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IX Conductors of Changes Forum: what business and the state should do to resist and prevail

To win the war, become stronger and develop further, we still have to go to great pains. Some things we do to achieve these goals have proved to be working well, some things need to be improved, while others should be done differently. The IX Conductors of Changes Forum recently held by Deloitte Ukraine in Kyiv brought together business owners and executives, reputable public figures, and statespersons to discuss the top priorities to be tackled by business, the state and society to enhance our ability to resist and prevail.

Sergii Kulyk, Managing Partner of Deloitte Ukraine, said,

The purpose and intent of every Forum we host is to boost new thoughts, inspire ideas and, most importantly, to drive actions. We unite active members of our society to address important issues that define the future of our country. We hope that our joint efforts will result in positive changes both in the Ukrainian business environment and in the country.

During the Forum, we had an insightful conversation with Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, and discussed the Ministry’s achievements in the current year and goals for the coming year, the role of technology in Ukraine’s recovery, and cooperation with business.

In his address to business leaders Mykhailo Fedorov said,

We are constantly seeking additional expertise to enhance our policy making process. Therefore, I urge business to continue working with an understanding of difficulties lying ahead and to lend their time and energy to those who are looking to make changes in the state.

Serhii Kulyk, Managing Partner of Deloitte Ukraine, Yevhen Hlibovytskyi, CEO of Frontier Institute, Taras Chmut, Director of the Come Back Alive Foundation, and Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties talked about how to achieve a victory that not only ends the war, but also becomes the basis for development and establishment of a strong and secure state.

Oleksandra Matviichuk said,

First and foremost, we need to realize that we see our victory as very ambitious. It is not just about protecting state sovereignty, de-occupying territories, and freeing the people who live there. It is also about building such a society where the government is accountable and responsible, where courts are independent, where the police is not used to disperse peaceful demonstrators. If the victory is seen like this, we have many things to do. One of them is to change the game and build democratic institutions. This is quite a hard nut to crack even in peacetime, and it is much more difficult to do during a full-scale invasion. But we don’t have the luxury of putting it off till the post-war period, because we don’t know when it will occur.

Taras Chmut noted,

It is extremely important to talk to the society and explain the cause and effect of actions and decisions taken and made, both in the country and in the war. After all, society that sits in a warm bath of victory painfully faces the fact that the reality appears to be different. The gap between the positive picture we want to see and the sad reality is growing. This leads to distrust in the state and casts doubt on the leaders and their decisions, which, in turn, spawns pessimism.

The Forum also discussed investment policy priorities in times of war. “The prospect of creating a new, modernized economy depends on the ability to attract investments at an unprecedented level for independent Ukraine, namely 30-40% of GDP within 10+ years,” said Yehor Hryhorenko, Partner at Deloitte Ukraine, opening the discussion. The discussion was joined by Serhiy Chernenko, FUIB’s Chairman of the Management Board, Volodymyr Kuzyo, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, former CEO of Ukrenergo, and Andriy Zhurzhiy, founder and CEO of the investment REIT company Inzhur.

Volodymyr Kuzyo emphasized the need to restore Ukraine’s infrastructure using new investments. He noted,

New investments must be channelled to the restoration of the entire infrastructure around key cities, including logistics, energy, and human capital. This suggests the idea of developing industrial parks near large cities and providing incentives from the state to encourage funding of the purchase of equipment or reinvesting of profits, thus contributing to the creation of new jobs and attraction of manufacturers. This approach to reforms will open an additional investment resource.

Regarding possible actions of the state to improve the situation, Serhii Chernenko emphasized,

The state can stimulate changes. NOW is the perfect time to review the concept, prioritize, and determine what exactly we want to support and what we don’t. This would make the system more transparent and help to clearly outline what competitive economy we seek to build in the context of integration into the European or world economy.

The Forum also looked into the restoration of human capital in Ukraine—a particularly acute topic for our society.

Olena Boichenko, Partner at Deloitte Ukraine, says,

" Ukraine has a significant potential for attracting new workforce from among those population groups that are currently less active in the labor market, including women, older people, young people, and others. Many of them are open to new opportunities, taking training, and ready to change their professional field, as evidenced by our express study held jointly with Gradus Research. "

Strategies for attracting and retaining human capital, as well as partnerships between business, the state, educational institutions, and international organizations were at the center of discussion by Theodora Dell, Deputy Mission Director for USAID Ukraine, Serhiy Kvit, president at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Serhii Sukhomlyn, former Zhytomyr Mayor, and Artem Borodatiuk, founder of the IT company group Netpeak Group.

According to Serhiy Kvit, it is systemic changes in education that will help improve the quality of specialist training and increase the country’s stock of human capital,

Universities are able to produce excellent graduates only if they are autonomous and independent from the state. They should assume responsibility for the quality of education and build their reputation. Our task is to systematically strengthen institutions so that they become independent, responsible and competitive in the international arena.

Crisis leadership and the importance of building people-centered teams was the closing discussion at the Forum. Roman Bondar, СЕО of Korn Ferry Ukraine, explored this topic together with Andriy Pyshnyy, NBU Governor, Oleksandr Bohutskyi, CEO of StarLightMedia, Dmytro Morozov, Deputy CEO at MHP of Customer Business Development, Nataliia Kalmykova, Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, and Yuriy Kurmaz, CEO of Ukrtelecom.

Andriy Pyshnyy noted,

It is important to be organic when interacting with your team. If you are a leader, set clear goals and explain them so that every team member understands. Motivate the team so that tasks and vision could be accomplished and implemented. Perform interim progress reviews and feel the pulse of your team. At some point, you may notice lack of motivation or resources for effective work. It is up to the leader to use available resources wisely, because people are the most important asset. No strategy will be implemented without human effort. You should always give credit to those who have performed excellently.

Traditionally, the Conductors of Changes Forum has a social component. This year, Deloitte Ukraine together with participants and partners of the Forum collected and donated UAH 600,000 to the Children of Heroes Charity Foundation, which takes care of children who have lost one or both parents to the war. Support to educational projects is one of the key areas of Deloitte’s corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy. Deloitte’s global WorldClass ambition is to reach 100 million people by 2030 through programs and partnerships with leading educational organizations around the world, helping to improve the quality of education, training in professional skills, and providing access to new opportunities.

Watch the recorded panel discussions at the link.

Partners of the IX Conductors of Changes Forum: MHP, FUIB, Sapiens Tech, Starlight Media, Odgers Berndtson Ukraine, Task Force, Our Format, Inclusive Friendly, Casillero del Diablo Ukraine, Gamondi.

Information partners: LIGA.net, NV, Interfax-Ukraine, The Page, Delo.ua, USUBC, EBA, AmCham, LIGA:ZAKON.