right decision for himself, his wife, and his children, who will grow up in one of the most academically promising regions of the country, Research Triangle in North Carolina. It took a lot of time and investment but, as an American leader, Egli is poised shape the future of tech giant IBM’s real estate—and workforce—for the better.
Keeping Your Culture
While growing up in Brazil, Frederico Egli’s parents enrolled him in a Swiss international school, Escola Suíço-Brasileira de São Paulo, to keep him connected to his European roots. Egli finds himself doing the same for his own children now that they live in America.
“We force our kids to speak Portuguese at home,” Egli says, laughing. “The kids are so American already, but we want to keep them connected to who they are and where they come from. You have to find ways to remember who you are.”
