“Infrastructure Talk” with Olena Aliieva, Brooklyn-Kiev

Dedicated to the memory of Olena Aliieva who devoted almost all her life to the development of port industry in Ukraine.

Statement from the authors

Dmytro Pavlenko, Partner at Deloitte Ukraine, Leader of Infrastructure Industry Group:

In June 2024, Olena Aliieva departed from this life. She was the First Deputy General Director of Brooklyn-Kiev, the largest port operator in the Port of Odesa, and the special woman for Ukrainian infrastructure.

We had worked together for many years, were friends, communicated with her. But, unfortunately, missed the chance of preparing this material during her lifetime. Therefore, this “Infrastructure Talk” has specific value for us. We have created it based on interviews and private talks with Olena over the past several years, with the participation of many Deloitte colleagues: Oleksii Zanoza, Natalia Rudenko, Andrii Servetnyk, Anton Bychkov, Svitlana Tutovska, Pavlo Plastovets.   

Olena Heorhiivna, please tell us how you got into Brooklyn-Kiev? 

It happened in 1992. Brooklyn-Kiev was established in 1990, and, two years later, its General Director and owner invited me to his team. At that time, I was working on projects for the Ministry of Communications of Ukraine (ed.: the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine after reorganization in 2010). In particular, my work related to ensuring the supply of rolled metal. At that time, we cooperated with a British company that supplied special equipment for the ministry. That’s how my journey in managing complex projects began. Afterwards, I was recommended to Brooklyn-Kiev, which, at that time, was already actively engaged in performing such tasks, and I gladly joined the team. That’s how life has connected me with Brooklyn-Kiev for many years (ed.: for life).

How has your role in the company evolved along with the business?

Roles and projects were constantly changing. After all, each stage of the company’s development posed new challenges for us – the market was changing, and we were changing with it. I vividly remember the period of 1994-1996 when Ukraine was just shaping its legislation on exports, customs clearance of goods, and other important aspects of international trade. This process was extremely complex, but we took an active part in its development.

At the initial stages, our company was engaged in the supply of “toll raw materials”. We were directly involved in shaping the legislation in the area. The company supplied a complete set of raw materials for manufacturing rolled metal to Ukrainian metallurgical plants, in particular, the Azovstal and the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant. And we exported the resulting rolled metal abroad.

Later, we began investing in real estate in Kyiv. Our achievements of the period included the construction of several embassies, including the Embassy of Iran in Ukraine. Then, we started developing residential buildings in the city center and restoring architectural monuments. Over time, the construction activities spread to our Odesa office, the stevedoring company Brooklyn-Kiev, where new projects were launched.

One of the first great challenges was cooperation with a French company that was engaged in exports of raw sugar in Ukraine. We created a specialized warehouse – the only customs and licensing facility in Ukraine for transshipment of raw sugar. The Ukrainian legislation was just beginning to take shape for this industry, and we worked on it, too. Now, Ukraine is already exporting sugar and is not engaged in raw sugar exports, so we moved on to other areas of development.

Another vivid memory of the period is the construction of the runway at Boryspil Airport. It was a joint project with Daimler-Benz AG. Immediately after that, we began constructing a hotel at the Odesa Seaport terminal, the project implemented jointly with the port (ed.: in September 2023, the hotel suffered significant damages as a result of the missile attack by the Russian Federation). 

And where are the port terminals in this story and how have you come to this?

Actually, after working on the hotel, we decided that we needed to our own stevedoring business. At that time, the Brooklyn-Kiev terminal was very small, and handling a large amount of cargo in a limited site area was an extremely difficult task. The terminal was located in the most disadvantageous place – on the outskirts of the Odesa port, with limited access to open warehouse areas. On the one side, we bordered on the harbor for loading and unloading oil tankers, on the other – on the ship repair yard.

The port was ready to allocate part of the ship repair yard’s territory to us for development. There was absolutely nothing there. I still remember this picture: I have come to have a look at the territory, and there is reed growing there, everything is neglected... However, this territory turned out to be not enough, so we developed further, expanding into the water area, opening warehouse areas, and continuing to build.

One of our most important projects was the construction of an elevator with the capacity of 186 thousand tons of simultaneous storage. At that time, the port also built a pier, and our elevator started functioning very quickly. This was a very important project for Ukraine. Agribusiness then began to grow actively, and there was a critical lack of elevator capacities in ports. At the moment, only one elevator built back in the Soviet times, with the capacity of 86 thousand tons, was operating in the Odesa port. All this was managed by the relevant company’s owner and its general director, Oleh Anatoliiovych Nemyrovskyi. He was a real generator of ideas. We had barely finished one project when he asked, “What do we do next?” Later, we sold our elevator to a foreign company that wanted to develop this business, and we continue to cooperate closely with it.

As my professional challenges grew, I felt the need to develop further, and went to get an MBA. Although I had already completed economics and finance education programs by that time, this was not enough to conquer new heights.

Later, Brooklyn-Kiev was acquired and headed by Yurii Petrovych Hubankov, an energetic leader who brought new ideas for development. One of such ideas was to extend Berth No. 43 which we were building for Ukrelevatorprom. Again, we faced a shortage of territory and developed part of the water area. After increasing the area, it was decided to create a container terminal, and one of the largest container companies in the world, CMA CGM, became a partner in this project.

We were constantly growing and occupying new territories. New areas were connected to the previous ones, and we got a fairly large container terminal. Our container turnover increased significantly. We were expanding, purchasing new equipment, and modernizing. 

What motivates you in the company?

I have been working at Brooklyn-Kiev practically from the very beginning, having come here right after graduating from university. I only worked for a little while at the ministry, and then I came here. I have been developing together with the company from scratch. It is certainly very exciting when you start as a novice and then constantly grow, discovering new projects and opportunities for yourself. This is what motivates me – the fact that I do not stand still. It is extremely important for me to constantly do something new. Having created something, I move on, strive to do more. This is very developing. Sitting still, doing routine work is absolutely not my thing.

What are the biggest challenges in business right now?

Today, business faces numerous challenges, and they are varied by nature. One of the key ones is to meet market demands which are constantly changing, along with our customers. Our customers adapt to the needs of their consumers, and this dynamic process affects us as well. We work with large strategic partners such as Interpipe, Metinvest, Louis Dreyfus, ADM Trading, and other international companies. They change in accordance with the requirements of the global market, and we have to keep up with those changes.

For instance, Interpipe has significantly increased its cargo traffic to the USA. American requirements differ from those in other countries. This has found an immediate reflection in our work: how to pack, load, place cargo, store it, issue documents, and complete all those processes at the required speed.

An important stage was our cooperation with the EBRD. Their requirements, in particular, certification according to ISO standards concerning management, energy saving, labor protection, and environment, have greatly facilitated our work with international companies. Now, all staff consistently participate in trainings, and environmental management has become one of the most stringent areas of our work.

We have implemented new environmental standards: we sort waste, use biosystems for energy saving. E.g., our hot water is provided by solar systems for eight months a year. For heating, we use pellet boilers, which is an environmentally friendly solution. This has a positive impact not only on the environment, but also on the team who see how the company invests in sustainable development.

However, we also face a high staff turnover rate. Many people leave the country, which creates additional challenges for business.

If you had a magic stick, what would you change in business? 

I would make sure that we are not dependent on bureaucratic officials, and that no one prevent us from working. That is the only thing I would change.

From talks with Olena Aliieva after commencement of the full-scale invasion

Like all logistics companies, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Brooklyn-Kiev found itself in an extremely difficult situation. All traditional logistics channels were blocked. The main activities related to grain transshipment were completely stopped. It was a period of uncertainty and creative search for solutions.

Thus, for instance, the company started using its infrastructure for grain storage, even though those facilities were in a risk zone. The logistical advantage – available rail and road connections – helped them maintain partial operating activities. Another solution was the active use of the Danube ports where the company rented additional sites for grain transshipment. To improve cargo handling, part of the company’s staff was relocated there. This allowed to accelerate cargo handling and ensure minimum income in the difficult period.

The war also forced Brooklyn-Kiev to transform its operations. The company looked for new projects to help it invest and diversify risks. One of those was to purchase grain railroad carriages, which allowed not only maintaining cash flows, but also decreasing risks for the main infrastructure.

With the opening of the grain corridor in September 2022, the company returned to its regular work, although the risks remained high due to shelling. And, after Ukraine unilaterally ensured the operation of the logistics corridor, the situation stabilized and the company’s activities began to recover quickly. Now, Brooklyn-Kiev not only processes grain, but also works with other cargoes.

The company’s increased capacity was made possible, in particular, due to the new grain terminal the construction of which had begun in 2011 and was completed on the eve of the full-scale invasion, in 2021. Documents for its operation were received already during the war, in March 2022. This allowed Brooklyn-Kiev to significantly increase the volume of grain transshipment. In addition, the company actively expanded its client base and conducted negotiations with current customers.

The company not only successfully adapted to the new conditions, but also succeeded in emerging from the crisis stronger, significantly increasing the volume of operations thanks to new capacities and technological solutions. And, also, thanks to the people who are devoted to the company and the port industry of Ukraine. “We should not worry about hardware, it is small things, the main value is our people. We will be able to rebuild everything else,” this is how Olena Aliieva reacted to the terrorist attacks on the Odesa port.

This interview contains the respondent's direct speech without curtailments, changes, corrections or retouching; it reflects the respondent’s subjective opinion and may not coincide with the position of Deloitte. Deloitte is not responsible for the information provided.

The provided information is subject to restrictions according to the Terms of Use of this site.