Andrey Kosogov, Chairman, Alfa Capital Partners
I came to Alfa in 1992 via a newspaper ad. There were no headhunters at that time in Russia so a vacancy was announced in the Moscow News. I was going to Kiev by train when I stumbled upon the following announcement in the newspaper: “Financial group needs a director”. There was a phone number and nothing else. I cut out the ad, put it in my pocket and forgot about it for a while.
But two weeks later I happened to find this press-cutting in my pocket, recognized the ad and dialed the number. I was told that recruitment had already been finished, but nevertheless a secretary connected me to her boss. We talked for about a quarter of an hour and then he asked me if I could come right away. I went immediately and we continued our conversation.
Although the selection had been officially closed, my future boss, who has good people sense, finally chose me even though at that time I did not have a slightest idea about business. I was an engineer at (Moscow Energy) Institute after finishing my job as a head of the Young Communist League (YCL) organization there. And only several years later my boss confessed that the fact that such a young man was a YCL leader at such a big institute had impressed him most of all. I was appointed the secretary when I was 27 years old in 1988 on the democracy wave not wanting this position. I had been just a recent graduate and was living in a dormitory. Young persons were rarely appointed to high position of that kind then and for me it was a great experience.
I did not want to resume my post-graduate studies because I had already realized that it was possible to take my doctor’s degree, but my passion was in different sphere - to work with people and manage processes. Two of my science tutors felt “hurt”, but years after they admitted that at that time it was the only right decision I could make.
That is how I joined investment business, knowing nothing about it. I formed a team consisting of my friends and acquaintances, who knew nothing about business as well, but they were well-educated, smart and talented. We had made many mistakes before we learned to do our job really well. And I understood a simple truth: if a person made a mistake, but realized what exactly was he did wrong you do not have to fire him or her. If one really wants to learn something, he will do it like we did even in seemingly hopeless situation of 1992 in Russia. (Prepared by Ekaterina Zakomurnaya)
Russian original
