Key Insights from Localization Leaders: 2023 Round-Up 

Summarizing our key takeaways from conversations with top-tier localization professionals. 

With each passing year, the localization industry continues to evolve with developments in AI technology and an increasing emphasis on global accessibility. Through our Localization Leaders series, we’re able to capture wisdom from the industry’s best and brightest leaders that are experts in evolving their own processes as markets, opportunities, and technology continually change. Before we kick off our fourth year of Localization Leaders interviews in 2024, let’s look back on key takeaways from our conversations with localization professionals from top-tier global companies in 2023. 

Top tips to show localization’s value 

Localization managers are the localization advocates and experts that are often tasked with the role of educating their co-workers and management to understand the value of localization and the complexity of its processes. When your localization team collaborates and has a mutual understanding with other internal stakeholders, processes run smoothly, deadlines are met, and there’s less friction to company growth.  

Our Localization Leaders have shared their ways of demonstrating the value of localization, from selecting strategic stakeholders to partner with, to identifying stakeholders’ values and presenting management with concrete data. Get more details straight from the source: 

“I partnered with the finance department and the CFO to show localization’s value…The CFO called me into his office one day and said, “What are you spending the money on?” He was open and honest, and I was too. Once we started that relationship, it was a yearly get-together of how we’re doing in each market, and how much I was expecting to spend. It was a great partnership. 

Once you have that ally, they can really communicate the importance to the other executives and all the teams.”

– Carrie Fischer, Subway

“I think that first, you have to identify the key stakeholders and understand their priorities and their concerns, right? Because different stakeholders might be interested in different aspects of the localization. Some of them are interested in their revenue growth, while some are interested in brand consistency or customer satisfaction.  

So once you identify that, then you have to provide concrete data. How do you do that? Well, with statistics and asset utilization. This allows you to highlight the potential benefits of the localization of a product in a specific region.”

– Nathalie Duran, AMD 

“I think the point is that people really respond to values and that’s a really powerful way of communicating the importance of localization that isn’t related to the bottom line. 

That said, I’m definitely a numbers person and I think we’ve had some really great partnerships with other teams by learning their needs and by speaking in the metrics and product terms that they understand and that drive their needs.”

– Michael Levot, Canva 

Best ways to enter the localization industry 

There isn’t always a clear path to entering the localization industry. In fact, most localization professionals today have a background in linguistics and simply “fell” into their roles almost by accident. There are far more localization resources available today than there used to be, but most localization roles still tend to require at least a few years of industry experience since businesses search for experts in the field. To navigate the localization industry’s barrier to entry, our Leaders recommend starting in related fields, finding a mentor, networking, and using online resources.  

“Ask questions. That’s really important and will help you to understand what it is that we do. The industry continuously evolves.  

There are so many innovations that are taking place, and I’d say that no day is the same within localization. And I think that people considering joining would have a really fun career in localization.”

– Dean Seeley, Google 

“If it’s something that people are interested in and passionate about, there are a ton of free online resources these days, from reading your blogs, to podcasts and free online events like Loc Lunch. 

I think that’s the silver lining of the pandemic — it really democratized access to all these resources and made learning almost always free. People can learn a lot just by networking, reading and self-teaching themselves things…If you are a translator or someone that works in the world of languages and you’re interested, I think that you should just start by trying to network and talk to people to figure out an entry point.”  

– Giulia Greco, Shopify

“Entering the field is not so easy because usually when you want to enter, you are already supposed to be experienced. If you’re interested in localization, maybe start with something nearby and then eventually, make your path to localization. It’s indeed a wonderful place to be.”

– Galyna Margolin, Payoneer 

Localization nightmares to avoid 

Every localization manager has experienced their fair share of localization nightmares. Tight deadlines, technical difficulties, lackluster translation briefs, and quality control struggles. You name it, it’s happened to the best of them. As the industry continues to grow and technology improves, hopefully localization nightmares will be fewer and farther between. If you’re looking for ways to avoid these nightmares, explore the complete Localization Leaders series or reach out to our experts for headache-free guidance.

“Finding out about a launch two weeks before and there are so many strings.”

– Mercedes Krimme, Spotify 

“Disappeared translation memory. You count on it, and then suddenly it’s gone.”

– Julia Bocharov, Wix 

“Strings with no context.”

– Diana Georgieva, Pleo  

Companies to admire

Once you immerse yourself into the world of localization, it’s impossible to stop noticing localization (or lack thereof) whenever you’re a user – from your favorite streaming service to tourism sites, or even your banking app. Here are a few of the brands our Localization Leaders admire for their careful attention to localizing their platforms: 

“Yeah, this also changes over time, but at the moment, my crush is Booking.com because I think they’ve done a fantastic job with using MT to a very high degree of quality.”

– Diana Georgieva, Pleo  

“I think Netflix. I watch Netflix every day, and although I watch it mostly in English, I had to check their Help Center a few times. I also know that they provide subtitles in different languages. They really invest into localization, and they do it with high quality.”

– Julia Bocharov, Wix 

“Spotify. I travel to Colombia a lot, and I love their interface there. I love how their multilingual interface is curated for the region. For example, when I go to Colombia I’ll have curated playlists, album titles, artist names, and styles. I can see that it’s been localized for Colombians. When I’m in the United States, it’s a completely different experience and I really admire that about them.”

– Nathalie Duran, AMD 

Localization professionals to watch

One of the best things about the localization industry is the talented community that prioritizes giving each other a helping hand, sharing their knowledge, and providing inspiration to one another. In each Localization Leader interview, we asked our guests to share which localization professionals they look up to. Here a few of the industry leaders mentioned:  

“Very hard to choose just one. But if I have to name a person, I’d say Anne-Marie Colliander Lind. She is the Marketing Director of Loc World, she’s a business consultant, and she’s one of the biggest names and industry leaders here in Scandinavia.” 

– Diana Georgieva, Pleo  

“I really like Nataly Kelly from the blog, Born to be Global, because she’s a marketer at heart, but she is also an expert in localization and international strategy. I think that combination makes her a subject expert matter. She just contributes really specialized knowledge to help organizations make informed decisions and to solve problems in localization. I’m always reading her blog.”

– Nathalie Duran, AMD 

“Rachel Carruthers and Simon Hammond, who are two of the most talented and generous people I’ve worked with.”

– Michael Levot, Canva 

Favorite languages

If you’re in the localization industry, it’s probably because you love learning about different languages and cultures. As a localization manager, you’ve likely been introduced to languages you’ve never even heard of before through your profession. We asked all our language-loving Localization Leaders which language is their favorite – here’s just a few of their responses: 

“Shahmukhi, which is Punjabi”

– Michael Levot, Canva 

“Hebrew”

– Dean Seeley, Google 

“Italian”

– Julia Bocharov, Wix 

Best localization advice 

We all have mentors, teachers, and friends that have helped us learn, grow, and arrive at the point we’re at today. Here’s a few wise words that our Localization Leaders have carried with them throughout their careers: 

“Make sure to keep track of your successes because no one else will.”

– Carrie Fischer, Subway

“Staying curious and asking a lot of questions.”

– Mercedes Krimme, Spotify 

“Position localization as a global growth enabler and not a cost center.” 

– Diana Georgieva, Pleo  

Read more Localization Leaders interviews for insights from global industry leaders

Corinne Sharabi

Corinne is the Social Media and Content Lead at BLEND. She is dedicated to keeping global business professionals up to date on all things localization, translation, language and culture.

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