Yun You – Commercial Manager

On this week’s Meet The Team, we feature our Commercial Manager, Yun You! Join us on this journey through Yun’s amazing life in both China and the UK, discussing Yun’s passion for music, cooking, and even a few video games along the way!

What is your Job role at John Hogg?

I am the commercial manager at John Hogg and responsible for developing and implementing the commercial strategies for John Hogg as a company. I also manage the day–to–day activities for the commercial department in Sales & Marketing over all the business units.

How long have you been a part of the John Hogg team?

Almost too Long! I started at John Hogg on October 4th, 2004, and I have just passed the 19 years’ anniversary. But I didn’t officially become a sales member until May 2005.

Did you attend University? If so, what did you study?

I did, I studied Chemistry at a University called ‘The Eastern China University of Science & Technology’. The university is renowned for its Chemistry and Chemical Engineering backgrounds, as it used to be managed by the Chinese Ministry of Industry. Later on, I did a PhD in Organic Chemistry at the Manchester University.

What was your first job, and did you enjoy it?

My first ever job was being a student teacher during my 1st year at university back in China. This involved going to other students’ house and helping them with their Math! It was an interesting experience as you can imagine, this was my first income as I hadn’t ever worked before.

I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it as much as the second Job I had, working in a field team for Bacardi Rum! It was when Bacardi were just entering the Chinese market. My role there was to collect surveys on the streets of Shanghai and inviting people into the venue for a tasting and feedback session. I definitely got a free taste for Rum after working there. This experience set the scene for sales being quite an interesting career for me in the future, instead of working in a laboratory.

What hobbies or activities do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I really love cooking! I think it may be a result of studying chemistry, because process in a kitchen is very similar to a laboratory: you mix the ingredients in the right amount, heat or cool it, mix well, chemicals react, then you get a product. I would advise anyone to spend a day in a laboratory, and by the end you will have more inspiration for cooking.

I just enjoy feeding people, probably recognised by my friends, watching people enjoying the dishes I cook is very satisfying… For some bizarre reason, I am very good at following Chinese recipes, but not so much Western ones…

What would you say is your greatest personal accomplishment?

My two children are my greatest personal accomplishment. I can’t say that either of them is the greater, so they will have to share that title between them…50/50.

What’s a fun fact about you that most people wouldn’t know?

I used to play a lot of video games before I had children, both on computer and consoles, but I’m not much into the online versions. Games I have spent quite a bit of time include Uncharted Waters, Diablo, Civilization, Halo, Ghost Recon, Medal of Honour etc. You might be able to see my age from this collection.

Which book or a movie has left a lasting impact on you and why?

I’m a big fan of animation movies. Walt Disney’s “Cinderella” from the 50’s was the first one I’ve watched and many more in the later years. Talking about lasting impact, it has to be “WALL-E”. The movie was released more than 15 years ago but covered a great deal of what’s happening these days – sustainability, environmental protection, robotic, AI, people communication over screens etc. That’s amazing! Should we call Stanton a prophet?

If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Noodles! This is my go-to meal most of the time.

If you could travel to any place in the world, where would it be and why?

Egypt! This is a country with a lot of history that I have never been to. I would love to go. It’s a place with a lot of immersing culture and attractions…

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear at the moment would be if anything negative impacted my family’s health.

Your GOAT music artist?

I feel like this is always changing… As I have moved countries, I have been influenced by two very different cultures over my life. When I was growing up in China, I was more into a calming, emotionally engaged style of pop music, rather than heavy rock or electronic. I also really enjoyed classical music whilst I was playing the Piano in my younger days.

More recently my ears have been influenced by my daughter’s music… She is a big fan of Taylor Swift. Wouldn’t say I enjoyed every song of hers, but I do enjoy some of them.

If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?

Personable, Data-driven, and Caring

What’s the best thing about your job?

The best part of my job is that I can make positive contributions & changes in company, customer & personal levels. Sales is an interesting job, sometimes you feel you’re just selling goods for money, but at the end of the day the money is not just paid for the goods, it’s paid for your service & the benefit that the customer can receive. Helping the customers to materialise this benefit is important, and the satisfaction you gain from that process is incredible. Also, as a manager, people to grow and develop it is a great experience to support and watch people growing and achieving their life goals.

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned while working at John Hogg?

I have found that everyone will have their own journey of lessons to progress in their careers. For me, the most important lesson I learned is that there is a need to be tenacious without being stubborn. This means being able to adapt to other opinions in the company and always being open for discussions. Even in the outside world, everything is always changing. You need to be adaptive and ready for the challenges.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new team members to succeed within our company culture?

John Hogg is quite an ambitious company. If you can familiarise yourself and share a similar mindset with other team members, everyone can find their space in the company. Sometimes pressure can be a bit high at John Hogg, but remember we are always by your side to support our people.

Finally, in your opinion, what sets John Hogg apart as an employer?

I think John Hogg is a brilliant company for people at any age, but especially younger individuals. This is because we are big enough to support you, but not too big to restrict you. Not many companies will allow people to grow their knowledge outside of their role boundary, but at John Hogg, I don’t feel like that boundary exists. We are very supportive and provide the space for people to grow within their career aspirations.