Interview & Confluences: Diada San, a truly happy French-Khmer in Cambodia

First Confluences - Cambodge Mag interview of 2024 with the cheerful and happy Diada San, who has just been appointed head of the company's Marketing and Communications department. Interview with a very happy young woman in Cambodia...

Diada San, who has just been appointed head of the company's Marketing and Communications department

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Watch the vidéo

(in french but you can activate the YouTube subtitles)

In Facebook (french)

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Transcription

Diada in a few words

My name is Diada, I'm 25 years old and I moved to Cambodia five months ago, in September 2023 to be exact. I was born from two Cambodian parents who moved to France in 1994. I grew up in Brittany and went to business school in La Rochelle. I studied management and events planning.

Tell us about your first professional steps

I mainly worked in agencies in strategic and/or digital marketing positions for brands like Skoda, for example. I also worked in web and mobile application development agencies as a project manager.

What brought you to Cambodia?

I wanted to go abroad. And Cambodia was something quite obvious, because of my origins, I wanted to come back here and find out more about the country. Also, my parents spoke Cambodian to me at home. So I'm fluent in the language, but I don't write it or read it, but being fluent is already pretty good. I'd already been here on vacation in 2007 and a second time in 2019, on a three-month internship.

What were your impressions of the country?

I was very young, so it was a huge shock because I only knew France. And in 2007, when I arrived, it wasn't as developed as it is today. I think the most shocking thing I've seen in the three times I've been here is the "building boom" in Sihanoukville. In 2007, it didn't exist at all, but I went back a few months ago and there were buildings everywhere, empty ones no less, and it was quite impressive.

Tell us about your career project in Cambodia

As a reminder, at Confluences we support companies looking to expand or set up in Cambodia or Asia. We offer a range of services, including market research. We also offer canvassing, sourcing and HR support services to help them make a successful and complete entry into the Cambodian market. At Confluences, I'm in charge of marketing and communications.

So, I'm in charge of promoting all our services within Confluences and also all the projects we're working on.

What's a day like at Confluences?

There's no such thing as a typical day at Confluences. We do a lot of things, mainly in marketing, since we not only cover all our different departments, whether operations, services, trading, ventures or the Access team. We also promote all the different projects in all the departments.

Also, when we have new arrivals, this may involve onboarding support, i.e. taking photos, giving them a little LinkedIn training for their page. Then we manage all the advertising on our social networks, not forgetting updating the website, writing our newsletter... So, many, many things.

What do you do outside work?

Outside of work, I'd say going for a walk to the market, I like the different markets in Phnom Penh, I like street food with all those little stalls where you can discover new things. And then, traveling, taking advantage of weekends to go to the provinces to discover Cambodia.

What do you like best about Cambodia?

The fact that it's warm, the heat and the sun, it's very pleasant. I love people's smiles and kindness.

What do you like least?

Perhaps the pollution. I think it's really noticeable. Especially when you're taking the tuktuk, for example, it's a bit complicated when you're on a long journey.

Advice for newcomers

Come without assumptions and keep an open mind, because people here are very open. Just keep it simple here, I think.

Are you happy in Cambodia?

Yes, happy in Cambodia (laughs).