Home school: University of Cologne, Germany
Host school: Ivey Business School, Canada
Original NGC project: Nazava, Summer 2018
Current position: Customer Success Analyst @ DHL Resilience360
Welcome to the board of NGC, Maria! What should we know about your background?
Thanks, very happy to be here! I am originally from Moscow, Russia, but I’ve been living abroad since 2016 when I started my CEMS studies in Cologne. I did my exchange at Ivey Business School, in Canada, and, after graduation, I joined DHL – first, as an intern, and later as an in-house consultant. I ended up in my current customer success analyst role at DHL Resilience360 last December, and I love it!
Speaking of consulting, how did you first get involved with NGC?
I joined NGC as a consultant in the summer of 2018. I was working on the Nazava Water Filters project. This enterprise is based in Indonesia, and its social purpose is to provide people with safe drinking water. I strongly admire social enterprises that aim to improve people's lives around the world, hence, I was very excited to contribute to such a great project.
You may assume that working on a pro bono consulting project during the summer is too much of a hassle but for me, it was the best option as I had more free time to dedicate to it, even while simultaneously doing an internship in Rwanda at one of the local logistics startups.
What I found really cool was the flexibility of the project. The client got interested in my internship and asked me to extend the project scope by developing the business in Rwanda and the neighboring countries, which I gladly did.
I think it is really important to realize for everyone who considers applying that your profile and activities could have hidden synergies with certain clients and projects that could translate into new challenges and development opportunities, so I would strongly recommend everyone to definitely give the application a try.
All in all, working on the Nazava case was a great experience, and the rewarding feeling at the end of the project was definitely worth the effort, that’s why I applied to become a member of the board.
It sounds like you left consulting at DHL and came back to it at NGC now. How come?
Exactly. As many CEMS graduates, I also decided to give corporate consulting a shot but soon realized that I am more passionate about more dynamic environments and decided to switch to a startup, which is called Resilience360, that was initially developed within the innovation division of DPDHL. I also enjoy the wide selection of challenges and the opportunity to work directly with clients and see the positive impact I am creating for them first-hand.
As for NGC, I wanted to start volunteering and giving back to society, but not necessarily in a physical way as I think my skill set is better suited elsewhere. I find the work of social enterprises very inspiring and contributing to their success as an HR manager is a new challenging task for me.
I also really like that NGC is a rather small, flexible, and constantly developing organization. As I already mentioned, I prefer working in smaller, more agile environments as opposed to larger ones. I feel like my voice is better heard and my impact is more palpable when it doesn’t have to cut through thick layers of hierarchies.
Right, so what are your plans and expectations as our new HR manager?
To be honest, I never thought about becoming an HR manager, but after talking to Chiara, whom I studied together in Canada with and whom I am currently replacing in this role, I got very inspired by the new challenges and learning opportunities and decided to give it a shot. At the moment, I am super excited to take on this journey.
By the way, there is another interesting side of NGC that I would like to highlight. You can try yourself in different roles within the organization without committing your whole life to it. You can develop different skills, internalize new knowledge, learn more about yourself, and translate all these gains into different areas of you”. For example, Chiara is now NGC’s new business development manager, and I would like to congratulate her on this new role and wish her lots of success.
Anyway, as I would describe myself as a novice in the realm of HR, I am definitely planning to start with some research – what are the best practices of other organizations, how do others accomplish these tasks in the best way.
What I am especially looking forward to are the insights from the “other side”. As an applicant, I have submitted my CV and cover letters numerous times and I have been a participant in many interviews. Now I get to see and experience what is it like to be on the hiring side.
Reading people is one of the most useful skills in life, and I expect to develop this skill, as well as to do an increasingly better job in my role. My ultimate goal is to put together the best possible teams for our projects. It often comes down to not just the excellency of the applicants but rather their cultural fit – both with NGC and with each other, within their project teams.
I heard from our project managers that you did a really great job putting together the teams for our summer projects. Can you tell us a bit about your process and strategy?
Yes, it was indeed very rewarding to hear that my first assignment to build the teams for our summer projects was successful and that the teams had great kick-off calls. First, I paid particular attention to the structure and the content of candidates’ CVs. Second, prior consulting experience, whether professional or through some academic activities and student clubs, helped me identify the candidates who are truly passionate about consulting. Third, it was important to see why exactly was a candidate interested in a particular project. Finally, when building the teams, I also had to partially rely on my “gut feeling” regarding whether the consultants will fit together and will be able to deliver great results to our clients as a team. I wish all of our fresh consultants great success in their summer assignments.
Even though it is a little bit out of the scope of our main topic, I can’t help but congratulate you on your sports accomplishments. How did you become a World Grappling Champion?
I have been involved in fighting sports such as grappling and jiu-jitsu since I was 8 years old. I got into the Russian national grappling team at the age of 16, and in 2012 I became a World Grappling champion. I was a member of the national team until the end of my Bachelor studies. After moving to Germany, I competed a few times, but now I am only doing it as a hobby.
Alright, so it seems that people should really do their best to be on good terms with you :) Maria, thanks a lot for your time and insights, I really enjoyed our conversation! Do you have anything to add as parting words?
Thanks for the interview, Andrea, I really enjoyed our conversation, as well! As for my final words, I would like to encourage all CEMSies interested in social entrepreneurship, consulting, and volunteering to apply for our projects and experience for themselves all that one can get out of the NGC experience – both on a professional and on a personal level. I am looking forward to receiving your CVs during our next application period in the fall :)