In this interview, we explore the dynamic career and perspectives of Marielle de Spa, Founder of TCKapital and Partner at AIKON Executive Search. Marielle shares valuable insights on career transitions, the impact of international experience and her commitment to promoting female leadership.

Interviewed by Sarah Happ

 

As the founder of TCKapital, could you share the inspiration behind establishing a strategic foresight advisory firm?

TCKapital stands for Third Culture Capital. I became very interested in third-culture individuals –people who are exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences through being raised in a culture other than that of their parents or nationality- because of my own experience of making multiple transitions throughout my expat journey, but also because of my children who are third-culture kids. I wanted to understand the impacts of an international journey like ours. What were the competencies developed by cross-cultural executives throughout their careers? When I created the firm, my idea was to serve this community of third culture individuals navigating professional and personal transitions. I had shared this experience myself and therefore, understood their profile, but I also felt there was a genuine need and gap in the career advisory and executive search market for tending to the needs of cross-culture individuals.

Throughout your 20+ years of global C-level executive search experience, how have you elevated global competence in leadership teams, especially when dealing with diverse cultural backgrounds?

TCKapital provides leadership and career advisory, and I would say that 99% of my clients have international experience. I found that cross-cultural individuals have this international experience, but oftentimes they are unaware that it can be an asset for their professional lives. I help them strategise around those competencies that are very valuable in today's marketplace. I help them build a story so that the market, their companies, and potential recruiters can appreciate the value of their experience.

At AIKON, I have Finnish, Danish, French and German colleagues among others, and while we all have a background working in large executive search firms and have our own individual areas of expertise and focus, mine being Southern Europe, Iberia and Latin America, there is a definite feeling of an alliance and a pan-European partnership. One of the distinctive services that we provide is cross-border searches that involve deep know-how of different markets and cultures. We are very skilled at conducting pan-European searches or even global searches to find candidates who bring that international experience that suit the needs of our clients. 

With a diverse career background, including gemology and talent acquisition strategy, what advice do you have for individuals experiencing career transitions, seeking to reinvent themselves?

The circumstances of my life have led me to reinvent myself quite a few times. Fortunately, these days, those are qualities that companies and markets are looking for. In life, you are always confronted with choices you have to make. I came to a crossroads at some point where I left my firm because they didn't have an office where we moved to in the US. Instead of seeing it as an obstacle, I tried to see it as an opportunity to do things that I never had the chance to do before, that I was passionate about, and gemology was one of them. Earlier in my career, I had worked in the luxury space, at Chanel, and I thought to myself that this was the perfect opportunity to go deeper into the jewellery business.

The circumstances of my life have led me to reinvent myself quite a few times. Fortunately, these days, those are qualities that companies and markets are looking for.

Career transitioning is not always easy and it has many levels. You can do an easy transition by just changing companies but doing the same thing that you're doing, or you can completely reinvent yourself and do something completely different. It's scary and you feel like it's impossible, but you can do it, and I did! What my experience has taught me is that any obstacles are mostly in your head and you can do anything you put your mind to once you overcome this.

I always talk about the toolbox; you're just adding more and more to your toolbox. I advise my clients to make sure that they keep learning. As women, this can be difficult to embrace because when we embark on any new opportunity, we tend to want to do it perfectly. We think we're not going to be good enough, so we need to be extra skilled in comparison to men. But you just have to be confident and think that you can start whatever you want. Give yourself the space to do something crazy, to do something different; to do something you always dreamt of doing -  then one day you will suddenly wake up and you're in the place you dreamt of.

Give yourself the space to do something crazy, to do something different; to do something you always dreamt of doing -  then one day you will suddenly wake up and you're in the place you dreamt of.

Managing various roles can be demanding. How do you strike a balance between your commitments at TCKapital, AIKON Partners, and other advisory boards?

Everything is connected. My roles and commitments are not competing, one area feeds the other. For example, I've always put an emphasis on women's advancement, and I would say 80% of my clients are women, so I work a lot with women. I also am part of advisory boards in women's associations. So, it's all connected.

I always ask my clients; ‘what is your spinal cord?’ My spinal cord is consulting and strategising. I can do it in many areas, many different fields, but I never leave the consulting space. Even when I went into the jewellery business, I was a jewellery consultant. Therefore, my advice is that you can be a generalist like me, but there are two rules that you have to follow: the first rule is to be careful not to dilute yourself; try not to do too many things and not finish any of them or not have the opportunity to go deeper in each of those. The second rule is to make sure that if you are going to embark on different types of projects instead of just one, they need to feed each other.

Given your belief in the importance of future-proof skills, how do you think young people could be better prepared for the evolving job market?

I think most young people have future-proof skills, they just need to know how to leverage them and how to use them their advantage. My advice would be to stay updated. To give an example, I'm not saying that you need to become a specialist in AI, but you have to be knowledgeable about the different things that are happening and how this could impact your field.

I would also say future-proof skills have a lot to do with soft skills, with being resilient, agile and adaptable. If you have the opportunity for transitioning and having an international career, that already gives you most of those skills, right? That's why I always encourage people to work in different countries and fields. Don't try to focus too much from the beginning. Give yourself the opportunity to discover.

I always encourage people to work in different countries and fields. Don't try to focus too much from the beginning. Give yourself the opportunity to discover.

You are an Executive Board Member of Mujeres Avenir and recently joined the WIL network. Why do you believe it is so important to promote female leadership, and what initiatives do you believe are most effective in supporting women in the workplace?

We have achieved a certain level of advancement for women, but there is still so much more to do. I just organised an event for Mujeres Avenir. I wanted to bring in a few women who had been successful in their own fields, but more than to talk about their success, I wanted them to talk about the biggest obstacles in their careers, to understand the challenges they face. That is why I'm part of these associations because I want to use my work, what I have learned, and I want to pass it on. As women, we need to support each other as much as we can.

There are two things that I emphasise in terms of supporting women's leadership or helping new generations toward that goal. The first one is to make sure that you get a sponsor. A sponsor is someone that not only mentors you but is going to help open their network to you, it's someone who's really going to advocate for you, who's going to basically pull you up and open doors to you. The second one is cross-generational sharing. There's so much that the younger generations can take from the older and vice versa.

Building global networks has been a cornerstone of your career. Can you share how your network significantly impacted your work or opened unexpected opportunities?

There isn’t an individual figure who stands out to me or changed my career. It’s the cross-sharing that has been the most impactful for me. It's the little conversations, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with them. It's hearing about how one or two made it to where they are. That’s what is most important to me in these networks.

And for younger generations, it's an opportunity to find these sponsors I'm talking about. I think the hardest thing in life is to get in, to get access to the people that you want to have access to. A network like this gives younger professionals access to connections that you otherwise may not come across. So, leverage this network, because it is an opportunity, it is a privilege, and it will make a difference in your career.

Leverage this network, because it is an opportunity, it is a privilege, and it will make a difference in your career.

Video edited by Claudia Heard