Smart and persistent managers don’t ever go unnoticed

The Editorial Office of Delo Magazine has been organising the event for two decades now, with 2016 seeing the 20th anniversary. Selecting candidates for the award was no easy task, involving input from ministries and business associations. 

The Head of Delo’s Public Editorial Board, Piotr Nikitenko, tells us how laureates were chosen, saying, “The business features of entrants were identified, as were their personal characteristics: alternative modes of thinking, persistence, determination and breadth of knowledge. In other words, their scale of personality was determined. We tried not to lose sight of other components of success, which focus around three ‘S’s: self-organisation, self-education and self-responsibility. These three whales enable our contenders to keep their enterprises afloat and to strengthen their market position despite an unstable economic situation.”

The awarded nominations speak for themselves. These include ‘For Stable and Efficient Work on Belarusian and Foreign Markets’, ‘For the Enhancement of the Prestige of the ‘Made in Belarus’ Trademark’, and ‘For the Successful Application of Anti-crisis Technologies and Management Methods’. This year, the award was also bestowed upon representatives of enterprises setting an example in shifting efficiently towards innovative paths of development and attracting foreign investments.

At the press conference, held on the eve of the awards ceremony, laureates shared their projects and plans. The Chairman of the Board of Belinvestbank JSC, Gennady Sysoev, who was a laureate in the nomination ‘For Significant Contributions to the Development of the Country’s Financial Market’ told journalists about co-operation between this famous banking institution of Belarus and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

He noted, “The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is a large international financial organisation working outside of state structures. We’re an exception: a unique case. I’m very grateful to the Government and to the National Bank for supporting this initiative a year ago. The President personally met the bank’s leadership. In my opinion, this collaboration has been very successful. We’re now launching a programme of institutional development. What does this mean? The paradigm changes completely: it was a state bank but it will become a commercial bank. Our system of corporate management will also change, as will our system of mutual relations. Everything will happen in line with new international standards. It’s interesting to turn one team into another; our labour team is responding positively. We see that our collaboration is promising.”

The list of 2016 laureates includes heads of other famous companies: Vladimir Talaiko (Minskhlebprom), Giorgio Parola (Mikro Leasing), Boris Kovalevsky (Mogilevliftmash) and Gennady Bogdan (Mozyrsalt).

Meanwhile, Giorgio Parola notes favourable changes on the Belarusian leasing market. He tells us, “At present, 65-70 percent of bargains are being held by individuals, thanks to the Government opening up this segment to leasing companies last year. There are far fewer leasing bargains with legal entities, because of the difficult economic situation. So, the opportunity to work with individuals is important to us.”

Gennady Bogdan explains Mozyrsalt’s export policy, saying “Despite all difficulties, we’ve continued for several years as a leader on the Russian market in the ‘salt extra’ segment, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of sales, depending on the region. Traditionally, our market in the Russian Federation is the Central Federal District, where we occupy a dominating position.”

The Editorial Board of Delo Magazine selected the twelve best managers out of 130 candidates, who were awarded the ‘Oscar’ of Belarusian business. The organisers of the contest stress that, over the last two years, businessmen in Belarus have been obliged to work under difficult market conditions. Economic instability is a real threat, so those awarded have all used anti-crisis strategies effectively.

This year, a great number of representatives of high-tech, export-oriented and import-substitution enterprises feature, alongside those from the financial system, awarded for ensuring stability for their enterprises. Meanwhile, half of the twelve laureates represent enterprises from the Mogilev, Gomel and Brest regions.

Winners of the Person of Business of the Year contest have received statuettes created by talented Belarusian sculptor Sergey Gumilevsky. On receiving their prize, each expressed gratitude to their teams, upon whom they rely.