Oleg Davydenko, Director of Corporate Communications at Metinvest Group, spoke about the formation of business reputation during the full-scale war, and its impact on the development of the mining and metallurgical sector and the future of Ukraine as a whole, at the New Generation Forum.
The event, organized by Metinvest Polytechnic Technical University, brought together leading educators, scientists, managers and industry representatives. Participants discussed various issues during the event, particularly how to transform the metallurgical industry amid energy challenges, decarbonisation and digitalization processes.
Oleg Davydenko, Director of Metinvest's Corporate Communications Department, shared his experience in reputation management in the industrial sector.
According to him, the country is now going through a period of great changes. The industry is also entering a new era of development, which opens additional opportunities, but at the same time there are new risks. The main one is that the mining and metallurgical sector is underestimated in terms of its influence and importance for the country.
"According to statistics, until 2022, the industry generated two-thirds of the Ukrainian economy. But this topic is not something that people see every day on the pages of newspapers, in social media. Therefore, they perceive the mining and metallurgical sector as "air" that exists on its own and will never disappear. This is the biggest mistake that can be made in society at all - to take something for granted. And this is what we do not fight, but reputationally, informationally change. We are transforming the very approach to understanding industry, its importance for the economy and the future. And here the key is the cooperation of business, educational institutions, research institutes and the public sector," said Oleg DAVYDENKO.
Everyone who is now involved in the country's industry is a kind of reputational shareholder. Currently, a company's reputation is an assessment of its potential for many years to come.
As for Metinvest, its reputation management strategy in Ukraine is a reflection of real actions and the team's contribution to the joint struggle against the enemy. Despite all the losses due to the war, the company remains a reliable pillar for the economy, the state and its citizens.
"It is very important for us to maintain confidence in business and the industry, and most importantly, faith in the future of Ukraine. It's about a big vision to which we apply very practical, very clear things in our actions. Because it is actions that will primarily form reputation, and not just PR campaigns," added Oleg Davydenko. "Today we are creating the reputation of the company along with the reputation of the country as unbreakable. Yes, we lose enterprises, we work in the frontline regions, we overcome economic challenges, but despite everything, we fulfil all our obligations to employees, customers, and the state. And this is the main thing in what we create at the reputational level.”
In addition, during the New Generation Forum, the Director of Metinvest Group's Corporate Communications Department noted the importance of changing the attitude to technical education in Ukraine:
"Today, in communications with the audience, we emphasize: technical education has always been, is and will be a driver of changes in business, economy and society. It is qualified engineers who will become the foundation for the reconstruction of Ukraine. We are the ones who can create strong human potential within the state and offer technical expertise. Therefore, the work of Metinvest Polytechnic and our cooperation is part of a strategic approach not only to building the reputation of the mining and metallurgical sector, but also a contribution to the future of Ukraine. And it cannot be left out of the attention of the information space," concluded Oleg Davydenko.
It's worth reminding that recently the Metinvest Polytechnic University graduated another 124 masters. The university’s second graduating cohort specialised in metallurgy, mining, automation, computer science, business processes and operational efficiency, occupational safety, environmental protection, and project management of changes in the mining and metallurgical sector. The National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance has accredited all the university’s educational programmes.
