Raman Berent, managing director of Philip Morris Ukraine, has been an expatriate since before he probably knew what the word meant. Now 45, Berent was born in Turkey, grew up in Switzerland and has lived in over 10 different countries to date. Then again, taking into account his linguistic accomplishments (Turkish, French, German, Dutch, Russian, English and Italian), he probably could already translate the word into at least one other tongue after kindergarten.
All of this, however, is not unusual for Berent's family. His father was an international businessman with offices in New York and Geneva, in addition to Ankara. His two brothers both married non-Turkish girls - a Texan and a Swede. Berent is married to a Dutch woman and has one child.
Berent's choice of fields in university was also likely influenced by his family. His father was a mining engineer, and his older brother - a petroleum engineer. Berent got a Ph.D. in geology. In the 1980s, he worked for the international oil company Shell in Oman and the Netherlands. "I think that being in the oil business as such was very challenging. If I had to look at it from the technical side, the people management side and even the risk side, there were a lot of big challenges. The only drawback, which was probably more related to Shell at the time in particular, was that the career path remained pretty narrow for a number of years, and I wanted to be a little more broad based and be able to do a number of different functions, which I have achieved at Philip Morris."
After completing an MBA, Berent joined Philip Morris. This was just around the time that Eastern Europe was opening up, which would give him the variety he was looking for. From 1991 to the present, Berent has worked for the tobacco giant in Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Moscow, the Baltics and now Ukraine. He started off in operations, then moved to sales, business development and marketing, eventually ending up in general management. So he not only has a broad range of experience working for Philip Morris, but most of that experience is concentrated in the former Soviet Union.
Berent recalls one experience, during a business trip in Russia, when the financial crisis of 1998 hit: "It was interesting. The hotel got cheaper by the day... They couldn't adjust the exchange rate." Now although based in Kyiv, he looks after Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia too. "This is an important market for Philip Morris and it's a big job." The increase in responsibility has apparently followed from the variety and challenges that the former geologist was looking for. "When you add to it different cultures, then it gives a lot of satisfaction," says Berent.
So how does Ukraine hold up to some of the other places where Berent has worked? "Ukraine has a little more of a southern flavor, if you compare it with, say, Russia. People are, I would say - and I'm not trying to be cute here but - they're a little nicer, a little gentler ... although in a way Russians can be a little more determined... There are differences." According Berent, this gives the country "variety, richness and heart, but also creates the occasional bordak (mess), which goes ... and is not likely to change soon."
Born in the East and educated in Europe, Berent likes some of the difference that he has discovered in Eastern Europe: "To do business in Eastern Europe, you have to enjoy the company of people. It's very important. A lot of business here depends on the people you work with and on the people who work for you. The trust ... that personal touch is much more important than in Western Europe, for example, for that matter in the United States, even more, where things have gotten pretty antiseptic."
However, when Berent moved to Kyiv last fall, the impression was more political than personal.
His temporary flat was a few minutes walk from Independence Square, and the Orange Revolution was just getting underway as his wife and son joined him. Other than that, the country looked like many other post Soviet cities that he had visited, especially with winter coming on. "After 10 years, you really don't get excited by onion domes anymore" but "I must say that the mood changed as soon as we moved into spring. The spring here brought a whole new flavor. The temperature, just the fact of the green city. That was very nice."
Unfortunately, Berent's busy schedule doesn't always allow him to enjoy everything that Kyiv has to offer: "Given the geographic coverage of the job, given the corporate requirements, the travel schedule is heavy, so balancing the family with the work, the office, the travel schedule, it doesn't leave a lot of time for a lot of outside activity." Part of this outside activity for many expatriates is mingling with other foreigners - many of whom have virtually resettled in Ukraine. Time permitting, Berent also takes part, but as a veteran traveler he has developed his own philosophy on the matter: "The problem with expat life is that everything is transient ... you have to imagine your life as a number of sieves. Every assignment is like another layer in the sieve. And you meet a lot of friends, then a few trickle down, and then a few more and a few more. And then after every assignment you take away anywhere between one and three."
So how does the multicultural executive keep in touch with the dozens of acquaintances that he has managed to make over the years? By e-mail.
When Berent does get a free moment between all his responsibilities, he enjoys reading and sport: "I love football." Skiing and scuba diving figure in during family vacations. As far as the reading is concerned, Berent is passionate about history: "If I was reincarnated, I would like to be reincarnated as a history professor." This, however, doesn't mean that Berent regrets his early choice to study geology: "If you travel with me, what you see as a rock is not a rock. There's a lot behind that rock. There's a lot behind that mountain. But you will not see it, I will." History books also accompany Berent on his travels, helping him to better understand the places where he works.
And where will his travels take him next? "After four consecutive ex-Soviet countries, I'd like to go outside Eastern Europe. It doesn't mean I don't want to come back, but I need a break." More responsibility and more travel, "then one day comes retirement ... that's the way it looks today." To join "some fun NGO" or write a book. "I'm still looking for the little house like the one Chekov had in the Crimea, like on that little rock on the private beach." "I don't think I could ever be bored. It's impossible."
Having traveled virtually all his life, absorbing different cultures along the way, Berent seems to still have a pretty good idea of who he is: "Turkish by blood. That doesn't go away ... French by education ... (and) Swiss by growing up there ... but it's difficult. I have a kid who's quadri-lingual and he's got a Dutch mother. So where does that put him?"
The key to these kinds of challenges, according to Berent, is balance. "Ambition is not a bad thing in itself, not at all. If you want to have position and responsibility you've got to have some ambition. The trick, or the difficult trick, is to be able to balance your career ambition with also what you like in life. How much are you willing to give up." Self enjoyment, work enjoyment, career and family are all important to the corporate globe trotter, who has managed to juggle them in different positions, countries and times of his life. "I don't say that I'm good at it. It's just trying to!"
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