My story
The riskiest launch was my own
15 years leading marketing at executive level taught me that growth often starts with a decision others hesitate to make.
I followed that conviction to pursue my own dream: moving to Europe and building a business in a new language and culture, during a period of global economic turbulence. That became ROOT Winery and Anticelebration.
For me, boldness is part of the CMO’s job: understanding which risks are worth taking, being unafraid to make mistakes, and turning unconventional ideas into a sound strategy for growth.
- Zumla
2012Rekarto Group / Zumla · CMO · Singapore / Tokyo
Zumla: a digital brand built to connect people across borders.
I led brand development and international launch for Zumla, a location-based social platform, working with Total Identity in Amsterdam. We built the brand from positioning to a distinctive visual and verbal identity, launching in ten countries simultaneously.
2013Gazprom Neft · Head of Marketing · Moscow / St Petersburg
Building a market strategy for the transition to alternative fuels.
I led marketing strategy within a three-person executive team, unlocking an alternative-fuels initiative that had stalled for years. Drawing on Italian and German experience, we connected infrastructure, demand and brand into a national growth strategy spanning multi-fuel stations, vehicle conversion, Gazprom Alternative Fuels and EcoGas. The strategy secured approval at the highest level.
2017AlfaStrakhovanie-Life · Marketing Director · Moscow
Making complex financial products clear and customer-focused.
I led the launch of the first omnichannel CDP in Russian financial services and developed an entirely new customer portal concept to make complex investment-linked life insurance products transparent and understandable. My approach centred on informed decisions and suitability for each client’s risk profile. In life insurance, marketing carries significant responsibility: earning trust takes more than quick fixes.
2019Fanagoria · Deputy CEO for Marketing
Moving a 35-million-bottle brand upmarket.
I led the brand’s premiumisation through consumer research, a new brand architecture and a marketing strategy spanning the product portfolio. This gave a previously stalled rebrand a clear strategic foundation. I also developed the redesign concept for Fanagoria’s own wine boutique network and created a new brand for its heritage juice range, which had helped the winery survive the Soviet anti-alcohol campaign.
2020Mafin · CMO · Insurtech
Making Mafin the country’s most talked-about insurance startup.
I built the best marketing team in the market, launched an in-house creative studio and created our own media platform. I reshaped the brand’s initially aggressive tone to strengthen perceptions of reliability, customer focus and innovation. Our campaign, “We see people, not paperwork,” highlighted fully online claims handling, market-leading customer NPS and human support after an accident. Brand awareness grew by 38% in twelve months, and the campaign earned an Effie Awards nomination in the David vs Goliath category.
15+Years
Key skills
- Brands from zeroPositioning, identity and an international launch in ten countries at once
- Strategy that unlocks growthA national alternative-fuels strategy approved at the highest level
- Customer-first productsThe first omnichannel CDP in Russian financial services
- PremiumisationConsumer research and a new brand architecture for 35 million bottles a year
- Teams and campaignsThe market’s strongest marketing team, an in-house studio and an Effie-nominated campaign
