Translated material
Nikolai Pryanishnikov, World Class: "Business Activity has decreased, people have time for sports"
This is perhaps the most sudden appointment of the last time: after 18 years of work in technological companies, Nikolai Pryanishnikov left the post of Vice President of Microsoft for Business Development in Central and Eastern Europe, and headed the Russian Fitness Group (World Class Lite club clubs). A week after the appointment, the new General Director of the RFG gave the first interview to Slon Magazine, in which he told how his decision was caused by how his new employer feels in a crisis and how he plans to develop in Russia and abroad.
- You have been engaged in telecom for 18 years, in the Moscow Cell Communications, then in Beeline, then worked at Microsoft for seven years, and in general, engaged in the technological business. And suddenly - fitness. Why such a cardinal change in the sphere?
- I'll tell you! I consider myself a General-Manager who loves to develop a business, achieve a result, work with a team. In Beeline, we increased business from $ 100 million to $ 8 billion. After that, I had the Microsoft stage. And this transition from Beeline to Microsoft was also, I would say, not very simple. Telecom is the construction and operation of networks, commercial sales, marketing, work with a large client base. Microsoft at that time was mainly engaged in the sale of software.
- And how much did you manage to increase these sales?
- We practically doubled the business. So, Microsoft was a completely new business, and entering it was not simple. But I managed to achieve a result in Russia, then try myself in the international field, to work in Europe. In fact, I was responsible for 33 countries-this is Russia, the CIS, all the central and eastern Europe, the headquarters in Munich ... Also very interesting experience ...
- And why did you leave?
- After seven years in Microsoft, I have already begun to think about the next step, given my personal needs. And my wishes are as follows: interesting, useful work ... I could not work in some kind of alcohol or tobacco company. I always wanted to do something useful for people. World Class makes it possible to realize my potential. I really like the company's mission. I formulate it like this: help people be healthy, beautiful and successful ...
- Excuse me, I have to interrupt you here. In an interview with Vedomosti in 2010, you said that as soon as the top manager goes to work, he receives shares, and every year his share of shares is growing. So they motivate a person, and over time it is more difficult to leave. Apparently, you had a good reason to move here?
- Stock packages are a very good long -term incentive, in fact, you feel the shareholder of a large company. And I am grateful to Microsoft! But I never thought that this material component plays the most important role. I do not strive to buy expensive yachts and so on. I do not want to live some gorgeous, inadequate life. And for my part, I always thought that I needed a good job, interesting.
- That is, work in World Class is more interesting to you now than in Microsoft. Why?
- This work seems to me more interesting for the following reasons. The first is the mission that we fulfill. The second is the potential of development. I believe that the company has the potential for the development of penetration in Russia, the possibility of entering other markets. Well, and the third-I really like that this is such a full-fledged General Manager work. I hope here I will have more authority than in the position of the president of the Microsoft Russia, which sounds very loud, but in fact you are in a big matrix, you have many leaders, and somewhere you are limited in decision-making.
- Tell us about the new powers that you have more here.
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