'Its fun to work with men'

Hailing from the family of doctors and studying journalism in college, Ksenia Kondratieva today works as the head of marketing at ESET India. Inspite from being different educational background, the lady not only excels in her job but is also enjoying it to the fullest.

FROM JOURNALISM TO IT...

As a child Ksenia wanted to become a circus actress. Then, at the age of 14, theater fancied her. But it was journalism with which she finally pursued. The lady completed her MA in Journalism from St-Petersburg State University in Russia. She then started working as a journalist in Russia but her tryst with IT was something that was surely not planned by her. "By the time of graduation became an editor-in -chief of St. Petersburg Business Magazine, a monthly publication on economics, entrepreneurs and business practices. At that time the world financial crisis undermined media and other industries in Russia. It was hard time for me and our publication. By chance I was offered a job in an IT start-up outside Russia, in Bangladesh. I had no experience in IT at all, however, being a business journalist I knew how to change course fast, whatever the industry is - media, mining, banking or telecom. Moreover, that time my own passion was India and Asia in general, so I just yield to temptation. I spent 1 year in Bangladesh as BDM at IT company making banking software and hardware, later I joined ESET and moved to India."

THRIVING IN THE MALE-DOMINATED FIELD

For Ksenia, it was never like she was working in a male-dominated IT industry. She not only feels that times are changing but also shares that it is indeed more fun to work with men. She says, "Frankly speaking, I never felt this world men-dominated, neither in Russia not in India; I'm talking about business, not general life, of course. Look at the number of women CEOs?! Maybe IT is not the most popular field for women yet, comparing with Finance, Education and Retail, but it's going to change. My whole working experience is mostly with men in the team. I think men are the best office mates, though they are a bit too much emotional sometimes."

STRENGTHS:

"I like to learn and I do it fast, I never mind doing work which is not in my profile at all if it needs to be done. I like experiments. I'm quite open and simple to communicate with, though in India it's not my strength yet because of language differences. So... learning Hindi!," shares the lady.

ADVICE TO WORKING WOMEN:

Like they say, its important for women to strike a balance between personal and professional lives to be successful, Ksenia has a different opinion and a peace of advice for all the ladies. " They say a woman should not mix work and personal life; however it's still a puzzle for me. It's a very private decision for every woman, what should be the priority - work or family. The age matters here, so my age allows me to concentrate on work little more than my family might expect me to. I don't see anything wrong in sharing problems and taking advices related to work from close people. That's what I do, and my grandmother is my greatest adviser," she says.

FUTURE PLANS:

While helping people is what Ksenia wants to do in future personally, on the professional front, learning and better opportunities is what she is looking forward to in the coming times.

ON THE PERSONAL FRONT...

Born in Russia's St-Petersburg and brought up in Gatchina, Kesina comes from a family of doctors. While her grandmother is a PHD, her mother is a biologist and professor and father is retired colonel and psychiatrist with a large practice and business in HR and careers field. Talking about her hobbies, Ksenia loves singing. She has been a part of a choir for 18 years since early childhood. "I visited almost all Europe with concert tours that made me keen on classical music, opera and theater, travelling, architecture and history," she says. Besides, reading and photography are some other areas that keep the lady hooked.