Becoming the top executive of any company is a big step in your career. Whether the company that you are leading is big or small, you are being tasked with guiding it into the future. It is your responsibly to be a good steward of the company and ensure that your legacy is a positive and lasting one. If you are thinking about becoming the CEO of an overseas company, what are you getting yourself into?
You should make sure that you are able to enter the country where you are going to be working legally. To make sure that you are able to live or work in a given country, you should talk to a migration agent as soon as possible. A migration agent can tell you if you need to get a work visa or complete any other type of paperwork before you enter the country.
What if You Are Investing in the Company?
It isn't uncommon for the CEO of a new company to be a stakeholder in the company as well. For CEOs of larger companies, it is common to be given stock options as part of a compensation package. If you are going to be investing in the company or given stock options, you should make sure that it is legal for foreigners to invest in their overseas business. In the event that a foreigner is not allowed to own stock, find someone to hold stock in your name who can act as a trustee.
Learn the Language
Part of being a CEO is being able to communicate with the people who you lead. If you cannot communicate with your people, why should they want to follow you? In fact, it may not even be possible to comply with directives or take action if employees don't know what is being said to them. While you don't need to speak the language fluently, it is a good idea to learn as much of it as you can.
Learn the Labor Laws
Make sure that you know the labor laws in the country that you are working in. If you are going to be responsible for scheduling or directly supervising hourly workers or minor workers, you could be held liable if they work too many hours or are kept later than they are legally allowed to. Even if you are just sitting in an office away from the sales floor, you could still be held liable if you knew or should have known that violations were occurring.
Being the CEO of a company is a great accomplishment. However, along with your newfound authority, you are going to be faced with expectations to lead the company to greater things. Therefore, you need to make sure that you learn the laws of your new country, assimilate into the culture and do your best to make it as easy as possible for everyone to do their job to help the company grow.