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Daria Svetchnikova

Associate

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From the Partners to the support staff, we have a group of people who are incredibly intelligent, diverse and above all always willing to help and support one another. PJPL offers a fantastic on the job learning experience, as we get the opportunity to work with some of the most senior and experienced people from the largest companies in Australia right from the start. Being a small firm, PJPL offers flexibility with leave and out of work interests that make all the difference to the overall work experience.

Challenging and rewarding work

Over the past five years, I have worked on projects in telecommunications, mining, energy, retail and others, and the problems we tackled on every project were always challenging and completely different from anything we had done previously. In my first year at PJPL I was already working independently with client teams. As a fresh graduate, it was definitely a challenge trying to convince industry veterans that I could help them with their most critical business problems but it was also an extremely rewarding experience.

Balance is encouraged

Finding a work-life balance in consulting was particularly challenging for me as I am someone who likes to finish work well before a deadline, but with the active help and encouragement of the Partners I have found a much better balance. Now I spend a lot more time with my partner and friends and play sports 2-3 times a week.

At the beginning of one of my recent projects, which required our team to travel inter-state every week, the Partner leading the project asked me what days I would like to fly back to Sydney so I could make my kickboxing classes!

Committed to team success

The people at PJPL have a true team culture where everyone is focused on the success and achievement of the team rather than themselves individually - this applies to the whole firm, not only the people within a project team. At times when I have faced a heavy work load, I am always amazed at how many people offer their help without me even having to ask, despite the fact that they are busy working on projects of their own at the time. We also have a great team of support staff who are always willing to go out of their way to help us, not only with work matters but personal matters including IT problems, leasing and visa issues.

Identifiable impact

In my second year at PJPL, my team worked with a new client to help develop their retail strategy. It was a great experience to see the relationship develop into a more open and integrated working relationship as the client team began to trust us more due to the quality work we had produced. It is exciting and satisfying to see our work have a clear and identifiable impact. Months later, I often find myself reading about the results of a project we worked on and feel a sense of pride that we were part of the clients' success.

Career highlights

2008
  • Commenced as a Business Analyst
  • Helped to develop a supply partner strategy for a major downstream petroleum company
2009
  • Helped to develop and evaluate the strategy and business model for a health insurance company, specialising in helping members suffering from chronic diseases
  • Worked with an ASX100 listed Australian retailer to identify and capture a broad range of cost efficiencies
  • Helped a new telecommunications client to develop and assess their retail network strategy, including assessment of the retail footprint and structure
2010
  • Promoted to Associate
  • Continued to work with the telecommunications client, now as part of their internal team, and helped to develop the execution plan for their retail strategy
  • Assisted a major Australian mining company in restructuring a key marketing agreement
  • Worked with an electricity generator in developing and assessing their renewable energy strategy
  • Worked with a large financial industry client to help them develop and put forward a view on Australia's economic reform agenda
2011
  • Assisted a major Victorian private health insurance fund in defining their core product strategy given regulatory and industry structure changes
  • Worked with a large Australian construction materials company in developing a 'turn-around' company strategy in a difficult industry environment
2012
  • Worked with a telecommunications client to develop and assess their retail brand strategy
  • Assisted a major mining company in reviewing a key marketing agreement to reflect market changes
  • Helped a major telecommunications company in developing regulatory arguments for a proposed industry restructure
  • Assisted a major Australian mining company in responding to key market and regulatory changes in the coal sector

“The problems we tackle on every project are always challenging”

BACKGROUND

  • First Class Honours in Econometrics
  • Bachelors Degree in Economics, majoring in Quantitative Methods
  • University medal
  • Graduated Valedictorian
  • UQ Economics Alumni Association Prize 2007
  • Economic Society of Australia Prize, Australian Finance Conference Prize and KPMG Prize for outstanding performance in various undergraduate courses