Sep 14, 2020|

JDer Lab #3 with Zachary Gidwitz: Freedom to Dream and go after Bold Ideas at Work

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by Ella Kidron

“We just got to openly talk about where we want to go and what we want to do,” said Zachary Gidwitz in an interview held last month for JD.com’s “JDer Lab” video series. Gidwitz,  a director in JD’s international business department, has been with JD for just over two years. He originally joined as a management trainee, and now leads a small team within the department which looks at how to leverage JD’s capabilities in international partnerships. For Gidwitz, it is the opportunity not only to come up with but also to go after bold ideas that stand out in his JD experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“My boss has a giant map on his wall, and we were talking about strategy – seeing all the resources we have at JD, and which countries we could bring them to and we literally looked at every continent,” said Gidwitz. “That was basically fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine – just to stand with my boss and colleagues and just actually look at the world like it’s our oyster.”

When asked what he’s most looking forward to, Gidwitz doesn’t hesitate. “I’m looking forward to people outside of China knowing about JD, knowing what it is, and knowing that it’s actually possible to buy things online from China and have them be really high quality and trustworthy.”

A common trend in Gidwitz’s experience at JD is the courage of JDers to go after challenging goals together. He is not shy about from coming up with what he calls “crazy ideas” because his fellow JDers share the same attitude towards trying new businesses and coming up with new solutions. “Maybe that happens in a lot of places, but this is the first place I’ve really seen it not only be possible to talk about [a crazy idea] and have people take it seriously, but also have the resources to make it happen.”

“If we all have one mission, we will find some way – the right way – to get [anything] done.”

The interview with Gidwitz is the third in JD’s JDer Lab video series of casual chats with fellow JDers about why they joined JD, provide a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to work at the company, and discuss what they are looking forward to. JDer Lab episodes are released on Wednesday evenings (China time) on JD.com’s official LinkedIn page. They are also available on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

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