The offer to move to Czechia was an easy yes, says Anna Kouchkovsky of Komerční banka
When I've heard the offer, my reaction was 100% excitement, says Anna Kouchkovsky, board member, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Komerční banka in the new episode and also new season of the Global Minds podcast, which focuses on international leaders working and living in the Czech Republic.
You can also listen to the full interview at THIS link.
Anna Kouchkovsky has had a very interesting career path and professional specialisation, thanks to which we will learn in this episode about the links between capital markets and the field of risk in banking.
However, Kouchkovsky did not originally set out to enter the world of risk. Whilst her studies were related to finance, they also involved law. „I studied corporate business environment and corporate law. But actually I had the opportunity to have an internship in a French bank with a position in the dealing room and I loved it. After that I was offered to join Société Générale which was developing in the capital market area at that time,“ she says. She took a liking to this sector because she was drawn to the unique environment of the capital markets. „This environment is very demanding because you have to be quick in decision making but at the same time you need very sharp analytical skills because you have to really understand the environment and make the proper calculation on the risk you are taking,“ she adds.
As Kouchkovsky explains, at French business schools students often study a major and a minor. She therefore chose finance and law. „I decided for law as a minor because I thought it was also very interesting to understand what is framing the way we operate. And today this is something which is also helping me in the job I'm doing,“ she said satisfied with her decision, which she never regretted.
Anna Kouchkovsky’s career path shows that, , it is possible to strike a good balance between work and private life and to start a family practically right at the start of one’s career. „I married young and I had my kids young, in my mid-20s. So it was quite a challenge to coordinate my private life with my professional life,“ she says and adds that, looking back, she would do things differently today so that she could have enjoyed her children’s childhood more. Her husband was also in the same profession, so both parents were very busy. „But we were managing to keep some quality time and today they have turned into very fine adults.,“ she continues.
A shift towards risk
She spent almost two decades in the capital markets sector. This was followed by what appeared to be a drastic shift towards risk. The catalyst for this change was a former colleague. „We bumped into each other by chance. She told me what she was doing and that she needed a deputy. I asked for two weeks to think it over, but I rang her after three days to say I’d take the job. It was time for a change,” she says, adding that the move made perfect sense. „In capital markets, the risk and business side of things were intertwined. Risk management was fully embedded in your job.“
Another turning point in Kouchkovsky’s career came in 2018, when she embarked on an international career, moving from France to Moscow. At Rosbank there, she took charge of the risk management department and was a member of the Management Board. She sees it as a benefit that she gained a more in-depth understanding of retail banking there. On a personal level, however, it was challenging, even though she did not have to worry about a language barrier. „I speak Russian. I have been raised in both cultures. But it was a challenge because I moved alone, my kids were students, but still quite young. And it was a very harsh decision to leave the family behind. At that time, I didn't know that Covid was about to come and that it would cut me completely off my family for almost two years,“ she recalls.
To Prague via Luxembourg
After four years in Moscow, she moved to Luxembourg, where she took on the role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Société Générale Luxembourg. This meant another change in her job responsibilities. „It was a different role as this subsidiary is focused on very specific corporate banking businesses with no retail network,“ says the Global Minds guest. Above all, her work involved much more frequent contact with the Supervisors. „I have already had interactions either with the Russian Central bank or the European Central bank before, but not so regularly,“ she explains.
She describes the atmosphere in Luxembourg as very multicultural, influenced by French and German elements with a touch of Belgian influence. Was this, together with her previous experience, sufficient preparation for her mission in the Czech Republic? „The position in Komerční banka is quite the synthesis of the previous positions. New country, one of the top Czech banks - which is not fully owned by Société Générale - both corporate and retail, that means a very wide scope. I've got a board position, chief risk officer and also chief compliance officer. So it's mixing a very technical position with the more strategic board position,“ Kouchkovsky comments. „I'd say it's natural evolution. And my previous roles obviously helped me a lot to step into this new one. But in the beginning it took me a lot of effort to adapt, to understand the new environment,“ she adds.
Kouchkovsky admits that, even whilst working at Rosbank, she had a good understanding of Komerční banka’s activities and that, in many respects, the Czech bank served as an inspiration to her. „We had a lot of interaction at the time, because we were taking inspiration of what Komerční banka did in framing a totaly agile environment and we copied it,“ she says. Even back then, it had crossed her mind that Komerční banka might one day be a good place for her to work. „When I was made the offer, it was 100% excitement,“ she concludes.
What else was discussed in the podcast
What did taking on a senior role at Komerční banka and working in the Czech market entail? What is Kouchkovsky’s key mission right now as Chief Risk and Compliance Officer? And was there anything particularly surprising about the start of her career in the Czech Republic? You can find out all of this in the Global Minds podcast, which features leading expats from both abroad and the Czech Republic.
