Feedback about the employer “AgroTerra. Private equity funds sitting on suitcases Where did you and your wife meet?
The head of the administration of the Apanasenkovsky municipal district, Alexander Kosolapov, recently received guests from afar: a delegation of the investment fund NCH Capital Inc (NCH Capital), an international financial investor, visited Divnoye. On this occasion, a meeting was held in which Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Stavropol Territory Ivan Andreev and heads of local agricultural enterprises took part.
At first, the fund invested in sectors such as the economy, stock market, real estate, and two years ago, agriculture was added to this list. It manages more than 6 billion US dollars. For example, more than $250 million has been invested in the agriculture of Ukraine, where more than 170 thousand hectares of land are currently cultivated.
The Foundation creates agro-industrial holdings, relying on local professional personnel. According to Managing Director for Direct Investments Patrick Gidirim, the company invests at least 200 million rubles for every 10 thousand hectares of agricultural land.
“The region is interested in attracting capital from outside,” says Deputy Minister of Agriculture I. Andreev, “we have learned to grow the best wheat in the world, but we process only eight percent of the product.”
According to him, the situation with processing may soon improve somewhat: a workshop for the production of pasta recently opened in the Petrovsky district. In addition, in Budyonnovsk, six farms from Arzgirsky, Levokumsky and other districts pooled their money and decided to build a plant for deep processing of wheat. Dry gluten, starches, ethyl alcohol and other components will be released from the grain. This is, one might say, the plant of the future. The matter, of course, is not cheap, we had to take out a serious loan. There are also plans to build a pumpkin processing plant in the region. If now it gives a profit of 70 thousand rubles per hectare, then for finished products - in the form of juices, syrup, seeds, pumpkins - you can get several times more.
The fact that processing of cultivated products is a true and profitable business is evidenced by at least this fact: there are 17 wine-growing farms in the region, but only one of them prospers and only due to the final product - cognac. The same is with sugar beets; more than a million tons of it are grown in the Stavropol region, but less than half are processed. There are only one or two of our own factories, but in the neighboring Krasnodar Territory and Karachay-Cherkessia, our raw materials, as they say, are being torn away. Previously, the Izobilnensky plant could work with the harvest for six months or more, but now the products are not stored for that long: the current hybrid varieties are high-yielding, but the trouble is that the root crops quickly deteriorate...
The Foundation could do a lot on Stavropol soil. According to P. Gidirim, along with land resources, it is planned to invest in infrastructure facilities, including real estate. As sustainable agricultural production is established, the company plans to take part in the reconstruction and development of local dairy farms and other complexes for advanced processing of agricultural products.
From that moment on, the audience’s activity increased; farm managers were interested in how, if something happened, the fund would dispose of existing buildings and agricultural equipment, and how many people could be employed in production. Ukrainian experience shows that 10 thousand hectares can employ from 30 to 120 people. By the way, in the Apanasenkovsky district, 200 people is not the limit. Agricultural enterprises are not able to buy tractors for half a million dollars. That’s why the over-aged “Kirovians” and “Belarusians” smoke the sky.
“We are in no way imposing our ideas on the local peasants,” P. Gidirim said in an interview with our newspaper, “we just came to get to know each other.” In any case, it is up to them to decide for themselves, locally.
…The chairmen of the farms reacted to everything they heard with caution, but some representatives of peasant farms and the tourism business quickly got their bearings and offered the guests their vision of cooperation. For example, why not create an aviation enterprise to carry out chemical treatment of fields - after all, in the region only a small part of them is processed from the air, and there are so many potential customers in neighboring Kalmykia! Another idea of the Apanasenkovsky entrepreneurs is the creation of a mechanized transport enterprise, equipped with modern agricultural machinery, its task is to cultivate farmland in the Southern Federal District. The third idea is to create an enterprise for the production of crop products on an area of 30 thousand hectares...
So far we have agreed to prepare commercial proposals and further meetings. The collective farm chairmen decided that Ukraine was not so far away - they could go and see everything with their own eyes. Still, they were interested in how the land feels, flavored with investments.
We are accustomed to believing that there are management rules that are universal for everyone. However, each area has its own specifics. A manager must be principled to some extent, although in many ways flexible. There are several principles that guide my work:
- Don't miss out on opportunities
- Don't be indifferent
- Don't set a bad example
- Don't miss important information
- Don't judge without understanding
- Don't act insecure
- Don't be wasteful
- Don't overanalyze
- Don't forget about praise and gratitude
- Do not relax
In general, the problem of flattery must be solved at the root: not encouraged. If you leave attempts at flattery unattended, they will quickly fade away. Another reliable way is not to hire flatterers. It is necessary to unite the team with common values and base the selection of personnel on them. The values that we apply in our work are honesty and integrity, teamwork, striving for results and continuous improvement. Therefore, communication among AgroTerra employees is not based on flattery. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of a unified culture, because if the majority of employees in an organization are completely different people with different priorities, views on life and work tasks, they do not need to work together!
This also applies to the leader: he must be part of the team. You shouldn’t seem too important and strict, but at the same time you should try to look at yourself from the outside. After all, a manager is not an ordinary employee. You always need to keep your finger on the pulse: read about the best practices that management gurus use in different areas, focus on the culture of your company, try to organize work with maximum efficiency and minimal bureaucracy.
I believe that if you are 70% sure that your plan is correct, you need to start implementing it. We must not forget about continuous improvement, but there is no point in allowing yourself to spend too much time and effort on analyzing a project. You need to move in small steps, adjusting the speed of your movement depending on the circumstances. This approach allows you to objectively look at the work process and correct errors in a timely manner.
I consider the issue of prioritization to be one of the most difficult issues in management. The key here is to keep your long-term goals in sight. You need to devote 60% of your time and effort to important and urgent tasks, and the remaining 40% to work that will help implement long-term plans.
But in any work - no matter whether it is aimed at the short or long term - you need to weed out what becomes a drag on the company. What was beneficial and your strength yesterday may turn out to be disastrous today.
To overcome barriers, it is necessary to create conditions for open discussion of opinions. Our company has a code of team interaction, and one of its key points is “Express our opinion.” Without this, it is impossible to build healthy teamwork, which is the basis of any successful activity. It is necessary to ensure open dialogue and feedback, and not be afraid of constructive conflicts. For conflicts to be constructive, teamwork must be built on trust, common goals and values.
I am close to the ideas of Patrick Lencioni, who described in his book “The 5 Main Problems of a Team.” The main one is lack of trust. In our company, everyone interacts: employees at different levels work together and learn to build a dialogue based on trust. Therefore, we are not afraid of conflicts and achieve results.
It is necessary to encourage dialogue, meet and communicate with employees, maintain their motivation and interest in achieving results at a high level. The basis of success is the desire for results and continuous improvement. During interviews, I often ask candidates to talk about something they are exceptional at. It doesn't matter whether it's a personal or professional matter. If a person has once achieved excellence in something, he can repeat it. I like people who want to develop themselves and the world around them - they are constantly looking for ways to improve and improve.
During my time working in Russia, I realized that you need to be prepared for the unexpected, but this does not mean that modern management technologies do not apply here. Therefore, from employees in the regions in leadership positions, I expect a certain flexibility, of course, but first of all, compliance with the unified culture of the company.
Among my colleagues, heads of regional holdings of our company, there are people who managed enterprises back in Soviet times. Moreover, these are quite flexible people; I cannot say that they use the methods of “red directors”. That generation of managers has a good trait - reliability, thoroughness - something that sometimes generation Z managers lack. Young people tend to strive for lightning-fast results and lack long-term focus. Sometimes members of this generation lack knowledge of history, and people who have forgotten their history or have not learned from it are at risk of repeating it. This is clearly seen in the cyclical nature of crises.
It’s a different story for managers who are expats. I am an expat myself, and it is difficult for me to judge the ideality of this management format. We engage expats as consultants, and they help us with their expertise and knowledge. But I am convinced that the core of the team should consist of local people, Russian citizens.
By the way, there are no expats on the executive committee of the AgroTerra group of companies, except me. All Russians. In my weekly meetings, I look at my colleagues and see how engaged, hardworking, smart, and efficient they are—and I feel proud. I am happy because I am surrounded by people who want to be like me and whom I myself want to be like.
It is absolutely clear that what should unite managers of all formats is innate leadership.
A leader is a person who makes final decisions that can affect the strategy and implementation of the company’s financial performance. But preparing decisions does not happen alone. The AgroTerra group of companies has an executive committee and a large team of competent and involved employees. We strive to be a company that encourages individual excellence and a true team spirit through which people help each other grow and develop professionally.
I am convinced that to be a leader, it is not necessary to lead people: our team has leaders of processes, directions, and projects. A leader is someone who is not afraid to take responsibility for the group's results. This is a person who inspires with his example, values, and achievements.
World practice shows that companies that work according to this principle are most successful. We strive to become a leading agricultural holding that operates internationally. Therefore, I will not be mistaken if I say that each of us is a leader in something of our own.
Being a leader does not mean not making mistakes. This may seem trivial, but almost every mistake, if it is not fatal, turns out to be useful, because it brings experience. To become, for example, a competent risk manager, you generally need to make mistakes: without recognizing the mistake, you will not be able to analyze your actions and prevent the next one.
I definitely wouldn’t advise anyone to make irreparable mistakes. But in general there is no need to be afraid of mistakes. You need to avoid indifference and inaction, but you won’t be able to live and work without mistakes.
Prepared by Alexandra Zhuravleva.
OP "Stanovoe" became part of the "AgroTerra" holding as a result of the exchange of land assets between the "AgroTerra" company and the "AgroiVest" company. The Agroinvest company gave up land in the Lipetsk region and took land in the Tambov region. The quality of the soils is not even close to comparable. It seems that these companies have one overseas owner. And this exchange is some kind of financial transaction. This exchange does not fit into the framework of common sense. Ryazan, a colonel of the Airborne Forces, was put in charge of this agricultural company. He is a wonderful person and does not understand anything about organizing agricultural production (very cunning and slippery, apparently a staff officer), although he worked at AgroTerra for almost 5 years. This indicates that only good indicators were reported on a timely basis. He doesn’t solve any issues, doesn’t sign anything, doesn’t go into the field. He sits in his office all day and calls managers. It should be noted that in this company no one checks the production process; Mr. Patrick is probably happy with this. The equipment, although new, is all dead. All repairs were carried out in the field when sowing began. Mr. Thomas, guests are coming to drink tea and formally take a ride through the fields. Although the person is not stupid. I just came to Russia to earn some American money. This company does not value specialists. During the day, a decision can be made about what to sow in a particular field: soybeans, rapeseed or wheat. Logistics costs are crazy. I can’t even imagine how this company makes money? Probably to save wages for their workers and specialists. If you have a hopeless situation, then you can come here and sit out, calmly looking for another company with higher moral principles and higher material income, where you can reveal yourself as a specialist. So don't waste your time! This is a swamp!
11.07.2016 09:00
The love for Russia for the head of Sberbank Insurance began 18 years ago with a trip along the Trans-Siberian Railway and continues to this day. Hannes met his wife Natalia here, is passionate about building the company of the future and is at the helm of YPO Russia - an organization where business leaders feel at home.
- You were born in Germany, but judging by your surname, your ancestors came from India. How did they end up in Europe?
My father was one of the first scholarship students to come from India to Germany in 1958. He studied at the university, then began teaching - first in Hamburg, then in Bonn.
- Did he already meet your mother in Germany?
No, in India. After graduating from university, my father went home for two years and got married there according to Indian traditions: my grandparents invited their children to choose each other. Then my parents moved to Germany.
Your roots are in India, you were born in Germany and have been living in Russia for a long time. Who do you feel like? Indian, German, Russian?
I get asked this question often, and I don't know the answer. I am me. I have a strong Indian base: my parents’ family always spoke Punjabi, our native language, and observed national traditions. And my mother, when I come home, always cooks Indian dishes. Germany also had a strong influence on me. First of all, in terms of education - I graduated from school and university there. And now I have been living in Russia for twelve years, my wife is Russian, my children were born here. All these aspects of life, all this experience give me a good opportunity to develop further. What else... My passport is German. I think in German, and in English, and in Indian, and even sometimes in Russian. And how can I tell which of all this am I? All people are, first of all, individuals. And when they start to sort it out: this is blue, this is red, this is yellow, and that is green - it doesn’t lead to anything good. Home is the place where I currently live, where I feel good. And now my home is here in Moscow.
- Did you move to Russia when you became head of ROSNO?
No, I was still working at Allianz AG - one of the world's largest financial groups. When the alliance bought a controlling stake in ROSNO, Leonid Melamed offered me the position of first deputy, then I became general director.
- Do you remember your first impressions of the country?
I began to come here regularly on business since 1998. But business trips are one thing, but living here is completely different. But my very first meeting with Russia took place in 1992, when I, while still a student, traveled with friends along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Irkutsk. It was…
-... for a long time, I suspect.
Yes, we drove 76 hours one way, and it was great. The guys and I went to visit a mutual friend who studied in Irkutsk. I was left with strong impressions from the trip and the confidence that nature and people are the two main values of Russia. Of course, we immediately went to Listvyanka. I believe that Baikal is one of the most unique places in the world, there is a special energy there, you can really feel it. But Moscow in the 90s was completely different - dark, unkempt. Can't compare with today.
In 2012 you created your own business KW-Consult. Why did you later give preference to a government agency and accept the offer to head Sberbank Insurance?
Sberbank is one of the largest banks in the world. And if I had the opportunity to develop an insurance company from scratch on its basis, then this is very cool, I can’t help but take advantage of it. I have a goal, a dream, for every Russian to view insurance as a lifestyle. And to the insurance company - as a defender, accepting risks that a person does not want to take on. The penetration of insurance services in the country is still very low, and I feel that by taking on this project I can completely change the situation and transform the market.
We live in a unique time: the fourth industrial revolution, technologization - we are reaching a new level in many things. And we have the opportunity to build a company for the next generations. Make it convenient, technologically advanced, profitable.
I want to add one more thing: yes, Sberbank is a huge company, and like every huge company it has its own rules. We can call it bureaucracy. But what surprised me at the very beginning and still surprises me: Sberbank is a very dynamic structure that in a short time can completely change the approach to many things. Take, for example, the SBOL online application (“Sberbank Online” - FP). It is among the top 5 best in the world, you can even buy some simple insurance there. And this is just one example of how Sberbank is changing and what it is doing.
- It seems to me that a lot depends on the leader. Much has changed with the arrival of Gref.
Yes, German Gref is a real leader who is driving all these changes. But the level of other top managers, in particular those with whom I work, is very high. They are literally building the future. They think about what the world will be like in ten, fifteen, twenty years. In general, I think that Sberbank is an excellent case for leading European and American business schools. What is happening there now is unique.
Let's get back to insurance. The Banki.ru holding, of which Finparty is a part, is actively developing this area. Do you visit the Banki.ru portal?
Yes, sure.
- Do you think selling insurance services via the Internet is promising? Nowadays, few people in Russia are doing this.
Yes, I think this is promising. Moreover, I am confident that online services are the future. As I said before, we live in a world that is undergoing a huge transformation. And there are great opportunities hidden in our industry. The transition of all services to the Internet is inevitable, a matter of time. Look at different insurance sectors. Eighty percent of travelers have already gone online. The client can apply for insurance online in literally two or three steps. And just some five or six years ago, this service was used by at most five percent of policyholders.
The next popular option is MTPL, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We, as an insurance company, are still only on the way to finally going online. But other companies already have interesting online solutions for car insurance. Everything is developing rapidly. I believe that more and more of our business will be impacted by startups that focus on one or two niche topics and improve them. Sberbank Insurance works very intensively with such startups; we constantly organize events with their participation. I was surprised how many interesting areas there are in the country when it comes to insurance products. The topics of blockchain, machine learning, and so on are very interesting. In five to seven years, a lot in our lives will change.
- For example?
The most interesting topic now is the fight against cyber risks. This is obvious because everything goes online. And when it comes to insurance, the customer journey is evolving. Just recently everyone was talking about B2B or B2C, but the future is C2B. The buyer decides where and what he wants to buy. As it was before: if you were going to buy a plane ticket, you chose an airline, took your passport, went to the office and paid for everything there. Now aggregators are coming to the fore, such as Anywayanyday, which provide several optimal options based on your request. If previously the process of purchasing tickets took half a day, now it takes a few minutes. And it’s not the airline that’s in charge, but the aggregator. Building such an ecosystem is the main direction that needs to be addressed, especially by insurers.
But we have several features. First: we do not live on our own. Insurance is the second step people take when purchasing something. If you bought a car, you need to insure it, if you bought a house, it’s the same thing, if you went on a trip, you need to get an insurance policy. Therefore, insurance is a product that can be sold as an additional product. But there is a danger that car dealerships or real estate agencies will simply add it as an additional service. And then these will no longer be clients of the insurance company, but of the above-mentioned companies. And the second feature is that the insurance business is a bit so... cynical, in English it sounds like use it or lose it. If you do not have an insurance claim, then it is very difficult for you to understand whether you are being served by a good company or a bad one. You paid for insurance, nothing happened, then there was an extension, let’s pay again, and so on. And that's all, this is the only communication. Therefore, insurance companies very rarely evoke positive emotions among clients.
If we want to live further, we must offer clients not only insurance solutions, but also an ecosystem where the company can act as a reliable partner. Where the client feels that he is being helped. This is a completely different approach. For example, if we are developing comprehensive insurance, we try to imagine the world of clients: what are their goals in life, what are their needs, what do they like, what do they not like. On this basis we are building an ecosystem.
- What else, besides the insurance product, does such an ecosystem include?
I'm ready to show it to you in two or three months. We are currently developing a mobile application, planning to launch in October. For now I’ll just tell you. Well, let's say you have a car. Surely one day you will want to sell it and buy another one, you will want to know what the value of your car is on the market. You want to wash your car and be sure that you are not overpaying for the service. Or, for example, you are planning to go on vacation for a month - so why would you insure your car for these four weeks if you will not drive it? This is the ecosystem. Currently, insurers are not closely involved in this topic, but it cannot be avoided in the future.
Look at the new generation. I'm confident that when my eight-year-old children grow up, they won't walk into a bank branch and talk to an insurance agent. Why do this when you can take a smartphone, solve all your questions in a few seconds and buy the products and services you need? It's a completely different world. German Oskarovich said: “We are not a bank, we are an IT company with a banking license.” I think this fully applies to insurance. We must understand exactly what the client wants and build an ecosystem specifically tailored to his needs. This will not happen tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, but it will definitely happen. As Bill Gates noted, “We always overestimate the changes that will happen in the next two years and underestimate the changes in the next ten years.”
You dress quite brightly, informally and are partial to bow ties. Does this help or hinder you in corporate life? And what about the dress code of your employees?
We, like the rest of Sberbank, have adopted the so-called informal dress code: suit, tie, shirt. But if there is no external event, then there is no need to wear a tie or bow tie, and the dress code is democratic. As for me, I love bright colors, so I choose things that match.
- It’s probably your Indian roots that speak to you.
Anything is possible. By the way, my wife and I have the same tastes, and lately she has been mainly in charge of my wardrobe. And Natasha is half Ossetian and, like all southerners, loves bright things.
- Where did you and your wife meet?
In Moscow, at one of the business meetings.
- What language do you speak at home?
My wife and I speak English, my children and I speak German, my wife speaks Russian with them, and my parents, when they come to visit us, speak Punjabi.
- Poor kids…
What are you talking about, it's very simple! They have lived this way since birth, and for them this system is very clear: if you communicate with your dad, speak German, with your mother, switch to Russian. Children accept it easily.
- How old are they?
Eight. I have two twin sons. I grew up just like them: at home we always spoke Punjabi, and with my friends I spoke German. And I am very grateful to my parents that I grew up in such an environment. Knowing languages is very important. They reveal the soul of the country, its culture.
- Your curriculum vitae says that you are interested in music. Which one?
Traditional Indian.
- Do you play musical instruments?
I play the tabla, an Indian drum, and the esraj, a stringed instrument with a bow, and my brother plays the sitar. But you know, in Indian culture there is such a law: before you start learning to play any instrument, you must learn to sing. Because a person’s most important instrument is his voice.
My brother and I were very lucky. In Germany we had a wonderful teacher - Dr. Trina Purohit-Roy, who taught music according to traditional Indian canons. She played an important role in my life. In India, a music teacher is one of the most important people for a student.
- You are the chairman of the organization of young presidents of YPO Russia. Tell us about her, please.
I believe this organization is unique and membership is extremely beneficial for business leaders. YPO was founded in 1950 by 27-year-old Ray Highcock. His father owned a business and died, leaving a fortune that the young man did not know how to manage. And Ray invited everyone who was ready to help him to meet and develop a plan of action. Six managers responded to his call and helped figure everything out. This was the beginning of YPO. Today the organization has 24,000 members from more than 140 countries. It brings together leaders who strive to make every day even better - as heads of companies and as individuals. YPO preaches three principles: confidentiality, community (peer-to-peer), commitment. The main value of the organization is the so-called forums. These are groups that include six to eight people. They meet once a month for four hours and discuss any problems and issues - from business to family. And everything that is said in the group remains in the group. Now in Moscow there are 60 YPO members and, accordingly, six forums.
- Who is a member of YPO Russia?
For example, Alexey Marey (Alfa-Bank), Marina Zhigalova-Ozkan (The Walt Disney Company), Sergey Solonin (QIWI), Dmitry Grishin (Mail.ru Group), Maurizio Patarnello (Nestle Russia), Sergey Azatyan (InVenture Partners) .
- On what basis are people selected for forums?
There are several formation rules. In one forum there cannot be people who have invested together in some business, who work in the same industry and are competitors. In short, all factors that prevent a person from being completely open are eliminated.
- Reminiscent of psychological support groups.
You can say that. One of the most important rules of such forums is complete confidentiality. Whatever is said at these meetings cannot be discussed even with your wife or friend. Participants also leave their phones outside the room.
Another important tenet of YPO is peer-to-peer (P2P), all on the same level. The scale of the business, the status - everything remains behind the doors, all members of the organization are equal. This also affects communication during the forum - there is no place for advice, people discuss certain topics and problems, share experiences. They talk about a similar situation they once found themselves in, and remember what helped them then. Such meetings are really very important for business owners or CEOs of companies. In ordinary life, they can open up to few people and discuss their problems. And the group provides support and security. I can confidently say that YPO is the most important community in my life.
This usually happens based on recommendations. We are growing, developing in Russia and are ready to accept new members into our ranks. There are several conditions for joining - the volume of business, the number of employees, the willingness to actively participate in the life of YPO and involve their families in working in it.
- Another barrier to entry, as I understand it, is age. You accept managers under 45 years of age.
Initially, the idea was that the organization should have people who are at the peak of their form, who are currently either creating a business or actively developing it. People who have “no time at all.” Now, if managers say this, then they definitely need to join YPO. If a person does not have time for reflection, this is very bad. Anyone who bears a heavy burden of responsibility should have an outlet, an opportunity to think and deal with problems. Therefore, there was an age threshold. But it is very conditional. After fifty years, a person becomes a member of YPO Gold Russia and continues to go to forums and participate in the life of the organization.
Once a year you hold an interesting event “Dialogue in the Dark”, in which participants communicate with the lights off. Why is such experience valuable?
I organized this event together with my wife. If you haven't participated yet, be sure to come next time. Firstly, this is a social project that provides 30 jobs to blind people. And secondly - a unique experience. A person receives 85% of information through the eyes, and you immediately understand this when you find yourself in complete darkness. Other ways of receiving information are not being developed at all. We tried to fill this gap. During the event, people perform seemingly simple tasks, such as assembling seven nesting dolls into one. But in complete darkness they turn into a serious quest, to complete which you need to develop a strategy and act as a team. This work puts people on the same level and shows that complex problems can only be solved together.
We thank the Angelo restaurant for their help in preparing the material.