After 19 years abroad, he came home to give back

Solihin Yusoff always understood that he will settle down in Malaysia, however that didn’t stop him from making the most of an international career before returning. Drawing on the opportunities available to him, Solihin has now reached a point where he can give back to his country by using his international experience to nurture local talent.

With a career spanning 19 years of international work, Solihin Yusoff has made the most of a career based outside of the country. Working with Ericsson to oversee the successful set up of local operations, he works with a global Ericsson team to better understand telecommunications in every way, translating the wealth of knowledge, skills, expertise, backgrounds, and the company’s own future-forward technologies into the markets he oversees.

One of the many Malaysian professionals who have been recruited to return to a senior role within the MNC in Malaysia, Solihin is motivated to finally be able to give back to his country.

Working at Ericsson, Solihin quickly realised that the company is all about making a difference by ensuring contribution to the organisation is maximised; and that communities and countries gain maximum benefit from the presence and diversity of skills at Ericsson. Growing his international career, Solihin always missed Malaysia.  He was fortunate that the opportunity finally came, allowing to bring his company’s excellent work home with him.

A Malay adage goes ‘Tanah tumpahnya darahku’, which speaks to the fact that wherever I was, Malaysia was my home.”

His job constantly requiring him to get the best out of his workforce, Solihin is often faced with the difficult challenge of nurturing a diverse team with a wide range of needs. However he rises to that challenge using both the company’s policy of ‘Professionalism, Respect and Perseverance’ exemplifying this in his approach of treating each member of the team as an individual and catering to their varying needs.

I work with a fantastic team that shares methods, strategies and tactics that are then adapted against the backdrop of local needs.”

Having returned to Malaysia, Solihin believes that now is the time for talented Malaysians to return and shape their country, arguing that their skill sets and talents will make a valuable contribution to the country as a whole. Further, with more Malaysian companies now going global, Malaysia has become a great base to build an international career.

"We have great infrastructure, culture, a pool of global talent and access to every market in the world. So many multi-national companies have their bases here and a host of Malaysian companies are starting to reach out to the world themselves."