As far as Stephen Forshaw’s working life is concerned, the past year has been quite exciting. “Maybe not as exciting as Mr. Obama’s recent life period,” Forshaw admits, but nevertheless it’s been a “remarkable and eventful time” so far.
The reason life has gotten more exciting for Forshaw is his new job as Microsoft’s communications director for the Asia-Pacific, which he took up in April 2009.
Prior to that, the Australian had been a Singapore Airlines employee for nine years and had been in charge of the airline’s global public affairs since 2004.
The 39-year-old has also been involved with the Industry Advisory Council (IAC), which advises the NUS Communications and New Media (CNM) Programme, since 2006. His role is to advice faculty members on “shaping the course content” and “keeping in touch with changes on the profession.”
Moving from the aviation sector into an entirely new environment was a challenge ini-tially. Forshaw said that the move into a highly influential computer technology enterprise had been a “significant change” because he was “not a tech expert.”
However, despite facing a “constant learning curve”, he does not regret the move at all.
“It was very hard to leave Singapore Airlines, but now I have a fantastic job,” he said.
With his job scope entailing responsibility for Microsoft’s media relations, public affairs and employee communications within the Asia Pacific region, his previous experiences give him an advantage.
Stating that he actually “never intended to work within PR” in the beginning because he was always “keenly interested in debating,” he started his career in the political sector by working as a ministerial adviser with the Australian government in his hometown of Canberra.
Since this political position primarily involved communication, Forshaw’s professional path led into the public relations industry, and he finally joined Singapore Airlines in 2000.
After nine years in public relations, Forshaw, who has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of New England, has noticed one significant change in particular - the rise of social media.
“Facebook and Twitter will be more and more important, regarding everyday life, but also for the PR field,” he said.
In Forshaw’s opinion, such social media can be used “at least as a source for breaking news.” As the number of people who use Twitter continues to rise rapidly, he advises every-one involved with communications to “be up to date with new media.”
At an IAC forum held at NUS in January, Forshaw also urged students to prepare themselves to be “able to write well,” if they want “a successful career in communications.” The forum aimed to advice and counsel students who plan to work in the communications field.
Many students who attended the forum said that they valued Forshaw’s opinion. Lee Mei Xian was one of them.
The CNM major said that she was impressed with Forshaw’s easy-going nature and his pro-fessionalism, especially his “move into the Singaporean culture.” |
