The First of Us: What Lies Behind The Glamour of C-Level Life

“Talks of Fame: Inside the Mind of an Executive,” a Business conference, courtesy of the Business Club, took place on March 1, 2023, in AUBG’s Carl Djerassi Theatre. Engaging the university’s student body and faculty, the affair allowed individuals to gain access to the experiences of current administrative business personnel and tips for success in today's business world—a topic that many excited by the notion of either working in the corporate world or establishing something of their own would find useful.

The format itself placed the audience inside a business environment via formal speeches, a live podcast, networking, a giveaway, and even an act of social responsibility, allowing people to support those who suffered from the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. 

Organizing such an event takes a lot of effort and copious amounts of nerves for all involved. Dragomir Vasilev, President, and Yulvie Nuri, Vice President of the Business Club, shared their experience of putting it all together prior to the beginning of the conference.

"For me, the greatest challenge in organizing such events is time," said Nuri. Picking the right date and managing all of the logistics involved, she pointed out, requires perfectionism. The red carpet, photo booth, outfits, and starred stage are some of the ways the Business Club demonstrated its grasp on attention to detail. The club members were ready to respond to all visitors' inquiries which further contributed to the pleasant experience. 

When asked about what prompted the idea of peeking behind the curtain of an executive’s life, the Business Club’s President said that they wanted "to cover topics that are both practical and tuned with the Business background of most of the students here." The theme of practicality was echoed in the presenters’ speeches, and their advice and experience targeted the difficulties of establishing businesses and careers in the corporate world. 

The guest lecturers themselves were members of “C-Level management of well-recognized firms,” the Vice President of the Business Club said and added that this was used as criteria in the selection procedure. “These companies usually have a strong company and organizational culture that is more valuable at this stage of looking through a corporate executive’s lens,” she said. 

Among the speakers were Alexander Bekyarov, managing director and Site Lead for HP Bulgaria; Temelko Dechev, founder and CEO of ExpandX; and Dr. Vanyo Vezirov, founder of OS Implants. What brought them together was their stance on how to approach work—by doing something you love. In addition, Bekyarov warned the audience about the duality of being easy to work with and the danger of determining oneself based entirely on one’s role. He encouraged people to chase their future selves and to “go to that interview!” Dechev shared a few lessons on sales strategies and the fundamentals of what drives customers. He said, “Logic makes people think, emotions make people act.” Vezirov, on the other hand, conveyed the importance of experience and overcoming hardships via a few funny personal anecdotes and a compelling idea—“It is a skill, to receive feedback.” 

After a brief pause, the event moved onto a live podcast with the co-founder of The Recursive, Irina Obushtarova, and Svetoslav Spasov, managing director at KPMG, in which they discussed general business concepts and experiences that dominate the current business world. 

What was missing from the event were Q&A panels with all involved. “We have taken the Q&A panels from the event itself,” Nuri said, “so we can focus on the one-on-one talks that people will be able to do with the executives in Aspire. We are really striving for the personal contribution of each speaker and this exchange of ideas that is hopefully going to happen between them.”

Whether there would be a second volume of “Talks of Fame: Inside the Mind of an Executive” is still up in the air. After two successful events—the Marketing Challenge and the intro to the business administrators’ lives—the Business Club will be taking some time off for personal development. 

“We will be looking internally, looking at our members, organizing field trips and workshops for them in particular,” the Vice President explained. Even so, the board will be evaluating the conference in detail and is open to another talk of fame next year.

One could only hope that more events such as this one are on the Business Club’s horizon as they are valuable for the AUBG community. Nuri expressed her appreciation for such experiences as well. She said that “the network and valuable relations established with the mentors, speakers, everyone [they] invite, but not only with the executives, but with [the] guests from the student body” brings her greatest pleasure in organizing such affairs. “Also the satisfaction,” she added, “of seeing everything at the end of the day rolling just fine.”