From Project Manager to CEO by Alyona Vlasiuk

CEO, COO, CFO, CTO ... C-level executive position is not a cherished dream, it’s real! How to get there? What is the right mix of soft and hard skills for this kind of job? Let’s find out together!

Transcript

1. toplab.co From Project Manager to CEO Alyona Vlasiuk, TopLab, CEO, co-founder
2. My career path toplab.co ◦ August 2010: Project Manager at MasterOfCode; ◦ September 2013: Head of development offices at MasterOfCode; ◦ November 2014: COO at MasterOfCode (HC: 120); ◦ December 2015: Managing Director of Dnepr Luxoft brunch (HC: 500+) ◦ May 2018: CEO, co-founder of TopLab Inc.
3. My career path in detail toplab.co ◦ August 2010: PM at MasterOfCode (1 interview with CEO, go ahead with trial period; important: English level, basic knowledge of web) ◦ September 2013: Head of development offices at MasterOfCode (natural growth within same company); ◦ November 2014: COO at MasterOfCode (HC: 120) (natural growth within same company);
4. My career path in detail toplab.co ◦ December 2016: Managing Director of Dnepr Luxoft brunch (HC: 500+) (6 interviews during 3 months; important: previous COO experience, leadership skills, efficient negotiations, risk management)
5. Nowadays toplab.co May 2018: CEO, co-founder of TopLab Inc. (no interviews :), big challenge to be able to sell).
6. C-level executives toplab.co Thomson Data’s C-level Executives List includes: • CEO (Chief Executive Officers) • CTO (Chief Technical Officers) • COO (Chief Operating Officers) • CFO (Chief Financial Officers) • CKO (Chief Knowledge Officers) • CMO (Chief Marketing Officers) • CAO (Chief Accountant Officers) • CIO (Chief Information Officers) • CSO (Chief Security Officers) • CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officers) • CLO (Chief Legal Officers) • CDO (Chief Data Officers) • CXO (Chief Experience Officers)
7. Small company C-executives (HC10-20-->HC100+) toplab.co ◦ CEO - founder, co-founder (investments, operational routine, sales, etc.) ◦ CTO - mainly estimates, conducting tech interviews, supervising, tech processes setup. ◦ COO - being a right hand of CEO, work in a company for a long period of time, taking more and more responsibility in order to take part of CEO work on himself.
8. toplab.co
9. toplab.co
10. Big companies vs small companies (CEO role) toplab.co ◦ Very small: Sales, operations, HR, Recruitment, etc. ◦ Just small: Sales, being delivery guarantor, leading administrative deps, etc. ◦ Big: Company representative, final decision maker, work with COO, CFO, etc.
11. Big company CEO role (HC500-->HCFK+) toplab.co • Setting strategy and direction • Modeling and setting the company’s culture, values, and behavior • Building and leading the senior executive team • Allocating capital to the company’s priorities
12. Small vs Big company CEO toplab.co → entrepreneur vs corporate mindset
13. Skills of C-level executives toplab.co ◦ Effective communicator; ◦ Possess leadership and management skills; ◦ Ability to work under pressure and handle the stress.
14. More about the skills toplab.co 1. The Ability to Be Innovative 2. A Risk Taker 3. An Optimistic Nature 4. The Ability to Take Action 5. Coordination and Communication with Team Members - Comfortable Handling Contradictions 6. Controlled Emotion 7. Inclusion in Decision Making - Very Decisive. 8. The Ability to Trust Others
15. !An even more about the skills toplab.co 1. !Care for your people !No EGO, but Humility 2. !Drive-drive-drive !Thinking out of box !Strong reputation 3. !Great at Asking Questions !Want Feedback !Know Their Weaknesses 4. !Build Strong Alliances !Speak Different Languages !Always Raising Standards 5. !Know What They Know and What They Don't Know
16. Before accepting the offer in a new company toplab.co ◦ Authorities structure. ◦ Clear message re scope of work. ◦ Who is YOUR boss!
17. toplab.co ◦ Authorities structure. ◦ Clear message re scope of work. ◦ Who is YOUR boss!
18. Wanna get announcements re future TopLab meetups? http://bit.ly/2FKdfi9 toplab.co April-May 2018 - Smart City Hackathon April-May 2018 - Blockchain and iOT geektalk June 2018 - PM meetup etc.
19. Thank you! toplab.co