Think of a successful company working in the airline industry, with an excellent reputation in the OR community. What else could I dream of doing after my Ph.D. in OR? Long winters? Well, they are not long enough if you enjoy skiing as much as I do. And on top of that the opportunities to play tennis are amazing!

I come from St Peterburg in Russia - the perfect place for skiing, and very good for studies in astronomy and mathematics. I received my education in optimization, operations research and system science in the Netherlands.

Today I am the technical manager of the "Descartes" project. Descartes is the most exciting project in airline operations control I've ever heard of. I am proud to be leading the development of a cutting edge system for airline operations control. A typical week includes: discussing business processes and system design with British Airways, holding a workshop on mathematical modelling with the Technical University of Denmark, and working on system development at Carmen.

Why Carmen?
Because of the working atmosphere. It allows me to share and build on all the fascinating experiences that the job produces with my colleagues.