Success Builder

Md Naoshad Jaman Chowdhury, 31, from Dhaka, Bangladesh, obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Finance and an MBA (International Business) from Dhaka University and graduated from the Master’s Programme in Management and Analytics for Business of HSE University in St Petersburg. Now he works as an HR Analyst at Brain Station 23 PLC, a prominent software company in Bangladesh. Naoshad Jaman talked to the HSE News Service about his career path, the skills he acquired during his studies at HSE University, the challenges he faced while learning Russian, and his plans to become an academic—complete with a big cup of coffee and professor jokes.

Maryann Asemota, from Nigeria, graduate of the Master’s in Science, Technology, and Innovation Management, now works as researcher at the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK). In an interview with the HSE News Service, she shared her experience of working at HSE University, her future plans, and gave some advice on pursuing a career in academia.

Fyodor Tikhonov, graduate of the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics is responsible for internal analytics focused on large corporate businesses at Absolut Bank and also mentors startup founders, helping them adopt a broader perspective and successfully navigate the stages of growth. In this interview with Success Builder, he shares his experiences working in the financial sector, pursuing an MBA with his last remaining funds and immersing himself in the world of venture capital and startups, and discusses the upcoming changes in the field of education.

Nikolay Bogdanov, 28, from Sofia, Bulgaria, graduated from the Psychology programme of the HSE Faculty of Social Sciences in 2022. Currently, he is based in the Netherlands, where he pursues a master's degree in behavioural sciences at Radboud University and works as a life coach. In an interview with the HSE News Service, Nikolay shares his experience at HSE University, his professional challenges and achievements, as well as the importance of teamwork, persistent curiosity, and self-improvement.

Bhaskar Kayathwal, 26, from India, completed his programme in Master of International Business at HSE University in 2021. Currently, he is responsible for business development at an influencer marketing company. In an interview with the HSE News Service, Bhaskar shares his experience at HSE University, the importance of seizing unexpected opportunities, and the parallels between business development and chess.

Petr Garmider, 27, from Uzbekistan, received his master’s degree from HSE University in 2022. Today, he works at one of Russia’s most popular music streaming services, where he develops algorithms that recommend music tracks for users. In his interview with the HSE News Service, Petr shares his experiences as a graduate student and early-career data scientist.

Maxim Tsaturyan first became interested in innovation as an undergraduate student, and in 2018, he completed the Master's in Innovation Management at the HSE Department of Innovation Management. Today, Maxim heads a project office at Skolkovo and delivers lectures to HSE students. In this interview with Success Builder, Maxim elaborates on why working in the sphere of innovations requires one to embody the roles of a financial director, engineer, and PR manager all at once; how HSE University helps students acquire the most invaluable asset, which is social capital; and what types of projects most investors, with the government leading the way, actively seek.

In 2021, Anatoly Vilikotsky and Victoria Sharapova, as students of HSE University, participated in the BioMedTech business incubator. Their project to develop a leukaemia treatment drug and launch it on the pharmaceutical market was deemed the best one and awarded residency at Skolkovo. In this interview with Success Builder, they explain the process of creating a pharmaceutical product from the ground up, offer insights into fostering a synergy between science and the market, and suggest avenues for applying academic education in the industry.

Maria Maslennikova, a graduate of HSE FES, chose two paths at once as a specialist: she succeeded in both consulting and investment banking and gained the trust of the international market to such a degree that she now works as an independent consultant. In this interview with Success Builder, she talked about how the HSE community contributes to career success, why working in a boutique company is more interesting than working in a global bank, and how to conduct multibillion-dollar transactions for state corporations.

Emilia Arslanova holds a bachelor's in sociology and believes that a degree in humanities provides a strong foundation for a successful career in the field of IT. In her role as a product manager at Domclick, she maintains a strong emphasis on professional development in the digital sphere, both as a researcher and a supervisor. In this interview with Success Builder, Emilia shares her insights on how sociology students can make informed decisions about their future career and choose the right employer, why a humanities education is well-suited for managing digital projects, and what prospective students of her upcoming course at HSE can expect.

HSE Perm graduate Anna Bykova built a successful academic career while also narrowing the gap between science and business as the head of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises of the Perm Region. In this interview with Success Builder, Ms. Bykova explained how to express leadership skills in an academic environment, why modern graduates are reluctant to go into the public sector, and why an HSE professor needs expertise in track.

A former Goldman Sachs consultant and the architect of numerous Yandex projects, ICEF graduate Vahe Ovasapyan now holds the post of Head of Fintech at Ozon. In this interview with Success Builder, Vahe shares his views on how to remain an overachiever and why it’s good to take risks.

For Daria Morozova, who holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s from HSE FES, economics is the love of a lifetime. She looks forward to Mondays and going to her office at Rosbank, where she serves as the Head of Retail Business Analysis and Planning within the Financial Management Department. In this interview with Success Builder, Daria shares how she was able to manifest her dream of becoming a film director while pursuing a degree in economics, how combining work at a bank and study at HSE helped her find solutions to workplace challenges, and how she came to realise that preventing employee burnout is essential in leading a team.

Yevgeny Gubar, a graduate of the HSE University Business Informatics programme, joined fellow students to found KIT Consulting at the age of 20. The company has since become a highly successful brand for implementing corporate management systems. In this interview with Success Builder, Mr. Gubar explained how to remove students’ rose-colored glasses and teach them how to make business decisions, how sports help in entrepreneurship, and why industry practitioners lecture at universities.

HSE graduate Eduard Sosnin has recently taken office as Mayor of Perm, a city with a population of one million and tremendous industrial potential. In this interview with Success Builder, he shares how the university played a pivotal role in helping him establish a successful business, his reasons for transitioning from business to civil service, and the primary objectives that must be addressed by the head of administration in a major metropolis.

Maria Petrova, who holds a bachelor’s from HSE University Perm and a master’s from the HSE ICEF programme, is a department head at Sovcombank. She developed a course for master’s students at NES and ICEF that helps students learn the challenges of the industry and field job offers even before graduating. In this interview with Success Builder, she explains which qualities a beginner needs to work as a bank analyst, how to pick up leadership skills at the workplace, and why Sovcombank trains its own staff.

In today’s labour market, it is difficult to remain in only one field. An increasing number of HSE University graduates find themselves at the juncture between industries, adapting their knowledge for technical fields. For example, Timur Zekokh—who holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the HSE University’s FES—found himself in the IT field and works as a senior data analyst at Avito. He told Success Builder how love for econometrics inspires his teaching, which knowledge is important for working with data and why Avito switched from Excel to Vertica.

HSE University graduate Mikhail Rybakov-Matrosov heads the logistics department at the Italian company Calzedonia Group and believes that over the past year there have been more advantages than disadvantages to working in international logistics. In this interview with Success Builder, Mr. Rybakov-Matrosov shared what it’s like to become a leader at the age of 22, how German and Italian management styles differ, and how the market can profit from Western IT systems integrating with those in Russia.

Dmitry Samusev managed to get the best from two economics schools — HSE University and the Helsinki School of Economics — and become a true management expert in the process. He is currently purchasing director for Proctor & Gamble. In this interview with Success Builder, he explained why a change of climate is good for Russian students, how self-confidence helps in job interviews and what’s good about working for an international giant.

Georgy Brutyan joined Otkritie Bank as a strategic analyst in 2018, when the bank was undergoing fundamental changes. He is now Managing Director for Strategy and Business Development and leads projects that strengthen the revitalised and restructured bank. In this interview with Success Builder, he explains how students obtain practical skills, why time management is a factor in career success, and why a manager needs an MBA.

To devote one’s time to scientific research does not at all mean to engage in abstract academic reflection. Vasily Minkov, who graduated first from the HSE’s Faculty of Social Sciences and then from its Faculty of Computer Science, conducts research as a bioinformatician at the BostonGene medical company. He even managed to give his musical project a cultural and anthropological focus. In this interview with Success Builder, Mr. Minkov explained how the brain is studied in HSE laboratories, what bioinformatics is and why working in the industry is useful for a scientist.