Conservative leaders are a real obstacle among all potential barriers on the way to the fourth industrial revolution.
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Five facts about Sergey Semenov:
1.He considers the mentality of Russian customers his major competitor
2.He is confident that the enthusiasm shining in the eyes is more important than profile education.
3.He learned to play the guitar at home in the evenings during the lockdown
4.Before moving to Moscow from Novorossiysk, a seaport town, he had planned to make a career in event management
5.He will take a guitar, a football anda bath broom to colonize Mars.
2.He is confident that the enthusiasm shining in the eyes is more important than profile education.
3.He learned to play the guitar at home in the evenings during the lockdown
4.Before moving to Moscow from Novorossiysk, a seaport town, he had planned to make a career in event management
5.He will take a guitar, a football anda bath broom to colonize Mars.
– Sergey, you studied at the Maritime Academy, but you ended up making your career in energy production. How did it happen?
When I was in primary school, I wanted to become a diplomat or an attaché. Although I did not have a clear idea what exactly they do, I confidently declared this career choice. My classmates made fun of me asking "Do you want to become an attaché case or a suitcase?" Later down the road, I got fascinated by technologies, studied economics and IT at the Maritime Academy in Novorossiysk and in a graduate school in Moscow. In other words, I did not see myself in the field of energy production at all. However, already at my first job in a large holding company, I was assigned to direct a SAP system integration project at a power grid company. Soon, I made my way to the position of technical policy department head and realised that energy production was not as boring as I had imagined. Among other things, Schneider Electric has a huge number of analytical systems with the elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning that compare and optimize the consumption of energy resources at factories all over the world. I'm very interested in the projects with a symbiosis of energy production and IT.
– The number of such projects should be increasing these days.
Absolutely. This is the new reality and it is everywhere. During my last vacation, I got into jogging and audio books and learned a funny fact: today, there are more mobile devices per person than toilets on our planet. It is only natural that in the new age of digital services, capitalization grows in the IT sector rather than in the oil sector that capitalized in the 2000-s. At the same time, a trend for a service consumption model is developing all over the place. It is easier to use car-sharing instead of buying your own car, subscribe to music and films, use co-working. The same processes are happening in business. Always keeping in step with the times, Schneider Electric is undergoing the same changes. More and more often, we act as an integrator providing services and solutions on top of the equipment. For a long time now, we've been selling not only power transformers and centres, but also services providing for cost-efficiency in the company.
– Is it energy sharing?
Something like that. It is called "Energy As a Service’. In other words, we offer services that guarantee a decrease in consumption at large production facilities. In many cases we do it without initial investment on the part of the customer. We don’t have a task ‘to sell something unnecessary". We offer only those services that result in reducing production costs. If it does not happen, we return 100 % of the investments to the customer. Thus, we build the entire project structure from a technical solution to financial instruments providing payback guarantees
– Digitalization and demand for services have been around for a while. You have worked in the field already for 13 years. When and how did you personally feel that a new age had arrived?
Before, a manager used to behave as a small landlord: my production is not modernized, but instead I have many subordinates who can run errands for me even if they are over or under-qualified. Today, we see less and less of such managers. More and more often, people with a new mindset come to the energy production sector. They think not only about reliability, but also about the way to manage energy resources in combination with financial indicators. For example, a large-scale metallurgical combine has an electric-arc furnace consuming a huge amount of energy. A modern director thinks: "What should I do to make it not only work non-stop, but also consume less?" In such companies, a reduction in energy consumption by just a few percent gives a financial result of a two-digit million amount per year.
Here’s an example from a different field: a large federal chain of hypermarkets wants to increase marginality. We perform calculations and see that a decrease in energy consumption by 10 % equals an increase in sales by 8 %. In other words, instead of increasing sales, which is very complicated, they can save on resources.
Many companies have been looking for solutions that generate savings, but very few service providers, except for us, are ready to financially guarantee the return on investment. Today, energy management is a priority for many companies. To meet this demand, Schneider Electric has developed EcoStruxure™ Resource Advisor — a solution that gives recommendations in an automated fashion. This is an analogue of a voice-controlled assistant in a smart phone.
– What do you mean?
It analyses energy consumption and suggests solutions for optimization. It examines the consumption at other similar facilities, calculates basic consumption, compares it with similar conditions, checks the bills. The latter is very important, by the way, since 5 % of electricity bills include mistakes. We checked the agreement with the electric power provider for one of our customers and proposed a tariff optimization project. Our multi-million project was repaid in just a few days as opposed to 3-5 years for an average investment project in Russia. The customer was pleasantly surprised.
– Such projects must be motivating you better than an annual bonus.
Absolutely. When I reach the KPI in sales and my customers achieve their cost-efficiency goals, it feels like winning a high-end sport competition. You want to win in it. I also enjoy that all our solutions are non-standard. This is always a know-how, innovative business models, customised technical solutions and turn key projects that generate value. When I was a military student, my classmate and I were dreaming of doing business. One day he said: "Sergey, you know, I don’t want to just "buy and sell". I want to do something useful for myself, my country and my planet". It made a big impact on me. Today, I'm proud of working for a company that contributes to reducing CO2 emissions. Just imagine, 30 thousand hectares of trees would have to be planted to compensate for the emissions reduced due to the energy efficient solutions implemented by my team! I’m extremely happy to be working with innovative projects that make a positive contribution.
– You worked in several large-scale companies. Was there a moment when you realized that you wanted to stay in Schneider Electric?
When I first came to the company, I was supervised by a young lady by the name of Golza. She was born in Iran, grew up in Paris, worked in Europe and China. She spoke with us exclusively in English. Here, I should complement my mother, who arranged for me to study English in childhood and convinced me that I would need it in future. Approximately at that time, I also applied for an MBA programme. So, one day I come to my supervisor and say: "Golza, you know, I have to take my application to the business school. Can I leave 30 minutes earlier today?" She looked at me and said with all strictness: "Don't come to me with these questions any more". I thought that I was about to be roasted as in a state corporation. She continued: ‘Do whatever you want. It’s up to you to come to the office or not. If you want you can study at the MBA programme instead. The most important thing for me is that you show the result at the end of the year. I believe in you.’ After that I realized that I found the right job. As a result, during the 3 years of work with her, I grew from a project manager to a sales director. When I see that people trust me and ask me to achieve results, I do the very best I can.
– What do you expect from your colleagues as a director?
I've realized that it is extremely important to have not just specialists with profile education, but people with shining eyes on your team. Indeed, not all employees dream to become a director. However, it does not mean that an engineer or a software developer have no understanding of the business. Very often, great decisions are generated by the guys far from the sales department. They go to the facility and notice the things that you won't see studying figures in the office. And when the eyes of these people shine bright with enthusiasm, together you can move mountains.
– You talk as a creative professional.
You can't tell it now, but when I was a military student, I worked part-time in event management. I worked as a DJ and danced professionally. When I moved to Moscow, I hoped to continue developing in this field. My wife is still laughing at me because only 3 or 4 years after moving I let it go and disposed of my CD collection. I was just holding on too much to something dear that remained in the past.
– If you imagined your life as a dance, what dance would it be?
"Yablochko" (a dance of Russian sailors — Translator’s note). It’s positive, full of sailor discipline, drive and impressive acrobatics. At times, you have to jump over your own head or stand on it to impress the audience. Like we do in real life.
When I was in primary school, I wanted to become a diplomat or an attaché. Although I did not have a clear idea what exactly they do, I confidently declared this career choice. My classmates made fun of me asking "Do you want to become an attaché case or a suitcase?" Later down the road, I got fascinated by technologies, studied economics and IT at the Maritime Academy in Novorossiysk and in a graduate school in Moscow. In other words, I did not see myself in the field of energy production at all. However, already at my first job in a large holding company, I was assigned to direct a SAP system integration project at a power grid company. Soon, I made my way to the position of technical policy department head and realised that energy production was not as boring as I had imagined. Among other things, Schneider Electric has a huge number of analytical systems with the elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning that compare and optimize the consumption of energy resources at factories all over the world. I'm very interested in the projects with a symbiosis of energy production and IT.
– The number of such projects should be increasing these days.
Absolutely. This is the new reality and it is everywhere. During my last vacation, I got into jogging and audio books and learned a funny fact: today, there are more mobile devices per person than toilets on our planet. It is only natural that in the new age of digital services, capitalization grows in the IT sector rather than in the oil sector that capitalized in the 2000-s. At the same time, a trend for a service consumption model is developing all over the place. It is easier to use car-sharing instead of buying your own car, subscribe to music and films, use co-working. The same processes are happening in business. Always keeping in step with the times, Schneider Electric is undergoing the same changes. More and more often, we act as an integrator providing services and solutions on top of the equipment. For a long time now, we've been selling not only power transformers and centres, but also services providing for cost-efficiency in the company.
– Is it energy sharing?
Something like that. It is called "Energy As a Service’. In other words, we offer services that guarantee a decrease in consumption at large production facilities. In many cases we do it without initial investment on the part of the customer. We don’t have a task ‘to sell something unnecessary". We offer only those services that result in reducing production costs. If it does not happen, we return 100 % of the investments to the customer. Thus, we build the entire project structure from a technical solution to financial instruments providing payback guarantees
– Digitalization and demand for services have been around for a while. You have worked in the field already for 13 years. When and how did you personally feel that a new age had arrived?
Before, a manager used to behave as a small landlord: my production is not modernized, but instead I have many subordinates who can run errands for me even if they are over or under-qualified. Today, we see less and less of such managers. More and more often, people with a new mindset come to the energy production sector. They think not only about reliability, but also about the way to manage energy resources in combination with financial indicators. For example, a large-scale metallurgical combine has an electric-arc furnace consuming a huge amount of energy. A modern director thinks: "What should I do to make it not only work non-stop, but also consume less?" In such companies, a reduction in energy consumption by just a few percent gives a financial result of a two-digit million amount per year.
Here’s an example from a different field: a large federal chain of hypermarkets wants to increase marginality. We perform calculations and see that a decrease in energy consumption by 10 % equals an increase in sales by 8 %. In other words, instead of increasing sales, which is very complicated, they can save on resources.
Many companies have been looking for solutions that generate savings, but very few service providers, except for us, are ready to financially guarantee the return on investment. Today, energy management is a priority for many companies. To meet this demand, Schneider Electric has developed EcoStruxure™ Resource Advisor — a solution that gives recommendations in an automated fashion. This is an analogue of a voice-controlled assistant in a smart phone.
– What do you mean?
It analyses energy consumption and suggests solutions for optimization. It examines the consumption at other similar facilities, calculates basic consumption, compares it with similar conditions, checks the bills. The latter is very important, by the way, since 5 % of electricity bills include mistakes. We checked the agreement with the electric power provider for one of our customers and proposed a tariff optimization project. Our multi-million project was repaid in just a few days as opposed to 3-5 years for an average investment project in Russia. The customer was pleasantly surprised.
– Such projects must be motivating you better than an annual bonus.
Absolutely. When I reach the KPI in sales and my customers achieve their cost-efficiency goals, it feels like winning a high-end sport competition. You want to win in it. I also enjoy that all our solutions are non-standard. This is always a know-how, innovative business models, customised technical solutions and turn key projects that generate value. When I was a military student, my classmate and I were dreaming of doing business. One day he said: "Sergey, you know, I don’t want to just "buy and sell". I want to do something useful for myself, my country and my planet". It made a big impact on me. Today, I'm proud of working for a company that contributes to reducing CO2 emissions. Just imagine, 30 thousand hectares of trees would have to be planted to compensate for the emissions reduced due to the energy efficient solutions implemented by my team! I’m extremely happy to be working with innovative projects that make a positive contribution.
– You worked in several large-scale companies. Was there a moment when you realized that you wanted to stay in Schneider Electric?
When I first came to the company, I was supervised by a young lady by the name of Golza. She was born in Iran, grew up in Paris, worked in Europe and China. She spoke with us exclusively in English. Here, I should complement my mother, who arranged for me to study English in childhood and convinced me that I would need it in future. Approximately at that time, I also applied for an MBA programme. So, one day I come to my supervisor and say: "Golza, you know, I have to take my application to the business school. Can I leave 30 minutes earlier today?" She looked at me and said with all strictness: "Don't come to me with these questions any more". I thought that I was about to be roasted as in a state corporation. She continued: ‘Do whatever you want. It’s up to you to come to the office or not. If you want you can study at the MBA programme instead. The most important thing for me is that you show the result at the end of the year. I believe in you.’ After that I realized that I found the right job. As a result, during the 3 years of work with her, I grew from a project manager to a sales director. When I see that people trust me and ask me to achieve results, I do the very best I can.
– What do you expect from your colleagues as a director?
I've realized that it is extremely important to have not just specialists with profile education, but people with shining eyes on your team. Indeed, not all employees dream to become a director. However, it does not mean that an engineer or a software developer have no understanding of the business. Very often, great decisions are generated by the guys far from the sales department. They go to the facility and notice the things that you won't see studying figures in the office. And when the eyes of these people shine bright with enthusiasm, together you can move mountains.
– You talk as a creative professional.
You can't tell it now, but when I was a military student, I worked part-time in event management. I worked as a DJ and danced professionally. When I moved to Moscow, I hoped to continue developing in this field. My wife is still laughing at me because only 3 or 4 years after moving I let it go and disposed of my CD collection. I was just holding on too much to something dear that remained in the past.
– If you imagined your life as a dance, what dance would it be?
"Yablochko" (a dance of Russian sailors — Translator’s note). It’s positive, full of sailor discipline, drive and impressive acrobatics. At times, you have to jump over your own head or stand on it to impress the audience. Like we do in real life.