Building Operational Excellence at Scale: Vladislav Fedoseev’s Approach

I won't hide it - it felt genuinely good and exciting to see the hard work recognized, both the team's and mine. Every day you run without looking up - sometimes it's worth pausing, taking stock, and appreciating what's been built. But only briefly - there's a lot ahead that matters, for us and most importantly for our clients and partners.

There was no certainty - there was a hypothesis. We did something few were doing in our region: combining consulting logic, deep platform expertise across Google's stack, and proprietary IT development into one system. It's not classic consulting, and it's not media buying - it's something in between. Stories like that either go unnoticed or win gold. 

Yes. The moment we decided not to compete for media budgets and instead go deep into measurement and technology. It was a deliberate move away from obvious revenue toward a complex but unoccupied space. Most were chasing spend at the time. We started building methodology and products. Two years later, it was clear it had been the right call.

Three main ones. First - the market wasn't very ready: explaining the value of MMM or predictive LTV to clients in 2022-2023 was non-trivial. Second - building a team with a rare combination of skills: data science plus platform expertise plus consulting doesn't exist in one person, so you have to grow it. Third - operating across regions with very different levels of market maturity simultaneously: what works in Europe requires a different approach and a different pace in MENA.

Pragmatically. We'll add it to our partner communications - we regularly look for technologically bold teams and help them reach the smartest and most demanding clients. The award illustrates once more that our approach works. That it's complex, requires a high level of expertise and courage - but can bring genuinely useful tools to the people who need them. It's also a signal for the team: we've chosen the right direction.

Discipline. When you prepare a submission, you're forced to articulate what exactly you did and why it matters. That's a valuable exercise in itself - regardless of the outcome. Plus an external reference point: you understand where you stand relative to the market.

Our team is large, and listing everyone in one answer is hard - it wouldn't be fair to those who don't make the list. I'll name a few: Alex, Ted, Ksu, Alina, and the measurement team, Dima and Natasha, and many more. 

Of course, I want to thank our partners at Google - without Anthony and his team, we couldn't have done what we did. And separately - Lera: she believed in us, answered all our questions 24/7, and supported everything we were building. All of that together is what produced this result.

Three things. First, the erosion of attribution data will continue: privacy restrictions will only intensify, meaning cookieless measurement becomes the standard, not an option. Second - AI is changing not just creative but the operational model for both companies and clients: those who don't adapt will be displaced by cost and speed. Third, platforms are restructuring very fast and removing layers between the product and the client. 

They'll remove them entirely very soon. The answer is to become indispensable at the level of methodology and integration, not just reselling inventory. That's exactly what we're doing.

More focus - and run faster. Because just to stay in place, you have to run as hard as you can, and to actually move forward, you have to run twice as fast.

Don't describe what you do - explain why it matters and why it has to be you. Judges read hundreds of submissions from companies that "help clients grow." Specificity, numbers, clarity of thinking - that's what stands out.

Grow both ourselves and the group. We have several additions coming - some will be announced soon, and one I can already name: AIFormance, a subsidiary which develops automation and operational intelligence systems for modern marketing and digital growth. 

We'll keep working alongside our partners and clients to navigate the new world faster than anyone else - it's coming at us like a tsunami. Those who freeze don't survive. We'll steer toward the centre of the storm with more courage and more energy. It won't be boring.

The most interesting positions right now are at the intersection. Between technology and business logic. Between data and decisions. Between what platforms can do and what clients can actually implement. That's where value is created - hard to copy, easy to defend.