As part of the meetings of AUK students and alumni with industry leaders, the offline AUK Global Leadership Club was held with the participation of Lisa Kaestner, Country Manager for Ukraine and Moldova, IFC - International Finance Corporation. The event was moderated by Anton Solovyov, AUK master’s student of the Global Management program, a graduate of Arizona State University (ASU), Treasury and Financial Expert at MET Group.
In December 2022, the IFC Board of Directors approved a $2 billion program for Ukraine, which is aimed at financing the private sector with the involvement of donors and private capital. Lisa Kaestner is responsible for IFC’s work to mobilize investment and support the private sector in Ukraine and Moldova while overseeing IFC’s response to the war in Ukraine and the post-war recovery agenda in the region. Ms. Kaestner assumed her new position in March 2022, in the midst of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Answering the question on her personal experience, education and dedication to Ukraine, Lisa Kaestner outlined her fascination with Ukraine and the region,
“I studied economics because I was interested in the question: once a country completely falls apart, how do we rebuild its economy? This was based on my experience living in Georgia when it was newly independent. I felt very much a part of the post-Soviet transition toward a market economy more democratic governance, and much of my career has focused on this region.
I was in Georgia in 2008 when Russia invaded there, I was there with my kids who were little at the time. It was only 5 days, but it really hit me. Then Crimea happened. I felt that this is a region of the world that I care a lot about and I'm lucky to be working in an organization where with financing and expertise we can help keep Ukraine running until the geopolitical situation improves. Given the importance of what's happening in Ukraine right now, I want to do what I can, which is to bring what IFC has to offer to Ukraine.”
AUK Global Leadership Club and AUK Leadership and Strategy Discussions are a series of AUK students and alumni meetings with prominent industry leaders who can share their experiences and leadership insights from their distinguished professional careers.
During an offline meeting with Lisa Kaestner, Country Manager for Ukraine and Moldova, IFC - International Finance Corporation, students and guests learned about the IFC in Ukraine and its response to russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as received valuable advice on how to drive changes and be a leader for your team.
When asked what skill AUK students should acquire to become future Ukrainian leaders, Lisa Kaestner stressed,
“I believe that everyone has distinct strengths when it comes to leadership. I can say from my own experience and especially from working in Ukraine in the last two years: one thing that has always helped me as a manager is people skills or the ability to understand people, support people, and help a team work well together and grow.
What I've learned over the past two years in Ukraine, which I think will be a useful skill for anyone, is how to think out of box and not limit yourself or your team. When I took this job, I really wasn't sure that IFC would invest so much in Ukraine so long as the war stayed active. But we found different ways through teamwork. For example, in IFC were lots of people who wanted to find ways to do things. We had never used government guarantees or grants in Ukraine the way that we're doing it today. But once we proposed it and worked together to bring different skills and experience to develop an approach, we were able to implement it and invest almost $2 billion in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion.
If you have a vision of where you want to go and you can find some like-minded people who share your vision, you can find solutions to the problems that might come up.”
We are very grateful to Lisa Kaestner for her energizing and impactful discussion with AUK students and guests, and to Anton Solovyov for moderating such an important conversation.