Claudia Choi, managing director of EBA Communications, is not a 'typical' public relations (PR) woman. She is placid, soft-spoken, and was without big intentions or ambitions to seek an 'exciting' career in PR when she joined the industry 23 years ago.
Back then, Choi - a fresh translation graduate from the University of Hong Kong - wanted to work for the government as an administrative officer or a simultaneous interpreter for the city's courts.
Instead, she was referred by a classmate's brother to interview for 'a company in Central' that was looking for a translator.
'I wasn't prepared, as I had no idea what the company really did,' Choi recalls. 'It was about 7pm or 8pm, and there were only two people left in the office - the interviewer and a graphic designer,' she says.
'I was given two articles to translate from English into Chinese. One was about the WTO [World Trade Organisation], the other was on the World Cup. Two or three days later, I became a member of staff there.'
The company was Gavin Anderson, now Kreab Gavin Anderson. At first, Choi was mainly responsible for translating documents in her capacity as an account executive.