Celia Liu is the new CEO for Central & Southern Europe at ISS. The Englishwoman, who has roots in Hong Kong, took up the post in January 2022. During her visit to ISS Switzerland, the senior executive spoke about profitable, sustainable growth in these countries, dealing with different cultures, and the key factors in her career.
As CEO of Central & Southern Europe, where will you place your main focus in the coming years?
Once all our country organizations have recovered from COVID, it will be important for us to move into the next phase. And that phase is growth. We’ve seen solid growth over the past two years. But now that we’ve at least partially overcome the pandemic, the goal is to build on that growth. I’m talking about sustainable, profitable growth with manageable risks. Switzerland, in particular, has some great, innovative solutions and is known for its customer-focused services. I want to share these fantastic solutions with the rest of the region and then with the Group. We can learn a lot from Switzerland.
What do you mean by sustainable growth?
By sustainable, I mean continuous, solid growth and a strong, partnership-based relationship with our customers. We want to meet our customers’ needs, but also stay one step ahead through innovation. We want to anticipate developments in our industry with new ideas. On the other hand, sustainability is also about our net-zero goals. It’s about being a good corporate citizen and a good employer.
Speaking of diversity: What role do diversity and inclusion play at ISS?
ISS employs more than 400,000 people globally, making it one of the world’s largest employers. We can mobilize people’s spirit, their essence, their thoughts, and their diversity. That’s powerful. The first step when it comes to D&I is always to talk about it. But it’s also about representation at the various levels of the hierarchy. And I think you have to lead by example.
Should we introduce quotas and enforce things that way? No. Ultimately, it’s about respect for everyone. We’re not saying that one particular minority is more important than another. But we must ensure that our management and office teams reflect this attitude in each country—specifically, among our Placemakers as well. As one of the world’s largest employers, we can spread this mindset around the globe. That’s very powerful. And then we’ll have representation at all levels.
You’ve been CEO of Central & Southern Europe at ISS since the beginning of the year. How does one build a career like that?
A game-changer for me was the opportunity to become CFO of a company in Thailand. The offer was very attractive to me personally. But it was a huge step for me and very exciting. Also a bit scary - I was only 28 years old at the time! There was just a brief meeting with an employee of the company. I received the offer and accepted it. The job took me from England, where I was born and raised, to Bangkok. And I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunities to say “yes” to new things. That’s probably one of the key factors: saying “yes” when you have the chance to set out for new horizons.
Change takes courage. How do you deal with uncertainty?
It’s important that we learn to listen and gain experience. If you’re not willing to say yes, you won’t get any chances. It’s about coming to terms with the discomfort. The key is to listen and learn. And you have to realize that you’re never the smartest person in the room - and you don’t have to be.
When you’re given the opportunity, you have to say yes. And even if you’re wavering and it’s fifty-fifty, you should say yes. It’s a risk, but it’s a calculable one. What would have been the worst thing that could have happened to me back then? Going back home… I think fear really only relates to the worst-case scenario.