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.

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.

Valeriya Kozlova is the director of the Key Executive MBA program. Valeriya is a leading expert in building business systems, global development strategy, and effective thinking and the author of the cognitive technology EQ-boost.

She is the founder of Result V Group, a company that specializes in developing and implementing programs for deep business transformation tailored to the owner’s request. She is the author of the book “EQ-Boost Technology: How to Use Emotional Intelligence in Business and Life,” a strategic partner of the UCU Business School, and co-author of the “Effective Mentoring through the Lens of EQ-Boost” program at LvBS.

Oleksandr Akymenko is the co-founder and director of Platforma Media, an internet magazine publisher, and an innovation implementation consultant. Before 2014, he worked as an editor and journalist. In July 2016, he completed the JSK Fellowship program at Stanford University, where he studied strategic management, entrepreneurship, venture capital, media business, investments, design thinking, disruptive innovation, and democratic development.

From early 2012 to August 2013, he headed the investigative journalism department of the Ukrainian version of Forbes magazine. He specialized in exposing corruption among high-level state officials, including tender manipulations, financial schemes, offshore schemes, smuggling, and transparency of ownership.

Throughout his career, he has worked on materials for Thomson Reuters, BuzzFeed, Ukrayinska Pravda, Dzerkalo Tyzhnya, Svidomo Bureau, and Inter TV channel. In 2016, together with his wife Katerina, he developed a concept and proposed to the Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law to establish the Ukrainian Emerging Leadership Program, an annual educational program for new leaders in Ukraine, which starting from the autumn of 2017 will annually accept three professionals from the fields of reforms, law, economic development, and entrepreneurship.

At LvBS, he is the director of the Master’s Program in Innovations and Entrepreneurship.

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. Graduate of the Key Executive MBA LvBS 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.

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).

Iryna Tymoshenko-Petrova is the director of the MA in Human Resources and Organization Development program. She is a graduate of this program and a lecturer at the UCU Business School. She is an expert in the field of strategic planning and organizational development, with 18 years of managerial experience, and specializes in HR and management competency development.

Iryna is a co-founder of the Superwise Strategic Consulting Bureau, where she consults with companies on building strategies and organizational development. Overall, she specializes in people management, building HR functions, organizational development, management competency development, ensuring diversity and inclusiveness principles, building meaningful organizational platforms, and developing and implementing organizational development strategies.

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».
At the Lviv Business School is responsible for promotion of master’s programs, partner cooperation, event organization and content filling.

Vladyslav studied at the Master’s Program in Media Communications of UCU, participated in the Erasmus+ international program, and was a member of the team working on rebranding, creation of branded clothes, and production of the commercial for the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Center.

He also was the executive producer on Radio 412 for the 2019–2020 season. Before joining the LvBS team, Vladyslav worked in the Black Impala creative video production studio and SICK agency.

Anastasiia is currently studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology at the Ukrainian Catholic University.

She has been working in SMM for nearly 3 years. Anastasiia provided information support for the following events: TEDxUCU, Career Forum, Place of Opportunities, etc.

Moreover, she worked in sociological agencies and conducted a bunch of studies (sampling, surveys, and data analysis). Anastasiia has experience in conducting in-depth interviews.

In her spare time, she likes traveling, painting pictures by numbers, and watching old favorite movies.

Olha obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Lviv Polytechnic National University. Has 5 years of experience as a professional freelance photographer, organizing full-service photoshoots. Afterward, delved into marketing and worked as a marketer in the hotel industry. Also has 2 years of experience writing academic papers in Ukrainian. Olha is inspired by the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains and enjoys walking around her native Lviv in her free time, playing badminton, and experimenting with hairstyles.

Currently works as a brand manager at LvBS.

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 coordinates 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 LvBS
corporate program “Building an Effective Organization” for PCoYA of UGCC. She works in a team of people who organize Viter Nadii – the All-Ukrainian Youth Festival.

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

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).

Nataliya Lahotska is a candidate in economic sciences and associate professor who taught for 14 years at the Ternopil National Economic University. She has experience in project management in higher education and business consulting on marketing issues. She launched and developed business education programs and has experience in professional internships and cooperation with business schools in the Baltic countries. As part of her private initiatives, she developed courses on creativity and entrepreneurship for children and teenagers. As a scientist, she researches the topic of organizational resilience during the war in Ukraine.

She is currently studying under a program in psychology at the Danish Institute of Somatic Psychology, Bodynamic International. She is also the author of publications in scientific and business journals.

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 a Manager of the Academic Department at LvBS. She is responsible for marketing programs, content management, and collaboration with lecturers of the courses.

Natalia holds a Specialist Degree in Finance from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. She was in the hospitality industry for 10 years and went from a waiter to a restaurant manager. Natalia was a catering manager for 3 years. She collaborated with the social project “My father protects Ukraine” and helped to organize meals for the wards of the fund.

Natalia deals with the program MA in Human Resources and Organization Development and Executive Education program HRM in Business at LvBS.

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

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 LvBS, she works as a manager for the Executive education department.

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.

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.

Specialist in Finance at the Institute of Post-Graduate Education and Pre-University Education of Ivan Franko National University in Lviv. She has 17 years of experience in finance and accounting. Worked as an accountant and chief accountant. Participated in the transformation processes of the companies. Studied at the Program of International Certification of Professional Accountants САР/СІРА.

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

Oleksandra Lyashenko is a doctor of economics, a professor, and the acting head of the Department of Management and Organizational Development. She is also a member of several public organizations related to education. With over 25 years of teaching and scientific experience and more than five years of management experience in higher education institutions – from managing educational programs to managing the educational and scientific institute of management and adult education.

She participated in the Education USA program “Leadership Academy for Internationalization” (2020-2021). She has prepared and published over 150 scientific and methodological publications on economic security, economic freedom, adult education, and management intelligence in all its manifestations. She is the author and co-author of monographs and textbooks. During the war, she founded the online project “Security Thinking”. She adheres to the principles of Life Long Learning, a high culture of quality education, and the values of science.

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.

Got a Master’s degree in Turkish Language and Literature and Translation at  Kyiv National  Taras Shevchenko University. In 2015-2018  headed the Kyiv Branch of the Association of Ukrainian Catholic Students “Obnova”. Has repeatedly been a co-organizer of youth events in the UGCC Kyiv Archeparchy. Studied abroad and had experience in sales, education and translation work.

In spare time, dances lindy-hop, travels, hikes in the mountains and  goes in for swimming.

Executive education program manager of LvBS.

Candidate of Economic Sciences in the field of the World Economy and International Economic Relations. Taught courses on Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Competition State Policy and Public Procurement at Lviv Polytechnic National University. Has experience in teaching English, including English for banking. In 2012-2013 did an internship at the Economic Policy Committee and Committee on Finance and Banking at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Participant of Ukrainian and international conferences and trainings.

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.

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.