Trailblazers

Trailing Successfully
Mark Ridlen

Nationality: American

Countries lived in: Belgium (1999 to present)

Countries visited: France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, Egypt, Israel, Mauritius, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico.

Qualifications: BS Agricultural Industries, University of Illinois.

Career Path:
Mark has held numerous positions in the finance industry over the course of 20 years. Mark's most recent position was as a National Bank Examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (U.S. Treasury Dept.). Mark's career with the Comptroller of the Currency allowed him to work closely with management and the Board of Director's of bank's with total assets of $10 million to multi-billion dollar international institutions.

Mark resigned from his most recent job in order to move overseas in conjunction with his wife, Susan. Susan is employed by Eli Lilly & Co.

Presently, Mark is involved in several activities while continuing life as an expat, including: 1) working as an international consultant for Ricklin-Echikson Associates, (REA); 2) Mark is currently serving as President of the Brussels Sports Association which offers sports programs to more than 500 children between the ages of 5 and 15; and, 3) volunteering in numerous school and church activities. Most importantly, Mark is the stay-at-home father of 3 boys between the ages of 6 and 8.

"I left my career quite reluctantly, but I knew the value of the experiences abroad would be invaluable for both myself and my family", stated Mark. Mark had never traveled outside of North America prior to this experience. Now Mark states "I am very fortunate to have made friends and experienced many new adventures with friends from around the world".

Mark states, "Life as a trailing spouse is not easy, I continue to learn more about my role and people's stereotypes of a male trailing spouse. However, my wish is to help those who might be considering this change in life achieve happiness while avoiding many of the pitfalls I have encountered".

Mr. Ridlen currently holds a position as an international consultant with REA. As a leader in Spousal Assistance programs for over two decades, REA delivers customized career counselling and support services worldwide, (currently in over 40 countries) to address the specific needs of Expatriates and Repatriates. Programs are designed to assist the spouse/partner in getting acclimated to the host country and in exploring employment option and career enhancement alternatives for those who cannot work. Mr. Ridlen was able to take advantage of this opportunity as a result of his experiences as a male trailing spouse which he had chronicled in an article, "Trailing Successfully: An Inside Look at Life as a Male Trailing Spouse" which was published on the internet.

Mark Ridlen can be contacted at Mark.Ridlen@skynet.be
For more information regarding REA Partner Assistance Services, contact Susan Ginsberg at srgreacareers@worldnet.att.net.