Perry Yeatman is senior vice president of corporate affairs at Kraft Foods, Inc and co-author of a new award-winning book from Harper Collins called Get Ahead by Going Abroad. After postings in Singapore, Moscow and London, Perry parlayed her success overseas into a US-based senior executive position in a Fortune 100 company – all by the time she was 36. In those 10 years abroad, she also increased her annual compensation 20-fold. Today, Perry is one of the top 50 executives and a key advisor to the CEO of Kraft Foods, the world's second-largest food and beverage company. Outside of work, Perry currently serves on the National Board of the Girl Scouts of the USA. She lives outside Chicago with her husband and young daughter.

Blog Entries by Perry Yeatman

Ensuring That Our Kids Are At Home In the World

Posted October 16, 2009 | 03:25 PM (EST)


Want to help your children succeed in the decades ahead? You don't need money. More than anything, building a global mindset is the key to their success. And it's easier (and cheaper) to do than you think!

Like most moms around the world, I worry about how best to...

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2009 Resolution: Learning to Want What I've Got

Posted December 30, 2008 | 01:15 PM (EST)


About this time every year, millions of us take some time out to relax, refresh and reflect... on the year just ending, on our current state of being and on what we want to achieve in the year ahead. As a work in progress myself, I have always found this...

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Of All Nations, Why Should We Fear "Different"?

Posted October 13, 2008 | 11:52 AM (EST)


I've been trying to listen to my doctor and spend less time on my computer to help alleviate my carpal tunnel, but when I heard on NPR this morning that early voting has started and that some folks are trying to scare Americans into voting against Barack Obama because he...

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Save Time and Money: Learn to Live out of a Carry-On

Posted August 20, 2008 | 04:06 PM (EST)


Whether for business or pleasure, I suspect few people today travel for up to three weeks at a time with just one carry on bag and a brief case. But, between longer lines, more lost luggage and now higher costs for checking bags -- ANY bags -- it has never...

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Baha'i: The Ultimate Global Religion?

Posted August 6, 2008 | 08:39 AM (EST)


For years I've pondered the area of religion. My father's family is old Pennsylvania Quaker. My mother is Episcopalian. I went to Episcopal boarding school and Episcopal church. But in college I dated many Catholics. In my thirties, it was atheists and Jews. When I married, it was to someone...

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Oil or Water ... The Only Answer Is Less Consumption

Posted June 18, 2008 | 01:47 PM (EST)


While I too have felt the impact by the rising price of oil, I am at least lucky enough to have the economic resources to cope. Yes, we're driving less; using less air conditioning; recycling and re-using whatever we can, etc. So, we're doing our part -- or at least...

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Another "Benefit" From $200 Oil...

Posted June 16, 2008 | 06:45 PM (EST)


There was a fair amount of reaction to my last blog about the potential benefits of $200 oil. Most of the negativity centered around the fact that many, many folks (truckers, etc) would clearly be devastated by the hardship this would bring were it to come to pass. I...

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The Good News About $200 Oil...I Hope...

Posted June 7, 2008 | 06:41 PM (EST)


In 2004, I was teaching at a University in Connecticut. The subject was globalization. In that class, I predicted that based on the rapid development taking place in countries like China and India, we would see $100 oil within 5 years. (If only I'd put my money where my mouth...

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Get Ahead By Going Abroad...To Do Some Good

Posted June 7, 2008 | 07:57 AM (EST)


For years I've been telling people to go abroad. My argument has been simple: working overseas is personally and professionally transformative. It's good for you, good for your career, good for your company.

This is still true. However, today as never before, there is yet another option that more...

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Airlines Kill "The Quickie"

Posted April 14, 2008 | 02:30 PM (EST)


It used to be I could fly from Chicago to New York or Chicago to Washington in a day. Out in the morning. Back the same evening. Plenty of time for work in between. We called these trips "quickies" in our house because for my 4-year old the experience of...

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Forties Are Fabulous!

Posted March 18, 2008 | 02:29 PM (EST)


In age-obsessed America, it seems we are destined to never be happy. When we're 12, we want to be 16. At 16, we long to be 21. By 25, many start fearing 30. As we approach the end of our 30s we seem to almost universally become obsessed with not...

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Emotion At Work

Posted March 3, 2008 | 06:34 PM (EST)


A little cheer seems allowed. A small yippee or yahoo is also OK. Even voices raised in disagreement are accepted in most workplaces. So, why are these emotions permitted yet others utterly taboo? Specifically, why is it career suicide to cry at work?

This question recently occurred to me...

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Vacation Should Be Mandatory

Posted February 11, 2008 | 09:27 AM (EST)


It seems like skipping vacation is far more prevalent in America today than skipping school ever was. Between acquisitions, leadership changes, downsizings, rightsizings and more, there never seems to be a good time to take a break in today's fast-paced business environment. And we're just talking about a week or...

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Combining a Big International Job with a Small Child

Posted February 6, 2008 | 10:01 AM (EST)


As I sit here in seat 3A, about to leave Charles de Gaulle airport for my current home town of Chicago, my thoughts wander, as they often do on planes, to my family. People frequently ask me how I juggle a big global job and a young family. The simple...

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Globe-Trotting Tots Grow Into Global Citizens

Posted January 14, 2008 | 06:00 PM (EST)


20 hours on a plane with a toddler. To most people this probably sounds like a nightmare -- worse than even a root canal for many, I suspect. I get that, and must admit that in spite of great experiences traveling with my young daughter prior to this trip, even...

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Resolution '08: Less Doing. More Being.

Posted January 2, 2008 | 03:17 PM (EST)


January 2: that time of year when most of the world is busy trying to keep their newly made resolutions. Given the rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyles in the past decades, I've little doubt "lose weight" and "get healthy" continue to be top resolutions for millions of people around...

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In Praise of Humanity and Authenticity at Work

Posted October 30, 2007 | 12:18 PM (EST)


If there are two things business could really use more of today its humanity and authenticity. Whether it's from political correctness run wild or fear of litigation or just the mind numbing bureaucracy weighing down so many of the world's largest companies, all too often business leaders forget one simple...

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The Ever-Changing Rules Of Air Travel

Posted October 3, 2007 | 10:31 AM (EST)


The "fun" of traveling ended for me years ago. It was great when I was in my 20s and even 30s, when I first got to travel in business or even first class. I loved the movies and the hours of uninterrupted reading time. But once I hit my 40s...

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