Olha Batova, CEO of EFI Group, moderated a discussion on assessing the potential and performance of top teams — from strategy to results — at the HR Brand “SPRAWZHNІ” conference.
The Ukrainian market is undergoing a profound managerial transformation. Over the past five years, more and more founders have been delegating operational management to hired CEOs. Businesses are transforming, models are being renewed, and the quality of the top team increasingly determines whether a company can withstand stress, growth, and crises.
The conversation brought together four leaders working in different industries but leading large management teams and having extensive experience:
🔹 Serhiy Zhyla, CEO of the Ascania Group
🔹 Dmytro Stryzhov, Founder and Member of the Supervisory Board of SHERIFF
🔹 Nataliia Morozova, CEO of Havas Village Ukraine
🔹 Yuliia Kirianova, CEO with many years of experience in corporate governance and strategic transformations in leading business groups
Key insights from the discussion
🔸 Scaling through trust and metrics.
Serhiy Zhyla shared his “don’t interfere” principle, where once the strategy is approved, leaders receive full freedom to act. Yet freedom is impossible without clear performance markers. Under his leadership, Ascania grew by 66% in 2024, reaching 14 billion UAH. He emphasized the importance of discipline, identifying the right growth points, and collective accountability.
🔸 Management resilience under pressure.
For Dmytro Stryzhov, resilience is not theory but lived experience: 594 days of fighting to have all eight fabricated criminal cases against him closed. In crises, it is crucial to see the behavioral signals of the team — its rhythm and readiness to take responsibility.
🔸 Efficiency in creative industries.
Nataliia Morozova discussed how to maintain a high bar amid technological shifts, declining investments, and changes in client collaboration formats. With more than 200 specialists and eight agencies, Havas Village is a complex mechanism where the leader’s role is to facilitate, guide, and foster entrepreneurial thinking.
🔸 Reassembling businesses in extreme conditions.
Yuliia Kirianova has strengthened major systemic companies, including working with loss-making portfolios. Through full operational and financial restructuring, she transformed them into profitable ones. She shared her experience of rapid team mobilization, transparent evaluation systems, and delivering results in environments where there is no room for error.