The export manager develops a company's sales outside its home market: choosing target countries, finding and managing distributors, negotiating contracts, steering logistics and payment risk. It is the classic first great job of international business — and one where a second and third language change everything.
The job, concretely
Market strategy
Which countries, which channels, which pricing — built on market research, not guesswork.
Distributor & client management
Finding partners abroad, negotiating terms, keeping the relationship producing.
Operations & risk
Incoterms, customs, currency and payment security — the technical spine of the role.
Travel & culture
Real intercultural work: the deal in Ho Chi Minh City doesn't close like the one in Hamburg.
The skills employers actually test
Languages first — professional English is the entry ticket, a third language the differentiator. Then: negotiation, the technical toolkit of trade (Incoterms, documentation, payment instruments), and evidence of intercultural adaptability. Degrees open the door; these four get you hired.
The study path
A business degree with a genuine international core: international trade, marketing across markets, negotiation, plus immersive language practice. That is, precisely, the LIBS Bachelor in International Business (3 years, 100% in English) followed by the Mastère in International Management — with internships in exporting companies as the accelerator. Lyon's industrial fabric (food, pharma, machinery, textiles) exports heavily, which makes local internships genuinely relevant.
Salary: the honest answer
Salaries in this career vary enormously by country, sector, company size and — above all — languages. We refuse to print a made-up "average": for France, consult the official published data of Apec (the executive employment association) for current figures by role and region; for other countries, use your national statistics agency or major published salary studies. What we can say honestly: at equal experience, verified professional English plus a second and third language raises both employability and pay in every published study we know — which is precisely the profile the LIBS cycle builds.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to speak the language of every market I manage?
No — English carries most international trade. But each additional language turns markets where competitors work through interpreters into markets where you work directly.
Is export management threatened by automation?
The paperwork is increasingly automated; the relationship, negotiation and judgment are not. The role is shifting toward strategy and partner management — exactly the human skills a good degree trains.
Can I start this career from Lyon?
Yes — Lyon is France's second economic hub with a dense exporting industry, and the career is international by definition: you start where the company is, you work with the world.
What degree do employers expect?
A business degree with a real international focus and demonstrated languages. LIBS's English-taught Bachelor + Mastère cycle is built exactly for this profile — details and admission answers in writing.
Build this career, in English, from Lyon
Bachelor then Mastère in international business — tell us your plan, get a written answer.