Team

Founding Dean and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lviv Business School at the UCU, Vice Rector for implementation of UCU strategy at the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Her areas of expertise are Organizational Behavior and Learning Organizations, Organization Development, Entrepreneurship.

Background:

Sophia Opatska received her education from Ivan Franko University in Lviv, a degree in International Economic Relations, and defended her thesis work in Management and Human Capital Development, a member of the Board of Directors of European Federation of Catholic Universities (FUCE). She studied at Executive Education programs the University of Michigan Business School (USA), IEDC- Bled School of Management (Slovenia), China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and had on-the- job training at InnoSpace Company (Denmark) and at the Warsaw School of Economics (Poland). In 2017, she was on a semester fellowship at Nanovic Institute of European Studies, University of Notre Dame (USA). Sophia Opatska is a founder and supervisor of the Global Shapers project in Lviv and an Advisory Board member at the Emaus Center. 

Work Experience:

From 2001 to 2004 she held the position of the MBA Program Director at the Lviv Institute of Management. From 2004 to 2007 Ms. Opatska worked as MBA Director at Kyiv Mohyla Business School (kmbs). In 2007 she worked on building the personnel development and training system for Concern Galnaftogaz OJSC. She is Founding Dean of Lviv Business School at the Ukrainian Catholic University, which she had been leading for 10 years. From 2016 Sophia is Vice Rector Academic Affairs at the Ukrainian Catholic University and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LvBS.

Career history:

Her areas of expertise are Organizational Behavior and Learning Organizations, Organization Development, Entrepreneurship. Sophia is a contributor to a number of cases on above topics in the context of Central and Eastern Europe and specifically Ukraine which is still overcomming its post communist past. Her focus at work is – creation of Entrepreneurial University and ecosystem around it.

Master in Management in Foreign Economic Activity of Companies at Lviv National Polytechnic University. Studied economics at the University of Coventry (UK). Experience in project management in ‘Nordpraktik’ program (Stockholm, Sweden). After that – initiated several successful projects in Ukraine, including franchising projects. 15 years of practical experience in business, including management and development of family business, launching and management of start-ups. Representation of foreign companies interests in Ukraine.

17 years of experience in finance and accounting. Skilled in financial planning of organization activity, optimization of company taxation, and financial accounting. Holds a degree in ‘Finances’ of Lviv Polytechnic National University.

Nataliia holds an MA in French Philology and MA in Economics from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. She also graduated from KMBS and MIM programs in marketing and finance. Nataliia gained 15 years of practical experience in Ukrainian and international companies. She worked as a Marketing Director at Concern Galnaftogaz, L’OREAL, Egis, and Lafarge. Moreover, she was in private consulting in strategic marketing and business development for 7 years. Before joining the LvBS team, Nataliia spent 3 years in the private education sector: she developed the concept of an international bilingual school, created and tested innovative career guidance programs, and trained teachers.

Nataliia studied at the program “Fundamentals of designing the educational experience” (School of Education), as well as delivered lectures on communications and HR marketing.

Received a specialist diploma in Tourism Management. Graduated from postgraduate studies at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin majoring in Human Resources Management. Has worked in the Training and Development department in IT company for 5 years. She is a member of a non-government organization since 2014, and coordinating the all-Ukrainian charity action “St. Nicholas won’t forget about you”. Participated in the international youth educational projects and programs, such as EU program “Youth in Action” and ERASMUS + in Poland, Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg. At the moment, is the Chief Operation Officer of LvBS.

Master’s degree in Accounting and Auditing, Lviv Commercial Academy. More than 8 years experience in the field of sales. Participation in the organization of international trips and conferences. Worked in the field of hospitality and tourism for lengthy period.

Loves to travel in her free time.

She graduated from the Faculty of Geography at Ivan Franko Lviv National University (LNU). She studied the MA at Non-profit Management Program at the Institute of Leadership and Management of Ukrainian Catholic University ILM (UCU). She coordinated the activity and development of Lviv Family Hub.

She has seven years’ work experience in an international company’s sales department in the FMCG sphere; she gained experience in creating and implementing a new project in the Western region of Ukraine. She worked in the Marketing Department team, and she was the Head of Development at Raphael Pilgrimage Centre of Lviv Archdiocese of UGCC. She gained experience in strategic planning, writing and implementing projects; among them, educational courses for youth at the Patriarchal Commission on Youth Affairs (PCoYA) of UGCC. She participated in UCU BS corporate program “Building an Effective Organization” for PCoYA of UGCC. She worked in a team of people who organize Viter Nadii – the All-Ukrainian Youth Festival.

Here at UCU Business School, she works as the Manager of the Alumni Association and the UCU BS Community.

Over 15 years of experience in higher education, including teaching, project development and management (including international cooperation), and administration of educational processes. Completed professional internships and collaborated with business schools in the Baltic countries (Estonian Business School, Vilnius University Business School). Launched and developed business education programs. As part of private initiatives, designed courses on creativity and entrepreneurship for children and teenagers.

In addition to academic and educational activities, engaged in business consulting and mentoring. Served as a mentor for the educational project by UN Women and NGO Impact Force, “Dream and Achieve” (2023), and for the national acceleration program “Vlasne: From Dream to Your Own Business” (2024), implemented by the Diia.Business network of entrepreneurship support centers with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

PhD in Economics (Enterprise Economics and Management), Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Organizational Development at UCU. Research interests include organizational development, humanistic management, and organizational resilience. Author of publications in academic and business journals, participant in international scientific and practical conferences.

Graduate of the Bodynamic Foundation Training program at the Danish Institute of Somatic Psychology, Bodynamic International.

Member of the Association for the Development of the Person-Centered Approach.

Member of the Lithuanian Scientific Society.

Mykola Maksymenko is the Director of the MSc in Technology Management program. Mykola holds the position of AVP of R&D at SoftServe, is a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics, and is a scientist. He has taken R&D to a new level at the company. His teams have received recognition and awards on an international level. They develop unique technologies based on the latest scientific discoveries, such as quantum computing and emotional recognition, and participate in the Horizon 2020 program.

Mykola is a graduate of the MSc in Technology Management program and a lecturer at the Lviv Business School of UCU. Previously, he worked in science at the Max Planck Institute for Complex Systems (Germany) and the Weizmann Institute (Israel).

Igor Blystiv is the Marketing Director and Director of Innovation at Kormotech. Member of the Academic Council and Director of the MSc in Marketing Management program, instructor of the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program. Academic leader and instructor of the Marketing for Business Management Development program. Founder of the UA MARKETING CLUB. Graduate of the Key Executive MBA UCU Business School master’s program.

He has over 15 years of marketing experience. Areas of expertise include strategic marketing, brand creation and development, brand portfolio management, and brand promotion in the Ukrainian and export markets. Achievements in 14 years at Kormotech include leadership in the pet food market in Ukraine (2015-2017), products represented in 20 countries, TM “Miau” as the #1 brand in the category and the largest brand on the market, TM “Club 4 paws” as one of the three largest pet food brands in Ukraine, creation of the Optimeal brand and entry into EU markets, and entry of the Optimeal brand into the US market. Trust has been established in Kormotech as a manufacturer of European-level products.

Director of the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program at the UCU Business School.

Alumni of the MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program 2018. Initiated the SaveUkraine project, a volunteer initiative aimed at providing humanitarian assistance to people in hot and critical areas.
Nominee for the LvBS Alumni Awards 2022.

Entrepreneur, co-founder of FreshBar, and game engineer in the “market battle” project. He was the founder and co-organizer of all three TEDxLviv, where he led the speaker training team. Three years ago, he co-founded keywords.agency, which helps speakers and teams convey their ideas through public speaking. Deep expertise in marketing helps to understand the target audience and select messages to suit their needs.

Olena is the academic leader of the Key Executive MBA program. She holds a Ph.D. and is an associate professor with 19 years of teaching experience in economics at Lviv Polytechnic National University – Institute of Economics and Management, and Institute of Public Administration and Administration. Olena has experience in professional internships and organizing international education programs in cooperation with AMCU, USAID, EU Twinning, and DiKU (Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in HE).

Since 2018, she has been a member of the team of annual research projects on IT development in Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa with Fama Custom Research Agency. Olena has educational experience at Lviv Polytechnic National University, Coventry University (UK), and CERGE (Czech Republic).

Larysa holds a Specialist Degree in International Economic Relations from Lviv Academy of Commerce. She defended her Ph.D. thesis in Economics, Organization, and Enterprises Management. During her career, Larysa worked on marketing and management of educational projects, as well as the provision of specialized education for marketing professionals.

She taught marketing disciplines at Lviv University of Trade and Economics. Larysa was working in the marketing team of the private educational institution network Ecoland for over five years. She has experience in organizing educational activities and projects for children and teenagers. Her main professional interests include service marketing, consumer behavior, branding, as well as education and development issues for children and adults.

Larysa is an Academic Leader of the MSc in Marketing Management program.  She is responsible for marketing programs, content management, and collaboration with lecturers of the courses.

Ostap is a Ph.D. in Economics and an analyst with more than 7 years of experience contributing to academic and commercial studies in institutional economics, industrial innovation, and economic transformation. He also leads a team of innovation analysts and technology scouts at StartUs Insights. Previously, Ostap landed a sponsored professional internship within the “Leopolis for Future” program (Warsaw, Poland) and obtained a competitive research grant from the Bohdan and Natalia Golemba Foundation at the University of Alberta (Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Edmonton, Canada). In addition, he collaborated with the Estonian Business School (EBS) on the research project named “Leading Organizational Change in Turbulent Times”  (Tallinn, Estonia) and lectured courses in economics at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine). Ostap’s main professional interests include institutional change, innovation policies, scenario planning, and startup economics.

At UCU Business School, Ostap coordinates academic activities at the MSc in Technology Management program, as well as facilitates fruitful interactions among students, lecturers, and other stakeholders.

She received a master’s degree in ecology at Lviv National University of Ivan Franko, Geology Faculty. She worked for 16 years at the Faculty of Geology. Mariana loves active recreation. In particular, the sea for her is an inspiration for new beginnings.

Iryna Paslas studied at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv at the Faculty of Philology, where she obtained a degree in teaching Ukrainian and Persian languages and literature in 2009. She is also a graduate of the Institute of Postgraduate Education at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with a degree in international law, in 2013. She has experience in organizing photo projects and photo shoots. She worked at the Center for Urban History as an administrative manager and provided logistical support for the center’s events.

She is passionate about the majesty of mountains and never misses an opportunity to climb them. She is inspired by traveling and communicating with interesting people. Her favorite sport is skiing.

At UCU Business School, she works as a manager of the Executive education department.

Olena holds a Specialist Degree in Management of Organizations from Lviv Polytechnic National University and a BA in Organization of Service in Hotels and Tourist Complexes from Western Ukrainian Collegium.

She gained experience in London and was an intern at hotels and travel agencies in Lviv. She worked as an Office Manager, an Assistant Director, and later on as a Commercial Department Manager at a Danish textile enterprise in Lviv. 

Hobbies: traveling, mountains, skiing, cooking

Olya holds a Master’s degree in Finance. She has diverse experience in accounting, business administration, and project management.

She is genuinely passionate about working with people, developing emotional intelligence, and creating an inspiring learning environment. Her sources of energy are books, new places, and meaningful connections.

Olya is a manager of the Executive education department. At the business school, she is responsible for organizing leadership and management development programs. She supports participants throughout their learning journey and ensures effective collaboration between all stakeholders.

Anna graduated from the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine and the State Tax University. She has 4 years of experience in the fields of law and legal journalism.

She worked as the assistant to the director of development at Artwinery, where she was involved in transformational processes, as an assistant to the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, where she performed operational management functions and participated in organizing and conducting marketing events. She was also the assistant to the medical director at Edem Resort Medical & SPA.

Yana Pigel obtained a Master’s degree in International Economic Relations with honors from the Lviv Trade and Economic University. She worked for two years in the banking sector as a Back-office specialist at PKO Bank Polski (Kredobank), where she was responsible for auditing the bank’s branch network throughout Ukraine in the field of insurance.

Yana has significant experience working in B2B in the automotive industry for the All-Ukrainian Network company for seven years. She implemented a business plan to develop sales of insurance products within the company. Yana also has experience in the real estate market and holds a REALTY ACADEMY specialist certificate.

Currently, she is working in the Corporate Training department at UCU Business School, focusing on communication, organization, and development of educational programs.

Master of Journalism at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. She has 10 years of journalistic experience, began work on the third year of study at TRC «RAZOM», worked for 7 years at the information agency «ZIK», more than 2 years later – at the information agency «Vgolos». She was trained on radio «Independence» and «Radio Eco», as well as in the educational edition of the Armed Forces of Austria «Truppendienst».

Sofiya earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Studies through the “Ethics-Politics-Economics” program at the Ukrainian Catholic University. She applied her knowledge by participating in the student organization “POLITclub UCU.”

With over three years of professional experience, Sofiya’s primary focus has been on marketing, communications, and copywriting. She has also taken on roles as an event manager and SMM specialist in various organizations. While working at the “Always Ukraine” charitable foundation, she developed a deep passion for marketing. As a communications manager, her portfolio expanded to include design, content creation, editing, and writing for both Ukrainian and international audiences. At the onset of the full-scale invasion, she coordinated the activities of a volunteer center at her former school.

In her free time, Sofiya enjoys the mountains, traveling, exploring new experiences, cooking, and drawing.

At the UCU Business School, she works as a content manager, promoting the school’s master’s programs.

Anastasiia holds a bachelor’s degree in English Philology with a focus on Applied Linguistics from Lviv Polytechnic National University. Always a fan of logical thinking, she couldn’t imagine her life without creative ideas. During her second year of university, she realized that marketing combines both creativity and analytical work, sparking her deeper interest in the field. She is  a master’s degree in Marketing at Lviv Polytechnic.

Anastasiia has over three years of experience in marketing as a freelance SMM specialist and Digital Marketing professional. Since 2024, she has been responsible for the marketing of management programs at the UCU Business School.

She is an active and engaged citizen, implementing various volunteer projects to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Since 2022, her personal motto has been to support the AFU and inspire others to become a reliable pillar for Ukraine’s defenders. She also develops specialized skills by participating in tactical medicine and safety training sessions.

Anastasiia brings positivity and genuine energy to her team and those around her. With creativity and imagination, she confidently tackles professional challenges and steadily progresses toward her ambitious goals. In her free time, she enjoys personal growth, collaborating with patriotic individuals and communities, and immersing herself in the world of culture and art.

Milena earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the Ukrainian Catholic University.

She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Marketing at UCU Business School. She have 5 years of experience in event management. Milena also worked as a manager in the business center for 3 years. Moreover, she worked in sociological agencies and conducted many studies (sampling, surveys, and data analysis).

In her free time, Milena loves to read books, elaborate book community, bake sweets, and spend time with friends.

At UCU Business School, she holds the position of event marketing manager.

Iryna holds a degree in International Relations from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. After graduation, she did an internship at the International Relations Committee of Lviv Regional State Administration (regional government) and as Assistant Director of the Main Economic Department.

She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies and worked as a secretary to the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.

She has experience in the hospitality and service industry.

Passionate about photography and drawing, she loves cinema and visual aesthetics and is always open to new stories and experiences.

Halyna works as a receptionist at the UCU Business School campus on St. John Paul II Avenue, 35a.

Graduated from the National University “Lviv Polytechnic”, specialty – management in production, is a qualified engineer-economist. Experienced accountant for 13 years.

Iryna Slipets graduated from Lviv State Agrarian University, where she received a degree in “Accounting and Audit” and qualified as an economist in accounting and finance. Has 19 years of experience in the field of accounting and finance.

Khrystyna earned a master’s degree with magna cum laude honors in Theology from the Ukrainian Catholic University.

She has experience organizing summer Christian camps for children and teenagers.

She can’t imagine her life without reading books and hiking in the mountains.

Ivan obtained a master’s degree in “Transportation Organization and Management in Automobile Transport” at the Lviv Polytechnic National University.

Had experience working in logistics, particularly in freight forwarding companies, as well as experience in organizing international transportation and the tourism industry.

In his leisure time, enjoys reading books, hiking in the mountains, and learning something new.

She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at UCU. She has work experience in a recruiting company as a sales manager, as well as in an environmental development company as an assistant to the CCO.

Revekka completed an internship at Lviv City Council as part of the “First Career Step” program and was involved in conducting social surveys of Lviv guests at the tourism department. She volunteered at various events at UCU, including TEDxUCU, TeachConnect, Open Doors Day, and events at the UCU Business School.

She enjoys relaxing in the mountains, listening to the sea waves, learning, traveling, dreaming, reading books, and learning from the life experiences of others.

At the Business School, she works as a coordinator of the MSc in Managing Impact-Driven Organizations program .

She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at UCU.

Vitaliia has experience in management and participation in research projects in cooperation with the Lviv City Council, the Center for Tourism Development, the sociological agency “Socioinform,” and UCU. She has worked as a math tutor for school children.

Vitaliia has volunteered at various events at UCU and events organized by the UCU Business School, participated in social initiatives for the elderly, and organized the “Growing Together” project at the Blagodat orphanage.

She shares the values of UCU, strives to develop within the university team, and supports others through her work. Vitaliia loves to travel, spend time with children, dream, study Ukrainian culture, and be inspired by communicating with interesting people.

Professor in Leadership, HR&OD, CEO of UCU Center for Leadership. Andriy Rozhdestvenskyy served as a profiler and analyst in Israel’s security service, where he specialized in counter-terrorism matters, including special communications and negotiations. Later he became HR Business Partner-Retail at Oschadbank with subsequent promotion to Head of Personnel and Training in the bank (35,000 employees). Rozhdestvenskyy adjusted classical sales techniques to the bank’s needs and then started tailoring training programs to suit the needs of other areas of business (telecommunications, IT industry, agriculture etc.). As a result, he started his own business – a consulting company with emphasis on developing and tailoring personnel training systems for specific businesses.

Andriy provides assistance to organizations specializing in childhood cancer and alcohol and drug rehabilitation. He is a member of the movement “Change Ukraine – Start with Yourself” and organizer of the Everest 2025 project. Mr. Rozhdestvenskyy received a higher education degree in Psychology from the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, did his post graduate studies at the G.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology in Kyiv and successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis. He also successfully completed Anna Vlasova’s HRM School.

Executive Director of the UCU Center for Entrepreneurship.

Master of International Economic Relations at Ivan Franko National University in Lviv. He worked as the Director of Corporate Clients Department in the insurance company “Universalna”, Director of the company “Terrin”, which developed, launched and managed a network of restaurants “A la minute”, “Pasta Mia” and “Hot Café” sales points for the network of filling stations “OKKO”. Later he worked as the Development Director of the company “Galnaftogaz”. Mr. Petrenko worked as a consultant in shopping, entertainment and restaurant business for several years.

Master of Business Administration at Lviv Business School of UCU (LvBS), graduated from the Key Executive MBA Program.

His hobbies include travelling, skiing and diving. Motorcycle is a favorite transport.

Master in International Economics of Kyiv National Economic University, LLM in Intellectual Property of Turin University. Trained in WIPO (World Intellectual Property
Organization). For two years has worked at the State Department of Intellectual Property. Participated in the work over the project of development and implementation of the Competitiveness Strategy of Lviv by 2015 as a part of the Effective Management Foundation team. Has been working in Lviv Business School of UCU since 2012, was
engaged in various projects: organizing Intro conferences, publishing book translations, developing and conducting training programs, launching LvBS intellectual centers – for family business and business design, etc. Since the beginning of 2017, in the position of a Director for Development , has been in charge of marketing, international partnerships, alumni network development, development projects, LvBS intellectual centers and activities in other cities. She also teaches business design at the MS in Innovations and Entrepreneurship program.

Master of History, graduate of the Historical Faculty of Ivan Franko Lviv National University and the National University “Lviv Polytechnic.” A researcher of U.S. foreign policy in the second half of the 20th – 21st centuries, a local historian, lecturer, and professional guide. Since 2013, engaged in implementing innovative approaches to studying the past, including in the extracurricular education system.

From 2016 to 2018, served as the head of the Information Department of the Educational, Psychological, and Integration Assistance Program for children affected by the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, “Integration through Dialogue”. Editor and compiler of the first collection of adolescent stories about the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, “(Un)Childish View of War.”

From 2017 to 2022, participated in international projects in historical and integration directions with VA “Nova Doba” (Lviv), Körber Stiftung (Hamburg), DVV International (Berlin/Kyiv), Cultural Vistas (Berlin), Civil Society Forum e.V. (Berlin), and Kolegium Europy Wschodniej (Wroclaw). Graduate of the EUSTORY History Campus Program (2018-2019).

Passionate about information technology, psychology, visual arts, and graphic design.

Oksana holds a position of Director of Kyiv Center of UCU since May 2016.  Prior to taking up this post, she was Executive Director of Yalta European Strategy and headed the Department of Educational Programs at the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. In 2008 – 2013, Ms. Kulakovska was Director of Executive MBA Program and Deputy Director of Lviv Business School at the Ukrainian Catholic University. Among her achievements, there is development and implementation of partnership development program between leading business schools of the USA, Poland, and over 40 higher educational establishments offering business education in Ukraine within the framework of the Consortium for Enhancement of Ukrainian Management Education, CEUME, Kyiv. Oksana has developed ideology and implementation of the first post-diploma studies (PDS) in Ukraine, arranged over 25 international study tours into 7 countries of the world for heads of leading Ukrainian companies and universities. A native of Lviv, Ms. Kulakovska received comprehensive training in Business Administration, Strategic and Marketing Planning in Lviv Institute of Management, Warsaw School of Economics, University of Minnesota, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, CEU Business School.