It is not common nowadays to divide occupations into men's and women's. Nobody is surprised today by women being executives, women in the IT sector, women being engineers and tech specialists. All employees at Beko are always given equal opportunities for their performance and development. We have asked our female colleagues to tell us why they chose their profession and what they find interesting about it.
Yulia Kudryavtseva, Head of the Direct Supply Group, Supply Department I knew right away that I wanted to stay here. My career started at Plekhanov University, where I graduated with a degree in Economics and Company Management and was awarded a diploma in Economics and Management. This major is the one that allows you to work in many different industries.
I joined Beko in 2018 as Procurement Specialist and immediately realized that this was the kind of team that was a pleasure to work with and I wanted to stay there.
I am very grateful to my colleagues who, despite their heavy workload, helped me to quickly adapt and learn my new functions. Our colleagues remain friendly and responsive even today, and I consider myself lucky to work with these people: we are all different, but we stay together.
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These days, there are a lot of unconventional situations that require new solutions. And we, together with our colleagues and our partners, do our best to keep the production line running at the right pace.
Unconventional tasks can be exciting My job gives me the opportunity to constantly learn new things and grow. Being flexible, versatile and personally accountable goes a long way in determining success in such a volatile environment.
My son is my biggest motivator I am convinced that there are no hopeless situations, you need to look at the problem from a different angle, and there will be a solution. I have learned not only how to solve tasks myself, but also to delegate them to colleagues in a proper manner. My career has enabled me to develop the ability to analyze and process large amounts of information, and to become more attentive to details. I try to maintain a work-life balance, of course, and my little son is the most important motivator for finding that balance. It is not always possible to allocate time and energy wisely, but I try not to forget that work is only a part, not the whole life, it is necessary to find time for myself, friends and loved ones: they are the ones who give us the strength to keep going.
Svetlana Katkova, Group Leader, Production Planning Department The beginning of my Beko story When you are 16 or 17, it's not so easy to choose your career path right away. I graduated from Kosygin University with a degree in technology, design and art, but by the time I got my diploma I realized that I was not interested in this sector, I had to find something else. I worked as a secretary for a while, then I was a recruitment manager. After a while I went on maternity leave, but I realized that I couldn't be on vacation for a long time, for me being active is very important. And then a Turkish company started building a new plant for household appliances in our town of Kirzhach. It was very interesting! That's how my story with Beko began and continues to this day.
I remember an enthusiastic and success-oriented team At the Beko plant, I first worked as a secretary, then I became a specialist of maintenance and supply department. I still remember that time and my feelings from working in the young, enthusiastic team. It reminds me of the romance of young professionals who built the Baikal-Amur Mainline and Dneproges. We were building something new and were so passionate about it that I didn't even notice the 10 years had flown by.
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I started to master the new functions and learn English in a fast-track manner.
I wanted to have, and was on my way to a management position The work was interesting but challenging. First of all, I became only the fifth woman among a lot of male coworkers. And the second thing was that most of the colleagues I had to work with spoke Turkish at that time. And you had to constantly communicate, correspond and address work issues. At times we had to negotiate through sign language. The plant was actively developing, and after a few years I was offered the position of a specialist in the planning department. Of course, at first it was hard, I even thought that I would not be able to manage, but then I adapted, became a team leader, managed to give birth to my second child and I still think that I have the most interesting and exciting job. I won't keep it a secret: I wanted to become an executive, and I was on my way to it.
But I always remember that I am a woman and a mother Despite the fact that I love my job, family and children always come first for me. I have never forgotten that I am a woman and a mother. My family is my backup and my support, my reliable base. My husband and I have always maintained a balance: we both work and we both do household chores. And we also tried to give the children the feeling that we are a family, a team, in which everyone has his or her own responsibilities. And for everyone to feel good, for us to have the opportunity to rest, to travel, to do things we love, we need to help each other.
Tatyana Goncharova, Engineer, Quality Department I was the youngest Inspector Foreman I have always been very independent and came to work at the plant for the production of aircraft engines in the department of technical control after graduating from school, and then I entered Zaporizhzhya Technical University. My mentors had played an important role in my choice of profession. They were specialists who loved their job, were not afraid to take responsibility for people and were able to make decisions in difficult situations. They put their heart and soul into me, a huge amount of knowledge and love for the quality department. At the time of my graduation, I was the youngest inspection foreman of the most complex section of the shop floor.
Our team is easy and comfortable to work with I have been with the Beko team since 2021 as Quality Engineer. I immediately appreciated the friendly atmosphere of the company and how easy and comfortable I found it to interact with employees at every level. Although I was unfamiliar with the specifics of the plant's work, I quickly adapted with the help of my colleagues. But, of course, it took some serious effort to make it happen.
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I wanted to get into all the details at all the stages of production of washing machines, and to do this I had to work with a screwdriver, and to study a lot of documents.
Professional team is not afraid of mistakes At first glance, working in manufacturing may seem monotonous, but it is not. We do not rest on our laurels: there are constant improvements and modifications of our current products, new projects and production are being launched, and there are opportunities for training in different areas. Pioneering is always exciting, and the more difficult the challenges, the more interesting the work. You need to discard such a concept as “impossible” from your vocabulary and not be afraid to make mistakes. A team of professionals, in which everyone is ready to make efforts to achieve a common goal, can solve problems of any complexity. And as a quality engineer, I do everything that depends on me so that the consumer is satisfied with our equipment.
There is time for life – there is time for work There should always be enough time in your life not only for work, but also for family, friends, and interesting hobbies. And time management is essential to balance it all out. At work, I completely immerse myself in work-related tasks. If any force majeure emerges, I am always in touch. Off work, I try to enrich my life more with different interesting events and try something new. Quite often when I get off work, I already have a plan of action ready: an interesting trip, a book in progress, a new craft or quest with my child, a workshop for myself and my husband, or an evening out with friends. All of this helps me reboot and gives me the energy to tackle new challenges.
Olga Zenkina, Executive, Supply Chain Planning Department of Beko & IHP I like analytics and optimization I graduated from Bauman Moscow State Technical University with a degree in computer science and control systems. But my career started in a large international brewing company, where I came after graduation as a production planning specialist at a Russian brewery. There I realized that analytics and optimization are my favorites, so I continued my career in supply chain, and at the same time I got a second degree in engineering business and management. In 2018, I joined Beko, as Supply chain team leader. I was welcomed very warmly, the team was actively growing at that moment, and I was able to join it very quickly.
Firm in principles and flexible in communication Our work is challenging and dynamic, but I like it, because in such conditions there is always a chance for development. It is very rewarding to see how our team's efforts help sales achieve goals, how the availability or systematization of information improves, and how operational time is reduced when we are able to optimize a process or report. I believe that successful work is built on setting the right priorities, effective communication, and the professionalism and responsibility of the entire Beko & IHP team.
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The job has taught me to be focused, to take a wider perspective, and to combine solid ity principles with flexibility in communication.
Valuing every minute I always remember that I am a manager at work, but at home I am a woman – a wife and a mom of two wonderful girls. It is certainly difficult to manage spare time, considering that, like all motivated parents, we have chosen a specialized school for our children and a lot of extracurricular activities. So I've learned to appreciate every minute we can spend traveling, attending recreational and sporting events, hiking and picnicking.