The Returnee Effect: Interview with Oana Laza, Imperial Brands
How Global Experience Elevates Consumer & Retail Leadership
Romania is welcoming back a powerful wave of Consumer & Retail leaders, professionals who built their expertise across continents and are now choosing to return home. In this interview series, Oana Ciornei, Managing Partner at Amrop Romania and Amrop Board Member, speaks with executives whose international journeys have reshaped how they lead, how they think, and how they contribute to one of the country’s fastest-evolving sectors.
These returnees bring back far more than global exposure. They carry with them the experience of navigating complex transitions: new roles, new countries, new cultures, and new personal realities. This breadth of change builds resilience, sharpens perspective, and accelerates leadership maturity in ways few other career paths can.
In this first discussion, Ciornei speaks with Oana Laza, Head of IT – Global Consumer Office and Enabling Functions at Imperial Brands.
Returning Talent
What makes this returning talent so valuable today is their ability to translate global learning into local impact. They return home with elevated expectations, a refined strategic lens, and a genuine desire to give back - whether by transferring know-how, coaching future leaders, or raising the overall leadership standard. Their appetite for continuous learning acts as a catalyst, energizing entire organizations.
“At Amrop Romania, we have long believed in the value that global experience brings to local business transformation,” Ciornei notes. “We benefit from a strong network of Romanian professionals working abroad, and from the early days, it has been a strategic imperative to include Romanian returnee talent in every relevant search. They consistently add maturity, ambition, and cultural agility to leadership pipelines.”
Today, these leaders are becoming architects of capability-building -challenging assumptions, opening new strategic conversations, and connecting local teams with global thinking. Their leadership reflects the best of both worlds: international insight grounded in deep local understanding.
This powerful blend not only accelerates organizational transformation but also redefines what Consumer & Retail leadership can be in a market that is evolving faster than ever.
Oana Laza, Imperial Brands
Oana Laza, an experienced leader in the consumer and retail sector, is currently serving as the Head of IT for the Global Consumer Office and Enabling Functions at Imperial Brands. Laza has successfully navigated a dynamic career across multiple international assignments, beginning as the Head of Advanced Data Analytics for Procter & Gamble in the APAC region based in Singapore. Her impressive journey also includes a role as CIO of P&G’s Beauty Care division in China and her current position in London, where she leverages her extensive experience.
In the conversation with Oana Ciornei, Laza shares insights into her motivations for pursuing international experiences, the factors that influenced her decision to return to Romania, and the unique challenges she faced during her transitions. She also reflects on how her global perspective shapes her leadership style and contributes to her vision for a more sustainable and inclusive business environment in Romania, particularly in tapping into the talent of returning leaders from abroad. In the conversation she uncovers the nuances of leading in a rapidly evolving market and highlights the importance of cultural adaptability in achieving business success.
Can you tell me briefly about your international assignments - where, for how long, and what role you held?
I was 28 when I took my first one – Head of Advanced data analytics for P&G APAC region based in Singapore. My second one was 10 years later – CIO for P&G China Beauty Care business based in Guangzhou. I am now in my third international assignment living in London and leading IT for Global Consumer Office, Finance and HR for Imperial Brands for the past 2 years. Until now, each assignment was 2-3 years
What motivated you to take the assignment abroad?
Every time was a blend of professional and personal development. I was trying to balance career progression – and each assignment brought me a step forward in this, learning experience – and again in each assignment I felt I had an exponential learning curve I would of not been able to achieve otherwise, and of course personal interests – be it willingness to explore new culture, the will to explore as a family new environments and experiences, or a competitive learning environment for my son.
What factors influenced your decision to return to Romania?
The reasons to leave were very similar as the reasons to return every time: an exciting professional opportunity – for example we started our agriculture family business when returning from Singapore and I took my first full CIO role in an executive leadership team when returning from China. These were also mingled with more personal life choices – I really wanted to have my baby at home with family support, which was shortly after Singapore return; Also wanted closeness to family later on when we returned from China and realized how far that can feel when the world was locked down due to COVID.
How did the transition back feel professionally and personally?
To be honest, the first transition, returning from Singapore, was seamless as I was still in P&G, in my comfort zone in a very familiar environment. The real challenge was when I returned from China in 2020, working for a new company, and when I got for the first time truly exposed to the Romanian market – I had to spend very conscious effort to create my network – both of peer CIO as well as trusted suppliers that can enable me to lead the Digital Transformation I was in charge with.
How would you describe the main differences in leadership culture between your host countries and Romania?
One of my biggest learning was that the biggest impact is made by the company culture, and that significantly outweighs the ways of working than the country itself. For example, in moving from Romania to Singapore – leadership style, communication style, ways of interaction, were all almost the same – same P&G corporate culture, very diverse, very inclusive, and very much trained in the same way across all corporate ladders. I found China much more specific, influenced by the communist heritage and ways of working – reliance of personal network, the even higher importance of building that “emotional bank account” with everyone in the team and a healthy appetite of pragmatism and challenging the black / white colors of any rule. This felt very different to the American P&G culture, but still very familiar due to the common Romanian communist heritage. It took me however a “Cultural Navigator” training and coach to be able to articulate this – which is something I do recommend to anyone going through such experience. Surprisingly enough, the biggest “cultural shock” for me was moving to UK – I was blindsided by the assumption that by now “I know it all”, I’ve blended well in the extremes of Chinese and American cultures, hence I thought nothing can surprise me… I had to learn to adjust my own direct language and learn the more subtle British one to get to the essence of what is really being told, the importance of personal relationships is equally high – but built in very different ways that is more professional focused and a private life being much more well-guarded. However, I across all experiences, the models of inspirational leaders remain the same – strategic and forward thinking, engaging, and able to efficiently listen and communicate across multiple organization layers.
What did exposure to other markets teach you about navigating complexity or uncertainty?
I’ve built self-confidence probably faster than otherwise – I’ve learnt earlier in career to commit on something that instinctively feels like a right target without knowing the path to reach it, just based on that gutfeel that if it’s right, that path will show itself with every step I make forward… I don’t think that complexity or uncertainty is much different by country, but forcing yourself out of comfort zone, and moving countries is one of the steps that does take you out of it, increases the number of times you have to live through and adapt to complexity and uncertainty. This builds resilience. It is one of the traits I’ve tried to build not only for myself, but also for my son, as my family was always along with me in this journey.
What did you learn abroad about coaching, feedback, or talent growth that you applied locally?
Care for people remains the key to a leader’s success. P&G has the reputation of being a leaders’ school, and I agree with that and I will always say it shaped me to the leader I am today. I continue to spend a lot of time with each individual member of my team, balancing between knowing each other as humans, adapting to what makes each individual perform to its best, while also taking the time to listen and ask those powerful questions that allows everyone to self-develop. I continue to dedicate significant amount of time in mentorship – formal or informal, as this is what I find one of the most rewarding experiences.
How do you define your previous role in Romania in shaping a more sustainable or inclusive business environment in Romania?
Romania has an amazing unrealized potential in further developing both IT and GBS sectors. I’ve met some amazing IT leaders, very smart, very pragmatic, very inspiring, both in my CIO peers as well as in the supplier’s network, that I have and continue to learn from. I’ve been part of that community – first part of ABSL (Association of Business Services Leaders) influencing how we “sell” Romania as a GBS market to external investors as well as partnering with authorities to shape legislative environment to maximize this opportunity. I have then joined the CIO Council, a network of amazing IT leaders that again continue to learn and develop this area for the country through events and learning opportunities. I have also always tried, in international environment, to present the benefits of working with Romanian suppliers. I have to say, this is an area there is so much more that can be done – we are far from some of our neighbouring countries in developing the equity of the country as a good place to invest. Despite the availability of great talent at lower cost, the economic stability, the agenda of political leaders in consistently developing this sector, the infrastructure challenges, as well as educational agenda and a well glued trio of policymakers – education – private sector remain our biggest opportunities in my view.
What would you recommend to organizations in Romania to better leverage returning leaders’ experience?
As said, I think Romania has an amazing potential, so the return is always a very personal choice. I have returned every time, and I will do this again, for the right opportunity. The key is always a combination of – is the opportunity offering the space to leverage the experience of the leader and the organization’s strategy aligned to maximize the potential this can bring / ready to leapfrog; is the compensation competitive / appealing enough – as for any other executive position the market is flat across an international environment and the opportunities are rarely compared to other similar position in Romania, but rather with similar positions anywhere in the world; also very important – is the leader fit and able to adapt to organization’s culture as this could be the biggest risk.
Has your international work experience accelerated your professional development?
Yes! Both in P&G where I was amongst the youngest IT professionals reaching what we’ve called middle management, as well as after where I would say I was amongst the youngest CIOs in the market for the size of the company. But as with everything else in the career, it’s not a sprint, it is a marathon, and you need to pace your energy and calculate every move not towards next milestone but towards your final end goal.
In what ways do you think gaining work experience abroad prepared you for a leadership roles in Romania?
It gave me opportunity to develop in more domains that I could of just staying in the country. It also gave me an international perspective of “what good looks like”, allowing me to develop strategies that are more bold and more comprehensive not having the experience I had. Interestingly enough, it also made me more acceptant of different point of views and patient, something I found critical for leadership success.
What specific skills or insights gained abroad do you find most valuable in handling the challenges of your role in Romania?
I would call out top 3: 1) The art of possible – especially in the space of big data / advanced data science / and of course I couldn’t let an interview go without mentioning AI. It’s a space where other markets, both far west and far east, are more developed and prepared for this evolution, starting from early education to R&D investments and appetite to test and learn within different companies; 2) the importance and interdependency with start-up environment. This is another area where Romania has an amazing potential that is not maximized – and private sector has both an amazing opportunity as well as almost a duty to understand, interact with the startup ecosystem, and tap into the business potential it presents; 3) Third is more personal – we have such a breadth of cultural environments between old – former state owned companies, to foreign big corporate environments and local Romanian jewel startup ready to spread their wings internationally, that the pure assumption that there is a Romanian culture in the business environment is wrong, some are as different as Chian to US… So adapting to organization culture within Romania can be sometimes more challenging than moving far away.
Can you share how your international exposure has influenced your approach to building relationships and developing people within your team?
For me is always going back to the fundamentals of us as human beings – regardless when and where, we all want the same thing – be successful, feel appreciated, work in a trust environment. It sounds very basic, but as long as this is a common denominator foundation we are building on, the only question that remains is how we get there. And the path there might have cultural, context or personal nuances, might have even slightly different definitions of success, so can be very different to individual and situation. I think this was the most fundamental leadership lesson, which became much more clear to me while moving around the world…
What advice would you give to other Romanian executives considering an international assignment?
Go for it! But… make sure it is the right thing for you, professionally and personally. Know exactly why are you doing it, and what do you aim to get out of it, stay laser focused on that objective and make sure that does give you the energy you will need when facing tough moments. This is a life changing experiences, and as any change it is hard, it is not all rosy…
To find out more, contact the members of Amrop’s Global Consumer & Retail Practice in your country.