"GM-AVTOVAZ" General Director tells about himself, his career in General Motors and "GM-AVTOVAZ" project.

       - "GM-AVTOVAZ" joint venture is a significant project not only for Togliatti, but also for Samara region and Russia in the whole. People, who manage this project, are interesting to the public. How did you start your career in General Motors?

       - That was a funny story. In 1978 I had been working in "British Overseas Aircraft Corporation", then I got interested in car industry. By that time I had three degrees in air transport engineering, mechanical and production engineering, two diplomas - in economics and engineering. I went to GM branch in England - Vauxhall Motors factory. When I was interviewed, I said about my degrees and diplomas - I was very proud of it. But the guy who interviewed me said: "No, please, you are too qualified for us. We need someone who will grow within the company". I did not expect that, but I still wanted to see how a big company operates. I went outside and filled one more application form, but wrote that I was a car mechanic. I came to the same room and went to another interviewer. But during the interview I had to ensure that the first interviewer could not notice me. So, this is how I started my career in GM. I worked as a common employee on all stations of the production line for nine months and nobody knew I was a specialist. But I really enjoyed the process. Then I was employed in industrial engineering, production engineering, materials and production control mechanical engineering. I went through all the levels very quickly. I liked it, it was challenging and was something new. I made a lot of changes in England. After that I had a chance to go to GM-branches in other countries: worked in Germany, managed the assembly factory and motor factory construction in Hungary, managed the assembly factory construction in Poland, worked in Portugal, South Africa, India, again in Germany and now I am in Russia.

       - How can you characterize business-environment in Russia?

       - Russia is in a transition. There was a 70-year period of isolation before. When "Iron curtain" was over, a transition from one culture to another began. There was a big change, Russians are still in a change. These processes have an impact on management system, business climate, business relations, and distribution of responsibilities. Management and technologies need improvement. It is not easy, but not so difficult either. If you have a plan and you can execute it, everything will be O.K. I believe that we will have a better success in Russia, than in other countries, because you have really highly qualified people, there are a lot of educated people in Togliatti. Moreover, Russians have patience and pride. I think these traits of character are important in business.

       - Is it your first project in Russia?

       - Yes. I knew about the project in Tatarstan - there were plans to assemble "Chevrolet-Blazer" in Elabuga.

       - What is your personal vision of "GM-AVTOVAZ" alliance and its perspectives?

       - This project will surprise everybody. We start small but we will grow. Our biggest difficulty is to train the suppliers, to get them to understand what is quality. We will try to train people, to make them teachers for other people. Our priority is providing high quality of supplies for "Chevrolet-Niva". We also think that if some Western companies create joint ventures with Russian suppliers, it will be of a great help.

       - Through the years of negotiations Russian and American parties have come to decision to produce "Niva" VAZ-2123. But first there was an idea to produce Opel Astra.

       - That was a clever decision for both parties. Above all, Russia needs an affordable car. Of course, it must be high-quality and safe, but affordable for the majority of people. We held a marketing research and it showed that demand for cars with a price more than 6 thousands dollars is rather low. That is why Astra would not have had a success on a Russian market. Though we tried to reduce costs, the price still was about 10 thousands dollars. Russia with its current level of salary cannot afford it. Then we looked at Niva. It has a reputation of a good off-road vehicle in Russia and in many other countries. This is a good car in general and we knew that with some improvements it would be a perfect car. We were sure we could sell it here. But we do not forget about Astra.

       - Will it be the second stage of "GM-AVTOVAZ" project?

       - Perhaps. The first stage is "Chevrolet-Niva" (jeep) production and its modifications - pickup and van. Then we have Astra to bring. But the model line-up should be developed. We need a small car. We will look whether we can take one from an existing line-up of GM or from AVTOVAZ or we create a new joint model. It needs a lot of financial resources to make a new model, but we expect to grow. But the most important thing we are studying to do here is a factory, producing engines. It will be very successful, because Russian automotive industry needs new engines. If we start producing it, this will be a perfect solution for everyone. But that is in the next stage of development.