I would like to thank SPIBA executives for organizing very interesting meeting with the HR director of NISSAN Company - Yaroslava Vasilieva, which took place on the 27th of February 2014.


It was very stimulating to hear about her working and personal experience, which was quite as interesting as the working one. Especially, I would like to highlight Yaroslava’s sense of humor, which made the meeting more lively and nice.

On top of that, some of the facts regarding Russian automobile industry became a real discovery to me. Thanks again to SPIBA for such an interesting conference.

Elena Boiko, General Director, Subway Russia, about "Breakfast with the Director"

When we received the invitation from SPIBA to attend Jack Trout’s seminar we did not have a moment of hesitation. Right away we gathered a small, yet tightly knit group of top managers. Unfortunately, such gurus as Jack Trout don’t often come to St.Petersburg, and for us going to Moscow is not always an option because of time constraints. This event came to us just at the right time; our company has just been discussing positioning and differention. After the event a colleague who attended Jack Trout’s seminar was already quoting him, to promote his own point of view about some question.


We are very grateful to SPIBA and especially to Karina Khabacheva for notifying us of this event, and of course for giving us the opportunity to attend this interesting seminar. I must say that for many years SPIBA has been very active in planning seminars and discussions which have left many positive impressions on us. SPIBA produces a wide spectrum of events on many different topics. If the event is not directly beneficial or interesting to you, it will be for sure for one of your colleagues.

Sergey Melnichenko, Vice President of corporate affairs, Holding RBI about Jack Trout lecture

SPIBA once again provided an opportunity to see live business operating. This time, we could see how Pulkovo Airport operates. It was interesting to see the progress of the infrastructure modernization and development of PPP in our country using Pulkovo Airport’s success story. After all, the Pulkovo-recontruction project is indicative: it received many prizes, e.g., in 2013, International Finance Corporation, a member to the World Bank Group and Infrastructure Journal awarded the silver medal for the region of Asia, Middle East & North Africa to the Pulkovo-reconstruction project under the criteria of high level of innovation and social impact. Also, in March 2011, the project picked up two highest awards of the Infrastructure Investor magazine as the Best Global PPP Transaction of the Year and the Best European PPP Transaction of the Year. In 2012 Pulkovo became the only one Russian project in Top 100 Innovation Projects aimed at improving urban infrastructures all over the world according to the Infrastructure 100: World Cities Edition.

At the event, one could see, with her own eyes, innovative solutions related to the airport’s capacity and passenger service quality.

It was also useful for “daily living needs” to see how particular airport’s departments operate. We all fly from time to time. It is helpful for passengers to know, e.g., how to get your luggage prepared in order to reduce the risk of its loss, damage, and delay. The warm welcome of the event by the airport and efforts of the airport at this event in general deserve high praise.

Karina Khabacheva of SPIBA continues to ensure the high-quality of SPIBA events.

Sergey Fedorov, Counsel, Borenius Attorneys Russia, about Look@ Pulkovo

About breakfast with the Director: Patrik Strom, General Director, Smurfit Kappa


I believe the organization of such meetings is important and necessary for direct and open dialog with top managers of large Western enterprises, which invested in Russian manufactory.


Kappa is also an example of the interaction with local authorities which let companies reduce the tax burden and to apply reduced rates.


Patrik demonstrated us the business approach of the company. Smurfit Kappa offers solutions for customers to increase sales by business development with the help of Kappa. To my mind, it is a very advanced and perspective approach for business development opportunities and meet consumers needs as well as the growth of interest to customers products.

Victoria Gourinovich, CIS Logistics Director/Branch Director, Groupe SEB-Vostok. About breakfast with the Director: Patrik Strom, General Director, Smurfit Kappa

First of all, I would like to note that “Breakfast with the Director” format is the original idea of SPIBA and have no analogs in the city. On the one hand the events are held in a business format and on each of them the actual for business community topic or real business case from the history of the company is presented by the first person of the company.  On the other hand - meetings take place in a cosy atmosphere, there is always an opportunity to communicate both to participants of the event, and with the lead person of "Breakfast".


This time as the guest of a meeting "Breakfast with the director", already traditional for SPIBA,  acts Oleg Bokov, the Director general "Heineken's Brewery". Practical experience of Total Productive Management implementation caused a particular interest of product companies representatives. Nevertheless, representatives of consulting business, and me as a part of them, were not the less interested in the stages of implementation of the large-scale project and about difficulties which faced the company during the process and which were overcome by Heineken company.

Anastasia Denisova, Business Development Manager, Acsour about "Breakfast with the Director"

I am fully satisfied that I took part in the event.  Middle and senior managers of logistics are taking part as from customer as from 3PL sides with similar objectives and interests. The meeting gave a great opportunity for those who wanted to promote their product and to get ideas for future business. Facilitators are aware of a subject and keep the audience to follow an agenda.

Nikolay Dymsha, Head of Warehousing, BAT Russia, about the logistics breakfast

I am very grateful to SPIBA and Gorki Golf Club for my first personal golf experience!

Of course, in the movies and live I saw how the player is getting ready, tries on one hit or falls into the hole, or sends the ball according to the fantastically precisely calculated maximum possible trajectory.

So I was lucky to look for a stylish golf dress code at home and go to picturesque places where the surrounding hills and forests soothe magically!

Pleasant and professional coaches of the club allowed us to play only after the security instructions, which I consider extremely important, as Russian people do not think enough about their own or other people's safety.

At us at factory Nissan safety - on the first place, therefore I completely share this golf club and approve.

I got a tremendous pleasure! Surprisingly, I succeeded on the field with obstacles: I managed to roll the ball off the second or third strike, even took second place!

Thanks again for a wonderful day, which opened for me a new hobby and sport!

Tatjana Moiseichenko, PR and Communications Coordinator, NISSAN MANUFACTURING RUS , about SPIBA Golf Picnic

The meeting on the theme «CRM as a foundation for client-oriented technology» was useful for me for several reasons. First of all, I found out that my understanding of the functions of CRM- systems coincided with the vision of the professionals in this field. Secondly, I discovered additional business opportunities emerging from the gradual development of the company’s CRM- system. Moreover, I became convinced that the CRM- system of the consulting company provides special and important contribution to value-added services for the customer. I consider this meeting very informative and look forward to further workshops of the same level.

Mikhail Grushko, Business Development Manager, Tebodin, adbout the meeting on CRM technology

It was a great pleasure for me to visit the Round table on April 2nd, dedicated to the Organization of Students’ Practices. The very important thing is that we’ve heard different points of view on strategic partnership between business and universities: there were speakers from multinational companies, people from HR-consulting and representatives of universities’ career centers. I was really impressed by the project, realized at Rostelecom in collaboration with the University of Telecommunications – in my opinion, it is a really inspiring example of well-coordinated work by HR.


I do hope that there will be more opportunities to discuss this task later this year during SPIBA-meetings. If so, I will be glad to get an invitation!

Yuriy Romanchev, Head of recruitment dpt., Northern Capital Gateway about the round table

The SPIBA events always implicate diversity, creativity, usefulness and welcoming atmosphere. It is not only the possibility to know something new but also the occasion to meet your collegues or meet new interesting people.


The seminar  «Belgium: food for thought»  in which the graduates of MBA programs of Graduate School of Management of SPbU took part,  aroused interest among the participants by its non-ordinary concept.  In informal and friendly environment  the participants – the top-managers and owners of the Russian companies could  not only found out about the investment opportunities in  Belgium but also got acquainted with each other, built new business contacts and discuss all  "pro" и "contra" the possibilities of development of the Russian business in Europe.


We are very glad to our collaboration and looking forward to new invitations to SPIBA events!

Ksenia Kolesnikova, Head of Alumni Communications, Graduate School of Management about SPIBA seminar

SPIBA provides an amazing opportunity to see real production. People began going on factory tours in the 19th century. The US middle-class, to cement their social status, did it for recreation and with the notion of spending leisure time watching others working and, thus, felt their importance. Now people do it for different reasons: it became a business need. If you are in a B2B business, you have to know how your partners’ business operates. Look@ Russian Standard was extremely interesting for me from the technological point of view as I advise various businesses and understanding of how a particular business works is crucial for me. An insight into the business helps me give practical advice and offer efficient legal solutions. Look@ events are an invaluable opportunity to see businesses from the inside and get acquainted with successful companies in an informal relaxing environment.


The event was very well organized. Special thanks to Karina Khabacheva of SPIBA and Didier Garcon of the Russian Standard. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, questions were welcomed. The tour was very well balanced: theoretical information was supported by the hands-on experience; facts were supplemented by the lively communication with Mr. Garcon who was eager to answer any questions. Vodka tasting let the participants be part of the production process for a short time (quality control) and feel the difference between the brands. The event was not limited to the presentation on how vodka is produced, it also touched upon the banking and insurance business of the Russian Standard, how modern successful business works, what values it follows, industry trends, diversification of the business, globalization, the founder’s life history, people.


It was definitely a great experience. I strongly recommend the Look@It SPIBA events.

Sergey Fedorov, Senior Associate, Attorneys at Law Borenius, Look@ Russian Standard

Thank you for organizing such an interesting and highly professional event on the topic «Women in Leadership». The experience of colleagues, analysis and research showed how this issue is crucial, what trends exist in Russia and worldwide, how intensively companies develop gender and equal opportunities policies. There was clearly presented different gender motivation in readiness to accept leadership roles at different levels

Thanks to the Association for the invitation to participate as a speaker at this event and for the opportunity to share our experience. This is a very inspiring event, like many others, organized by SPIBA. Thank the audience for the excellent comments and engagement!

With respect and gratitude!

Alexandra Nagornaya, Co-worker relations manager, IKEA, about the round table «Women in Leadership»

On September 23rd 2014 SPIBA HR Committee held a meeting on the "Interaction with Trade Unions" topic. In my point of view, the topic became up-to-date for many.
It's not a secret that the success of a new strategy relies a lot on the employees, the level of their result achievement orientation, the ability to use their potential to the fullest. The Northern Capital Gateway company's (Pulkovo Airport) experience of interaction with trade unions along with the implementation of changes is another evidence for it. You don't need that much to be a success - just be open, correlate your interests with the desires and requirements of your the stakeholders.
It was nice to hear about the positive experience of interaction of Rostelecom North-West with a trade union. It's hard not to feel the real care in this interaction tandem: each worker is able to fulfil him- or herself as a professional and has motivation high enough for that.
Our employees' motivation and development of their skills are the crucial elements in work organization. Pluralism and equal opportunities approach that we follow includes the mutual responsibilities of a company and its workers that are neccessary for the common development and success.
In the framework of an open discussion the guests eagerly shared their experiences. Thanks to SPIBA for an opportunity to share the best practices.

Marina Gaidina, HR Director, MM-Polygrafoformlenie Packaging about "Interaction with Trade Unions"

New stadium on Krestovskiy islad impresses, first of all, with its scope. This object is unique for our city and the whole country. I have visited several major football stadiums in the world and have to admit that for now Krestovsky is #1 in my list! I would like to thank SPIBA again for this opportunity to be there as one of the first visitors.

Alexey Pyatkov, Colliers International, about Look@Zenit Arena

Thank you very much SPIBA for the perfectly organized "Breakfast with the director" on the Unilever factory. It was very useful to get knowledge about the technology and process of tea production, especially from the director of the Unilever factory - Sergey Parshin. Such events increase awareness of the brand and improve loyalty of the clients to the particular producer. We will be happy to continue using the Unilever products in future!

Ekaterina Vaulina, Rocco Forte Hotel Astoria about Breakfast with the Director at Unilever

On a rainy day in June, we had a great opportunity to participate in the LOOK@Pulkovo.

After the presentation of the Lean production implementation at the airport, we had a private tour around a new Pulkovo airport terminal. It was very unusual to be there

not just as a passenger but a man who has a unique chance to take a look at processes inside the airport.

During our visit, the luggage handling service shared secrets why luggage gets lost and how to avoid such situations during a journey. Then, the management of the Airport Operations Control Center demonstrated its main office with an aquarium full of piranhas!

Once again, I want to express my deepest gratitude to SPIBA for new knowledge and experience!

Arkady Davydenko, Project manager Pilz, about Look@Pulkovo

We have received not only a great pleasure of communicating with a true expert in the art of photography Yury Molodkovets, but also discovered a new effective tool for business development. In addition to creative aspects of the work of art in general and Yuris’ photos in particular, the potential point of contact and interaction between business and art photography was discussed. Catalogs with his original works, designed in the most diverse way, can be a wonderful gift for partners, customers and clients in any business field. More than that, Yuri is always open for informal communication and for various proposals and projects.

Evelyn Ametova, Marketing and PR manager, Maxima Legal, about Art-Breakfast with Jury Molodkovets

In our family, we  stopped buying sausages about 2 years ago. This was a result of constant stories about modern sausage production that didn't use meat at all, but instead, used vegetable proteins and a toxic mix of flavorings, coloring and preservatives. We were afraid to buy sausages. A recent trip to the company Atria Russia in St. Petersburg was interesting for me from the technological point of view as the company I work for is providing solutions for tobacco production. I was greatly and very pleasantly surprised when, accompanied by Duncan Black, we went through all the stages of production -  from receipt of raw materials to shipment to the customer. Products of PIT-Product are really made of meat, as they say, I saw it for myself. We were not only impressed by the high standards of hygiene in the production process – it’s not easy anymore to surprise people with this - but also by the real dedication to their work as demonstrated by Duncan Black and a sincere attitude toward the project by Jarmo Lindholm.


I can only thank Atria Russia for a wonderful tour which changed my perception and wish them success in this delicate matter of feeding people and making them happy with their food!

Vladimir Sorokovikov, General Manager, LLC “Pilz Rußland” about Look@Atria Russia (Pit Product)

Many thanks to SPIBA for the perfect organization of Art-Breakfast in the contemporary art museum Erarta.
Pleasant atmosphere contributed to the informal discussion of the topic of collaborations of the museum for its brand promotion, interesting and exciting tour opened the world of contemporary art from a different sight.
Erarta is a very interesting museum, dynamic and truly creative. Having a chance to visit U-Space helps you to live another short emotional life which changes the usual perception of your work days.
Thank you for Art-Breakfast, looking forward to attending new events.

Alla Sagaidakova, Business Development Director of Zgroup, about Art-Breakfast in Erarta Museum

It is always easy to write about great organization, interesting event and people or fun. Our Wednesday afternoon trip to new Gorki Golf Club was really a perfect short city getaway. Perfect weather, fresh air, great people a lots of fun were the main attributes of that day. Thank you to Karina and SPIBA for support to its members and variety of activities which they organize for all of us. Gorki Golf Club is a place to come back. They work with many professionals so I highly recommend to go play or just visit the Club.

Miriam Lackovicova, Director of Sales and Marketing in Astoria Hotel, about Look@Gorki Golf Club

From behalf of the Managing Partner of “PRESIDENT Consult” Mikhail Onatskii and me personally let me thank you for a wonderful event that held at Gorki Golf Club on the 29th of July 2017.

We express gratitude to you and the golf club for the warm welcome and hospitality and for the perfect organization of our stay there. Thanks to the efforts of the organizers, even the changed weather did not prevent us from fully enjoying the mini-golf tournament and all the club's facilities.

We hope that SPIBA will continue cooperation with the golf club, and we will be able to take part in similar trips more!

 

Olga Ivanova, Leading lawyer “PRESIDENT Consult”, about SPIBA Golf Picnic

Visiting IKEA on the 1st of July, to my mind, is one of the best events in the framework of Look@It I’ve attended. I express gratitude to Store manager IKEA “Parnas” Marina Kononova and all co-workers for very warm reception of our delegation. It’s very pleased that company staff understand and share the strategy and key principals of the global holding.

Alexander Parshukov, Chief Investment Officer, VTB Development, about Look@IKEA

Everyone in business circles of the city knows about the international association SPIBA, and happily collaborates with it.

Another confirmation of this fact was a visit to the company "Galaxy" and the meeting with its founder.

Galaxy, as a dairy business, complies with all standard modern and rapidly developing business structures, within the competitive market.

In addition to the organization of the tour, it was no surprise that we were very intrigued by the testimony of the owner, as well as hearing from the other of the original founders of the company.

There are many meetings with business circles in Finland and other EU countries, which organize joint projects with dairy farms, and have milk is sent to the International Space Station.

These facts, together with information about the business development of new products and tastings – reinforce the impression of visiting companies.

I hope these trips will continue - they help to clearly understand market trends, build relationships with customers, and communicate with other business leaders in St. Petersburg.

Kirill Shpara, Head of Business intelligence, Strategic planning and Assortment department, about Look@Galactika

I would like to thank SPIBA and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Information office in St.Petersburg for organizing the final conference of this remarkable cooperation project.  The project as such helped to create a platform for discussion for various Nordic-Russian organizations as well as Russian and Nordic companies from different industries about the practical implementation of CSR and transfer of the Nordic experience.





For me the final conference in St.Petersburg turned to be a good occasion not only to meet friends and colleagues from other companies but also extend the contact network among CSR professionals from the Russian companies.


I would also like to admit the outstanding professional level of this CSR conference as the presence of such prominent speakers as prof. Yury Blagov, Staffan Söderberg from Swedish Standards Institute,  Jens Berthelsen from Global Advice Network and Igor Sobolev from UralSib offered a great competence building opportunity!




Nataliya Gololobova, Team Leader, CSR, Statoil ASA in Russia about the conference on CSR

For one thing, I would like to express appreciation to the event facilitators. As for me personally, the workshop was quite informative, useful and applicable in everyday practice. I got an opportunity to take a new look at customer centricity regarding current market environment.


Without any doubt, considerable effect was created by personality of the speaker – Professor David Barkan. His professionalism, intellect, charisma, creativity, personal touch and sense of humor made the session not merely knowledge-bringing, but also very delightful.


Concerning the core idea of the workshop, I should admit it was quite interesting to know that customer centricity was subject to fashion trends. Methods and technologies, effective and being applied both in Russian and foreign companies yesterday, now are gradually reaching back. Surely, classic time-proved strategies/methods/values are still in place, but step by step marketing itself opens for something else – something creative or even “fashionable”.


As a summary of Mr. Barkan performance, let me name those several principles taken from the workshop, necessary to involve in the working process:


·       Monitoring of leading companies experience


·       Awareness of customers opinion of the company


·       Importance of informing customers of changes in work caused by their opinions and suggestions


Once again, my sincere thanks for nice meeting arrangement, great lecturer and tender concern to the audience!

Olga Nekrasova, Commercial manager, Ahlers, about "Customer centricity" workshop

I would like to thank SPIBA and Norden company for such an interesting and helpful event they had organized in order to introduce very important issues of the society as corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and corporate sustainability.


Being a representative of the company “OOO “BSH Bytowije pribory” I absolutely support all efforts which our company did and do in this direction, but I had never known that there were the Global conduct of U.N.O and ISO 26000 which also many companies have supported.  In accordance with information from U.N.O presented in Norway there are 6400 European companies which are now in the list.


During our trip we met very interesting people who had contributed a lot to development of this topic as well as with companies that already use it in their business activities.


It is absolutely clear for me now that the described issues become very important for companies in Russia and I suggest SPIBA presents it to their members.

Maria Zhitnikova, Deputy to Head of Finance department,BSH Bytowije Pribory about the trip to Oslo

I would like to thank the organization SPIBA for their very informative and interesting event at the "Russian Standard" Vodka factory on 02.10.2017. My colleagues were pleased by the company’s serious approach to production and quality-control automation processes, at all stages of production. Thank you!

Alexander Andrianov, Finance Director, JSC "Severen-Telecom"

Would like to express my admiration for the perfectly organized event at the GORKI Golf-Club. Thanks to SPIBA and the staff of the club for giving us an opportunity to get acquainted with this sports game. Everything was thought through to a detail. The organizers even managed to "change the forecast" so that all the dark clouds were gone by the time we arrived. Even though my golf ball stayed at its place most of the time I made a hit the positiveness of the event was not lost at all. And the team game of footgolf didnt make us feel left out of SPIBA group, due to the fact that we all felt as one united team! And this is great!

Svetana Mogiletskaya, Zgroup, about the GORKI Golf-Club event

It was a great pleasure for me to attend one of the most interesting and professional events ever! Top-experts in the field of communications spoke at the round table “Brand: the power of personality”. Having different approaches and visions of the “personal brand” concept, the speakers showed by themselves how to be great and confident professionals.

Since I was a student, I am interested in everything in the area of brand improvement and image creation, and SPIBA round table helped to upgrade my knowledge. I’m sure, that all the participants checked their social networks and their bosses’ Facebook pages right after the event 🙂 Personally I liked most Grigoriy Khazagerov’s speech on oratorical tools in personal branding and I really want to use all the advices at the same time 🙂

Thanks to SPIBA for organizing such a great event and thanks to speakers for motivation!

Margarita Polishchuk, Marketing & PR at IUSLAND Law Offices, about “Brand: the power of personality"

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to SPIBA team for unforgettable weekend-event held at golf-resort GORKI on 21 July 2018.

Golf Picnic in a family-day format was beyond all my expectations! I stepped on the golf field for the first time, prior I wasn’t even aware that a golfer can have up to 14 golf-clubs in a bag, aimed for hits of a different distance and angle. It was also interesting to note variations in game-rules for men and women, and surprising to spot a hole on a small island surrounded by water.

GORKI Golf Club instructors explained the technique in a very clear and understandable manner, corrected the execution and gave useful insights. Therefore, I was well-prepared for the tournament which wrapped up the sport part of the event. I scored 2nd place, not a bad start for a golf freshman)

It is worth applauding for the overall pleasant vibes outside the golf field: cozy atmosphere and new acquaintance, nice set up with food and drinks, relaxing music, children laugh. All of it created a very warm ambience of a great summer day!

Big thank you to SPIBA and its partners for the high level of organization, family format and the passion for a new sport activity!

Elena Baidakova, Director, Russia, East Consulting Ltd, about SPIBA Golf Picnic

On September, 25, 2012  the Environment, Health and Safety committee discussed labor safety issues in a production company. Discussion of this quite a technical topic turned to be very dynamic.


This is owning to inviting charismatic speakers and thoroughly preparing the agenda. Yuri Kalinin, a labor safety expert, shared with us impressive stories from his experience (for instance, the episode when the court recognized labor relations between a school and a parent of one of the students who was asked to do some works to help prepare the class for winter season). Mikhail Tsygankov of Nissan initiated a discussion among the participants of the ways of getting information on all accidents in a company (sealing the first-aid kit?). Mikhail Popkov, in his turn, proposed to use earplugs with radio signal as the means of protection from noise, promising that this innovation shall increase manpower productivity. We also talked about admitting to works in accordance with one’s profession, risk assessment and structuring labor safety department in a progressive production company. In my view, this was an extremely useful and remarkable event.

Anna Gavrilova, Associate Baker & McKenzie about the EHS Committee event

I would like to express my gratitude for the picnic, which was organized at the golf club "Gorki" last Saturday.
It was a splendid idea for the weekend to have an event in the way of a family format. Despite the fact that I personally know most SPIBA members, with whom I communicate with most often, it was nice to see them with their nearest and deast on the weekend just relaxing.
I really liked how everything was organized: the leisure time for very young kids, the opportunity for older children to participate in the tournament together with adults. In addition, breakfast, lunch and drinks – everything was in abundance.
Special thanks to the golf club for its hospitality. Everyone was friendly and sympathetic and the interaction with the staffs left a good impression.
We had a great time; even the heavy rain could not spoil the mood, it only added new impressions.
SPIBA always organizes wonderful events, but I it was my first time taking part in the family picnic format. In my opinion, it would be wonderful if it becomes a tradition.
Once again, I want to thank the SPIBA team and the Gorki Golf Club for a wonderful weekend!

Anastasia Romanova, Zgroup, about SPIBA Golf Picnic

First of all, I would like to thank SPIBA for organizing the tour to the production of one of the leading brewing companies in the world.


First of all , I was very impressed by the participation of the General Director of the St. Petersburg plant Heineken in the ongoing tour. Friendliness, a deep knowledge of the process, passion for his product, open discussion - those were the pleasant surprises that Mr. Bokov demonstrated to us during the visit.


The production process, from raw materials supplied, storage and to the finished product to be shipped to consumers, gave a complete picture of the quality of the product and approach to manufacturing processes. At the end of the visit, I felt like a connoisseur of beer brewing.


In conclusion, once again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the company Heineken and Oleg M. Bokov and SPIBA for a very fruitful and exciting visit.

Genadiy Filashov, Business Analyst, BAT, about Look@HEINEKEN Russia

On behalf of Sokos Hotels I’m glad to express my gratitude to SPIBA for the opportunity to participate in such a large-scale and outstanding event as «10th Seminar on Cooperation between Russian and Finnish Institutions of Higher Education”.

We are highly interested in our further interaction this way. I’d like to note that most of presentations of speakers were very useful for business representatives, particularly the report of Maya Iras “Hidden Compentences - How employers value international experience?” The survey was very interesting for me because we also monitor the impact of the internship of Finnish students in Sokos hotels on career development in Finland.

We are glad to take part in the future events of the similar theme, as well as we are open to the dialog of finding new ways of interaction between SPIBA, Sokos and Finec.

Larisa Zamuraeva, Manager of Education, Sokos Hotels Saint-Petersburg about the seminar

Once you are here, you want to return again and again. Unlike most organizations of the similar sort, SPIBA is very informal and open for fresh ideas. Being a member doesn’t mean any obligatory things you have to do, you just chose the events you’re interested in – from meetings with government authorities to visiting significant manufacturing enterprises. And each of these events – regardless what it is – will be held in a very friendly and cordial atmosphere, of this you can be sure.


But the most valuable thing you can get here is the vastest range of communication possibilities. Every member I met at SPIBA is very open and willing to expand the scope for contacts.


So join us and you’ll be surprised with how soon you’ll become a regular attendee of the events held by or in cooperation with SPIBA.

Dmitry Akulinichev, St. Petersburg and NW Regional Director, URSA Eurasia about SPIBA

To begin with, let me thank SPIBA for a perfect opportunity of such informal meetings with the directors. Today I have visited “Breakfast with the Director” for the first time and I can surely say that it was a successful experience. The format as well as the event itself was well-organized, and it ensured natural and positive atmosphere.

Such framework makes it possible to meet bright businessmen personally and get to know their methods of work. This may help you to find the right decision to your own issues, look at the working process from another angle, probably come to certain conclusions and make changes to yourself and your surroundings.

Igor Gorokhov, Senior Attorney, CLS, about “Breakfast with the Director” with Alexey Ananishnov

I would like to thank you for the excellent presentation and organization of the "Russian Standard Vodka" plant, and for the presentation of its product.

We had the unique opportunity of witnessing the entire process of production of vodka at "Russian Standard,” and were taught about the vodka’s uniqueness.

Personally, I was surprised by the company's approach – It turns out that not all of the processes of the production line were 100% automated (which is now quite fashionable trend), and focuses instead on the assurance of product quality (from ingredients to packaging), as well as the automation of the cost of each process.

After touring the plant, we were told about the history of vodka companies ROUST, about the plant in St. Petersburg. Then, in a beautiful setting, we had a tasting of 4 different varieties of vodka, all of which are known around the world! I think the plant laboratory director absolutely captivated everyone present, by her knowledge and love for her work. Even those who were behind the wheel could fully understand and learn about the nuances of vodka tasting.

Honestly, I happily shared what I saw and learned for many days afterwards, with loved ones, friends and colleagues, which confirms that “Russian Standard” is not only a wonderful product, but sold well too!

Once again, thank you to SPIBA for organizing this event to visit the "Russian Standard" plant.

Ekaterina Kondrashina, Branch director of AEROCLUB St. Petersburg, about Look@Russian Standard Vodka

"Breakfast with the Director" is definitely a very interesting event format. SPIBA gave us a unique opportunity to make a visit to the production area of Solopharm company, to see the most modern technological solutions in real life, get comments from the leading technologists and of course ask questions to the General Director of the company - Oleg Zherebtsov, a significant figure of Russian business.


The production of the pharmaceuticals is not only a complex technological process but also a question of particular responsibility. The founders of Solopharm should be given a certain credit for making it possible to put into operation the whole factory in compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) quality standards, organize the launch of the accessible and highly-sought by Russian medicine agents of a high social significance in such a limited period of time.

Would like to thank SPIBA team and Karina Khabachava personally for the greatly organized meeting and hoping to attend more events of this format in the future.

Sergey Dekussar,Marketing and Innovations Director, Ahlers Rus about Breakfast with Oleg Zherebtsov

Thanks a lot to SPIBA for having organized this morning meeting with Credit Agricole on "Russia and the global recovery in 2016"


SPIBA key strength is in anticipating needs of its associate, by creating events to answer the questions that foreign business have when doing business in such a rapidly changing environment as the Russian economy during these days


Specifically to this event, I believe the success is the combination of three elements


Firstly, the relevance of the content presented, helped by the fact that it was not presented in isolation, but placed into an international context, hence helping audience to benchmark how Russia has done and its outlook going forward, compared to other economies. This because SPIBA often uses foreign speakers that help broaden the view on different topic


Secondly, because of the questions and the comments from the audience, a very diverse group in term of nationalities, with extremely different background, not only helps in term of networking, via the conversations after the meetings, gives tremendous added value to the topic presente


Thirdly, because all the organization is always smooth. Which is not a given, in Russia..

Alberto Menegazzi, Director Business Development, BRP Saint Petersburg about SPIBA seminar

I found the event organized by SPIBA and Bank Saint-Petersburg very interesting. The topic was very up-to-date and the presentations of the bank and rating agency representatives were very informative. I liked that the graphs with specific data on the global and Russian economy, the rating forecasts with consideration of the current geopolitical situation. I was especially curious to hear the experts' opinions and comments of the speakers.
Thank you very much for the great organization and opportunity to listen to different specialists' point of view as well as to informally chat with the speakers and representatives of other companies.

Olga Mejericher, Finance Controller, JTI, about Business Breakfast in Bank Saint-Petersburg

The Mergers often lead to the need to learn to work within a new corporate culture. The corporate culture of a larger enterprise can be spread on the new acquired assets - Tomas Hajek, the Managing Director of the North-West Russia division at Danone Russia, shared a very interesting experience of Danone in Russia in this relation. A new corporate culture can be created as well of two different cultures, as it was, in my opinion, in the case of Air France and KLM. In any case, if the managerial decisions were correct, these processes will help to rethink and renew the existing workflows, what will help to the company to improve its competitiveness.

Vadim Mazin, Regional Sales Manager, Air France KLM about Business Breakfast

The Friday was amazing thanks to SPIBA and Look@Danone event. It’s a great idea and the format of the event.  I would like to thank SPIBA for the organization, Danone and Evgenia Falkova, PR director of the division, for the wonderful tour and hospitality.


We were told about history of the brand, all peculiarities about the production of milk, kefir, yogurts for children and other dairy products of different brands, which belong to Danone.


We visited the factory and told about the milk and kefir production from the very beginning,  when cars in dairy truck cisterns brings milk from the best cows, to the final stage – package, which comes to the shelves of our stores. Everything is so sterile inside. We were dressed in special kind of medical, clean clothes to enter the factory.


Now I am 100% sure that the quality and the process of production is on the highest level at Danone.


The event, organized by SPIBA to Danone was really of great interest for me and I think, everybody should visit this kind of event!

Nadezhda Komarova, Sales and Marketing Specialist, Acsour about Look@Danone

Each professional always tends to extend and strengthen his competences. And this applies both to his specific professional area and to business skills in general. In contemporary world the greater importance is given not only to the quality of goods and services but to the way they are communicated to public and to the degree of efficiency and strength of the team which offers these goods and services.
An excellent opportunity to learn more about development of professional skills in these areas was offered to SPIBA members by the UK Consulate on 12 March 2013.
Brilliant coaches from Great Britain not only presented their companies and variety of the training courses but also shared tricks of the trade with the audience.
If the content of a presentation is well developed and technical support is provided, how should the speech “packaging” be created so that the presentation is bright and memorable?
If a team is fortunate to have a good leader who effectively combines functions of leadership, management and coaching, how to make the team follow him and achieve the highest results?
Representatives of the companies Speak the Speech and Votive Leadership LLP spoke about development of skills in these spheres and even gave the audience a chance to practice these skills.
Although the day was long and rich in information all the participants of the workshops looked not exhausted by the “burden of knowledge” but on the contrary – happy with the new gainings.


Many thanks to the organizers!

Irina Koshelkova, BD Manager BC Communications about Workshop in the UK Consulate

Allow me to thank you for the very interesting excursion to the Mariinsky Theater, organized by SPIBA last week. The incredible life of the theater, which usually remains a mystery to most of the connoisseurs of theatrical art, opened to us that day from the most unexpected side. The way the Mariinsky Theater preserves and maintains traditions and values ​​cannot leave anyone indifferent. Such discoveries make us appreciate and cherish the heritage that we possess!

Many thanks to the employees of the Mariinsky Theater and the whole SPIBA team!

Yulia Aray, PhD, St.Petersburg University Graduate School of Management

As a former employee of Baltika Breweries, I was looking forward to meeting its new President. I can surely say that the presentation by Mr. Sheps has exceeded all my expectations. It seems that anything new hardly can be said about leadership, because this issue has been discussed for decades ... Isaac was able to find the perfect balance between simple and intuitive theory, practice of Baltika and his own experience of a high-flying manager - and all of this combined with a good sense of humor, philosophical view of life, a lot of examples of his own, as well as excellent links to the thoughts of outstanding managers and great storytellers. The story of Mr. Sheps wonderfully inspired me and helped to reflect on my role as a leader and manager. I would also like to thank him for original recommendations of books and movies. It was a great start of a week!

Galina Chernichkova, Head of recruitment and development, MTS about Breakfast with the Director

The event with Mr. Strom from Smurfit Kappa was impressive and constructive. The shared information by Mr. Strom and the open and active discussion with the auditory about the environment and investment decision and experience of Smurfit Kappa in Russia, Len. Oblast provided a broad and detailed picture of possibilities and challenges of the company and industry. Nowadays investment in Russia is certainly one of the hottest topics. Thanks to the organizers from SPBIA for such a professional event with a very good speaker. I am looking forward to events of such a format to come.

Kevin Jahn, Team Leader Business Development, Schneider Group, about Breakfast with Patrik Strom

We would like to thank SPIBA team for organization of Look@Fazer tour. It was our first time at the bakery production. We left the plant under impression from the production process.


Friendly staff, ideal cleanliness, automatized production – all this evoked confidence in the company’s products. We would like to give special thanks to Vadim Egorov, Production Director of Fazer for his presentation from which we found out a lot of new things about bread consumption in Russia. Now we feel confident about choosing the plant’s products without worrying about the quality. Thanks a lot!

Alexander Solohin, Head of the Commercial Dep't, Property-M about Look@Fazer event

As I expected, the topic of the HR Committee meeting which took place on June 14, 2012 not only attracted a large audience, but also led to an engaging discussion during which very interesting topics for future committee meetings were suggested.

In my opinion, the program of the discussion was developed in a very skillful and balanced manner: not only the technical aspects of conflict dismissals and the related court practices were covered, but also legal recommendations were given on how to ensure that the dismissal is lawful. Guest speakers generously shared their professional experience, drew attention of the participants to some subtle issues involved in the termination of employment relationship between the employer and employee, and above all, provided encouragement to overcome potential difficulties in the future!

I express my deepest gratitude for such a fascinating subject, professional guest speakers and perfect organization of the last HR Committee meeting! The event once again showed that the HR profession is interesting, multi-faceted and at the same time not easy!

Anastasia Priyomova, Head of HR department of Ernst & Young about the meeting of the HR Committee

The meeting at the event: «Government Relations Practices in Russia: current state and perspectives» organized by SPIBA on October 28, 2014 is a wonderful opportunity to discuss development of GR in the country and region with colleagues. We are different: every company may have its own approach to interaction with authorities. We are united by the desire to work openly, effectively, taking into account the specific features of the particular business. This is why the discussion worked out well. It was highly topical and multifaceted. Thanks to all colleagues for that and special thanks to SPIBA.

Kedrin Aleksey, Vice President, Corporate Affairs Baltika Breweries about "GR practice in Russia"

Thanks to SPIBA for choosing "Lively presentations" as a topic for the event and also for the great choice of speakers. It's always interesting to find out about the experience of the professionals of their industry.
And when the atmosphere of the event is fun and friendly there's only place left for the positive emotions. It seems that you already know everything - how to make slides, speak on public, get speakers ready for the presentations - colleagues' experience, fresh examples and up to date cases create the neccessary value, that makes it worth to come to such events.

Anna Sabinina, Director of Marketing and PR, Colliers International

Dear colleagues , let me thank you for a well-prepared, helpful and informative event Look@Baltika Breweries. It was a wonderful opportunity to shake hands with partners and spend some leisure time together. It’s amazingly good when one can keep its high level of competence despite any circumstances! Good luck, SPIBA!

Anna Sabanina, Head of the projects, Vedomosti

First of all, I want to express my appreciation to SPIBA for the interesting from all aspects meeting with Mr. Romuald Rytwinski, General Director, GM Auto, which was held in the format of "Breakfast with the Director” on November 12 in hotel “Angleterre”. It was not so much the presentation of the top manager but mostly a story of a man with great experience in management from different positions about his vision on the modern world and business and their problems at "macro" and "micro" levels, about his personal challenges at his job, views on the "work-life-family" balance, and etc. This story, where individual views, experienced impression and established personal principles were dominating on "company performance results for the past period”,  transformed  "Breakfast with the Director " in a warm and very useful conversation, the impressions of which immediately wanted to be shared with my colleagues and students.

Pavel Novikov, Director of Executive MBA Programs, SSE, about the "Breakfast with the Director"