News

Olga Shikhantsova is a Bachelor’s graduate from the Faculty of Economic Studies (FES) and a Master with a degree in Financial Economics, ICEF. In the early spring of 2021, she joined the SpeedInvest venture capital fund as a Principal with a focus on seeding Fintech. In May, Olga was included on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Finance and Investment category. In this interview with the HSE News Portal, Olga speaks about her work in the venture capital industry, time management, management philosophy and her affection for HSE University.

Dzhangir Dzhangirov, Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at Sberbank, has been teaching finance courses at ICEF for more than ten years. Here’s what Dzhangir thinks about the benefits of teaching for a practicing expert, what present-day employers can use to motivate their staff, and where universities and businesses can come together for more relevant training programmes.

Elena Olevanova earned her bachelor's degree from ICEF in 2003. She studied and worked abroad, first at the Royal Bank of Scotland and then as part of ABN AMRO Energy Sector Coverage team. In 2018, Elena moved to Sydney where her role was to set up ABN AMRO office from scratch and where she is currently an executive director focusing on structured finance and portfolio management. In this interview, Elena shares how working for a boutique bank is different from working for a larger bank, why having a patron is essential for career growth, and why being a foreigner is an advantage on Australia’s labor market.

Every year, ICEF awards its best-performing undergraduate students with trips to LSE Summer School at the London School of Economics, a key member institution of the University of London (UoL). While last year the School delivered its courses online, this year it offered its participants a choice between online and offline learning – and many chose to come to London despite challenging travel restrictions due to COVID. In this interview, our students share which mode they chose and why, how PCR testing services work at universities in London, what made their travel challenging, and, most importantly, how they found their experience.

Yulia Chekunaeva graduated in one of ICEF’s first classes in 2003. She chose to do her master’s at the University of Warwick and then worked at Sberbank and Goldman Sachs. Yulia is currently Director for Capital Markets & Strategic Initiatives and a Board member at En+ Group, the world’s leading producer of low-carbon aluminum and renewable energy. In this interview, she tells about her student years in London and the USA, her passion for racing, and how new social values are re-shaping the business environment.

Despite the pandemic and the travel restrictions, HSE University continues to hire international faculty members. Runjie Geng, from China, joined HSE ICEF in 2020 as Assistant Professor. He spent the first semester working remotely and was only able to come to Moscow at the end of 2020. International faculty member talks about joining HSE University and getting used to life in Moscow.

In the spring of 2021, HSE ICEF graduate Oleg Bezumov made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 winners list in category Finance & Investment. Oleg currently holds an executive position at Goldman Sachs (London) investment banking department and has participated in the world’s biggest IPO that raised $29 billion for Saudi Aramco oil company. In this interview Oleg shares how living in London can spur personal development, how sports contribute to career success, and what provides the yardstick for prestige in the investment business. He also tells about the benefits of networking and his encounter with David Beckham.

Along with Career Development Centre, ICEF operates a mentoring programme to prepare its students for the job market – a project started in 2016 by Maxim Bochkov, a graduate of ICEF Bachelor’s Programme and currently an Associate at Oliver Wyman. In this interview, Maxim unveils the secret to a good mentor-mentee match and explains how the matching process happens and why alumni find mentoring exciting.

A 2002 ICEF Bachelor’s alumnus Vasily Storozhuk has also graduated from the London Business School, Northwestern University and Wharton Business School, as well as defended his thesis at MSU. He is now the CFO at UGMK Holding, and also Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Koltso Urala” Bank. In the following interview, he recounts why it is important to regularly update one’s knowledge, how to put one’s experience to good use career-wise and why it is important to have a forward-looking perspective.

Nikolay Kuzin earned his bachelor's from ICEF in 2011 and is currently a brand manager for new products (Eastern Europe) at Sanofi Pasteur (France). Sanofi Pasteur has a proven track record in producing vaccines. In this interview, Nikolay shares how his financial background helps him in his role as a manager, how French master’s programmes differ from their counterparts in other countries, how long it takes to develop a vaccine, and why Europeans trust medical developments in their countries.