After Houston, Paris and Dubai, this KEDGE graduate moved to China to set up his own company!

An international outlook is an advantage encouraged by KEDGE Business School as part of its programmes and with respect to its 54,000 graduates scattered around the globe. Abdelhak Benkerroum is one of these alumni whose profile sets them apart, and who have demonstrated an ability to take full advantage of globalisation.

In 2007, Abdelhak Benkerroum (ESC 2007) left KEDGE Business School with a master's degree, which he decided to complete with another diploma at Texas A&M International University in the USA. Fascinated by the management techniques of US firms, he decided to move to Houston, where he began his career as Geo-Team Coordinator in Supply Chain with Expeditors International. After one year of hard work and several hundred cups of coffee, Abdelhak asked for a transfer to Paris in order to slow down on his hectic work life.

In 2010, he returned to France where he took part in developing a logistics control process for the customer GE Healthcare. Eighteen months later, he was promoted to the post of Regional Account Manager, with responsibility for one of Expeditors' ten biggest customers. At the same time, he was transferred to Dubai. The job gave him an opportunity to cover Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India... while being the youngest Regional Account Manager in a company with a workforce of 13,000.

In Dubai, he learned to ride, amongst other things, practised his kick-boxing skills and decided to learn Chinese. He followed evening classes for four months in Dubai at the Confucius Institute, which then offered him an opportunity to pursue his studies in its partner university in China. So Abdelhak left his job in Dubai, sold all his belongings and left everything for China. After graduating in 2013, he naturally decided to stay in China to set up a trading company in Hong Kong along with a consultancy in Ningbo. At the same time, he teaches at DaHongYing University, Ningbo, for a few hours per week.

Today, Eastheimer International offers services in coaching, and consultancy as well as specialist courses in marketing, international trade and account management. It guides and supports Chinese companies seeking to develop into national and international markets.

"I already had experience in the Supply Chain and international trade, so I was able to quickly identify the positive energy and dynamics of this market," explains Abdelhak. After meeting hundreds of Chinese companies specialising in this field and forming a clear picture of their needs, he decided to set up a company to help them. His customers include many large companies such as foreign Chambers of Commerce in China, or Alibaba (the Chinese Amazon).

Abdelhak also writes regular business articles for “Ningbo Focus” magazine, which has considerably increased its popularity. Within the next few months, he will also be bringing out a book published by the China Customs Publishing House.

"Last month, I took part in a graduate meeting in Shanghai, organised by KEDGE Alumni. I was delighted to see that the school has become such a large entity, well ranked both in Europe and the world," he smiles.

Well done Abdelhak for these amazing career achievements.

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