Ukrainian Banker Makes a Quick Pivot to Wartime Logistics

(Bloomberg) -- Until recently, the finance executive Anton Piatygin's work had little to do with war. He's a supervisory board member of one of the largest banks in Ukraine, Oschadbank, and a co-founder of a “buy now, pay later” finance startup called Ocean.me. He had been working on its funding in the weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, where the 39-year-old lives. Piatygin spoke in a phone interview with Bloomberg News on Monday about his past week. This interview has been edited for clarity.

Bloomberg News: How are you doing? Where are you?

Anton Piatygin: Right now, in the Western part of Ukraine. I made a decision yesterday that I needed to evacuate my family -- we were staying in Kyiv until the last minute. I have two small kids, age three and five. I plan to go to Kyiv tomorrow again to continue my work, if the circumstances allow it.

Bloomberg: What work do you do?

Piatygin: Before the war started I was involved in two things. I'm a supervisory board member of Oschadbank. I'm also a co-investor in a financial startup, which is a buy now pay later company. I'm still involved in Oschadbank, but now I'm also a volunteer in helping with logistics for the military and different humanitarian needs -- medical supplies, food, clothes. We already built a logistical channel from Europe to Ukraine. We established a warehouse on the border of Ukraine and Poland, where we basically accumulate humanitarian aid and distribute it to different regions.

Bloomberg: Did anything in your career prepare you for wartime logistics?

Piatygin: No, not during wartime, obviously. However I spent ten years in McKinsey as a consultant.

Bloomberg: How are you feeling?

Piatygin: I have to be honest, I'm not sure that I can fully digest what's going on. In general, the mood fluctuates from being scared to being extremely focused. There is time for, let's say, dark humor.

Bloomberg: What is it like to transform from a finance executive into a wartime operative?

Piatygin: Most of the executives in this country, people who could afford it, switched overnight to being volunteers and to helping with different types of things.

Bloomberg: Others have been asked to stay and take up arms.

Piatygin: I think people are going through a dilemma: Where are they more useful? Are they more useful in the military, or are they more useful in some other types of activity? For now, I decided that I'm more useful in organizing logistics. But we are ready to fight. People are carrying guns. They are ready to fight back. It's a very honorable moment, but very sad at the same time.

Bloomberg: How did the job happen?

Piatygin: When the war started, I called my friend, who used to be my client at McKinsey. He used to be an executive at a large bank. Now he's in the government. I called him and said, ‘Look, where do you think you need help?' That's how it started. It shaped up into a full logistical supply chain with the largest companies of Ukraine chipping in. One company gave approximately 100 trucks to deliver the goods, another company sponsored the warehouse, another company provided a call center to service all this. And that's amazing. I was so positively surprised.

Bloomberg: Why?

Piatygin: I was not sure people were ready for the war. But then, when the war started, people switched overnight. We all want to help. You cannot just give in.