Attorney, writer, speaker, Cameroonian Abam Mambo is Microsoft’s new legal regional director for workplace investigations for Asia. In her thirties, she already has a wealth of professional experience and has worked for several years in multinationals in the USA, Africa and Asia. She has also provided legal advice to senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, which are the top 500 U.S. companies, ranked by size of revenue.
In this interview with Africanshapers, she looks back on her journey, on how she has capitalized her experience over the years, on her conception of leadership, how she embodies this leadership on a daily basis as well as on the podcast that she hosts, entitled “MamaToktok A Different Take”.
Africanshapers: could you introduce yourself and remind us of your academic and professional background?
Abam Mambo: My name is Abam Mambo. I am a writer, lawyer, speaker and founder. I am deeply passionate about establishing healthy workplaces and inspiring people to reach their highest potential. I’m happiest when I wear multiple hats and I’m a mom with a serious case of wanderlust.
I have a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Political Science and English from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School where I served as an editor on the Michigan Law Review.
Could you tell us what your job was at GSK and what your job is at Microsoft?
My career today looks like that of a chief risk officer because over the course of the last 12 years, I have provided legal counsel to Fortune 500 senior executives, as well as mid to senior level management on legal, regulatory, workplace and reputational risks associated with their business. In four years of private practice, I was an employment litigator representing many Fortune 500 companies. My nine years at GSK saw me provide counsel to leaders on workplace issues as an employment lawyer, leading regional teams in Africa and Asia as a corporate compliance officer and overseeing complex anti-bribery and corruption and sales and marketing investigations for Asia. I had the opportunity to lead and lead teams in North America, Africa and Asia and to advise my client on issues of inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
I just started at Microsoft and my remit is to lead workplace investigations for all of Asia. This should be really exciting work especially during the times we’re in. I’m feeling good about it because everything in my background speaks to this role.
What are the successes and failures encountered along this journey? What was the turning point in your career?
My success is reflected in the varied roles I’ve held, the diverse teams I led across multiple geographies (from Japan to Kenya to Canada and a whole lot in between) and key work I delivered in the employment and compliance spaces, which today contributed to reshaping how my former company does business. For example, overhauling the compliance program in sub-Saharan Africa when I headed ethics and compliance in the market.
One mistake I made early on in a leadership role some years ago was making a decision quickly as the business required without first fully understanding team dynamics especially since I was a new leader to that team. It’s critical to learn both the business rationale and people dynamics before you land any decision impacting people regardless of how quickly your company is moving.
What motivated you to study law?
Nelson Mandela and my belief that lawyers can actually change the world for the better.
You have lived and worked on several continents, Africa, America and Asia in particular, how have you capitalized on these different experiences in your professional activity?
I have built a terrific professional network like African leadership Network (ALN) women’s group which is full of incredibly talented professional African women were scattered all over the world. And what wonderful friends of made! The other group is the Keynote Women’s Speaker group based in Singapore. They too are a dynamic group of high achieving professionals and thought leaders bringing their ideas to the world stage. More than anything else, living and working on these different continents have made me much more culturally astute and capable of navigating different cultural contexts, and I have been able to serve as a bridge between the markets and corporate headquarters having experienced life in both. There’s also a deep personal enrichment that comes with seeing or experiencing another culture or people up close. I bring all of these attributes into my work everyday.
How do you define the word “Leadership” and how do you embody this leadership in your professional life?
This is a good one! For me leadership is the ability to credibly, authentically and empathetically inspire followership of your vision. I do so by trying to live this out. In everything I do but especially when I’m leading teams, I strive to be credible by having or learning the expertise required for the role; to be authentic by peeling off many of the masks one learns to wear to work over the years, and in so doing encouraging others to be themselves. And I’m big on empathy. I think it’s so important that leaders have an ability to connect to the things that really matter to the members of their team. That’s true of teammates as well by the way.
You hosted a “Creating Your Seat at the Table” conference for the Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC). What was the content of your communication and why the choice of this theme?
It was a tape recording for CCWC members and I was there to speak on how to create and own a seat at the table. I chose it because I believe that we need to see more representation at the decision-making table and when I say representation I mean leadership at companies needs to be more representative of the consumers or customers that they serve and we’re a long way from there in almost every country in the world. So this message is to help us think through how to create a seat at the table. The video can be watched here: https://youtu.be/bmFuqedy-m0
You work for multinationals. What motivates you in your job?
I love variety in my work. Multinationals, often by virtue of their size, tend to provide variety in work, in the culture of people we work with across the different countries and opportunities for travel short or long term – both of which are important to me from a career and personal perspective.
What is the typical day for Abam Mambo?
My days are quite atypical. They usually start with me getting up to get my son ready for school and end with me falling asleep unceremoniously. Everything in between just really depends on what’s going on that day. It doesn’t mean it’s chaotic- it just means oftentimes, I’m dealing with things that come up and disrupt whatever plans I had for that day. So agility is key.
You have launched Sparking Conversations. What is this concept and what topics do you cover and why?
Sparking Conversations is my speaker platform. I deliver keynote addresses on leadership redefined, diversity and inclusion, and building stronger teams by harnessing the strength of different personalities. On the inspirational side, I speak on empowerment, risk-taking and fear. More information to be found below:
https://www.isparkconversations.com
https://speakerhub.com/speaker/abam-mambo?b=s
I’m also the founder and Creative Director of MamaTokTok and host of the podcast, MamaTokTok’s A Different Take. This show is about bringing diverse perspectives from everyday people on everyday issues around the globe to demonstrate a commonality at a time when things are so divisive in our world. It has been recognized as among the best entertainment podcast including by Listennotes and Women Works Kenya. I absolutely love doing that show. It’s just me interviewing guests from different countries and walks of life like celebrities, helpers, entrepreneurs, missionaries, educators, kids, etc. In eight months of the shows existence, they received amazing recognition and have listeners from all over the world adopting listening countries representing five of the seven continents. How awesome is that! I’m so excited for all the support from the fans and guests of the show. Audio episodes are on www.mamatoktok.com and we’re on video at www.youtube.com/c/mamatoktok
We’re not afraid to talk about difficult or even taboo subjects like mental health, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, identity politics, leadership and everything in between. But I definitely mix it up with celebrities coming through, fashion, wigs, parenting, etc. More people should check it out.
What is your most important accomplishment to date? Why ?
It’s got to be my published works and the podcast on a professional level. I have fiction, nonfiction and essays published in magazines across three continents and poetry published in North America. I’ve also written feature pieces for African Vibes Magazine but in that vein, founding the first black student newsletter at the University of Minnesota when there was little to no coverage of black student issues on campus. That’s something else I’m really proud of. And I did that at 20. I feel much less revolutionary now. These things will live on regardless of what companies I work for. And for me these things- the writings and podcasts – are really about impact. They have impacted or reached hundreds of thousands of people around the world and I’m very proud of that. I’m tempted to count motherhood because of the ways in which motherhood has shaped me and vice versa but that’s part of my identity so hard to consider it an accomplishment.
What are the main challenges you face in your industry?
Regulations, regulations, regulations – in the right area, for the right reason and at the right time. I can only say this in my personal capacity but as we see the largest companies grow bigger, of course it’s going to be a question about marketplace dominance and geopolitical influence.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of Abam Mambo? what do your detractors say about you? How do you react to this?
My strengths are developing people, seeing a vision through, empathy, intuition and an amazing knack for picking up projects that I am passionate about and getting them done. On those, I can be indefatigable, which cuts both ways. I’ve also been told that as a leader and a speaker I’m inspirational. I love that because what is life without inspiration, right?
My detractors? Do I have those? Just kidding. I think people who know me or have worked with me will say I am stubborn and not easily excitable. These have their merits and demerits in a leader so I take the good with the bad always with the intent of doing more of the good and improving the bad.
What are your projects?
My key priority right now is rooting in my new role and company. I’ve been working on a novel and coming this fall is a special MamaTokTok series on leadership “Defining Moments.” The series examines the lives of a number of leaders across different sectors and backgrounds to understand those moments that changed the course of their careers of their lives. I’m incredibly excited about it because these stories are so inspirational and the leaders come from a mix of countries from Angola to America, Israel and India to Cameroon. Watch out for trailers later this month and for the first episode to launch at the end of September.
Bio Express:
Age ?
Mid-30s
Status (social, marital)?
Single
Source of inspiration ?
The women in my family, my travels, love relationships and the workplace. These inspire and inform my writing.
Bedside book ?
Right now, “This Woman’s Work” by Dominique Christina. I’ve read it four or five times and recommend it to all women interested in engaging, unlocking, unpacking and owning all elements of themselves. It’s wonderfully written.
If you had worked in another profession?
Easy – I’d be getting paid to write all kinds of books, then go on world tours to talk about those books and of course, having my own wildly successful, transformative talk show. By the way, this is me putting it out to the universe.
If you were a character in history?
None – but I would absolutely delight in talking to some of them. For the example, Shakespeare – when? How! Such volume and breadth of work. Jeanne Irene Biya – what really happened to you? How did you die? Mary Magdalene, from where did you draw strength to face those mobs? Marie Antoinette, what flavor of cake should the people eat?
Favorite quote?
“Nothing is before its time”.
A word that corresponds to your vision of leadership?
Inspired
Hobbies?
I love making things-skin care products from scratch, videos, photographs, anything that gives me a sense that I’m bringing something new and useful to the world that wasn’t there before in that iteration.
