Deena Lawrence, Manager of Direct
Global, KPMG
Courtesy of Deena Lawrence
Deena Lawrence
tells Matt Wilce about dynamic opportunities at KPMG.
Please tell us a little
about KPMG?
The KPMG practice I manage is called DGB, Direct Global and is part of the Sydney,
Australia audit and assurance business, not the Japanese practice. KPMG is of course one
of the big five global firms, separate from Management Consulting, which is going public
soon.
KPMG is a multinational, when did you begin operating Japan?
DGB has been operating in Japan for over a year now. Previous to that, the business was
managed from Sydney. KPMG practices have been in the Japanese market for many years,
however.
What positions are you looking to fill?
I have two positions to fill, one is available immediately, one is a few months down the
road. I have a need to hire an account manager and later, an administrative assistant. The
role of account manager is quite demanding and requires a certain sort of skill set and
determination. The position itself requires business development and management, research
and market knowledge, and the ability to be flexible in guiding a business practice.
The role of administrative assistant will be refined in the next few months, but will be
looking for someone who can take responsibility for streamlining and organizing the
practice.
What kind of person are you looking for?
For the role of account manager, I am basically looking for a perfectly bilingual native
Japanese who has experience in sales and marketing. They should not only be able to
aggressively champion moving individual client accounts in the right direction, but also
be strategic in the present and future of the business as a whole. The ideal candidate
will be someone who can be balanced, not only taking direction, but creating direction for
the overall good of the business at hand. Needless to say, the successful candidate will
be able to handle responsibility and will recognize the process and paths involved in
being answerable to a yearly sales target. The successful candidate will report directly
to me. For the right person, there is great future potential. In the administrative role,
I will be looking for a highly organized, bilingual professional who can be a complement
to the total business process and keep things flowing smoothly. I am open to many types of
background experiences when it comes to choosing a candidate.
Who are your clients?
Our clients actually cover a very diverse industry spectrum, with a great deal of the
subject matter focusing on niche and esoteric technologies. Additionally, we have a few
clients who focus on product manufacturing and others in retail. With such diverse
clients, we require someone who is capable of absorbing a lot of knowledge and analyzing
that information.
What is it like working at Australia Direct Global?
We are a small practice, and there is a lot of autonomy for the right person. At the
moment, the work environment is casual when possible, professional when necessary.
Although KPMG is a huge global business, DGB is a small practice and we make our own
rules. In other words, we are pretty laid back.
