From lawyer to brewer: how the Legal adviser became the Director of the brewery

He abruptly changed his life just before the Covid pandemic: instead of the capital he chose the city in the south, instead of office work – the brewery workshops, and he preferred production over the specialty of a lawyer. Oleksandr Balakhnov, the director of the Mykolaiv brewery of AB InBev Efes Ukraine, tells how radical changes in his career influenced the development of the company's business and what challenges it faced in recent years.

Oleksandr, you are a lawyer but decided to choose a career as a brewer – a rather unusual transition.

Unusual (smiles). I have been working at the brewery for only 5 years, and before that, I held the position of Senior Legal Advisor at AB InBev Efes Ukraine. I joined the company in 2007 in the Department of Legal & Corporate Affairs, and now I am the director of the Mykolaiv brewery.

But these are completely different professional areas.

The company is quite approving of cross-functional transitions. The main criterion when deciding on the career development of an employee is the level of his leadership competencies. The leader can lead the team, creating a sense of trust, support, and stability in the team, which compensates for the lack of sufficient knowledge about the specifics of the work of individual units. Moreover, this lack of knowledge is a temporary phenomenon. With proper involvement in processes, gaps in knowledge are filled quite quickly.

During my work in the Department of Legal & Corporate Affairs, I managed to develop my leadership competencies to the level necessary for moving to a higher position. Subsequently, I went through a series of interviews with Ukrainian and European leaders responsible for the direction of production, and I was approved for the post of Director of the brewery. To do this, I had to make a relocation from Kyiv to Mykolaiv.

So, you exchanged the capital for a city on the Southern Bug? And how did the family react to this, did you move in together? How was this decision made?

It was a very difficult decision and not so much for me as for the family. We are Kyivans, accustomed to the turbulent life of the capital, everything native and close is connected with Kyiv, and of course, on a purely emotional level, it was quite difficult to accept. Nevertheless, you get used to everything, especially when you spend most of the day in production. Although on all vacations and on any occasion, we are going to Kyiv with the whole family.

How did brewery workers meet a director with no supply experience?

Oh, that's a very interesting story. I had to dive in and deal with all the production processes of the brewery as quickly as possible. And for this, I needed the support of employees. Our company has a culture of referring to "you." And when I arrived in Mykolaiv, I immediately said that I could and should be referred to as "you." But I saw that subordination is important for people, they used to address by patronymic, respectfully. I am for everyone here – Olexandr Volodymyrovych. At first, I struggled with this, but then I realized that it was easier for them, to feel the authority of their leader. And in this way, they show respect to me. It's valuable and enjoyable for me.

I want to note that during my management of the brewery, we have significantly increased the Engagement Rate (an indicator of personnel involvement in the work of the company), before my appearance it was somewhere at the level of 70%, and now – more than 90%. I am proud of my employees, their involvement, and their motivation.

It turns out that you started your career as a brewer from scratch, from the very beginning?

Exactly, when I moved to Mykolaiv, I knew about production very generalized. At meetings with the management team of the brewery, at first, I understood almost nothing (laughs). Therefore, I listened attentively and wrote down complex terms to understand what they meant. The process of beer production is a complex technological process that requires a large amount of specific knowledge in various fields from brewing directly, packaging, and storing beer in warehouses to transfer for sale. Great attention is paid to the quality of products and stable operation of production and utility equipment. To brew a good beer, you must be an expert in all this, so I'm still learning. By the way, my immersion in the processes is constantly accompanied by extreme conditions: a few months after I arrived at the brewery (in January 2020), the Covid pandemic began, and in 2022 – military actions, while Mykolaiv immediately ended up in the most dangerous zone. So, I had to immediately accept both professional and global challenges.

Did the war find you in Mykolaiv?

Yes. I clearly remember that day and that feeling of despair. We were all waiting for the invasion the day before but did not want to believe that it would come to this. A company that was prepared for the worst-case scenario helped a lot. The brewery was immediately stopped. Anyone who wanted to leave Mykolaiv was asked to evacuate to the western regions of Ukraine to pre-rented hotels. Besides, the company paid for the hotel and food not only for the evacuated employees but also for all members of their families. This is in addition to the salary that all employees continue to receive monthly. It was a very cool initiative because, in conditions of total uncertainty, we felt protected.

I believe that such loyalty to the company influenced the decision of employees to return: as soon as Kherson was free and officially announced that it was possible to come back to Mykolaiv, most people returned to the launch of the brewery. For me, this is a huge reason to be proud of our people.

And you immediately launched a brewery?

No, not immediately. A year ago, in January 2023, we just started restoration work. The scope of work has been enormous as there have been several rocket hits on the brewery throughout 2022. Two of the three warehouses were destroyed almost to the ground. Our water treatment facilities and administrative buildings were seriously damaged. In addition, all production equipment after a year of inactivity required maintenance and repair. We did everything possible and impossible by launching the brewery a month ahead of schedule. At the beginning of May, we already had products ready for sale.

How does the plant work now?

As of today, the brewery has been fully restored. All production units operate, although with a slightly reduced production volume corresponding to the market.

Our brewery produces the most famous beer of the south: Yantar, Chernihiv Light, Chernihiv White, Rogan Traditional, and Chernihiv White Night.

What are the problems in the brewery today because your production, for example, is completely connected with water, but there is no water in Mykolaiv?

The operation of the brewery is critically dependent on the continuous supply of production utilities such as electricity and water. Before the launch, we met with the local authorities of Mykolaiv to facilitate this. In terms of electricity, we helped by including us in the list of critical infrastructure enterprises to which restrictions do not apply.

However, everything turned out to be much more complicated by water. In Mykolaiv, the drinking water supply stopped almost immediately with the beginning of the military actions, as the water intake infrastructure in Antonivka near Kherson, which provided drinking Dnipro water to Mykolaiv, was destroyed.

We managed to partially solve this problem by purchasing water for our needs. Nevertheless, its volumes are limited, and with increased demand, we may face production restrictions for this reason.

Another very tangible problem is mobilization. The brewery functions as a set of production processes supported by highly qualified specialists with experience. It takes from one to two and a half years to train specialists in some areas (such as hot block or filtration). Brewing is a very specific process, and employees of different departments are not interchangeable. And if they take away critical specialists, then production will simply stop.

I would like the government to hear us. Although in many ways the city leadership went to meet us, for example, we do not have rolling blackouts. But the issue of mobilization of critical workers is now very urgent.

You have been working as a Director of a brewery for the fifth year, although you have given most of your life to jurisprudence – have you never regretted your decision?

No. I need to grow within the company, not just within its function. Perhaps the transition to a completely different direction was somewhat risky. And I seriously weighed the possible consequences of my decision. Nevertheless, I decided in favor of growth. And although the professional transformation from jurisprudence to production was not easy for me, I never regretted it. And now in the brewery, I feel fully realized. And happy.