Riga, Latvia –  Zanda Brivule-Jansone has devoted her entire 20-year professional career to the payment cards industry, with the last 10 years at the helm of First Data Baltics, now known as Worldline Baltics. In this role, she developed partnerships and nearshoring opportunities in the Nordics. Under Zanda’s leadership, Worldline Baltics has become the most professional and reliable payment card services provider in the Baltic countries, covering the whole card payments value chain.

Zanda, who holds an MBA from the University of Latvia in international economics, says payments are her personal mission, passion, lifestyle and hobby — the same way it is for Worldline, the company she works for. She is looking forward to many exciting years in the payments industry, making purchases easier and safer.

Worldline Baltics is the leading financial processor in the Baltics. It provides a large range of outsourcing services, from issuing to acquiring, and including interbank processing. It also delivers many value added services that are needed to ensure an all-in-one solution for the main Baltic banking groups — as well as for some banks in the wider Nordic region. Worldline Baltics is part of the Worldline Group.

“For me work is life and life is work.”
Zanda Brivule-Jansone, CEO of Worldline Baltics

Evita: Why did you join the technology business in the first place? What motivated you?

Zanda: I started my career at a bank in the mid-90s. In the beginning, I was working in the customer service and payments area. At one point, I realized that I was too much in my comfort zone and I wanted to see what was out there, how the real business looked like from the other side. The fact that I landed in a technology company was partly due to a coincidence, but there was one word that I recognized in the job description — “payments”. My future bosses thought the same — that knowing what payments entailed was sufficient and the rest could be learned (laughing). Since then I have been in the technology business.

Evita: Did you have to learn a lot? Does your profession require continued learning?

Zanda: Absolutely. When I look back, I even see a huge difference in how we worked two years ago, and, of course, today’s knowledge compared to the one twenty years ago is miles ahead. This industry as such is at its peak of development and is constantly growing; in my 20 years’ career the payment business has become more industrialized — volumes have grown tremendously, and many FinTechs are trying to establish themselves in this area. People perceive card payments as an autonomous service and do not know much about what is happening behind the scenes to make it happen. When payments fail, that is when we may become visible. Our mission is to make sure that payment services are invisible and frictionless for consumers, even though an extremely complex process is needed to make them happen. It is all about making payments simple, transparent and secure for the users.

In terms of learning, yes, it is a continued process, otherwise, one cannot know about new emerging technologies and other novelties. When I hire people, I always ask about continuous learning. Another source for this is knowledge sharing within a team. We all have to be team players in our industry and we have technology specialists at each level starting from core databases, operating systems and business applications to call centers, client services and technologies used to service clients.

Evita: Can you please explain to our readers what Worldline’s business is? I think that most people just get a card or get their payments done and assume that it is all done by their banks. As far as I understand, it’s you who provide payment and card solutions to banks.

Zanda: The payment card value chain consists of three major blocks — issuing cards (payment card account management with complex interest and fees calculation mechanisms, authorization systems, and dispute and fraud management systems). The second block is everything related to being able to accept cards (the typical card acquiring channels are ATMs, physical stores, virtual environment and mobile devices). Finally, the third block consists of ensuring that switching and clearing payments between the first two blocks can happen.

Worldline is a major player in all three blocks and beyond. We process interbank payments for schemes and provide outsourcing for payment services to banks. We are a crucial partner for banks, enabling them to serve their clients better.

Evita: How big is your team and what profiles do you manage?

Zanda: Our team consists of 200 people in three Baltic countries; the business is very technologically heavy, although it can seem light and simple from the outside. Half of our team is in customer service, providing direct services to our banking clients, end users and merchants. The other half are engineers who are making sure that we are invisibly providing 24/7 availability of card payments and are delivering products, projects and innovations, which ensure security, quality and compliance.

Evita: I know you have travelled a lot for business development purposes. Besides the three Baltic countries, you have worked also in Scandinavia. You could have chosen to have a career in a back-office, managing the tech team in Riga. Why did you choose to focus on business development too?

Zanda: I really love business development. If someone were to tell me that I should not be speaking directly with clients anymore, this would be a very sad day for me. These meetings and conversations contribute a lot to my development as well as to the company’s strategic growth. This is one of the most important ways to learn what is happening in the market and what the trends and developments are.

When it comes to geographies, I have been in charge of the pan-Baltic business since 2007. It has been a great, tough and continuous learning process during these past ten years. I am very happy to see that Worldline supports almost every payment card transaction. Also, even though we do not have offices in Scandinavia, I have landed two Nordic banking clients by offering them nearshoring solutions. This is a great sign of trust in our services and in the quality of our work and a great personal success for myself personally and my Baltic team.

Evita: You are in the technology sector, you are leading many people, you are an active business developer. Do you need to force or motivate yourself to play at this level?

Zanda: I feel like I am the happiest person on earth. What I do is my hobby, passion and mission. I feel a sense of personal responsibility for every card transaction happening in the Baltics. For me, work is life and life is work.

My deepest motivation is to do a quality job, and to be at the forefront of new technological ideas and their implementations. My personal aspiration, which is shared by my team, is to become the best team managing a technologically complex card payments business with potential high financial impacts. Receiving positive feedback from clients is both the greatest motivator as well as a source of celebration. You know… in client servicing organizations, this does not happen every day, since client service is built to effectively manage problems rather than to receive praises.

Evita: There have been talks about replacing work-life balance with work-life integration, and you have been the embodiment of this in the last twenty years. Tell us about your family.

Zanda: I have four children, and I have been working without interruption for the last 23 years. The most difficult part was when the kids were very young. Now my children are teenagers and students. I have never had any boundaries between my private and my work life. I have always blended and melted my work and private lives and I could not tear one apart from the other. My children were raised with continuous love and care from the whole family; and they are becoming strong, independent thinkers, and role models for their parents. I will always pick up their calls, but they will never call me unless it is urgent as they know how my work day looks like. And the other way around — they respect the fact that I sometimes have to take a business call at home or during holidays.

Evita: Why should women get into technology and into leadership roles?

Zanda: One should get into the technology business if one is motivated by complexity and one has a powerful brain which never rests. The technology business is both complex and demanding in terms of needed brain capacity and energy. That also allows putting one’s emotions and thoughts in order. Complexity is exactly what has motivated me for so many years and kept me in the same industry.

I would really encourage young girls and boys not to be afraid of technology. Our company is regularly offering entry-level positions into the industry through our demanding 24/7 call center. After the first few years, most of our students are qualified enough for further career development within our organization and they are usually our best performers. These could be client servicing roles in various knowledge intensive areas like fraud and disputes management or data management interbank clearing area, as well as pure technological roles, starting from programming, business application management, project management, system analyses, database and operating system management to data centers, electricity, network management for the highly demanding 24/7 industry. Even if you have not yet looked into programming, there are so many interesting technological roles!

These give the opportunity to have a meaningful role and mission in an area that affects the daily life of a large portion of the population. You do not need to understand how the code is written in order to ensure that processes are running smoothly. Women can use their beautiful and smart minds to put this all together for the benefit of people and the community.

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Anastasia Alpaticova, Marketing and Communications Manager at: anastasia.alpaticova@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – Daria Dubinina has dedicated eight years to mastering payments, e-commerce, and business development. Leading strategist and entrepreneur, Daria has also lead major partnership deals with PayPal, Alipay, Riot Games, IBM, and others. Her expertise and specialization lie in the fields of payments, strategic management, international business development, financial technologies, and international regulations.

Crassula is a FinTech platform that empowers companies to create their own payment systems, wallets, and online banks. Crassula delivers White Label products for PSPs, Payment Processors, Banks, and others, allowing to fully outsource technical solution. With high level of customization, it allows to set the products up and running within several days.

The company was founded in 2015 by banking, payments and tech professionals. Today Crassula is creating an infrastructure for FinTech companies, offering convenient box products, implementing blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies and developing the open ecosystem.

Evita: Why did you decide to start your own company in FinTech space? There could have been many other business ideas, which are much simpler?

Daria: It’s mainly because of my background. Before starting my own company, I was in payments and FinTech industry for five years  dealing with online payments, e-commerce, add-on features, and it’s a very interesting space to be. It was essential for me to continue in this field. It was like adding another feature to the product I know.
Starting up wasn’t so easy, I had to figure out lots of details, but it was very interesting, and I could engage with a lot of smart people.

Evita: What did you have to learn and how important is the continued learning for your role?

Daria: I had to learn a lot, for example, the stuff which is basic for the technology specialists — databases, how the APIs work, and such. I have team members, which are technology professionals, and they are willing to understand my vision about their work.

Then I had to learn all the things related to running a company — how to inspire and manage people, how to put things together and make everything work. My role is often to develop managers and leaders, I advise them not to pressure people, because there would be a burn out. I am learning something new every day. For example, the technology is constantly changing, and I have to develop along with it.

Evita: And why becoming a leader instead of a team member or mid-level manager?

Daria: When I was working at payment industry, I felt my work was like copy pasting, doing the same things every day all over again. I did not see the room for personal development. I wanted my ambitions to come true, to make a difference by running my own company. I wanted to inspire other people and create something that did not exist before.

Evita: What are the sources of your motivation? You are passionate about novelty and creating something that did not exist before. Why are you doing this? Is this for money or changing the world or another big goal?

Daria: You are looking at people, who are successful, and you want to become one yourself. Not always successful people are the richest ones, but they are very knowledgeable, full of experience, they have seen the world, they are well connected.

For example, I consider the year (2016) I spent in the Silicon Valley as a significant step on my way to success, because you meet inspiring people every day. I have burned almost to zero the company’s budget and my personal savings there, since it was a very expensive place to live, but in terms of connections and experience, it was totally worth it.

Evita: Why did you go to the Silicon Valley?

Daria: I went there to understand the U.S. market and to raise the funds for the project. I had a better success for the first goal than the second one. We did raise some funds and gained some interest, but it was not very sustainable, and we had to change our strategy. But I understood the market, as well as the mindset of the people living and working there.
One thing I understood and learned there, which I am now practicing every day, is that you have to “give back”, meaning — you would never gain the success just by yourself. Someone helped you, and you have to help someone else in return.

Evita: You are truly a global entrepreneur. Originally you are from Ukraine, living in Latvia, and have travelled the world. Where do you see the potential for Crassula’s business the most?

Daria: We are targeting the companies that would like to create their own payment solutions — payment systems, banking, wallets, etc. From the business perspective, we are trying to reach the developing markets. In old Europe our products would be used less. For example, we are targeting Latin America, East Europe, South Africa, Middle East, South East Asia, Japan, Korea — the countries where something is missing, where there’s an interest in FinTech field or where there is a space for growth.

Evita: In terms of Crassula’s products, could you highlight anything unique that your company offers?

Daria: We are developing the infrastructure for the companies that would like to build something by themselves — they do not need to spend years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop their own payment solutions, they can test their ideas on our platform and understand whether their idea is good, whether they can gain customers’ trust and start doing business.
Another unique feature is that we are implementing the Blockchain solutions and cryptocurrencies. By adding these features, we enable our existing and future clients to create crypto-wallets, crypto-banks, allow merchants to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method, etc. We do a lot of R&D creating private blockchains that can connect with each other and exchange currencies between each other, and all the transactions are carried out in a decentralized ecosystem.

Evita: When I speak to people from your industry, be it banks or payment service providers, sometimes they refer to Blockchain as a matter of fashion, saying why should Blockchain be that different from other technological solutions…

Daria: In our space (payments), there are some problems, which can be solved with Blockchain, for example, double spending problem. In a traditional economy, we can of course protect customers from double spending, however, some of the companies are still doing this manually, and manual work always leaves the room for mistakes. There are lots of other processes done manually. We are trying to automate the processes by implementing computing power and mathematical algorithms for solving complicated tasks or strictly complying with set terms. Finally, the decentralization itself can make the transactions unchangeable, which protects from fraud or illegal actions of participants in the process. These points are very crucial in the payments sphere.

Evita: Being a female entrepreneur in the tech space on a global scale, have you experienced any special situations or attitude?

Daria: When I first came to the U.S., I thought there is a lot going on about discrimination of women. They said women are paid less, trusted less, investments are more difficult to be raised by women. In the U.S. they speak about this loudly and I could experience it myself — the VC guys do not trust you — they see you as a young woman, who will want to have a baby in upcoming years and will not pay the attention to the business. I thought this was only the U.S. case, but this attitude appears to be everywhere. One of my friends — a woman executive in Ukraine — was refused a salary increase with the explanation that it should be a husband who provides for the family. This attitude should be changed. I am faced with lots of situations when it’s better to send my male co-founder to the meeting so that he is taken more seriously. He would take the commitments first and I would do the work afterwards. The situation should be changed, there is still a huge problem and we should speak about this loudly.

Evita: They say that technology space is more liberal, because the most talented tech professionals are appreciated regardless of gender or ethnicity. Are your observations more related to entrepreneurial or selling side of the business than technology?

Daria: It is more liberal, however, not always. In terms of technological progress some work can be done from home, so there is no difference who does the work — man or woman — provided that the work has been done well. I have heard lots of stories that women which are trying to get an office job as developers or project managers or similar roles in technology are not given the opportunity because of the expectation that they would have babies and would drop the job, or they are too pretty to be smart, or something along those lines.

Evita: Daria, could you give a word of inspiration for women in tech space or entrepreneurship? Why should a woman even try given all the difficulties and stereotypes?

Daria: I am an example of a woman working in the tech space. I am doing well, there is nothing impossible for a woman, be it technology, development, finance, entrepreneurship. Moreover, this can all be combined with having family and children. I have seen women doing coding, women travelling the world and having great families at the same time.

Evita: What are your areas of personal development?

Daria: I am always working on making my knowledge deeper. I am meeting a lot of people and I need to have a strong position to argue. I subscribe to a number of newsletters in the tech space, in payments’ space, and in cryptocurrencies space. I read a lot — not only business or sales books, but fiction as well. I also need to be aware of news in the world and the economy. In terms of personality, I am developing the networking skill, since this is a relevant ability required for an entrepreneur. I am trying to learn something every day which makes me a better person, better networker, better technology expert and a better businesswoman.

Evita: Anything else you want to add for our readers?

Daria: A minute of inspiration. When you are an entrepreneur, there is always stress and anxiety. You are always worried that you are doing something incorrectly, that you are missing something out, that something is going wrong. And, you know, a lot of things can go wrong. Try to focus on the main things — eat healthy, do sports, read, drink a lot of water, spend time with your family, do time management in the way so that your life is full. If your project is not a total success, at least you have your health and your family. And if not all your projects are total success, keep throwing the ball and one day it will definitely fall into the basket.

Evita: Good luck to your company and may it grow to the level you aspire, and may you have many other successful ventures in the future!

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Anastasia Alpaticova, Marketing and Communications Manager at: anastasia.alpaticova@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – “In today’s world, where everything is digitally connected and technology plays a vital role in humanity’s development, this field is a good place to end up in.” Liga Treiliha, Managing Director of Creamfinance Latvia.

Consumer finance services provider Creamfinance was founded in 2012 in Latvia, and has experienced consistent growth ever since. The company currently operates in eight countries, utilising advanced algorithms and machine-learning capabilities to quickly evaluate and score its clients. The company offers a highly customised approach to the personal loan process in a speedy and reliable manner, and aims to become a one-click loans provider serving underbanked consumers globally. Evita Lune, Global Digital Economy Partner, interviewed Liga Treiliha for Riga TechGirls, an IT community dedicated to tech, start-up and digital education in Riga, Latvia.

Evita: Creamfinance is one of the fastest growing FinTech companies: in 2016, the company was nominated for a prestigious Inc. 5000 listing as the second fastest-growing in Europe. How did you work with the founders to achieve such intensive growth rate and success?

Liga: One feature that all Creamfinance employees share is passion. Every single person in Creamfinance is an achiever, striving for continuous development, and this is probably also the best way to describe our company’s culture. We tend to hire people with entrepreneurial spirit, and we enjoy personal and professional success. We believe in diversity and synergy that each of us brings — within our team we have scuba divers, bookworms, musicians, gamers, polyglots, DJs, collectors, to name just a few, and we believe that each competence enriches the Creamfinance hive. I, for example, am currently learning how to pilot a plane. And it might not stop there—I am also considering actually owning one someday!

We believe in personal development and we understand that everyone is different. Understanding and respecting these differences along with providing support, in my opinion, is what has helped the company grow and compete both in national and international markets.

[…] Evita: You are an alumna of HEC School of Management in Paris, known for its prestigious education and a wide array of influential alumni, including François Hollande, the previous president of France. How did you decide to achieve this level of education?

Liga: After finishing my Bachelor studies in Estonia, I knew I would like to continue my studies abroad. There are two great benefits that come with studying at HEC — first, the level of education is very high. And second, you gain a strong international network composed of the people who study together with you. You learn so much from them. Even after graduation, we have regular alumni meetings, and this is a great network and a source of inspiration. I made the decision to study an executive MBA in HEC and paid for the studies myself, and I can definitely confirm that I have received a full return on this investment.

Evita: You have over 17 years of experience working in the financial sector. What was your stepping stone to this sector?

Liga: Ever since I started studying in Estonia I realised that I enjoy working with finance and technology, so my choice of this career path was quite natural.

One thing that young people are afraid of is stepping into a new field without the significant knowledge; but you’ve got to understand that you are not required to know how to code or solve complicated statistical analysis to be working in the tech field. As a leader, you of course need to understand how the processes work, but what is most important is your hunger to learn and constantly develop.

Evita: Where do you get your motivation from? I interview many people on a daily basis, and there are many who are happy with the status quo, who would not really step outside their comfort zone to achieve more.

Liga: I think I was just born like that! I have been like that as long as I remember. When I played chess, I wanted to be a champion, and I have successfully achieved my goal (note: Liga was the Latvian girls’ junior chess champion in 1993). If I manage a company, I want to be a significant player in the field, and I like the process of achieving a goal — it takes time, practice, and strategy. Taking up new challenges, stepping outside the comfort zone and enjoying the rewards is my way of being happy.

[…] Evita: You are very talented, brave, and you have so far successfully achieved your goals. What would you recommend for girls and women who are in doubt and are not sure on how to enter the technology field?

Liga: Deciding what you want to do next might be terrifying, and especially if you are considering tech — this field that is changing so fast and going so far is predominantly male-dominated.

But sometimes, the unknown can open up more opportunities than you expect.

And in today’s world, where everything is digitally connected and technology plays a vital field in our and indeed humanity’s development, technology is a good place to end up in. Even more than that, I would say the industry is missing out on some major achievements because it is not including women — the gender disparity hurts the technology companies themselves. So my recommendation would be to stop doubting yourself, just try and do it. It requires a lot of work and continuous learning, but at the same time it also provides a great number of opportunities: plenty of jobs, meaningful work and greater flexibility.

The technology field is by no means static — it’s ever-changing and requires constant development and learning. So if you are a change-loving, goal-achieving woman who is looking for a career to be challenged by diverse opportunities, you can be sure that your job in tech will never be boring and will always be appreciated. There’s an immense potential to learn and grow.

And we definitely need more women in tech!

Evita: What else would you recommend for women interested in the technology field?

Liga: There are many reasons why you should consider working in tech — it’s the fastest-changing and one of the highest-paid sectors, where career opportunities are close to limitless. Even more than that, a number of tech companies offer greater flexibility, meaning that you can have it all: a fulfilling career and a prosperous family life. I personally am very happy because I have a career and a daughter. A woman should not be forced to choose either one or another.

Also, with tech, it’s never too late to consider a career change — given the demand for tech jobs, you will realise that good specialists are always needed, and there is a huge potential for growth and competitive payoff. Technology is the future, and let me repeat myself once again — we definitely need more women in tech.

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – Pedersen & Partners Riga has moved its office location to newer, larger premises.

Global Digital Economy Partner Evita Lune explains: “The rooms in the new office have been planned to satisfy our needs, and built in such a manner as to protect confidential business information. The office suite has multiple entrances and exits, as well as private meeting rooms. The monthly rent per square meter is about 30% higher than what we paid for the previous office, but our employees and clients appreciate the advantages of the new office, so it is worth it.” Evita especially likes the proximity of Skonto Stadium. “We are an active team, and we often exercise there to bond as a group and inspire ourselves to achieve greater things.”

“This is an ideal place for our business to assure a high level of confidentiality,” concluded Evita Lune, Global Digital Economy Partner at Pedersen & Partners.

Evita is also pleased with the calm environment and facilities on Antonija Street: “It is suitable for our business as we need to provide confidentiality. There are many excellent spots for business meetings around. Usually we choose the Riviera and Rossini restaurants and have lunch at Mr. Fox or Index Café – a great, interesting kitchen and service for not-so-high prices.”

Evita concludes that although Pedersen & Partners expects to see new projects and higher business intensity in the developing New Hanza City territory, Antonija Street will remain a quiet oasis in the centre of Riga.

Photo credit: Dienas Bizness

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – “You create something from nothing, and you work together with plenty of smart, humorous, and focused colleagues.” Valerija Makijenko, Head of Development at Visma Enterprise Latvia. Evita Lune, Global Digital Economy Partner, interviewed Valerija for Riga Tech Girls, an IT community in Riga, Latvia dedicated to tech, start-up and digital education.

Valerija Makijenko has been a software development addict for more than ten years. Currently she is working as an R&D manager at Visma Enterprise Latvia, as well as giving lectures at Baltijas Datoru Akademija (BDA) and Riga Technical University (RTU). Before stepping into management responsibilities, Valerija worked in various software and product development projects as a business analyst, system analyst, and product owner.

While being a development manager she ensured that her team was able to move from “waterfall-ish” command-control ways of working to self-driven flat organisations guided by agile principles, which resulted in better product quality and engaged the entire team. Speaking about herself, she says that a clean code and good shoes always put a smile on her face. Valerija motivates herself and her colleagues to promote awareness of IT industry in schools and universities.

Visma is a leading Scandinavian IT solutions company with over 7,000 employees in 9 countries. The company is serving over 400,000 clients worldwide and is represented by three legal entities in Latvia.

Evita: Was it difficult for you to enter the world of computer science?

Valerija: I like it when it’s difficult, I am not afraid of studying too much, in fact I think that if you are in the technology field you have to be open minded to study really-really hard all the time. At school I was always strong at mathematics, chemistry and physics, but was struggling with history, poetry and such, so entering engineering and computer sciences was a clear choice for me, although originally I wanted to study construction.

Evita: And now what is your motivation to work in this field?

Valerija: […] My greatest motivation is the idea that we are bringing value. My development team is responsible for the Latvian market. This is our way of serving the country — developing solutions for government institutions and private companies in Latvia. Hopefully, this will help them become more effective for citizens and people in Latvia.

The second source of motivation is people. Most people in IT are smart, focused, and have a good sense of humour. There is no backtalk, no wasting of time with irrelevant chats, and the atmosphere and temper in the team are really great. […]

Evita: What would be your recommendations for girls and women who are still struggling with both — trying themselves in the technology space and proving themselves as leaders, as opposed to just back office executors?

Valerija: If you are structured enough, if you are able to understand the problem and able to suggest how to solve it, you do not need to be very technical to be a part of IT. Second, you need to be able to learn really fast. You need to be able to read tons of materials and understand how to apply your new knowledge to your work. For a chaotic, creative type of person it would be quite difficult. At Visma we have women with non-technical background from accounting that work in our team really well.

How to become leader-oriented… talk to other leaders, ask about their fears and how they overcome them. IT does not have gender, race, anything. What is worshiped are your ability to work, to perform, and your attitude. It does not matter which society level you come from, or how exactly you have become a master in what you are doing. IT can help you even if you have no money to attend official education — you can learn a programing language in the library and start earning money for your family.

Evita: Do you have any overall recommendations or observations?

Valerija: The main message is for parents and teachers to have a better awareness of what is happening in the world because of IT. Use all materials to explore technical matters with young children in a fun way. Sometimes parents are deciding for their kids in a stereotypical way. For example, if it is a girl, she will probably go to ballet or philology. I encourage to show how interesting, how fun technology can be, and what a huge impact it will have on our daily life. We have a huge shortage of talent and we hope that more and more women will become engineers.

Evita: When we talk about future professions, even if a girl chooses to study medicine or be a teacher, technology awareness will be a key requirement for any profession in the near future. You will be doing virtual reality surgery or online French language classes. Without technology awareness, you will automatically remain at the lower level of qualification in any profession, and will get a lower salary; you discriminate yourself and limit the growth of your career.

Valerija: And there are plenty of modern technology-based professions, which are very female at first sight, but have a lot of logic and technology-awareness behind — such as fashion bloggers or ladies who build a large audience on Instagram by showing, for example, what they have bought. It looks very feminine, but you have lots of analytics behind it. We have an excellent balance and diversity at Visma at all levels, even at the management team, and it gives excellent results for the company. Women need to be constantly encouraged and motivated to join the technology world and to become leaders in their fields.

Read the whole interview here: https://medium.com/@RigaTechGirls/you-add-a-lot-of-value-when-working-in-technology-field-20ae39e1da57

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – Evita Lune, Global Digital Economy Partner, interviewed Gunita Kulikovska, Founder and CEO of Vividly for Riga Tech Girls, an IT community in Riga, Latvia dedicated to tech, start-up and digital education. Vividly was founded in 2016 by young architects and tech professionals driven by the synergy between architecture, virtual reality, and people. Its CEO does not speak the traditional start-up language  – she is a visionary, who aspires to facilitate the development of a new medium (virtual reality) as the paradigm shift in the way architects communicate with their clients and teams.

In the interview, Gunita talks about how personal growth goes hand in hand with development of venture and the fact that, especially at the early stage, your company is a mirror of yourself. As the company grows you have to be able to grow even faster. So what does it take to take a step forward into the unknown and dive deep into creating a venture based on a technology that is just about to be known as a new medium?

Evita: The creative approach and innovation that your team has developed  – are they unique globally or are there some other versions worldwide?

Gunita: VR is a relatively new field with a lot of free space and no benchmarks. There are two major issues every VR company has to foresee, and to find a trade-off  – accessibility to VR and enjoyable content. Our bet is on the web as a major source for VR experience and designed, vivid experiences on top of that. WebVR will be a key factor in the progress towards mass adoption of VR and a powerful channel for creators seeking the broadest distribution. […] The team really matters. People who are around you really matter. If you are a leader of a small team, the company has to be a platform where people can grow as personalities, as professionals. If you are able to establish that framework, keep it running, keep it fresh, there is no way to fail. If the team is happy, able to innovate, people have a good balance in their life – your team is your brand. This factor becomes more and more important. Then you have a client and a product. Anything can happen with environment and technologies, but if your team is motivated and challenged, they will always find a way for the company to succeed.

Read the whole interview here: https://medium.com/@RigaTechGirls/your-tech-company-is-your-gym-for-your-personal-growth-eea52ee1fbbe

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – Although we no longer live in times where it is unacceptable to express a negative opinion to management, many employees still have qualms about speaking up, and carefully reflect on exactly what they will say.

Latvia's biggest daily business newspaper, “Dienas Bizness” asked our Partner Evita Lune to comment on this topic:

“The authoritative style of management is seen in the older generation of managers, mainly because their management style is based on an archaic business culture, and most likely will never change. However, the new generation of managers have an entirely different business culture, especially in relatively new business fields such as FinTech. This culture is based on a liberal environment, and focuses on using every ounce of employee talent. Almost all of the post-Soviet states are affected by the authoritative management style of older generations, and it definitely decreases their competitiveness in the market.”

Working lunches – for business and pleasure

Business lunches serve as a way to establish closer relationships with clients and business partners, and to lay the groundwork for possible future cooperation.

“In order to create an appropriate atmosphere befitting the client's status, a high-class restaurant should be chosen. The atmosphere should encourage formal rather than romantic conversation, and any background noise or activity should be unobtrusive, so that the partners can focus on the main topic undisturbed,” says Evita Lune, Partner at Pedersen & Partners. Usually the initiator of the meeting pays for the lunch, but in some business cultures, a man will insist on paying for a woman regardless of situation or status.

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner, the Country Manager for Latvia and Head of the Retail Practice Group. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior level assignments, Ms. Lune has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across such sectors as: FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

Riga, Latvia – The March 2017 issue of Latvian leading men's lifestyle magazine "Klubs" features an interview with Evita Lune, Partner at Pedersen & Partners. In the interview, Evita talks about the drive, ambition and determination that women need to succeed in business. She also describes the challenges and rewards of sourcing and placing smart and successful men as Executive Search clients and candidates, and concludes the interview by praising Latvian FinTech entrepreneurs for their courage and ambition, and encouraging other Latvian businessmen to follow their lead and go global at a time of unprecedented technological progress.

Photo credit: Aiga Redmane, Klubs magazine

Riga, Latvia – An individual approach, regular feedback and flexible solutions are needed to evaluate employees in the modern world, says Pedersen & Partners’ Latvia Consultant Guna Kalnina. 

Traditional employee appraisals are still widely used on a global level. The most popular methods include regular structural discussions and negotiations between employer and employee based on set schedules, and the provision of 180-degree or 360-degree feedback. However, we are seeing a trend towards replacing annual evaluations with semiannual or quarterly career discussions, and many companies are looking for new solutions and creating special platforms.

We live in a century when employees usually only work for about 2-3 years in the same company. This makes annual evaluation an outdated instrument, admits Pedersen & Partners Consultant Guna Kalnina. Over the last few years, several big companies (Accenture, General Electric, Motorola) have announced that they are giving up annual evaluations entirely, stating that they only give rise to inexpedient costs, unreliable data, and demotivated employees. Some companies have replaced long and complex surveys with four to six simple questions, often yes/no questions (Deloitte, Adobe, Microsoft). We are also seeing a trend away from evaluating employees with numerical levels and scores, where the manager takes on an adjudicatory role and creates a negative environment and false competition, and towards regular brief discussions with employees and positive appraisals, says Guna Kalnina.

Several years ago, a Mercer Global Performance Management survey revealed that only 6% of managers felt able to talk openly with employees about their performance. “In Latvia, we are still in the process of educating our managers (borne out by the high demand for managerial skills trainings). Annual performance evaluations constitute a tool for a manager to improve his or her ability to talk with the employees, and is often the only time during the entire year when the employee gets honest performance feedback,” Guna Kalnina observes. As annual performance evaluation declines, new trends have emerged – mobile apps for real-time feedback that allow 360-degree performance appraisals to be combined with immediate feedback and the ability to modify the manager’s appraisal questions to take advantage of immediate data on the employee’s progress and development. These apps use specific algorithms to prepare employee performance evaluation charts and training plans (e.g., Workday, Glint, 15five). They are simple and attractive, and have some entertainment value. Guna points out that this reflects the sensibilities of Generation Y by providing instant and visually-attractive feedback.

“When selecting the most appropriate performance evaluation tools, the employer must first of all decide on the resources (time and money) that they want to invest,” Guna says. “The developers of the most modern tools (such as real time feedback) offer a contract for a year and charge 6-10 EUR per platform user per month. More detailed evaluation external tools can cost up to several hundred euros,” she adds. Finally, the employer must be ready to train managers and employees on the new evaluation tools. “There are some wonderful examples where the employer invites actors to do a pre-appraisal role play on the typical mistakes made by managers and employees during annual career talks,” Guna concludes.

Guna Kalniņa is a Consultant at Pedersen & Partners, based in Riga, Latvia. Ms. Kalniņa brings over 10 years of extensive Human Resources experience with in-depth focus in the Aviation, IT, and Management Consulting sectors. She began her carrier as a recruitment specialist with the national carrier airBaltic Corporation, and eventually was appointed as the HR Business Partner, overseeing and implementing all HR processes (planning, recruitment, performance assessment, training, reward, and exit management). Later on she took on the HR Manager role for the Latvian office of a Swedish IT and web design consulting firm, led the HR Department of a charter and ACMI operator (covering operations in Europe, Asia and Africa), and served as the Head of HR for an IT and Management Consulting Company.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com
 

Riga, Latvia – As the recruitment market in Latvia continues to grow, recruitment and Executive Search players strive to find their own niche and focus, while expanding their scope internationally.

Moreover, certain specific recruitment services (for example, temping agencies) could become more popular as attitudes change toward flexible employment relationships. Although the agency model is still unusual in Latvia, these companies have significantly grown, proving that more and more entrepreneurs see the potential and benefits of this service. According to recent data, recruitment companies that focus on shipping are also doing well in Latvia.

2015 saw significant growth for the Executive Search firm Pedersen & Partners, and 2016 has been a very successful year as well. The majority of the firm’s projects are international—for example, helping Baltic companies to find suitable managers for a new branch office in Armenia or Canada.

“Over the last few years, we have taken on more and more projects like these. It is great to work with our Baltic entrepreneurs as they become more ambitious and seek out more opportunities. We also have many projects with investors from regions such as Western Europe, the US and Israel, who have business interests in Latvia, the Baltics, and Poland. These clients usually choose Latvia or the Baltics to develop support function centres, because our local markets are small and growing slowly. The uncertain situation with Russia means that Baltic countries are seldom chosen as a bridge between East and West. For this reason, there are relatively few simple and understandable projects in which Western investors want to strengthen their businesses in Latvia,” says Evita Lune, Partner, the Country Manager for Latvia and Head of the Retail Practice Group at Pedersen & Partners.

As the demand for professionals grows in the expanding finance, medicine and real estate technologies sectors (FinTech, MedTech, PropTech), Pedersen & Partners Latvia is forming a separate competence centre in this particular niche. “We plan to develop this sector globally, as well as in the Baltics. Moreover, companies in this sector usually consider their business development on a global scale,” Ms. Lune continues.

Despite the challenging geopolitical situation, Latvian entrepreneurs in the recruitment field are cautiously optimistic. More than 100 companies are currently authorised to deal with recruitment matters in Latvia. According to the survey conducted by Dienas Bizness, Latvian recruitment entrepreneurs admit that while competition among recruiters exists, it is not especially tough as the recruitment market is highly segmented with every player having its own niche. However, companies that focus on one or only a few countries are unlikely to be successful in the long term. “If consultants in any field refuse to specialise and develop their knowledge, they cannot expect growth or development. Our industry is no exception – it is changing due to technology, as a great number of searches are executed by algorithm. This means that there is more potential for Executive Search firms where consultants are focused on developing expertise in specific fields rather than mechanically executing universal and technical recruitment procedures,” Ms. Lune concludes.

Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner, the Country Manager for Latvia and Head of the Retail Practice Group. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior level assignments, Ms. Lune has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across such sectors as: FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest and Brussels.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com