Today, the words: the general director, VimpelCom, Mikhail Slobodin are synonyms that mean success and originality. A bright manager who has gone an interesting way, he represents a new generation of managers who are not only highly professional, but also apply the latest techniques in their work.
Children's years and family
On September 17, 1972, a boy appeared in the small Ural town of Severouralsk. The family of Mikhail Slobodin was slightly different from all typical Soviet ones, his father worked as the head of the social protection department at a large local enterprise. Traditionally, many relatives held leadership positions at various levels, paternal grandmother was the chairman of the village council, the family trait was high social activity, which was also transmitted to Mikhail. The future top manager surrounded by his brothers grew up, was engaged in boxing, studied very well, but from childhood was distinguished by eccentricity and disobedience. From the 7th grade in the summer he began to earn money on his own, working as a laborer, but then he could already afford to go on small trips around the country.
In Slobodin’s preserved school diaries, there are always solid fives and a lot of comments about bad behavior in the classroom. Mikhail himself does not hide that he was always interested in arguing with teachers and even then he was distinguished by leadership qualities and could persuade the class and break the lesson. But all this did not prevent him from gaining knowledge, he read a lot, was engaged in social activities, was a member of the Komsomol.
Years of formation
After school, Mikhail easily enters the prestigious Ural State University at the Faculty of Economics, which he graduated with honors in 1983. Then Slobodin, moving along the path that was customary for that time, enters graduate school and defends his thesis. He was determined to pursue a scientific career, but the time was right for great economic transformations in the country, and Mikhail Slobodin was going into business.
Career path
Slobodin begins his career in the large processing enterprise Sevuralboxitrud as an engineer in the department of foreign economic relations, but quickly grows into the deputy head of the finance department. 4 years of work at a commodity enterprise allowed Slobodin to develop communications and managerial skills. A smart, young and active employee goes up quickly. In 1996, he became a representative of Renova, the largest raw materials company in Russia. Also at this time he works in senior positions in SUAL and the Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Combine. Mikhail Slobodin, whose biography is full of events, in 1999 became the director of the regional office of Renova, and in 2001 - deputy director general of Irkutskenergo. Such a career at that time could only be done by gifted and strong managers, and Slobodin is forming the image of a new, bright manager. In 2002, he becomes the head of IES-Holding and has been managing it for almost 10 years. This large energy company allowed Slobodin to develop his managerial talent and enter the TOP-10 of the best managers in this field. From 2011 to 2013, he works as Executive Director at TNK-BP. When he leaves this position, a city of the most profitable offers is pouring on him, but Mikhail is in no hurry to make a decision, he says that he wanted to try himself in a new, promising industry, since the energy and raw materials industries have ceased to bring him pleasure from work.
Manager Achievements
In 2013, he receives an offer that meets all his strict criteria: he is invited to the position of Director General of the VimpelCom telecommunications company. This work turned out to be very interesting for Mikhail, he says that a dynamically developing and highly competitive environment, as well as the lack of active influence of the state, is an area in which he would like to prove himself. Arriving at the company, Slobodin began transforming with changes in work with the client, he believes that the main thing for the company is the establishment of partnerships with the consumer of services. At the very beginning of his work at Beeline, Mikhail conducted an experiment - he came to a regular service center and bought a SIM card, it was served for an hour. With the correction of this deficiency, Slobodin began his transformation chain. He is actively involved in team building, he conducts trainings for employees. For two years he replaced 85% of Beeline executives, he works 24/7 and requires no less return from others. His goal is to bring Beeline to leadership positions, to make it his favorite mobile operator. Today, Mikhail Slobodin, whose photo is flickered in all the media, enjoys working at VimpelCom and says that he really likes the job, and he would continue to work, even if there was no need to earn money.
Head of the new format
Slobodin is famous not only for his career successes, but also for his bright managerial style. Its difference from the traditional concept of the "big boss" begins with the organization of its workspace. In his office, all the walls are transparent and the doors do not close; he takes all decisions collectively, listening to more experienced employees. He often comes to work in jeans and sneakers, leaving an expensive business suit for formal negotiations. He does 90% of his work on the phone, Slobodin is extremely versed in digital technology, he easily mounts video and makes presentations. He almost completely canceled paper workflow; he uses instant messengers to communicate with employees.
To establish communication with employees, Mikhail weekly releases a semblance of the Fighting Leaf zipper newspaper, in which he talks about what the team and himself did over the week, and also highlights the immediate goals of the company.
Michael delves into every detail of his business. He can, at the complaint of a person in a social network, change the Internet tariffing from the phone, can go out in the form of a bee on a promotion, can make up and act as a mystery shopper, and also put a video about it on the network.
Slobodin developed his own methodology for interviewing a job applicant. He asks a person what he is proud of in his life, what are his main mistakes and mistakes, what helps to increase his working tone, what is his hobby and why, and the last: does he have a sense of humor and how can he prove it. Michael believes that the main thing is not professional skills, they can be acquired, but a love of work, a desire to move forward and the ability to work in a team.
Learning as a way of life
Mikhail Slobodin himself never stops learning. To obtain the necessary managerial skills, he completed an MBA program at the IEDC Bled School of Management. He systematically participates in various trainings, conferences and forums. He is interested not only in telecommunications, he is trying to keep abreast of all the trends in the world and society. Slobodin says that at the university he was taught the main thing - the ability to gain knowledge, so he reads a lot of specialized literature.
Business Blogger # 1
Mikhail is one of the most open top managers in Russia. In addition to giving a lot of interviews, he maintains his own blog, communicates with people on social networks. If there is a person who believes in the democracy of LiveJournal, then this is Mikhail Slobodin, the reviews about his blog are only enthusiastic. He even received the informal title “Business Blogger No. 1, ” which he was very proud of. He has about 6 thousand followers on LiveJournal, on Instagram - 8.5 thousand, as well as followers on Twitter and VKontakte. Slobodin writes about his business, about his discoveries in the field of technology, management, about the situation in society. To promote his company, the director spares no time or effort, in addition to his blog, he has made columns in several major publications, for example, in Vedomosti.
Free time hobbies
Slobodin’s leisure time is short, but he plans his time efficiently and finds time for fitness and boxing 2-3 times a week, he always walks up to the 8th floor, where his office is located.
Slobodin reads a lot of specialized literature, he is always up to date with new business literature, but he doesn’t have enough time for art. Always trying to follow the latest movies, but he rarely has to go to movie theaters. Several times a year, he always gives several days to travel with his family. He is a big lover of the bath and even built himself a Russian bath near the house.
The family of Mikhail Slobodin
The number of questions from the public about the personal life of the manager is very large. Mikhail Slobodin, whose son and wife are extremely interested in the public, carefully conceals information about them. Michael, with all his openness, never talks about his personal life, does not publish photos of loved ones. It is known that the wife of Mikhail Slobodin gave birth to several children, the eldest son is already 21 years old, the eldest daughter 17. Mikhail once said that the girl, like himself in childhood, dreams of studying the functioning of the human brain. Slobodin loves spending time with his family, they regularly travel together when time permits.
