Exiled: Silvia Gavornikova, OECD
Today’s guest is Silvia Gavornikova, Head of Export Credits and Competition Division at the OECD. With over 20 years of experience in export finance - as well as some other surprising talents - Silvia’s Exile will be a place of trust, flexibility, and mutual respect.
Welcome to Exiled: Dealmakers on a Desert Island, a podcast where we ‘strand’ a guest on a desert island and ask them who from their professional past, present, and future they’d choose to be stranded with. After all, it’s people that make a profession.
From her past
Silvia picked her mentor and former boss, Igor Lichnovský, Chairman of Eximbanka SR. Igor shaped Silvia’s understanding of risk, resilience, and long-term vision, teaching her the importance of flexibility in an ever-changing market. A pragmatic and grounded soul, Igor finds opportunity in every challenge, and would be an excellent desert island companion.
From her present
Silvia couldn’t choose one person, instead opting for, in her words, ‘the export credit family’. Over the years she has developed fantastic relationships based on trust, intellectual exchange, and of course a shared sense of humour that would brighten any Exile.
From her future
Silvia is focused not just on her own future, but the future of the industry at large. With this in mind, she jumped at the chance to spotlight her colleague Juliette Schleich, a young professional that she feels truly lucky to work with. Juliette, like many emerging leaders, is at the frontier of green finance, and has sustainability ‘in her guts’. Silvia would relish the opportunity to use her Exile as a chance to be a mentor and, more importantly, to learn from the next generation.
Bonus round
Family is hugely important to Silvia, and her final pick was to bring her family with her - especially as they no longer live in the same country. She feels that her family would bring joy to her Exile through a shared love of sport, a passion that has followed them around the world. So much so that Silvia’s move to Paris coincided with the opportunity for her to be a member of the Paris Olympics equestrian jury - export finance really is full of surprises!
Thanks for listening! Are you, or one of your colleagues, our next Exile? Email eavie.burnett@exilegroup.com to nominate yourself as our next guest.
