ABOUT ME

Having lived in nine countries and travelled to over a hundred, I consider myself truly cosmopolitan and multilingual. After settling in Switzerland, I spent the majority of the past two decades residing and working in Lausanne, the capital of Olympic sports.
Before moving to Switzerland, I had a career as a professional athlete, representing the Soviet National Team starting from 1991. I had the privilege of playing in the starting six of the Russian National Team almost 500 times, including three consecutive Olympic Games, where we won silver medals in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Additionally, I achieved four European Championships titles, a bronze medal at the World Championships, and numerous other prestigious individual awards.

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Upon retiring from the Russian National Team and professional volleyball in 2004, I transitioned into the field of commercial and marketing within the global sports industry. As a strong advocate for career development through education, I encourage fellow athletes to follow my example when transitioning from professional sports. I obtained a Master's degree in Sports Administration from AISTS Lausanne, where I had the opportunity to learn from the best in class, including the IOC and the commercial department of UEFA.

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In 2009, I returned to my sport and joined the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) in Lausanne. Over the course of 12 years at FIVB, my roles included Head of Marketing. While my main focus was on marketing and commercial projects, I also gained extensive experience working on various major FIVB events, such as the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, as well as several World Championships. I take great pride in being deeply involved in the strategic changes and transformation of the FIVB and its major events throughout the last decade, contributing to an effective makeover of the sport of volleyball and its flagship events.