Rare success for a woman in the financial world draws special attention to her as an expert and a banker, so the media often try to understand who Ekaterina Trofimova is, whose biography is associated with the largest rating agency and bank. This fragile beautiful woman was able to make a career in an atypical environment for ladies, how did she do it?
Childhood
Trofimova Ekaterina Vladimirovna was born on March 6, 1976 in the city of Leningrad. Her mother, grandparents raised her, the family lived in an ordinary St. Petersburg communal apartment in the very heart of Leningrad - the windows overlooked the Admir alty. Since childhood, she has been passionately in love with her city and, despite the fact that she now lives in other places, she always tries to return to St. Petersburg in order to breathe in its air and gain strength. She says that she was an ordinary child, but already in her childhood it was common for her to think a lot, for example, she did not like the “questionnaires” that were so popular in those days, because she could not thoughtlessly answer their questions. As a teenager, Katya was engaged in singing and was a soloist in the choir,performed mainly classical and even operatic repertoire. But following the advice of the greats: if you can not sing - do not sing, did not go further along this path. The girl's childhood was quite typical, but it fell to her generation to capture the last years of the Soviet era and all times of change. She was 15 years old when the modern financial crisis hit the country, and perhaps this influenced her choice of life path.
Education and formative years
After school, Ekaterina Trofimova enters the St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance in the direction of training "world economy", which she successfully graduates in 1998. In her last years at the university, she begins to study French and, after graduation, she submits several applications for scholarship programs to study in France. By this time, she already knew English perfectly and after the university she went to work as a guide in St. Petersburg, it was hard, but useful work. Day after day, she had to not only practice her language, but also captivate listeners with her story. This developed useful public speaking and audience management skills.
At this time, the financial crisis broke out in the country, and cash flows began to concentrate in Moscow. In St. Petersburg, the work for financiers was bad. But Catherine was lucky, she received a scholarship from the French government to study at the Sorbonne, where she had to not only listen to lectures, but also practice, and the specifics of studying there were such that she could findthe place for the practical course the student had to himself. Ekaterina had to send out a lot of resumes and go through an endless series of interviews in order to get an internship at the Standard &Poor's rating agency, which was just setting up a branch for Eastern markets. At that time, interviewing was new for her, she had no idea how to answer, in general, standard questions. Therefore, the question “where do you see yourself in 10 years” puzzled her, and she self-confidently declared that she would be in the place of the one who is now interviewing her. She meant that this person would also grow up, but he was still offended and the only one who gave her a negative review. But Ekaterina was wrong, after 6 years she held a position 3 steps higher than the one she dreamed of.
In 2000, Trofimova graduated from the Sorbonne University and stayed at S&P. Her speci alty was "taxes and financial management."
Career at S&P
Ekaterina started her professional path in the rating agency from the lowest levels. She was assigned to sort out folders with data, it was difficult to prove herself at such work, but Trofimova found opportunities, she began to stay in the evenings and did additional work. The management quickly noticed the enterprising employee, and in less than a year she alone conducted a major study for a bank in Moscow, doing the work for at least two. Her promotion was helped not only by her activity, but also by the fact that at first she was the only person in the agency,fluent in Russian. After some time, S&P opens a full-fledged branch in Moscow, but Trofimova did not move to Russia, but remained at the head office, coordinating research in eastern countries: Russia, Southeast Asia, and Kazakhstan. In 10 years, she quickly went from the bottom to the director of the CIS group, she also entered the management group of European banks.
Ekaterina Trofimova explains the beginning of her career in S&P by coincidence, but her development depended only on her qualities. She worked in the agency for 11 years, which is a lot by European standards, but at some point she realized that she had reached the ceiling in the company, and she needed development. In July 2011, she left the agency, intending to take a long vacation, but life decreed otherwise.
Peace as opportunity
Ekaterina Trofimova considers gratitude to be her main principle in life, she is sure that everything around brings a useful experience. She assures that she is grateful even to those who did nasty things to her. Ekaterina's career looks like a happy, planned road, but she assures that everything developed in an evolutionary way, she always tried not to miss any opportunities and always work with the highest return. About herself, she says that she is a very dedicated employee and is ready to work 1000% for her company.
Ekaterina Trofimova: Gazprombank is a new step in her career
Scheduled break between workTrofimova did not last long, after a couple of months she became bored, and just then numerous job offers began to arrive. And in October 2011, Gazprombank announced that a woman would become its new first vice president. So Ekaterina Vladimirovna changed her place of work. This appointment was not accidental, she had invaluable experience that the bank needed. She says that Russia today is one of the most interesting places, many challenges have to be met here, and this is very motivating for development. Today she is a member of the board of Gazprombank OJSC, is engaged in its rating with international agencies, works to improve interaction with investors and represents the bank at various professional events.
Female expert in the male world of money
After leaving S&P, Trofimova has not lost her connections and remains the leading expert on the Russian financial sector for her European colleagues. On behalf of Gazprombank, she participates in a large number of forums, conferences, congresses, congresses, and publishes a lot in Russia and abroad. In July 2015, it became known that Russia was creating its own rating agency, which will be headed by Ekaterina Trofimova. She becomes a recognized financial expert and her opinion carries considerable weight.
Secrets of building a career
Trofimova is a workaholic in the best sense of the word, she believes that in order to advance in the service, you need to work hard, even in Russia, even abroad. You must always put yourselfthe highest goals, you constantly need to develop and become an expert in your field. Also in the financial environment today you need to be able to receive information, be sure to learn foreign languages. In any environment, qualities such as ambition, the ability to set and achieve goals, focus on results, and decency are in demand.
Private life
Working women often sacrifice their personal lives in the name of a career, but there are happy exceptions. Among them is Ekaterina Trofimova, for whom the family is the main resource for development. She carefully protects her family from the eyes of strangers, it is known that she got married in France, where she gave birth to a son who is already 9 years old. Ekaterina Trofimova, wife, mother, successful businesswoman, expert, never ceases to be a woman, she looks great, tries to devote all her free time to her family, travels with her family, regularly goes to the theater, to concerts and exhibitions, goes in for swimming and skiing. She leads a very busy life and that makes her happy.
