The Leader: Why did you leave Mars and what was it that attracted you to STS?

Mr. Petrenko: When I first got a phone call from head- hunters, and they said that they had an interesting opportunity for me in television, I thought they must be crazy! Because until then, my whole career had been in consumer marketing. But I thought it would be an interesting challenge to work in television, because management as a science doesn’t really exist in the media in Russia, at least not in television

The Leader: What was it like making the transition from being the Marketing Director of Mars in Russia to your present job at STS?

Mr. Petrenko: Management and marketing skills are not industry specific. They can apply anywhere. Marketing is a pretty new notion in the media not just in Russia, but also elsewhere in the world. Someone once said that some of the most sophisticated products, such as electronic media, only now come to understand the basics of marketing, that every yogurt manufacturer new from the start, and this is true. I have spoken to people who have 25 years of experience in television, and the word "brand" is not very well perceived.

The Leader: What was the main challenge that you were assigned with on your arrival at STS?

Mr. Petrenko: At the time when I joined STS, they had a lot of management from Gos- tele- radio. We had a lot of projects to push forward, and we simply just could not implement them. I struggled with certain projects for six months, until I understood that the problem wasn’t the projects; it was the whole management organization. We had to replace some 70% of the management in this organization.

The Leader: Is there a stereo- type that women shouldn’t occupy managerial roles in television? If so, what do you think about it?

Mr. Petrenko: I think that if there is an industry that is dominated by women in Russia, then it is television. We have more female employees than male employees. Although, we probably have more men in the creative and marketing departments, we certainly don’t have any kind of stereotype. On the other hand, there are 30 people in the Russian Academy of television, and most of them are men. Maybe the old Gos- Tele- Radio stereotype is that managers should be men, but that is certainly not he case in our organization.

The Leader: What makes you different from other television station directors?

Mr. Petrenko: I have an easier job, because at STS we don’t have confused objectives, whereas a state channel has both political and financial objectives. They struggle with their own creative ambitions and lots of other stuff. We are a private channel and we have the same objective that any business must have. Our job is to enable the sustainable, profitable growth of the company.There are not more than two television channels in Russia that can say that they have pretty straightforward objectives. And that’s why I think I’m different. I am also probably the only General Director in Russian television who is not from television initially. In television, most management are from Ostankino. Most of them are old- wave bureaucrats.

The Leader: Do you feel that it can be quicker for a talented person to rise to success in Russia than in many Western countries?

Mr. Petrenko: Yes, I think that it can be. Everything is developing so fast; the market economy has created a lot of demand for jobs that did not exist before, and therefore there is a deficit of experienced people.

The Leader: How glamorous and competitive is a career in television in Russia?

Mr. Petrenko: A career in television is pretty competitive. The television advertising market is much smaller here than it is in any country in the West. That is because in Russia we are talking about a limited amount of money, and with that limited amount of money, television can afford to do much less than it can, lets say, in the United States. But this industry will become more and more competitive as the amount of money available to channels to compete for increases. Very few people leave the television industry once they are inside it, whereas there is much more movement between other industries.

The Leader: What advice would you give to someone who wants to go into television?

Mr. Petrenko: We have just employed a lady from Australia. She was taken to Australia as a child many years ago by her Russian parents. She was very adventurous. On her arrival in Russia, she called a few television stations. In the space of her first week at STS, she had got the job of executive producer here and the post of a host for one of the shows that we are launching. The conclusion to be drawn, is that someone who is very ambitious and who has clear goals in life, can really prosper in television.

The Leader: Do you have specific training programs for graduates?

Mr. Petrenko: We don’t have training programs, but we certainly do employ graduates. We have examples where people who are totally fresh out of school, came here, got entry-level jobs and moved up into managerial positions within a year

The Leader: How do people usually get into STS- through connections or through sending their resume to you?

Mr. Petrenko: When we have a vacancy, we advertise it internally first. But we do advertise in newspapers and accept resumes as well.

The Leader: What do you look for in a resume?

Mr. Petrenko: As far as I’m concerned, most of the time, resumes depict the work experience that a person might have. A resume can open the door, but for me, face- to- face contact is far more important.

The Leader: Do new staff have to be computer literate, or are you willing to train them on the job?

Mr. Petrenko: Computer skills are not an entry requirement, but we are probably the most computerized company in Russian television. We have 150 employees and probably 130 computers; therefore almost everyone has a computer. This makes computer literacy essential, but it can be trained on the job.

The Leader: Generally speaking, how much does the work of Russians differ from the work of Westerners at STS?

Mr. Petrenko: We have a few westerners working here. I think that if you are talking about young people, then they are pretty much the same, the older generation differs a little bit, because they got used to a different work- style.

The Leader: How did STS survive the crisis? Were many people fired?

Mr. Petrenko: We had to reduce costs by about 35%. It was a very difficult time, we had to put off our growth objective. Most markets declined severely after the crisis, but I think that advertising suffered more than any other market. Advertising declined by about four times at STS, which is really severe. This is because, when advertising, you are investing in the future of your brand, and people tend not to spend money when the future is totally uncertain.