This SVP Found a World of Opportunity on Kelly’s Global Team

Natalia Shuman is senior vice president and general manager of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and APAC (Asia and Pacific) regions for Kelly Services, Inc. She also serves as a member of the board for Kelly’s joint venture, TS Kelly Workforce Solutions, in North Asia.

After joining Kelly Services in 1997, Natalia successfully launched the company’s recruitment business in the Moscow market. Several years later, she moved to New York City and opened Kelly’s Wall Street office, while overseeing several branch offices in the New York area. In 2005, she joined the company’s global client relationships team, where she was responsible for developing and executing solutions for a top client. She moved to Singapore in 2011 to focus on strategy and solutions for Kelly’s large accounts in the APAC region in addition to serving as vice president of Global Solutions in APAC. She was promoted to her current role in 2013 and is based in Singapore.

“I think my biggest career leap,” said Natalia, “was when I was asked to manage North Asia region (China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan) as a Chief Operating Officer of Kelly’s joint venture. What I learned from the experience is that confidence is as important as competence.”

Because she is passionate about helping more women gain leadership roles in the business world, Natalia is avid about mentoring women and connecting them to key professional opportunities.

Natalia completed a dual global executive MBA program with Columbia University and the London Business School, and graduated with distinction from St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance in Russia.

The most important quality a woman leader should have is…
…the ability to think and act courageously

The career advice I’d give my former self:
Learn influencing and relationship building skills early in your career

The one thing I’d do differently in my career, knowing what I know now, is…
…adapt to change faster and find comfort with ambiguity

When I really need to focus on a project, I…
…find time when I have the highest energy levels and fewer distractions

My biggest career leap (and what I learned from it) was…
…to manage North Asia region (China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan) as a Chief Operating Officer of Kelly’s joint venture. What I learned from the experience is that confidence is as important as competence.

Being a woman in my profession has been…
…somewhat traditional; I love being called a Kelly Girl®!

I’ve learned that failure is…
…not the end of the world; what matters is to learn from it and move on.

I maintain a healthy personal life by…
…taking short holidays to spend time with my family travelling to exotic destinations around the globe

I knew my present career was what I wanted to do when…
…it made me feel very happy and accomplished to get people in the right jobs and advance their careers and lives.