CEO Talks with Taras Kytsmei: on the journey of the Ukrainian IT company to global recognition

Credit Agricole is always happy to support the IT community and promote development of the tech business in Ukraine by creating opportunities for IT industry growth.

Partnering with Diia.City Union, we continue our series of CEO Talks, which serve as a platform for the Ukrainian IT business leaders to share experiences and inspiration.

On February 20, we welcomed Taras Kytsmei, President of Diia.City.Union, co-founder and Board Member of SoftServe. The speaker talked about his journey in business, spoke about approaches to management and scaling, as well as values that determine success of a large tech company.

In particular, Taras Kytsmei shared that the first push to starting his own business he received at Lviv Polytechnic, when he was given the opportunity to do an entrepreneurship training course while working there as a teacher. According to him, this training transformed his perspective and helped him realise that science and business can complement each other.

This was how the idea of SoftServe came to be. The company signed its first renowned contract with General Electric, which propelled it onto the international market.

According to the speaker, the company’s success on the global arena depended on adapting to the cultural specifics of the market. It would be a mistake to attempt to impose one’s own values. That is why SoftServe learned to be receptive of the local features and tailor its strategies. Treating customers like partners and trusting the team have become the key factors in the company’s growth.

In just five years after the company was founded, it established strategic business units – SBUs – that enabled the company to develop as an ecosystem of self-sufficient units. Every head of the SBU was granted mandate to conduct business as an independent line of business, which promoted leadership.

The main challenge this model faced was avoiding unhealthy competition. However, betting on the talented leaders brought its results: over 100 employees of the company founded their own businesses, while SoftServe continues scaling backed by the strong managerial decisions.

“Success of a company is determined by the two core components: leadership and innovations”, –Taras Kytsmei is positive of it.

For many years, SoftServe advocates for IT education and is in active cooperation with universities, as education is the main source of future experts. The company implements internship programs and integrates teachers in the training processes, enabling students to have a better grasp of the industry realities.

It is impossible to build a successful business without emphasizing employee growth. “First you create the environment for employees and then they make your customers successful”, — stressed Taras Kytsmei.

 We greatly appreciate the speaker and his engaging talk and valuable insights for CEO Talks participants! We will continue supporting similar events in order to inspire the new generation of tech leaders.