Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person/those people teach you?
It has been my mother. She helped me come to America after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I would not have been able to establish my life, get higher education, and build a career in America if it were not for the invaluable lessons I learned from my mother. They include, but are not limited to, hard work, independence, discipline, courage, sacrifice, kindness, and never giving up. She has also been a great example of all of these attributes throughout her life.
Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career.
Starting in early 2014, I came to the London and Dublin offices for several quarters to assist the Finance Teams with the US GAAP accounting. The best part of those trips was to see in person how dedicated and hard working the teams are in Europe. I remember working late into the night on closing the quarter with Jeremy, Stephen, Vern, Claire, Will, and Andrew in the Dublin office or another time with Vern, Rakhee, Shiv, and other team members in the London office. And l learned a few things about the IFRS accounting in the process. I still have the 2013/2014 edition of the KPMG Insights into IFRS. Those are two big books Jeremy gave on one of my trips.
What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I love making people laugh. I crack jokes with my friends and family all the time. Humor and laughter improve both physical and emotional health, strengthen relationships, and help overcome challenges in life.
What is your earliest memory?
I remember getting a tricycle for my third birthday. I managed to ride it down a steep hill on that day. My parents ran after me but could not keep up. It was a lot of fun but my parents made sure that I stayed close to the house and away from that steep hill.
What is your “superpower”?
My “superpower” is endurance. I was on the track and field team at my school. We trained for several hours every day. I learned from our trainers to use challenges as an opportunity to persevere.
There was one time I had a tight deadline to prepare an accounting position memo to determine if the foreign exchange hedge we put in place qualified for hedge accounting, which involves numerous and technical requirements and I knew nothing about them. I worked late into the night and after hours of reading the hedge accounting guides and doing research online, I prepared our very first hedge accounting position memo, which we have used as a template for subsequent foreign exchange hedges.