Localization Leaders
localization leaders podcast 2024
Localization Leaders

Key Insights from Localization Leaders in 2024

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

In 2024, the impact of AI continued to make waves in the localization industry, affecting operations, budgets, and growth opportunities for global brands. Increasing demands for higher volumes and speed of multi-market content production are forcing localization experts to rapidly adapt to the industry’s changes.  

Through our Localization Leaders podcast 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.  

We’re not expecting industry changes to slow down in 2025, so let’s have a look at high-level takeaways from podcast episodes in 2024 so we can all start the new year feeling ready to tackle anything.  

Leveraging AI for language operations 

As technology continues to evolve, so are localization and content operations. How are experts leveraging AI for their language operations?  

I think AI is a fantastic tool that can really help us address many areas of the business that require recurring, time-consuming, and repetitive tasks and processes. That’s how we’re trying to use it in our daily operations…We’ve been using AI to extract terminology and identify repetitive patterns throughout a document or a piece of text.

Ketty Tirrito, Zendesk 

We’ve been using NMT for some time now, and we’re currently working on a new process that involves using large language models (LLMs) to further fine-tune our NMT output. It’s still in the early stages, but I believe it will have a big impact on how we work, and it’s exciting to see how AI will shape our industry moving forward.

Brigitte Benett, HP Indigo 

AI does help us, especially when it comes to localizing large quantities of data that don’t need to be really specific or of very high quality. It makes our work very time-efficient and cost-effective, too…But at the end of the day, I still believe that it can’t be applied to all areas. There is still some content where I believe humans can’t be replaced by AI yet.

Natascha Riegger, CATO Networks 

Top tips to spotlight localization’s value  

Most tech companies focus their energies on targeting English-speaking markets. The reality is, though, that there are incredible opportunities in non-English speaking markets that might be equally worth investing in.  

That’s where localization teams come in – they’re the go-to advocates for international users and they often have to educate their co-workers about the value and complexity of localization. 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.   

When you are in a tech environment, if you don’t speak the same language as managers, then you won’t be considered as crucial and important at higher levels.  

So, the first thing I did was gather data about the number of users who were using our products in English versus other languages. When you actually have those numbers and dashboards, which take a long time to gather, and you show them to upper management, then of course they start realizing the impact that your work is having on the product and the business.

Stefania Russo, Glovo 

You need to speak the language of the people you’re trying to influence. Localization often sits horizontally across the company, serving various departments, so you need to familiarize yourself with their KPIs and goals. Understand what keeps them up at night and how you can help make their lives easier. Relevance is key to influence.

Giulia Tarditi, Revolut 

We should start by looking for places where bad localization breaks your product and makes your business impossible. If your player cannot complete the quest because of a language issue, then that’s something you should be looking at. If on a shopping journey, for example, you have places where conversion rates are significantly different between different languages, then that’s your pain point. Once you identify those pain points, you can start talking to your stakeholders and your team about them.

Anna Potapova, AliExpress 

Localization nightmares to avoid  

From tight deadlines to gaps in communication and technical difficulties, everyone in localization has experienced a nightmare or two.  

I’d say a polluted TM (translation memory) because when you have a polluted translation memory plus careless translators, you will end up with a mess which can impact any future strings.

Zhongjun GE, TikTok 

A decentralized localization process in a big organization where every team creates their own content and has their own localization budget and vendors. I wake up at night in a cold sweat just thinking about that.

Anna Potapova, AliExpress 

That would be reaching the last build before release, and something that you’ve tested and approved suddenly goes wrong. Then, the product gets released to customers and you realize you caught the error too late – that’s my nightmare.  

Brigitte Benett, HP Indigo

Best localization advice  

While the best way to learn is through doing and failing, some expert advice to avoid failures never hurts. Here’s a few wise words that our Localization Leaders have carried with them throughout their careers: 

Always be open to change and look at challenges as opportunities to learn. And of course, try to break the localization silo by talking to your stakeholders.

Stefania Russo, Glovo 

Not specific to localization, but it’s been key: never squeeze smart people into roles. Be ready to build roles around people.

Giulia Tarditi, Revolut 

I think the best localization advice I’ve received is from Bruno Herrmann because I am so inspired by his idea of localization as a business partner, instead of a service team. At the end of the day, in any organization, team, or department, you need to contribute to the business. And at localization, we have, I’d say, the perfect chance to contribute to the business. This really inspires me.

Zhongjun GE, TikTok 

[A]lways try to be up to date on what’s going on. The world is running, it’s going really fast and there are so many advancements, like AI for example. You need to be up to date and you need to know what’s going on. You need to know how to utilize all these new resources and new technologies.

Debora Cohen, AppsFlyer 

Brands to admire 

Once you learn about localization, it’s natural to start noticing it in everyday life as a user of global products, whether it’s your favorite streaming service or even your banking app. Here are a few of the brands this year’s Localization Leaders admire for their careful attention to localization: 

Spotify. It’s a product that I also use almost daily, and every time I open it up I am very excited by how well they localize because I use it in German.

Natascha Riegger, CATO Networks 

I really like Burger King because they know their markets, they know how to talk to people in different countries, and they know where to be edgy and aggressive and take risks and where to tone it down…I’m a big fan of good transcreation, and I think they do it really well.

Anna Potapova, AliExpress 

King. Games are my number one inspiration when it comes to localization. King does a great job of integrating writing and localization, with a strong focus on the player’s experience. It’s a fantastic example for B2C localization.

Giulia Tarditi, Revolut 

I love Revolut, the online banking company. I use it daily; I think it’s a great application. Sometimes I play with changing my foreign language to see what it’s like in different languages. I think they’re doing a great job.

Ketty Tirrito, Zendesk 

Localization professionals to look up to 

Successful people don’t reach the summit without a little help along the way. Everyone needs guidance, support, or inspiration from a mentor or friend to get to where they want to be. In each Localization Leader episode, we asked our guests to share which localization professionals they look up to: 

Cristina Triviño, she’s been in the industry for many years. She’s fantastic.

Debora Cohen, AppsFlyer 

My localization role model is the Globalization Head of Airbnb, Salvo (Salvatore Giammarresi). Salvo joined Airbnb after I joined Airbnb. After he joined, we had a whole new way of working at Airbnb localization. He opened a new localization world for me.

Zhongjun GE, TikTok 

Diego Cresceri, he runs an LSP company called Creative Words. He is always in a good mood, and always eager to learn and innovate. He brings positivity to everything, and I appreciate that.

Giulia Tarditi, Revolut 

Favorite languages  

Most people enter the localization industry because they have a passion for language and culture. So which languages are beloved by Localization Leaders? 

I’ll have to say French. I can’t speak it. I try to, I’ve been learning it for years but I’ve never reached the level of fluency that I would like, but it’s really beautiful.

Natascha Riegger, CATO Networks 

I’d say it’s Chinese because it’s my mother tongue. I think Chinese is succinct and concise, so you can express a lot of meanings with just a few characters.

Zhongjun GE, TikTok 

Spanish. I’m biased. I’ve been living here in Spain for many years.

Stefania Russo, Glovo 

Don’t miss our third season of the Localization Leaders podcast in 2025 to meet new guests, discuss new topics, and stay up to date with the latest changes in the industry. See you next year! 

Read more Localization Leaders interviews for insights from global industry leaders

author post

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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