Faces of HR: Mott MacDonald's Genie Chua on connecting the dots between people, strategy and opportunity

The Talent Mobility Manager believes mobility cannot be treated as a transactional exercise of matching skills to vacancies. Instead, it is about linking people to purpose, pairing new talent with the right mentors, and bridging markets with different needs so capability can be deployed where it matters most.

A good day for Genie Chua, Talent Mobility Manager, Mott MacDonald is one where she is reminded that talent mobility is more than just logistics or succession grids. Instead, it is about creating pathways to help her people grow and for organisations to evolve at the same time.

"I love the days where I'm connecting the dots between people, strategy and opportunity, where mobility becomes a catalyst for someone's confidence, growth or life experience," she shares. 

A seasoned global mobility professional with 15 years of experience, Chua leads policy development, process optimisation, and vendor management to enhance operational excellence and employee experience across Mott MacDonald’s international workforce. She is passionate about enabling organisational growth through effective mobility strategies and continuous innovation.

Ahead of her session at #TalentMobility, Chua tells Mary Ann Bundukin that her leadership philosophy is anchored in three words: "Connect. Stretch. Trust."

Connection, she believes, must come first — because mobility fails when it becomes transactional, followed by stretch, because growth rarely happens in comfort and trust underpins it all, from managers releasing talent despite short-term pressures to trusting herself to accept that not every assignment will succeed.

Q What does a “good day” at work look like for you, that kind of day that reminds you why you love what you do in HR?

A good day at work reminds me that talent mobility, at its core, isn't about logistics or succession grids. It's about creating pathways that help people grow and organisations evolve at the same time. I love the days where I'm connecting the dots between people, strategy and opportunity, where mobility becomes a catalyst for someone's confidence, growth or life experience.

Q People often turn to HR for support, but who or what helps you recharge and stay inspired?

My ecosystem is a mix of gratitude from colleagues, energy from leaders who gets mobility, perspective from outside our field and guidance from people who've walked this path before me. I keep a small folder of messages from colleagues who've shared how the work has helped them. I also protect time with leaders who see talent mobility as a strategic advantage. 

A conversation with them always lifts my energy and re-centres my focus. Some of my biggest shifts have come from stepping outside the function and from mentors who don't hand me the answers but ask the kinds of questions that change how I think.

Those moments shape me more than anything else I do.

Q If you could describe your leadership philosophy in three words, what would they be, and how do these guide your approach to developing mobile, future-ready teams?

Connect. Stretch. Trust.

Connect comes first because mobility fails when it's transactional. This is not about matching skills to vacancies. It's about connecting people to purpose, connecting new talent with the right mentors, and connecting markets that have different needs so we can shift capability where it matters most.

Stretch matters because no one grows by staying comfortable. We pay attention to the people who hesitates before saying, "I'm not sure I can do that". That hesitation often signals they are ready for a mobility opportunity.

Trust is the hardest and the most important. We trust managers to release talent, even when it creates short-term pain. And, I extend that trust to myself — to accept that some assignments won't stick. Together, we build teams that don't just move around the world but help to move the business forward.

Q As a speaker at #TalentMobility, what is the key message you hope attendees will take away from your session?

Many organisations wait until an employee has one foot out the door, then scramble to find them a new role as a retention bride. By then, you've already lost trust and momentum.

"Mobility shouldn't be the parachute you deploy when someone's about to jump. It should be the scaffolding they climb every day."

I want the attendees to leave asking themselves: If our best talent told us tomorrow (that) they're open to a move, would we know where to put them? Can we move fast enough?

And if the answer is no, whose fault is that? Because the uncomfortable truth is that when high performers leave for competitors, they're rarely chasing a better job. They're chasing the growth their current organisation couldn't see them ready for.

Human Resources Online is proud to host the 12^th edition of our annual Talent Mobility conference – an exclusive event that brings together senior workforce mobility and HR professionals to discuss the latest trends and strategies in global mobility space. It will be taking place on 4 March in Singapore. You can find out more about the event here.

I want to attend the conference: If you're keen to attend this closed-door conference, kindly register your interest here. For speaking opportunities, please write in to Mary Ann Bundukin. We look forward to welcoming you!

I want to sponsor: Engage in meaningful dialogue through dedicated speaking slots, roundtable discussions, and at your booths! If your organisation provides any mobility talent solutions and products, you’ll fit right into this event. To learn how you can sponsor, please reach out to a member of our team now!

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