CEO PROFILE
Life’s Journeys Matt Eaton meets Jacob Dimech, CEO of BMW Financial Services Hong Kong. Photography by Simon J Nicol.
Jacob Dimech at the BMW Wan Chai Showroom
Speak to Jacob Dimech for any length of time and you get a sense of how much he loves a challenge, not to mention an adventure. The father of three has spent the better part of the last decade travelling the world with his young family, heading up some exciting business ventures with BMW and learning first hand what it takes to lead a team in unique work cultures. But it was back in 1999 when the travel bug first took hold. Dimech had a secure job with BMW and life in Melbourne was good, but something bigger was calling. “I left a perfectly good job,” he says with nostalgia. I was on the career path. But there was something really deep inside me saying ‘come on, step outside your comfort zone’. “My resignation to my boss was a one way ticket to Berlin.” Looking back, it’s something that was very of its time - the early days of the internet, pre-social media, a bit of cash and a one way ticket - the perfect storm for someone itching for adventure.
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His journey started in Germany, a place he would circle back to many years later. “I’ll never forget my first night, finding my way to the hostel, closing the door and sitting on my bed thinking, what the hell am I doing? “But then you smack yourself in the face and straighten up and say, okay, let’s explore.” After 12 months of backpacking around Europe, Dimech forged a path to London something travelling Australians will be familiar with. It was here he decided to hunker down, rebuild his savings and explore the region in style. Weekend trips to Rome and France were made that much easier after he landed a role with online booking site lastminute.com. “That was my first taste of online commerce, they had the market wrapped up. All of a sudden people were like yeah I want to go away on a Friday night. We were making that possible.” Six months into his London stay he met a girl, a fellow Australian, and things quickly got serious. “A holiday romance was fast becoming a life commitment,” he says. “It’s amazing how you go
overseas only to meet another Australian.” But life in London had its limits. “London was always a period in our life, it was a chapter. It wasn’t the end game.” When this chapter did finally come to an end, the travel bug once again took hold. This time, however, it was to be a true test of their relationship. “We said let’s go to India and really try to stuff this up. If we survive India as a couple, then we can survive anything.” And survive they did. “We found out a lot about each other. Leanne certainly found out who I was. We really felt like India made us.” They eventually headed back to Australia and Dimech back to BMW, but something was not quite right. “They knew that I needed money and a job and they called me back, but I lasted one year at BMW. I didn’t fit in, it didn’t feel right. Even though it was an easy option, it wasn’t the right option and BMW understood that.” So once again he parted ways with the auto
