The ACIG Group of Companies and the Unilever Company expose young professionals to the best management practices

On April 29 and 30 in Yekaterinburg, a series of expert-educational events was held by the ACIG Group of Companies and the Unilever Company for the participants of the Annual Contest "Young Professionals for Sustainable Future of Russia", with the support of the Government and higher educational institutions of the Sverdlovsk Region and hosted by the Concern "KALINA".

A creative discussion on the Contest topics.

The organizers and partners annually hold interesting, creative discussions on the Contest topics, with the leading experts of relevant areas of expertise participating, and the Russian students and post-graduates as key speakers. The results of these events are new ideas, new connections and, of course, new knowledge. All of it helps the youngsters to prepare their works for the Contest with a greater precision.

In Yekaterinburg the participants of the Contest discussed a wide scope of issues, regarding the social and ecological corporate responsibility, social marketing, brand development, approaches to personnel motivation and strengthening the organizational culture. The youngsters were presenting their ideas to the audience with great enthusiasm, were actively exchanging opinions and were asking experts questions about the practical side of the specified topics.

The discussion was supported by the Director for Corporate Affairs at the Unilever Company for Russia, Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Israel Irina Bachtina and the Director of the Contest "Young Professionals for Sustainable Future of Russia", Member of the Board of the ACIG Group of Companies Alexei Shipov. The experts shared their experience and plans of the Unilever Company and the ACIG Group of Companies in the field of sustainable development, presented the indicative cases on the discussed issues and spoke of the key values of their companies.

A trip to the Concern "Kalina" production facility.

An important part of the educational process of the Contest was the participants getting acquainted with the life of real organizations.

This time the students and post-graduates of the Sverdlovsk Region were given the opportunity to learn about the operational process of the "Kalina" Concern that is one of the leaders of the Russian perfume and cosmetics market. The specialists of the Concern had shown the youngsters how the laboratory, production departments and storages work. The participants of the Contest saw the practical implementation of the "Lean Production" principle.

The expert analysis of the Contest participants’ ideas.

Only in a real-live communication format it is possible to evaluate the ideas of the future Contest work. That is why the personal communication of the members of the Contest Committee with the Contest participants and project leaders is an essential part of the process of selecting best of the best.

In Yekaterinburg the students and post-graduates presented their ideas on all the topics of the Contest. Therefore, the projects on talent management on various stages of organization life-cycle, talent management in retail trade, development of aqua parks in the territory of Crimea, public-private partnership in the field of vegetable production and directing school children towards creative activity were presented to the Selection Committee of the Contest.

During the expert analysis by the Selection Committee of the Contest, the attention was given to the network component of the future contest work as well as to the participants themselves, to their personal values, presentation skills, leadership, influence, responsibility and other personal qualities.

The results of the analysis were reflected in the data sheets and sent for processing within the framework of the initial try-outs to the Organizational Committee of the Contest. The results of the first elimination round of the Annual Contest "Young Professionals for Sustainable Future of Russia" will be summarized on June 15, 2014.

Information on "Kalina" Concern.

LLC Concern "Kalina" is a cosmetic company that offers a wide spread of products to its customers in Russia, CIS and Europe.

Concern "Kalina" develops strong brands in the key segments of Russian cosmetics market. The leading brands of the company are "Black Pearl", "Clean Line", "100 recipes of beauty", "Silky Hands", "32" "Forest Balsam", "Dr. Scheller" that are widely recognized by many loyal customers in CIS and Europe. The company is a leader in the skin-care segment and one of leaders in the oral care segment on the Russian and CIS markets, and also is among the leaders in skin-care segment of Germany. The company also actively works in the segments of hair-care and male cosmetics.

The headquarters and main production capacities of the "Kalina" Concern are located in Yekaterinburg.