FINAL WORD

BUSINESS PROFILE

WORDS BY JEREMY PARKINSON

NAME: ANDREY VEDIKHIN
AGE: 33
COMPANY: ALPARI (UK)
CURRENT POSITION: CEO AND SHAREHOLDER

BACKGROUND: ANDREY VEDIKHIN WAS BORN IN KAZAN IN RUSSIA AND HAS A DEGREE AND PHD IN MARKET ECONOMICS AND FINANCE FROM KAZAN STATE UNIVERSITY. DURING HIS FIRST YEAR THERE HE STARTED WORK AS A STOCKBROKER AND IN 1998, WITH ANDREY DASHIN AND GLEB PETROV, HE SET UP ALPARI. IN THE PAST DECADE IT HAS BECOME THE MAIN FOREIGN EXCHANGE COMPANY IN RUSSIA. IN 2004 ALPARI WENT GLOBAL WITH A UK SUBSIDIARY.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX?
I work very hard – seven days a week – and have little time to relax, but I like to watch DVDs. Three years ago I did not speak English, and I think the best thing to help you learn a learn a language is to watch films in that language. You can sit back and relax and soon you pick the words up while you watch. Otherwise, I’m a family man – I have a wife and two kids. Even if I don’t really have the time I try to see them; we go to the park or to the cinema, or I just do homework with them.

WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST INDULGENCE?
I’m very good with technology and I enjoy programming, so I read a lot of books about computers and programming languages. I’m a professional C++ programmer, which is my hobby, but it also helps with work because technology is a core part of our business.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY?
I still have an old model mobile phone because I don’t have time to call O2 to change it! But the thing I’m crazy about is laptops. I like IBM laptops and usually once a year I’ll upgrade to a new model, which I’m about to do again.

WHERE DO YOU GO FOR INSPIRATION?
I’m so busy all the time that sometimes in order to get new ideas or to review the way I think about business or life I go for a real break. I can do that in different ways – I can take a bath, but if I can find more time I like to get back to Russia, to nature. I like to get out of the city and go fishing, hunting or have a barbecue. Unfortunately I spend a lot more time working than being out in nature, but three or four times a year I try to go. Often I take other shareholders or directors with me so we can relax and discuss business at the same time.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
It was with the Russian stockbroker, the Centre of Modern Financial Technologies. I worked immediately under the director and financial director, but as it was a start-up company I had to do a lot of different jobs at the same time – trading, market research, customer support, programming. Alpari was my second and last job.

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST BOSS?
Yes, he did a lot to change my way of thinking – he was a real source of inspiration for me. He had a global vision, and within three years he managed to grow the company from scratch to become one of the leading stockbrokers at the republic level. I learnt how to set up my own company from him, and how to turn that company into a success.

WHO DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
The first person I started to admire was Bill Gates. He’s a great story of success, starting almost from scratch and creating such a powerful IT empire. Now he is one of the most influential people in the world. I would like to repeat his success but in the financial industry, and so far it’s going according to plan.

WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?
If you want to be successful in business you have to understand the client’s needs and expectations, and you must meet them. But these expectations are not stable; they change all the time. Therefore you must anticipate them and adapt to suit them – and this is how you can be successful.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
Alpari is like my baby. We started the company and we’re now seeing the results. I do my job not just for the money, but because I love being successful. The company is becoming more and more popular. I’m constantly being made offers for my stake in the business, but it’s such a big part of my life. If I didn’t go into the office in the morning, I don’t know what I’d be doing.

WHAT DO YOU FIND DIFFICULT?
The more I achieve, the more opportunities open up in front of me, and the more time and effort I want to spend achieving this goal and that goal. The more successful you are, the more busy you are. I want to take all these opportunities but I also want to spend more time with my family. The only hard thing is to balance the two.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FINEST MOMENT?
When my children were born, I was so excited and happy. The finest moment is always when I get to spend time with them.

WHAT HAVEN’T YOU DONE THAT YOU’D LIKE TO DO?
I can answer this in two ways. In business, I would like to become number one in the world. In my personal life, I just want to spend more time with my kids.

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