TL;DR: Adele Lucas practiced law in South Africa for one month before deciding it wasn't for her. A global mobility career wasn't on her radar. Neither was Cummins. Ten years later, she's the company's Regional Mobility Manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), helping employees and their families build lives across borders. Her story is proof that the best career paths are rarely the ones you plan.
Adele Lucas had never heard of Cummins the night before she applied. She'd spent the evening Googling the company after a friend forwarded her a job listing. She submitted her CV the next morning, got an interview invitation that afternoon, and had an offer by the end of the day.
That was almost 10 years ago. Today, Adele manages global mobility across three continents for the leading global power technology company. Her path to get there involved a law degree, a gap year selling newspapers in England, eight years in international tax, and exactly one month of practicing law.
If you're wondering what a global mobility career looks like, Adele’s story is a good place to start.
One month as a lawyer was enough
Adele grew up in Johannesburg and studied at the University of Johannesburg, earning a BComLaw and an LLB degree. After university, she did what many South Africans do: headed to the UK on a gap year and worked odd jobs. Then she returned to South Africa for her candidate attorneyship, the practical training required to qualify as a lawyer. Most people take two years, but Adele did it in one, passing all her board exams in a single stretch.
She got admitted to the bar and started at a mid-sized firm handling divorces. One month in, she knew it wasn't right for her. "I had a chat with a friend, and he said, 'Why don't you go to an accounting firm and specialize?'" Adele recalled. "I was kind of good at tax. So I went to EY."
She spent eight years in EY's international tax team in Johannesburg, working with large multinationals. The work was technical and niche, but over time she realized she wanted to spend more time on client interaction and less time waiting for legislation to change.
A move to the immigration team led to an on-site placement at Barclays, where she was offered a spot on their mobility team. "I didn't even know mobility existed in the world until I worked for the bank," Adele said. That accidental discovery became a career.
"Who the heck is Cummins?"
After a stint back in private practice, a friend emailed her about a role at Cummins. Her reaction was blunt: "Who the heck is Cummins?"
She spent that night glued to the computer, researching everything she could about the company. The next day, she submitted her CV, got an interview invitation, and received an offer that same evening.
"I started seeing Cummins was a little bit different to the other companies I'd worked for," Adele said. She'd spent her career at massive corporations: EY with hundreds of thousands of employees, Barclays with 145,000. Cummins was big enough to be global but small enough that you could walk into a vice president's office and ask a question. That small distinction went a long way for Adele’s sense of belonging and ownership as she took on her new role.
She joined as Global Mobility Manager for Africa, based in Johannesburg, with a small team managing relocations across the continent. Cummins’ onboarding process was notably thorough, spending four full days covering company history, culture, and values. Adele reflects on her first weeks on the team: "I could already see that the company was different."
From Africa to the world
Managing mobility across Africa meant navigating 50-plus countries, each with its own laws, exchange rate challenges, and cultural complexity. Adele loved the challenge. So when a company restructure added the Middle East to her scope, she was more than ready to take it on.
"Sending anybody from a first-world country to a third-world country is already something special," Adele said. "The [spouse] might not be working. The children have to go into a new school. If the family isn't happy, the employee is most probably not going to have a successful move." Those personal details made her job feel all the more important.
What she found most rewarding was watching people arrive nervous and sometimes afraid, and leave as ambassadors for the continent. She noticed that when assignments would extend, people were happy to stay. And when they did return to the US or the UK, they brought back a deeper understanding of the complex work Cummins does in different contexts, which their colleagues at headquarters often lacked.
After five years, Adele was eager to continue growing, so she talked to her leadership. An executive director flew to Johannesburg for a one-on-one. Together with Adele's line manager, they created a new role just for her: Regional Mobility Manager for EMEA, based in Darlington, England. "There had never been a role like this," Adele said. "They created it because I wanted more responsibility. That's the kind of place Cummins is."
Going through it yourself
There's irony in being a global mobility expert who has to navigate her own relocation. Adele knew the process inside out. She still felt surprised by the process. "Going through it yourself helps you gain patience with your candidates, because there are things you don't think of until you are living it," she said.
Her husband, also a lawyer, left his job in South Africa to make the move work. He handled the logistics on the ground while Adele focused on her new role. Cummins covered the immigration costs, the shipment, and the relocation support.
The cultural training Cummins offered was what really caught her attention. She'd lived in England before, so assumed she didn't need it. But she decided to take it after some encouragement from the Mobility team.. It turned out to be one of the most useful parts of the transition.
"The African-Middle East team never put their phones away. They'd answer a Teams message at 8:00 at night," Adele said. "In England, the culture is to close your laptop at 4:30 and go do your evening. That was strange for me." She asked about it in the training and learned it traced back to a regional history of factory shift work, where family time after hours was protected. "I love it now. I also benefit from nobody contacting me after hours."
The Cummins way of doing things
Three days into the job, Adele's director, Peter, called her into her office. She had sent an email that was, by Cummins standards, too direct. "He told me, 'Adele, your email is correct, but it is not the Cummins way,'" she recalled. "I thought he was going to fire me; that I wasn't even going to make it through my six-month probation."
But that’s not what happened. Instead of taking disciplinary action, he coached her through how to avoid that type of approach in the future. He'd also come from a big corporation and understood the learning curve that comes with working in a new type of environment.
At Cummins, Adele learned, delivery is important. You still get your message across, but you have to spend a bit more time explaining your reasoning and offering options. This approach helps build trust in the team. "It's more humane," Adele said. "I was not used to any of that in any of the other companies."
Cummin’s unique culture shows up in small ways like a VP who communicates with emojis on Teams, a manager who actually listened and had her best interests at heart, and community work where she works with her colleague helping a local refugee shelter for women and children near Darlington. "Not at one stage has any of my directors told me I'm spending too much time with them," she said. "They give us whatever we need. If we need resources, money, human help to go paint a wall. It's part of our culture."
A lot of companies have inclusion programs, ERGs, and community initiatives on paper. Adele has worked at some of them. The difference she keeps coming back to is that none of this feels like a checklist at Cummins. A director coaching your email tone on day three, a manager pushing you toward your goals, colleagues volunteering not because a scorecard requires it but because they have a good heart. That all goes beyond generic programming. It’s embedded in the culture and the way people work.
Ten years and still not bored
Nearly a decade at one company is rare these days when most people change jobs every few years. Adele isn’t looking to shoot up the career ladder. “I've not jumped massive levels in 10 years," she said. "There's just job satisfaction."
When she mentions getting restless, someone gives her something new. Stretch assignments, and added responsibilities. “They don't mind that it has nothing to do with what I'm supposed to be doing," Adele remarks. It’s impossible to get bored here.
Ten years ago, Adele Lucas up late researching a company she'd never heard of. She found a company she loved, and discovered a career that changed the trajectory of her life. Cummins, the company she almost never found, turned out to be the one she never wanted to leave.
Frequently asked questions
What is a global mobility career?
A global mobility career involves managing the relocation of employees across countries and regions. This includes navigating immigration, tax compliance, cultural integration, and family support for employees on international assignments. It's a field that combines HR, legal, and cross-cultural expertise, and it's growing as companies expand across borders.
What skills do you need to work in global mobility?
Strong organizational skills, cultural sensitivity, and patience are essential. Legal or tax backgrounds can be especially valuable, as the work involves navigating complex immigration and employment law across jurisdictions. Communication skills matter too, since you're often the primary point of contact for employees going through a major life change.
How do companies support employees who relocate internationally?
Support varies, but comprehensive programs like Cummins' typically include immigration and visa sponsorship, shipment of household goods, temporary housing, cultural and language training, and ongoing check-ins. The 2025 CERC/Ipsos Global Mobility Survey, which surveyed over 10,500 professionals across 19 countries, found that housing support and real estate assistance are increasingly central to whether employees accept relocation offers.
Can you build a global mobility career without a traditional HR background?
Yes. Adele's path started in law and international tax. Many global mobility professionals come from legal, finance, immigration, or consulting backgrounds. The field values cross-disciplinary expertise because the work itself spans legal compliance, tax planning, cultural integration, and employee relations.
What's it like to relocate for work to a new country?
Even for mobility professionals, the experience is full of surprises. Practical details (transportation, banking, local customs) can feel overwhelming, and cultural differences in work habits and communication styles take time to adjust to. The most important factors, according to both research and Adele's own experience, are having strong company support and building a local network quickly.
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