By SGN | 23 Feb 2024
Although Ridzwan and his wife Huda have always aspired to live and work overseas, opportunities that emerge tend to meet with a clash of opinions.
In 2019, a recruiter on LinkedIn reached out with an opening at Coupang, aka the Amazon of South Korea. “I initially ignored the message altogether,” he says, “as I did not think South Korea was a destination my family would be keen on.”
When he told Huda about the offer, however, she asked why he wasn’t considering it. “I was quite taken aback by her interest in moving to East Asia,” he recalls. He wrote to the recruiter, and months later, the family were packed and ready to embark on their first adventure abroad.
Adjusting to life in Seoul
Coupang’s global mobility team made the relocation process smooth and seamless. Ahead of the move, they arranged a recce trip for Ridzwan and Huda to view housing options as well as international schools for their three children, then aged three, six and nine.
Adjusting to life in Seoul, though, was another matter. “Language and culture were the obvious biggest challenges,” Ridzwan shares. “South Korea has a largely homogeneous society that operates in Korean, hence it was difficult to run simple errands like opening a bank account or paying bills. Even texting was a struggle.” The couple took up language classes, yet it took some time for their Korean to reach a basic proficiency.
On the streets, Huda would receive stares because she wore a tudung. “There isn’t a large Muslim presence in Seoul,” Ridzwan explains. Since making local friends wasn’t easy, connecting with Singaporean, Malaysian and other expats (e.g. via the Singapore Club Seoul Facebook group) was a vital source of comfort and support.
When COVID struck in 2020, more difficulties arose. Friends and family in Singapore could no longer visit. Work and school became remote, so Ridzwan and Huda – who had become a stay-at-home mum – had to juggle and make room in their apartment for everyone’s schedules.
On the bright side, Ridzwan says, “I got to see my children more often. It was nice to be able to have lunch with them when I was not on work calls. We also travelled around South Korea and explored the country quite a bit over long weekends and school holidays.” These trips drew the family closer, and they gradually fell in love with the country’s four seasons and its many hidden gems of nature.
A zero-to-one opportunity
Just as Ridzwan’s family had grown accustomed to life in Seoul, another opportunity came a-knocking. Once again, it arrived via LinkedIn. Once again, Ridzwan and Huda received it with differing levels of enthusiasm.
This time, the offer was from GoTo – the Indonesian giant formed by the merger of ridehailing service Gojek and ecommerce platform Tokopedia in 2021 – to fill a Chief Product Officer position for its new GoTo Logistics arm.
“I could not refuse, given my longstanding desire to work in Indonesia and the zero-to-one opportunity of spinning up a logistics organisation, backed by one of the most exciting startups in Southeast Asia,” Ridzwan shares.
Huda wasn’t as keen. “She was apprehensive about the traffic jams and poor air quality in Jakarta,” he says. “Slowly, I managed to win her over as she learned more about the role I was offered and saw how excited I was about it.” Moreover, their family back in Singapore were glad that they would be moving closer to home and to a country with a Muslim majority.
And so, after three years in South Korea, Ridzwan and Huda rounded up their kids and belongings and transplanted their lives to Indonesia.
Differences in scale & culture
In his new role, Ridzwan continues to operate in logistics technology but tackling a far greater scale. Compared to South Korea, the population of Indonesia is quintuple in size, spread across a geography 20 times as vast.
His team delivers technical solutions, be it websites or mobile apps, that support warehousing, fulfilment and delivery services for Tokopedia merchants, as well as big clients like Unilever. “I work directly with business teams to understand their goals, and our solutions allow my operational counterparts to execute their jobs on the ground faster and with fewer errors,” he says.
While product management skills and frameworks are universal, local needs necessitate very different solutions. “Factors like weather and socio-economic levels influence how customers experience e-commerce delivery,” Ridzwan explains. “For example, groceries can be delivered to Korean households past midnight and left at doorsteps. In Indonesia, overnight delivery is rare and goods left at doorsteps may get lost.” With a larger unbanked population, Indonesians also favour cash payment – a rarity in Korea.
Remaining rooted as Singaporeans
In 2019, before moving to Seoul, Ridzwan set up a network of product leaders in Singapore. The group remains in touch, sharing the latest goings-on in Southeast Asia’s product world and occasionally visit one another. “This network has given me invaluable support through my challenging moments working abroad,” he remarks. “It has fuelled my belief in developing communities and mentorship circles.”
“In 2024, my plan is to replicate some of this community-building in Jakarta,” he shares. “I want to invite some of these thought leaders in Singapore to run talks, workshops or even informal dinners in Jakarta. I hope these sessions will open up minds and perspectives on how product is tackled and executed outside of the country.”
Reflecting on his family’s journey, Ridzwan says that living overseas has provided the children with an environment to have global aspirations and grow into global citizens.
“The past five years have shown us that even if we are living in different locations or cultures, we remain rooted in our values and identity as Singaporeans and Malay Muslims,” he adds. “These will anchor us no matter where our future adventures lie.”
To others thinking of venturing abroad, his advice is simple. “Do it,” he says. “The benefits and life-changing experiences will far outweigh the cons and worries you have.”
Meet Ridzwan
Ridzwan has close to a decade of experience leading product management in the e-commerce logistics space. Prior to being Chief Product Officer at GoTo Logistics, he was Director of Product Management at Coupang and Ninja Van.
Connect with him here.
