Map data: GuangZhou, China
Google Earth, Google Maxar Technologies
International business development is ultimately about people. Success depends on understanding local markets, building trusted relationships and helping companies navigate different cultures with confidence.
At BYG Advantage, our team spans multiple continents, bringing together professionals with deep local expertise and international experience. Among them are accomplished women whose careers demonstrate that success in global business development is built on knowledge, persistence and the ability to connect people across borders.
We recently spoke with three members of the BYG team—Donia in Egypt, Tak in Thailand and Bo in China—about their careers, the markets they serve and what motivates them to help companies grow internationally.
Based in Egypt, Donia supports business development initiatives throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with particular emphasis on telecommunications and device financing.
Before joining BYG initiatives, Donia worked as a global trainer at Airbnb before deciding to pursue a more commercially focused career. Over the past several years she has worked closely with telecommunications operators, financial institutions and technology companies to help introduce innovative device financing solutions across the region.
Today she is a key contributor to BYG’s efforts supporting Trustonic’s expansion throughout MENA, regularly engaging with senior executives, strategic partners and business leaders to develop new commercial opportunities.
Donia credits much of her entrepreneurial mindset to her upbringing. Both of her parents operated a successful event management business in Saudi Arabia, giving her an early appreciation for entrepreneurship and customer relationships.
Having worked throughout the region, she has also witnessed significant changes in opportunities available to women in business. While every country has its own culture and business environment, she believes progress across much of the region has been substantial over the past decade. Today she regularly works alongside senior decision-makers throughout MENA, helping international companies establish meaningful business relationships.
Working from Thailand, Tak has played an important role in introducing advanced mobile security technologies into the Thai market while supporting projects across Southeast Asia.
As part of BYG’s work with Trustonic, she helps bridge communication between international technology providers and local customers, ensuring that commercial, technical and cultural expectations remain aligned throughout the sales process.
Much of her work involves navigating the complexities of long sales cycles, coordinating multiple stakeholders and helping both sides move projects forward efficiently.
Her experience extends well beyond software. Tak also leads activities involving telecommunications radio equipment and hardware solutions, giving her an unusually broad perspective across both hardware and software technologies.
Over the years she has worked throughout Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and other Southeast Asian markets. She particularly enjoys the international nature of business development, where every new project creates opportunities to learn from people with different technical backgrounds, industries and cultures.
From her perspective, opportunities for women in technology sales continue to improve throughout Southeast Asia, although the pace of change naturally varies from one country to another.
For several years, Bo has been one of BYG’s most experienced business development professionals supporting the China market.
Her work extends well beyond traditional sales. She combines business development with marketing, public relations and industry engagement, helping international technology companies establish credibility and build relationships within China’s highly competitive automotive sector.
Whether organizing educational seminars, participating in customer meetings or attending automotive industry conferences across China, Bo focuses on helping clients understand the local market while building long-term partnerships.
As BYG continues expanding its client portfolio, Bo has taken on additional responsibilities supporting multiple international companies entering China. She describes the experience as a continual learning process.
“Working with different technology companies feels like going back to university,” she says. “Every project teaches you something new, and every client expands your understanding of another industry.”
Outside of work, Bo is also a mother, giving her a perspective shared by many working professionals around the world. She speaks openly about balancing career ambitions with raising children and acknowledges the challenges many women face while trying to excel professionally and personally.
For Bo, remote work has provided valuable flexibility, allowing her to continue building her career while remaining actively involved with her family. She also believes that becoming a parent has strengthened many of the skills she relies on professionally, including patience, organization, empathy and resilience.
Although Donia, Tak and Bo work in very different regions, several common themes emerged from our conversations.
Each has built a successful career by developing trusted relationships, continuously learning new technologies and embracing opportunities to work across cultures. Each also emphasized the importance of curiosity, persistence and the willingness to keep learning in an industry that evolves rapidly.
Their experiences also highlight one of BYG Advantage’s greatest strengths: our people live and work in the markets they support. Rather than approaching international expansion from a distance, clients gain access to professionals who understand local business practices, cultural expectations and the realities of building partnerships within their own regions.
As BYG continues helping innovative technology companies expand internationally, professionals like Donia, Tak and Bo demonstrate the value of combining local expertise with global collaboration.
When asked what advice they would offer women considering careers in business development, their answers were remarkably consistent: believe in your abilities, continue learning and never be afraid to pursue opportunities that seem ambitious. International business rewards curiosity, resilience and determination—and those qualities know no geographic or cultural boundaries.
We are proud to have Donia, Tak and Bo as part of the BYG Advantage team and look forward to the expertise, insight and global perspective they continue to bring to our clients around the world.
We’re here to help! If you have any questions, comments, or inquiries, our friendly team at BYG is ready to assist you. Get in touch with us via our convenient contact form, phone, or email, and our dedicated team will respond promptly. We value your feedback, and we’re committed to providing exceptional customer service.
John Fargis is a senior executive with over twenty-five years of general management experience in the China market. He has run Asia for a range of US and European software companies. Google purchased three of these companies. John is the Co-founder and Principal for BYG Advantage, focused on market acceleration with international technology firms across APAC, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. John’s management experience includes bridging dozens of technology companies into new global market opportunities. Until recently he was also an adjunct professor at the Hult International Business School Shanghai campus where he taught courses on Emerging Markets, Leadership and Chinese History. He is an independent director on the NASDAQ listed technology company, Ispire. (ISPR) and a Board of Managers at the Oakwood Friends School.
John first went to China as a Henry Luce Scholar in 1993 when he worked in Shanghai. He was the first foreigner in the modern era, allowed permission to work in a Chinese reform school. Prior to this assignment he had worked for four years as a New York City, special education schoolteacher in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
John has a B.A. with Honors in Medieval Studies from Wesleyan University, a Masters of Special Education from Hunter College and a Masters of Law and Diplomacy with a focus on international business and Chinese history from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. After resideing for decades in China, John currently lives in New Paltz, New York, not far from where he grew up.