I graduated from Moscow State University with honors, earning a degree in Crisis Management.
That education proved useful at least once — when my ex-boyfriend unexpectedly appeared naked on my Zoom screen during an important business call, and I had to put my crisis management skills into action.
I researched strategic planning and organizational development, with articles published by KOSPPA (South Korea) and Socialiniai Tyrimai (Lithuania).
Then I enrolled in the PhD program at the Higher School of Economics to study the economics of football.
I developed a model exploring how the number of football clubs in a city affects stadium attendance and presented my findings at several ESEA conferences across Europe.
My former academic advisor later became a John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
From that time, I’ve kept a personal reminder of my research journey — a collection of more than 100 football T-shirts from around the world.
Because only creativity made it possible to deliver under constant time pressure.
Organizing an admission process for 1,000 tech team in a month, launching a forecasting platform in a week, running a $1 million tender within a day, or analyzing 1,000 smartphone screenshots overnight.
I worked there for 6 years.
I hired people under 18 years old and those who had problems with the law, was close to be fired after publicly comparing our corporate media portal to North Korea’s news, and used my office as a testing space for emerging artists.
We provided support services for companies and projects to deliver better CX results.
For example, we increased DAU tenfold for the largest student competition in Europe, redesigned the admission process for 5 universities across the country, and raised a tech startup’s client attendance rate from 20% to 70%.
By 2022, our total team across all projects had grown to 100 people.
For 4 years, we helped entrepreneurs by providing virtual assistant service.
10,000 resolved tasks, 1,000 clients, 200 assistants, 24/7 support, and our own tech solution to enhance assistant performance — all of this helped my former business partner obtain his Global Talent Visa.
But perhaps the most important outcome was a public guide, which is still widely used by people who work with personal assistants.
I’ve launched 2 more startups focused on teamwork.
One was a computer game simulator, and the other was a messenger-based solution for hosting hackathons with 10,000 people taking part in it.
For almost 2 years, I contributed to the Startup Leadership Program core team.
I redesigned the admission process for the local Russian-speaking branch to ensure a high-quality selection, resulting in 100 new fellows chosen from over 1,000 applicants and an average satisfaction score of 9 out of 10 for the admission experience.
I once noticed that you can easily find something like Crime and Punishment book in a hotel room during a romantic evening.
And that’s obviously the last thing you want to see in a moment of intimacy.
That experience inspired me to turn my passion for erotic art and design into my professional focus, using my strengths in research, creativity, and communication.
I speak Italian, enjoy playing Chinese Go and Russian Preference — a card game similar to Bridge — and have a skipper license.
I have a deep passion for learning — it continuously shapes the way I think and work. Among my educational experiences, I’ve completed the FIFA/CIES Executive Programme in Sports Management and the National School of TV and Digital Media.
I used to have the cutest Japanese Kishu Inu dog named Koko.
But when I realized I wasn’t the best dog owner, I found someone who was. That’s how I’ve always acted and thought.
I created some interior designs for a castle I once thought I’d live in.
And no, I don’t live there anymore.
I’ve been to 40 countries, including Australia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Now I live in the mountains, where I often take photos of things that inspire me on my walks.