双语 | Polish gets 'mission impossible' done in SZ波兰女高管在深成功建立中国分公司

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编者按

Shenzhen has been attracting more and more foreign professionals to the city, who contribute to its high-quality development while advancing their careers. 

Shenzhen Daily is publishing a series of stories about high-caliber expats, sharing their stories and the reasons why they chose to work and live in Shenzhen.

作为一座魅力之都，深圳吸引着越来越多来自不同领域的外籍专业人士，他们在发展事业的同时也为城市的高质量发展做出贡献。

英文《深圳日报》推出高端外籍人士系列报道，让我们一起倾听他们的故事以及选择来深发展的理由。

It was her first job and she had worked for the company for just one year, but in 2017, she accepted the challenge of coming alone to Shenzhen to set up the company’s Chinese branch.

那是她的第一份工作，当时她也才工作一年，但在2017年，她毅然决然接受挑战，孤身一人来深建立中国分公司。

Dagmara Głowacka from Poland, 31, is currently the legal representative, executive director and general manager of Shenzhen TME Electronic Trading Company Ltd., the Chinese branch of Transfer Multisort Elektronik (TME), a global distributor of electronic components headquartered in Poland.

来自波兰的Dagmara Głowacka今年31岁，是TME集团中国分公司——深圳特美意电子贸易有限公司的法定代表人、执行总监兼总经理。TME集团是一家总部位于波兰的全球电子元件分销商。

Dagmara Głowacka at her office in Nanshan District.

Dagmara Głowacka在位于南山的办公室工作。

“Our company is a global distributor of electronic components, offering over half a million types of products. We are a big e-commerce platform, which means our customers can seamlessly buy all the parts online. We have a fully equipped modern logistics center that can pack packages within 24 hours and deliver to our customers in more than 150 countries,” Głowacka introduced.

“我们公司是一家全球电子元件分销商，提供超过50万种产品。我们是一个大型电子商务平台，客户可以在网上无缝购买所有零部件。我们有一个设备齐全的现代物流中心，可以在24小时内快速打包，配送给我们分散在150多个国家的客户。”Głowacka介绍说。 

Employees work in the office of the Chinese branch.

员工在中国分公司的办公室工作。

Głowacka, who has a great interest in international relations and business, studied English and international business simultaneously in Poland and later in Northern Ireland. Later she did her internships in France and the U.K. She also started to learn Chinese in 2016, which undoubtedly boosted her career development.

Głowacka一直对国际关系和商务有着极大的兴趣。她先后在波兰和北爱尔兰学习英语和国际商务双专业，之后在法国和英国实习。此外，Głowacka还在2016年开始学习中文，这在很大程度促进了她的职业发展。

Dagmara Głowacka communicates with colleagues.

Dagmara Głowacka和同事交流工作。

After her internship in the U.K., Głowacka joined TME in 2016 to pursue an international career. “TME, with its unconventional, brave approach to business and huge trust in me, opened a magical door. The company’s owner — Adam, had an impressive vision of expanding to the Chinese market. He outlined the company’s plan when he noticed that I had been studying Chinese and chose me for this mission,” Głowacka recalled.

实习结束后，Głowacka在2016年加入了TME集团，从事她的国际事业。“TME集团善于打破常规，以其独特的商业魄力和对我的巨大信任开启了一扇魔力大门。公司的老板Adam有一个宏大的愿景：拓展中国市场。当他发现我一直在学习中文时，就跟我讲述了公司的发展计划，并派我来完成这个使命。”Głowacka回忆道。

From then on, their cooperation started. “For the first time, I felt that studying Chinese was the best decision I could have made and joining Adam’s company was one of my most enriching experiences,” Głowacka said.

他们的合作就从那时启动了。“那一刻，我第一次感受到学习中文是我做过的最正确的决定，加入Adam的公司也给了我无比丰富精彩的经历。”Głowacka说道。

In the summer of 2017, she visited China on a short business trip to figure things out. During the two-week trip, Głowacka visited Shanghai and Shenzhen, and she was overwhelmed by their modern urban development.

2017年夏天，她来中国短期出差，进行市场调查。在两周的行程里，Głowacka参观了上海和深圳，这两座城市的现代化发展给她留下了深刻的印象。

Ping An Finance Center and other buildings in Futian.

福田区的平安大厦及周边楼宇。

“All those tall buildings, highways, a lot of people and a lot of cars, the pace of life ... I was very shocked initially because it was a totally different reality than the one I used to live in before. Till today, I still remember the big contrast I noticed between my past life and what I discovered in China, but at the same time I felt thrilled because I was surrounded by extremely advanced technology, highly developed online services and leading trends that will only get to Europe a few years later,” she said.

“所有的那些高楼大厦、高速公路、大量的人和汽车，快节奏的生活......刚到这里的时候我感到很震撼，因为这与我以前的生活差异很大。直到今天，我仍然记得当时感受到的巨大反差，但同时，我感到很兴奋，因为在这里，我被高科技、极其发达的线上服务和领先的潮流所包围，而这些大概几年后才会进入欧洲。”她说。

After the trip, Głowacka went back to Poland and presented to the company’s board of directors her research results. They had a long extensive strategy discussion about establishing a branch in China.

从中国出差回到波兰后，Głowacka向公司的董事会报告了她的调查成果，他们就建立中国分公司进行了长时间广泛的战略性讨论。

“Setting up the first branch of our company outside of Europe (the previous nine subsidiaries were all within European Union) required redefining the previous approach. The challenge was even bigger as we were expanding to those ‘unknown waters.’ So, it was necessary to plan very well ahead in order to meet all the ambitious goals the company has set towards China,” Głowacka said.

“这是我们公司第一次在欧洲之外建立分支机构（之前的九个分公司都在欧盟内），所以我们需要重新商定策略。对我们来说，拓展中国市场这一‘未知领域’，我们将面临更大的挑战，需要提前做好计划，这样才能实现公司为中国市场设定的所有宏大目标。”Głowacka说。

Their plans for the Chinese market were quite big, including setting up a sales and marketing team and a logistics team, starting an e-commerce platform seamlessly matching Chinese user experience, adjusting payment methods and opening a local warehouse in order to speed up delivery, to name just a few.

他们对中国市场有着庞大的计划，包括建立销售和营销团队以及物流团队、建设无缝贴合中国用户体验的电子商务平台、调整支付方式，以及建立本地仓库以加快配送等。

Dagmara Głowacka at China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen in 2021.

Dagmara Głowacka2021年在深圳举办的高交会上。

Shenzhen, a tech powerhouse with astounding growth and smart technologies, has been their ideal place for the branch company from the very beginning. “I knew from the beginning that it is going to be Shenzhen. It is simply the place to be for the electronic components industry,” Głowacka said confidently.

深圳，一座发展迅猛的科技之都，从一开始就成为他们设立分公司的理想之地。“我从一开始就知道我们会选择深圳，因为深圳就是电子元器件行业的必然之选。”Głowacka信心满满地说。

Finally, by the end of 2017, she boarded another plane heading directly to Shenzhen, with the mission of setting up their Chinese branch in the city. And it was nothing easy.

最终，2017年年底，她带着建立中国分公司的使命，搭乘飞机抵达深圳，开启了颇具挑战的创业之路。这一路走来并不容易。

Dagmara Głowacka poses for a photo in the office.

Dagmara Głowacka在办公室拍照。

“It was kind of mission impossible. The company provided me a ticket to China and a one-month hotel stay. Obviously, I could count on the support of lawyers and accountants, on condition that I found them. But, it was my task and my responsibility to find qualified consultants and make the right decisions. The process was bumpy and very time-consuming,” Głowacka said smiling.

“这有点像不可能完成的使命。公司给我提供了一张来中国的机票和一个月的酒店住宿。当然，我可以依靠律师和会计师的支持，但前提是我得找到合适的人选，找到合适的顾问并做出正确的决定是我的任务，也是我的责任。整个过程很坎坷，而且非常耗费时间。”Głowacka笑着说道。

In the course of establishing and running the branch company, she has encountered countless challenges. One of the biggest challenges to date is being a bridge between China and Europe.

在建立和运营分公司的过程中，她遇到了无数的挑战，其中最大的莫过于充当中国和欧洲之间的沟通桥梁。

Team meeting at the office. Courtesy of the interviewee.

公司团队开会。

“The two sides of the globe work very differently. The biggest adventure, which is still lasting, is to be this link between the Chinese and the European markets, explaining to my colleagues from Poland how the Chinese market works and then to the colleagues in China why certain decisions are made like that in Europe. So, this is a constant and never-ending challenge that I encounter, and I find it extremely interesting, yet frustrating at times. But then, it motivates me to think out of the box and search for unconventional answers to recurring questions in order to make both ends of the world meet,” Głowacka said.

“地球两边的工作方式非常不同。时至今日，最大的挑战就是成为中国和欧洲市场之间的沟通纽带：向位于波兰的同事解释中国市场是如何运作的，并向中国同事解释为什么欧洲方面会做出某些决定。这是我遇到的一个持续的、永无止境的挑战，这挑战有时很有趣，但有时也挺棘手。与此同时，它又促使我跳出框框，为反复出现的问题寻找非常规的答案，让双方能顺畅沟通。”Głowacka说道。

Dagmara Głowacka talks with her colleagues.

Dagmara Głowacka与同事交流工作。

She cited the interpretation of the law as an example. “The European law is very precise. You can find everything in a certain paragraph while Chinese law is more up to interpretation. So sometimes one side expects that it would be explained, just like what we are familiar with, but then it functions differently here.”

她以法律解释为例说明她在工作中遇到的中欧差异。“欧洲的法律是非常精确的。你可以在某一段法规中找到所有的细节，而中国的法律则更多地取决于解释。因此，有时欧洲方期待可以在相关法律中找到所有细节，就像我们所熟悉的欧洲法律那样，但中国的法律跟欧洲不同。”

Despite all the challenges and obstacles, Głowacka has made it, setting up the company in China from scratch all by herself. Being the unique link between the European headquarters and Asian branch, she has been managing the supply chain consisting of 500,000 products and has rich experience in creating and managing a multicultural team.

尽管面临各种挑战和困难，Głowacka都顺利克服，并成功独自一人在中国从零开始建立了分公司。作为欧洲总部和亚洲分公司之间的沟通纽带，她管理着由50万件产品组成的供应链，并在创建和管理多元文化团队方面积累了丰富的经验。

Dagmara Głowacka and her team members pose for a photo in cerebration of the 30th anniversary of TME Group at their office building in Shenzhen in 2020. Courtesy of the interviewee.

2020年TME集团成立30周年，Dagmara Głowacka与同事在深圳办公楼合影留念。

Not only does the branch company perform sales, marketing and logistics activities, but thanks to the leading business trends and opportunities in China, they are launching their own e-commerce platform offering over 500,000 SKUs this year and will open a warehouse in Shenzhen by the end of 2024.

分公司的业务不仅包括销售、市场营销和物流，而且由于中国领先的商业趋势和大量的发展机会，他们今年将推出适应于中国市场的电子商务平台，提供超过50万个库存单位，并将于2024年年底之前在深圳开设一个仓库。

“Very soon, a website adjusted to Chinese customers will be up, with the right user experience and payment method, catering more to local tastes,” Głowacka said.

“很快我们就会建立起一个服务中国客户的网站，提供更符合中国人的用户体验和他们惯用的支付方式，使服务更加本地化。”Głowacka说道。

Dagmara Głowacka with her colleagues welcoming Shenzhen Electronic Chamber of Commerce delegation at Electronica Shanghai 2021 in March 2021. Courtesy of the interviewee.

Dagmara Głowacka和她的同事以及深圳市电子商会代表团在2021年慕尼黑上海电子展上合影。

The company has been gaining more and more recognition in the Chinese market. “At the very beginning, no one really knew our logo and brand. We started with very few customers, but now, we have a steadily growing customer base, and it is great to see more and more people looking specifically for us at trade shows and industry-related events,” she proudly said.

分公司在中国市场上获得了越来越多的认可。“最开始的时候，没有人知道我们的标志和品牌，那时我们的客户很少，但现在，我们的客群规模稳步增长，现在越来越多的客户会专门来一些展会和行业活动找我们，这是一个很棒的现象。”她自豪地说。

According to Głowacka, TME is famous for sourcing products from high-quality and trusted manufacturers from all over the world. So far, the purchasing operations and decision-making process have been taking place in Poland.

据Głowacka介绍，TME集团以从全球高质量和值得信赖的制造商采购产品而闻名。到目前为止，采购业务和决策过程一直是在波兰进行的。

Dagmara Głowacka visits the factory of their strategic partner in warehousing system in Shenzhen in 2021.

2021年，Dagmara Głowacka参观他们库存系统战略合作伙伴的工厂。

At the beginning, they set up the Chinese branch to tap the market, to win Chinese customers and supply them with products. “However, as time passes, business is growing. Apart from sales, we are opening a purchasing department here to acquire top products from China and supply them to our other markets,” Głowacka said.

一开始，他们成立中国分公司是为了开发中国市场，赢得中国客户，并为其提供产品。“然而，随着时间的推移，公司的业务不断增长。除了销售业务，我们现在还在筹划开设一个采购部门，从中国采购顶级产品来供应给我们的其他市场。”Głowacka说。

The new China-based purchasing team will serve as a first-hand source of predicting future trends.

中国的采购团队将成为预测未来市场潮流趋势的一手来源。

The office buildings in Nanshan District.

南山区办公楼。

“Undeniably, China dictates the trends in technology. What is popular here now will become popular worldwide in a little while. Our company is always striving for being a few steps ahead, especially as our goal is to keep the warehouse fully stocked, so the customers can enjoy same-day dispatching and immediate delivery,” she said.

“不可否认的是，中国决定了技术的趋势。现在这里流行的东西，过不了多久就会在全世界流行。我们公司一直在努力争取领先几步，因为我们的目标是保持充足的库存，保证客户可以享受当天发货和即时送货的服务。”她说。

For Głowacka, China not only leads the trends in her industry, but also in other spheres of life. “I do think that living in Shenzhen makes me feel like living in the future already. When I observe what's happening in Shenzhen, like self-driving cars’ citywide testing, all the electronic payment methods and so many online services at hand ... I really forget when was the last time I touched cash. I find it all very fascinating and I do believe it is the future,” she said.

Głowacka认为，中国不仅在电子元器件行业上引领潮流，在生活的其他领域也是如此。“我真切地感受到，深圳的生活就像是未来的生活。当我观察这座城市里正在发生的一切事情，比如自动驾驶汽车在全市各地的测试、各种电子支付方式和多样化的线上服务...... 我已经忘了上一次接触现金是什么时候了。这一切都非常让人着迷，我确信这就是未来的趋势。”她说道。

A robotaxis of the Shenzhen company DeepRoute.ai on the road in Shenzhen. Courtesy of DeepRoute.ai.

深企元戎启行在深圳道路进行全无人自动驾驶道路测试。

Głowacka is proud of her professional achievements in China. At the same time, she still feels like a humble beginner. “Because there is so much more to learn and to develop. There is a constant need to improve myself and search for new ways of doing things. I feel that this is a great beginning, and there is so much more waiting for us,” she said.

Głowacka为她在中国所取得的事业成就感到骄傲，但同时，她觉得自己还是一个入门的小白。“因为还有很多东西需要学习和发展。我需要不断提高自己，寻找新的做事方法。这是一个很好的开始，未来有很多东西等着我们。”她说。

Apart from a successful career, she is an avid supporter of women pursuing professional careers. “I am extremely content following trends on ‘femigration’ worldwide, meaning that women no longer travel to distant destinations as companions to their husbands, but they relocate themselves, following their career dreams,” Głowacka commented.

除了事业上的成功，她本身大力支持女性追求自己的事业。“我一直关注着全球‘女性移民’，这意味着女性不再作为丈夫的伴侣前往遥远的目的地，而是为了追寻她们的职业梦想而进行流动。”Głowacka评论道。

Dagmara Głowacka and her husband take photos for their wedding in Dapeng in May this year. Courtesy of the interviewee.

今年五月，Dagmara Głowacka与丈夫在大鹏拍摄结婚纪念照。

In her personal life, Głowacka met her Brazilian-American partner and they married in May. They are currently expecting a baby.

生活中，Głowacka 也遇到了她的人生伴侣，并于今年5月与其巴西裔美国男友结婚，现在他们正在等待新生命的降临。

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