{"id":263307,"date":"2026-01-25T14:18:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T14:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/263307\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T14:18:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T14:18:07","slug":"saying-youre-disappointed-in-ireland-carries-weight-in-albania-it-doesnt-land-the-same-way-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/263307\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Saying you\u2019re disappointed in Ireland carries weight. In Albania it doesn\u2019t land the same way\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since joining Vodafone<\/a> 15 years ago, Susan Foxton has worked with the company in Qatar, London and Dublin, and earlier this year, she moved to Albania<\/a> as consumer business director for that fast-growing market. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was simply too good an offer to pass up as it\u2019s rare to find a role where you develop and own the strategy holistically and can have real impact,\u201d Foxton says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also a fantastic opportunity to experience a new culture in a role that offered both professional challenge and the chance to make a real impact in an evolving market. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlbania is at a pivotal moment. The telecoms sector \u2013 and indeed the entire business landscape \u2013 here is changing rapidly, and leading the consumer business means influencing everyday life for millions of Albanians.\u201d <\/p>\n

Foxton first left Ireland for Qatar in 2009 due to the recession. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe went out of necessity but we made the most of it and it allowed us to save for a house and get married. We also had our twin girls there,\u201d says Foxton, who first joined Vodafone as a marketing communications specialist. <\/p>\n

Relocating to Qatar was a big upheaval in itself but it was doubly challenging for Foxton, who was also moving employer and taking on a marketing role for the first time. <\/p>\n

An accountant who served her time with KPMG, Foxton then moved to Dunnes Stores in a finance role. However, after 18 months she was struggling to find enjoyment in her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had moved because I felt that most of the work I was doing \u2013 in tax \u2013 was after the fact. I thought it would be different in industry but I was wrong. I was still doing similar \u2018historical\u2019 work with little opportunity to influence the business direction day to day,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

The pivot from accountancy to marketing was not Foxton\u2019s leap into the unknown. That came earlier.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Albania has been dubbed \u2018the Maldives of Europe\u2019, but there\u2019s so much more to this fascinating countryOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

She had studied philosophy at Queen\u2019s University Belfast and, with jobs for philosophers thin on the ground, she was pondering how to make a living. A chance visit to the \u201cmilk round\u201d with two housemates who were studying accountancy introduced her to KPMG and she was offered the chance to do a paid for conversion course at DCU. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, Well, why not \u2013 and what followed was a great training with KPMG where I learned a lot about interacting with clients and working to deadlines,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

She and her family now live just outside Tirana, the Albanian capital, and the couple\u2019s twins are in the equivalent of sixth class in an international school. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ashamed to say I knew so little about Albania before the move so it\u2019s great to learn about the rich tapestry of history and culture in Albania and the wider Balkan region. The weather is a huge plus too \u2013 300 days of sunshine a year. The food is amazing as is the hospitality. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve noticed many similarities with Irish culture \u2013 a strong sense of national pride, humour and resilience. Albanians, like the Irish, have a deep-rooted identity and a sense of \u2018punching above their weight\u2019 on the global stage. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe proximity of so many places to travel to is a bonus. You can fly to Italy for as little as \u20ac30. Interestingly, I haven\u2019t met another Irish person here yet. There are no Irish community groups or GAA clubs, which is rare. So, we\u2019re truly immersing ourselves in this new culture. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a fantastic learning experience for the whole family and waking up to sunshine almost every day does wonders for your mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a professional level, Foxton says the move has allowed her to make step changes in her career that would have taken much longer at home. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn Qatar, I made a complete career pivot and my transition into marketing set me on a path that has led to senior leadership roles,\u201d she says. \u201cNow, in Albania, I\u2019m drawing on my experience in leadership, team development, digital and fixed broadband, to help transform and grow Vodafone Albania\u2019s consumer business. <\/p>\n

\u201cIreland\u2019s dynamic telecoms landscape taught me the value of agility, customer-centricity and innovation, all of which I\u2019m applying here,\u201d she says. \u201cWorking in a different economy and business environment stretches you. You have to unlearn, relearn, adapt quickly and find ways to apply your experience in a new context. That\u2019s where the real growth happens.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I\u2019m the most Irish person you will meet with an English accent\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Albania has been enjoying a boom in tourism and English is widely spoken in urban areas. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe conduct our business through English, which is good for me, but I\u2019ve had to adjust my communication style. Saying you\u2019re disappointed in Ireland carries weight. Here, it doesn\u2019t land the same way. I\u2019ve learned to be more direct and assertive which has been a valuable shift,\u201d Foxton says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Ireland everyone knows everyone but, with a population of just 2.7 million, it\u2019s even more true here. It\u2019s a highly connected society and reputation really matters. Everything gets done through relationships. Trust is built over time, often over multiple coffees, before you get down to business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albania is primarily a consumer market for Vodafone and its digital infrastructure is still developing. Most customers pay their bills in cash in-store and one of Foxton\u2019s challenges is to build trust in digital platforms and drive the adoption of digital payments. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople here are hungry for new ideas,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019ve got something fresh, you can test it, tweak it and roll it out way faster than you ever could in a bigger, more established market. It\u2019s exciting and perfect for anyone who loves moving quickly and thinking creatively.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since joining Vodafone 15 years ago, Susan Foxton has worked with the company in Qatar, London and Dublin,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,10970,18040,92832,25899,27079,1962],"class_list":{"0":"post-263307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-irish-abroad","12":"tag-kpmg","13":"tag-queens-university","14":"tag-vodafone","15":"tag-wild-geese","16":"tag-work"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}