CAREERS: Q&A with ..

Name: Michelle Ching Age: 37 Job title: Sales director, Yahoo Singapore and Southeast Asia Your greatest work achievement? When I was international sales manager at Channel V in Hong Kong, I helped sign the MasterCard sponsorship advertisement deal, which launched the co-branded Channel V MasterCard Dream brand to work on and why? Yahoo of course! It's great working with a dynamic sales team and building awareness on how Yahoo can be leveraged and integrated with more conventional media platforms. What would you do if you weren't in marketing? I love what I do, but I wouldn't complain if I could play and sleep more. What was your big break? When I moved to Hong Kong to manage three major titles (TV & Entertainment Times, Visitor and Banking World) for News Corporation's South China Morning Post as group advertising manager. A New Zealander by birth, I started my 15-year media sales and marketing career in Australia, and spent eight years leading the sales team for various titles within News Corporation before moving to Hong Kong. If not for my big break, I would not have joined MTV and Alive Networks in Hong Kong or be at Yahoo. Who was your mentor? Gene Swinstead, former general manager of the South China Morning Post, for making the Hong Kong job offer. Is there a secret to your success? Hard work and love for the product. How do you handle difficult clients? I put myself in their shoes and try to understand their issues. What advice would you give to the next person to do your current job? Think big - it's the Yahoo way. What are you currently reading? Inside Yahoo - you can never have too much inside information! Business person you most admire? Rupert Murdoch - he started out owning one paper in Adelaide and built his media empire from there. I guess I'm Australian at heart!