“Natalya, you are very famous person, winner of many awards, the heroine of ratings and reviews. How do you feel about this?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Far from always write what is actually. But the last award was very pleasant. No. 1 in the TOP-1000 Managers rating in the IT category according to Kommersant Publishing House and the Russian Managers Association. And this is entirely recognition of the achievements of InfoWatch.
“Have you completely ceased to associate yourself with Kaspersky Lab?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
For three years now I have not been following the "Laboratory" at all. At first, it was very difficult for me to part with the company, but when I sold the shares, I somehow immediately let go.
"Did your parting with business coincide with personal changes?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
If you mean divorce, then these events are separated by as much as ten years. I have been divorced from Evgeny since 1998, and my final exit from the business took place in 2011. Prior to that, we had a normal business partnership.
When we were just creating a business, I did not insist on a significant share of my own, then it seemed to me unimportant. Zhenya offered me only 10%, and I agreed, since we had 60% for two. But in a divorce, I would have to insist on getting my rightful half, which I did not do. Then she regretted...
In general, the Laboratory was a huge part of my life for 13 years. Not surprisingly, when suddenly my role in it changed, it became a tragedy.
"How did InfoWatch appear?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
I chose a complex, unprofitable project at that time. Acquired a controlling interest from the Laboratory in exchange for future investments. And I've been developing for 6 years now.
We have been lucky all the time in the development of the Laboratory's business. The market grew constantly, we were in the right place at the right time. And InfoWatch faced a lot of trials and had to solve various problems. At first, the market had to be trained, but it still did not buy. Clients did not understand why information leakage protection was needed, and did not want to buy our systems. Then it was necessary to overcome the consequences of the financial crisis. For several years of work in 2012, InfoWatch for the first time entered the “plus”, growth reached 75%, and this year it will also be significant. But, in any case, this is not a rapid that carries, but rather a constant struggle with whirlpools, rifts, shoals and so on.
“What makes you not quit, believe, continue?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Probably innate stubbornness.
I was lucky one day to build a business, to find the right people in the team. But in the second business (InfoWatch), all my experience, knowledge and connections were not very applicable. In addition to expertise in the selection of people. After a lot of effort, we have a wonderful team! Everything else had to learn anew, gain new experience.
“What is the fundamental difference between the two businesses?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
InfoWatch solutions, unlike the products of the "Laboratory", require serious collaboration with the customer, personal communication. These are products for large corporations, and not for small businesses, and even more so for retail, like the "Laboratory". The approaches to retail and corporate business are very different. For example, a completely different sales channel, a longer sales cycle, pronounced seasonality, and so on…
“International expansion helped you a lot in the growth of the Laboratory. What are the plans for InfoWatch?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Now the InfoWatch business is actively developing in Russia, is at an early stage of development in the Middle East, we are preparing to enter the Asian market. Such client-oriented work is difficult to do remotely, it is necessary to hire people in the region. The birth of children limited flights. Now the youngest daughter has grown up a little, I'm catching up.
"Who are the children without you?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
We have two nannies working in shifts. But they don't live with us, because. both Muscovites, with their own housing. I was looking for them traditionally through an agency.
"What are your requirements for a nanny?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
To love children first. And of course, would be engaged in their development. Although I don’t have high hopes for nannies in terms of upbringing, I send children to sports sections and circles.
"Are your children's lives organized according to your scenario?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
The three younger ones are still too young to choose something on their own. And I no longer give advice to the two older ones. They are adults, because I have two daughters-in-law. They live separately, we don't see each other every day.
“Your youngest is only a year old. At the age of 46, becoming a mother for the fifth time is probably especially responsible. Are you worried? Did the birth take place not in Russia?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
In Moscow - and where else! I am working! She went on maternity leave a week before the birth, two hours after she was already working - she answered letters.
I gave birth in the 72nd maternity hospital, because next to the house. I'm generally an unpretentious person, but I liked it there - all the service is top class.
“Now all sorts of modern births are fashionable. Partner, with the presence of her husband, for example. How do you feel about this?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Have you ever seen my husband? (laughs).
“Tell me, how did you and Igor meet?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
We met him twice. First time in 1996 at CEBIT in Hannover. We were just introduced to each other. And at first we didn't like each other at all.
And the second time - exactly a year later, in the same place, in Germany, at the same exhibition. We ended up together at the same stand organized by the Ministry of Science, which at that time provided an opportunity for young Russian companies to exhibit. I represented the newborn Kaspersky Lab, and Igor represented my then company Medialingua. All participants of the stand traveled together - by plane to Berlin, and then by bus to Hannover. It's about four hours on the road. Behind me, two men were talking very intelligently and thoughtfully about history. And all the time I tried to see, because of my high back, who is so smart there. Just one of them was Igor.
Igor is a person who has an amazing ability to put any information on the shelves. In combination with his oratory skills, this leads to the fact that a crowd of listeners gather around him all the time, which he enlightens on some issues. I would call it an innate ability of a teacher. Then at the exhibition we began to communicate on professional topics. My business grew rapidly, but knowledge and understanding were not enough. Igor helped me a lot with this very “laying out on the shelves”. We started dating seriously two or three years later, after my divorce from Eugene.
"What attracted you to Ashmanov?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Igor is a very integral person. Although he is a famous person and businessman, he is constantly interviewed and invited to TV shows, but publicity does not spoil him. We have been together for more than ten years, I do not notice any radical changes in him. Igor is smart enough to always have feedback from the world.
He is an engineer, a technologist, extremely deeply versed in many areas, he invented many of his technologies and began to develop himself. I am more of a salesperson, an entrepreneur, I like to focus on business rather than development. Just two different complementary approaches.
We are both CEOs in our own businesses. And this is actually a very lonely role. As one American friend of mine said, “CEO is the lonely job”. In this position, you have no one to consult with - you will not consult with subordinates, and partners do not always understand or can help. Therefore, our communication with Igor just began with such a mutual exchange - I told him about building sales channels, and he told me about his developments, and also helped me sort it out.
“You are both successful people. Is there a rivalry between you?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
It is pointless to compete with Igor. Behind him is an obvious superiority (laughs)..
But seriously, we just successfully complement each other, being experts in different things. It is very comfortable.
“You have three common children. In one of the interviews, you regretted that you had not yet given birth at the right time. Maybe there are thoughts to open your own Fund for Helping Children?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
I don't have my own fund. Usually, funds are created by the wives of businessmen or people who are very good at organizing this when they have free time. I don't have free time. It is easier for me to give money to well-known foundations, to help specific children - for health or education. Therefore, I regularly do charity work, but I see no point in organizing my own foundation.
“Are you helping on your own behalf or from InfoWatch?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Personally. Until recently, InfoWatch could not afford such an expense item.
“You and Igor also have common businesses - Kribrum, Nanosemantics. Have you thought about merging everything into one corporation?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Cribrum technologies (social media monitoring) are used in Infowatch. As for Nanosemantics (it makes virtual interlocutors), this company lies away from information security, and I personally invested there, because I believe that artificial intelligence will someday become very big topic.
In general, we both have our own directions. For me it is information security, for Igor, in his Ashmanov & Partners group of companies, several topics are combined at once - artificial intelligence, linguistics, marketing, search technologies, robotics.
I want to continue to focus entirely on the area of information security. One product will complement the other, we are now forming a single sales system for our holding, a single administration and management group. We are planning geographic expansion, as well as expanding the product line
“You are accompanied by security. Moscow is not a safe city?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Moscow has become much better than in the 90s, when they were shooting in the streets, but worse than in the 70s, when children could be allowed to go anywhere alone.
Something bad can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, no one is guaranteed against accidents and even attacks. We live in a large metropolis, so different problems are possible here. Child safety is a whole other issue.
“Are you talking about that sad incident with the kidnapping of your son?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Not about that.
I became involved in the topic of child safety thanks to an invitation to a round table organized by Putin and Medvedev in 2011 on the eve of Mother's Day. 12 were invited there different women, including me as a representative of the IT business.
The organizers suggested that I cover the topic "Information security of children on the Internet." I prepared, read, and was horrified. The way children are lured into sects, addicted to drugs, insulted, bullied. For some children, this attitude can be fatal. I'm not talking about calls for suicide!
The softest thing that happens is the planting of various malicious programs on the children's computer, and pumping out parents' money through the children. Unfortunately, parents have little control over this area of their offspring's lives. Modern children are better prepared and tempted on the Internet than their parents.
Fortunately, there are initiatives, there are people who are concerned about these issues, various laws are being adopted. I'm not talking about the "12+" badge - this will not save anyone. Blacklists, site bans - all these are half measures, but nothing better has yet been invented. A whole range of measures is needed.
“Can you list what these measures are to improve children’s online safety?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
In the first place - PR and explanatory work with parents. They need to be educated, told about threats and dangers.
On the second - teaching children information security, starting with kindergarten. You can first give children an idea about the existing Internet threats in the form of fairy tales. After all, the fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood is a lesson for children that it is not necessary to talk to strangers. So there should be a fairy tale about the dangers on the Internet.
In third place is legislative activity. Adoption of laws and punitive measures in relation to violators.
And only in last place are technical measures, namely filtration.
"Traditional blitz. What are your favorite brands, brands?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
I don't understand clothing brands and don't remember them. I like it - I bought it. I know a little about how you can build a brand, and therefore I have no reverence for them.
I don’t have time for shopping, I don’t buy online either. My shopping is once every three or four months to be in some boutique, for example, at the airport, and leave a decent amount there right away, buy in bulk what I like and fit well.
“Nevertheless, you are wearing a recognizable Chanel jacket.”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Apparently, the seller was lucky. She suggested - I put on a jacket, it suited me, and I bought it.
What would you like to have more time for?
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
For children, of course. For a joint holiday. We always rest together.
“Do you sleep on vacation or do you move a lot?”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
I sleep for exactly two days, and then I again want to run and jump. I love trampoline, mountain skiing. In this we have small differences with Igor. On vacation, he likes to sit at his “machine” - at the computer.
"Are you Aquarius according to the horoscope?"
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
Yes, but I never believed in horoscopes. I don't see the connection between the stars and my personal life.
It seems to me that a horoscope is such a “swindle” for the poor. Some sentences are built that are hard to argue, and then they pass off as your unique feature or prediction. For example: "Today it is advisable for you to refrain from excessive business contacts." Excessive - is it when there are three meetings or eight? Or when they don't exist at all? Everyone will evaluate the forecast as he wants. This is such a way to predict without predicting anything ...
“Tell me a little about the children, about how and why you named them that.”
- Ludmila Bulavkina
Natalia Kasperskaya:
The eldest son is Maxim. I really liked the name and it seemed rare. I wanted some originality. But when, almost a year later, for the first time, Maxim and I went out to the playground for a walk, almost all the boys on the playground turned to my “Maxim”. Since then, we stopped experimenting and began to choose names according to some other criteria.
For example, Ivan is named after his two grandfathers.
Daughter Alexandra (8 years old) - the name is inspired by the scales in the maternity ward. I spent several hours in the prenatal ward, and there the situation is poor, and my eyes always clung to the Sasha baby scales. She is Sasha, a boyish character, a winner.
Maria (4 years old) - Sasha gave her name. So she said: “I want my sister Masha.”
The youngest Varvara (1 year old) was named after Igor's great-grandmother. Varyushka - so our Masha affectionately calls her.
Natalia Kasperskaya is one of the most famous businesswomen in the world. As a child, she could not even think that she would reach such heights in life.
Kaspersky's wife has always been among the middle peasants
Natalya was born in a normal Soviet family, it happened in 1966. At the time, she was considered late baby, because the father was already 46, and the mother - 30 years old. The girl studied at a simple school, led an active lifestyle, participated in sports, and led school concerts. When the question of a future career arose, the parents transferred their daughter in advance to the Physics and Mathematics School at the Moscow Aviation Institute, after which Natalya Kasperskaya quickly entered the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering (MIEM) at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics. The girl tried to study diligently in order to earn a scholarship, but even then Natalya felt that dry mathematics was not at all what she would like to do in life.
Natalya Kasperskaya owes her career to her husband
They met at the Rest House. They met for a long time, and when the girl was 20 years old, the young people decided to get married. While still in the 5th year of the institute, Natalya gave birth to her first son, Maxim, but thanks to the help of her mother and grandmother, she did not fully devote herself to raising the baby, but decided to finish her studies. According to the distribution, the girl ended up in the Central Scientific Design Bureau, where she worked with microcircuits. This occupation did not attract Natalia at all, therefore, having given birth to her second child, she gladly went on maternity leave. After spending six years at home, Natalya began to look for any opportunity to break out of the four walls and came to work for her husband at the KAMI Research and Development Center. At that time, Evgeny Kaspersky had already managed to make himself known by developing almost the first anti-virus program in Russia. Natalia was first engaged in the sale of computer equipment, and then she began to delve into software products more and more. After a while, it was she who officially patented her husband's development, and in professional circles they began to talk more and more about the AVP antivirus. At first it was difficult, because such a field of activity was new not only for Natalia, but in general for the world of computer technology in Russia. Over time, Kaspersky's wife realized that her forte in life is sales.
In 1997, KAMI broke up, and several leading programmers, including Evgeny Kaspersky and his wife, decided to create their own laboratory, of which Natalya became the general director. Thus began the rise of her career. Speaking about her success, Natalya Kasperskaya emphasizes that in order to achieve any heights, one should not wait for gifts from fate, because in everything you need to rely only on your own strength. You should never be afraid to take risks, go ahead, cheat somewhere and dodge. This is the only way to build a career. Being a rather closed child in childhood, today this woman is negotiating with the whole world. But once she was afraid to even think that she needed to offer her services herself, and also write to potential clients in a foreign language.
Natalya Kasperskaya - a happy mother and wife
The eminent Kaspersky Union lasted until 1998, after which the couple divorced. Natalya did not leave business, on the contrary, she continues to work in the field of computer technology, promoting projects of her ex-husband. Three years later, Natalya remarried no less than famous person- Igor Ashmanov. From him, the woman had two more children - girls. Perhaps, having a marriage with a business man behind him, ex-wife Kaspersky tries to draw the line between family and career as clearly as possible. Natalya does not interfere in her husband's affairs, and he does not interfere with his wife's career. Spouses try to spend a lot of time together and relax with the whole family. Today Natalia has more opportunity and time to take care of children. In them she sees the meaning of her life. In general, according to Natalia, a woman should not initially set a goal to build a career in the first place, because when you are already over forty and you suddenly remember about children, then, firstly, it will be too late, and secondly, already You don't want to change anything in your current life. Work is a thing that comes, because today you work in one company, and tomorrow you are among the unemployed. This is a big blow for a careerist, because it seems that life is over. But if you come home and see happy children's faces, then all problems are solved by themselves, because only for the sake of children we make any plans for the future and try to achieve more.
Natalya Kasperskaya is one of the most successful women in Russia, she took 2nd place in the list of the 50 most influential business women Russia according to the Finance magazine for 2009. She has a big business and four children. She managed to survive the divorce and become happy again. About Natalia and will be discussed in a new article heading « « .
Natalya Kasperskaya is a very famous person, therefore, as is now customary, the main thing is read on wikipedia: Born in Moscow in 1966. Parents are typical representatives of the “technical intelligentsia”. The only child was born by those standards late: the father was already 46 years old, the mother - 30. Parents are engineers, worked in "closed" institutes, always busy.
We all come from childhood
She studied at a simple Soviet school. She was an ordinary schoolgirl, though very "socially active": "was engaged social activities and was even a member of the regional pioneer headquarters. In general, trips to the pioneer headquarters are one of the most vivid childhood memories: we were always inventing something there - we staged performances, made propaganda teams, traveled around the country.
In addition, she went in for sports, for a long time she played basketball in the Youth Sports School. In winter, she went skiing in the Moscow region, and in summer she was fond of swimming. She also collected stamps, badges and Soviet coins, painted portraits of her friends and sang in the school choir. She composed poems for all sorts of skits and school concerts.
But sometimes it was sad, there were not enough brothers or sisters ... Then I thought that I myself would have three children.
In an interview, Natalya Kasperskaya said that she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian: “I really enjoyed working with animals. I even seriously thought about choosing such a profession, but when I moved to high school, I started having completely insurmountable problems with chemistry. And since my parents are “techies”, there was no special alternative. Naturally, I was advised to enter a technical university.”
last two school years studied at the Physics and Mathematics School at the Moscow Aviation Institute, then entered the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering (MIEM) at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics. Later it turned out that Natalya's vocation is still not mathematics, in her warehouse she is more of a humanist. Although mathematics was given in exactly the same way as other subjects and problems were solved without problems, but I couldn’t invent some kind of algorithm, prove a theorem without memorizing it before.
Institute and family in one bottle
At the institute, Natasha studied with varying degrees of success. Thanks to her school habit, she studied well, and in the first three years she studied diligently, as a rule, she earned a scholarship. Then the habits began to change and the university was graduated in 1989 without a red diploma.
Posted by: Anna
Perhaps Evgeny Kaspersky would have remained a talented, but little-known programmer, if not for his ex-wife Natalya. It was she who established the successful sale of her husband's IT developments. And if the business began to flourish, then the Kaspersky family broke up. But Natalya and Evgeny managed to maintain their relationship and are still co-owners of Kaspersky Lab.
Divorce is not a hindrance to business
- Natalia, the company was founded in 1997, and two years later you divorced Evgeny Kaspersky, with whom you lived for almost 10 years and gave birth to two sons ...
We both understood that the company was very dear to us. At that time, the "Laboratory" was a little over a year old, it had just begun to rise. The divorce of the two founders could be negatively perceived by the market and put her future at risk. Kaspersky and I agreed not to tell anyone about the divorce (according to rumors, Eugene was the initiator of the break, as if he had left the family after meeting another woman. - Note). For a whole year, we, like two partisans, were silent and formally remained husband and wife. There was no talk of a business section at all.
Was it a difficult decision for you?
- The interests of the company for me have always been above personal experiences. I perceived Kaspersky Lab as my child, I saw growth prospects. And even though emotions sometimes went wild, I understood that Kaspersky and I found ourselves in such a bond that cannot be broken. Zhenya was an important link - a unique analyst, one of the world's top ten experts in information security. And the whole business part rested on me.
"Kaspersky Lab"
In 1989, a graduate of the Higher Red Banner School of the KGB (now the Institute of Cryptography, Communications and Informatics of the Academy of the FSB of the Russian Federation) Evgeny Kaspersky “cured” his computer of a virus using a program that he wrote himself. In 1991, his wife Natalya patented the AVP program (later Kaspersky Anti-Virus) in the All-Russian Authors' Society. In 1997, the couple established Kaspersky Lab. Two years later, the company increased its share of the Russian antivirus market from 5% to 50%. Turnover of "Kaspersky Lab" for 2009 made $480 million. More than 1700 experts work in it. According to Finance magazine, Natalia Kasperskaya's fortune is estimated at $462 million.
- They say that the success of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is your merit?
– The fact is that if there were no anti-virus program that was good at catching viruses, there would be nothing to sell. My role as a leader was not the last, but I would not completely attribute success to myself. Business is teamwork.
I don't care about ratings. I was disappointed in them. It seems to me that it would be interesting to rank entrepreneurs who have built a business from scratch and calculate how much money they have earned. Another issue is that it is difficult to compile such a rating - the information, as a rule, is closed. For example, how much does Kaspersky Lab cost? $100 million or $5 billion? No one knows. This is a CJSC whose shares are not for sale. Therefore, when I saw myself in the ranking of billionaires, I was very surprised. I would be glad to see my millions in some more tangible form.
Why didn't you change your last name?
- I'm used to it. The divorce happened about two years after we stopped living together. By this time, I had “overgrown” with documents for this surname and decided that I would not change it. In addition, they already knew me as Natalya Kasperskaya. To be honest, even at the age of 20, getting married for the first time, I didn’t really want to change my maiden name. But Kaspersky said: “Then we are leaving the registry office!” And the second husband did not persuade me to change my surname.
- You have two sons from your marriage with Kaspersky and two daughters were born in a marriage with Igor Ashmanov. How did you decide?
- I got new family– how without children? If I had married a second time earlier, I would have given birth again, and so I have only four. I have something to compare with, and I can say that now it is easier to raise children. Instead of diapers - diapers, instead of washing in a basin - washing machines, give birth to health! Besides communication with the child is so nice! Especially until he insists on his own opinion, does not stomp on you with his foot, does not run away for the night: “Tonight I am sleeping with a girl.” The first year is the best. Now the youngest Masha, she is a little over a year old, has gone. Gets out of hand and runs away. Everything, my lafa is over.
“I won’t take my children to the “Laboratory”
What are your sons doing?
- The eldest son Maxim is now graduating from the Faculty of Geology of Moscow State University, and I do not see my drive in him. As long as he does not set himself clear goals. And I sometimes get the feeling that his parents are more concerned about his future than he is. With the younger one it's easier, he followed in our programmer's footsteps. I got a job in one firm, something didn’t work out there and he quickly left. I noticed that children successful people quite often scatterbrained, inert: they have everything. I try to keep mine in good shape. I heard that wealthy Americans “drive their children out into the street”, forcing them to earn their own money for study and housing.
Children of successful people are quite often sloppy, inert: they have everything. But I try to keep mine in good shape.
"But you're not ready?"
- Not sure. Although I say: you will graduate from the university and do not expect support from us. Further - himself.
Are you a successful mom?
- Wait and see. Both sons did it themselves. Vanya won the Olympiad without exams, the elder is also a good student. But what they will do in life - time will tell. Of course, I would like to have someone to transfer cases. But I will not take them to the "Laboratory" until they gain experience: nevertheless, the surname obliges.
- You probably have nothing to dream about ...
“I am not a dreamer at all. I have desires and goals. For example, now I really want to learn how to snowboard well.
DOSSIER:
Natalya Ivanovna Kasperskaya
- She was born on February 5, 1966 in Moscow.
- In 1989 she graduated from the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering with a degree in applied mathematics.
- In 1994, she headed her husband's anti-virus project at KAMI.
- In 1997, she became one of the founders and CEO of Kaspersky Lab.
- In 2007, she took the chair of the board of directors. In the same year, she registered InfoWatch.
- Second time married. Husband - businessman Igor Ashmanov.
- Mother of four children: from the first marriage - Maxim (21 years old) and Ivan (18 years old), from the second - Alexandra (4 years old) and Maria (1 year old).
Kasperskaya (Stutser) Natalya Ivanovna - CEO InfoWatch company - a developer of systems for protecting confidential information from internal threats. For more than 10 years she was the head of Kaspersky Lab.
Biography
Natalya Ivanovna Shtutser (later Kasperskaya) was born on February 5, 1966. Parents are typical representatives of the “technical intelligentsia”. The only child was born by those standards late: the father was already 46 years old, the mother - 30. Parents are engineers, worked in "closed" institutes, always busy.
In her youth she went in for sports, for quite a long time she played basketball in the Youth Sports School. In winter, she went skiing in the Moscow region, and in summer she was fond of swimming. She also collected stamps, badges and Soviet coins, painted portraits of her friends and sang in the school choir.
In an interview, Natalya Kasperskaya said that she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian:
“I really enjoyed working with animals. I even seriously thought about choosing such a profession, but when I moved to high school, I started having completely insurmountable problems with chemistry. And since my parents are “techies”, there was no special alternative. Naturally, I was advised to enter a technical university.”
For the last two school years she studied at the Physics and Mathematics School at the Moscow Aviation Institute, then entered the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering (MIEM) at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics.
1986: Acquaintance with Evgeny Kaspersky
In 1994, she came to work at the Kami Research and Development Center, where she headed the AVP anti-virus project.
1997: Co-founder of Kaspersky Lab
In 1997, Natalia convinced her husband to start his own company and make the name a brand. The founding father was engaged in the technical part. Natalya Kasperskaya became the CEO of Kaspersky Lab and was engaged in sales, personnel and access to international markets.
Initially, six people worked in Kaspersky Lab, but gradually it grew into an international group of companies with a head office in Moscow, ten foreign representative offices and a staff of more than 500 people. To questions like: “What is the success of the company?”, “Who did more for success?” etc. Natalia was responsible for her life dozens of times. The company turned out to be in the right place at the right time, very fortunately - the market was growing, that is, the market was still new, this is the first. The second is that in Russia it was not opened at all, that is, the Kasperskys, in fact, were the pioneers in this sense in the field software. The third is that the competitors also did not know where to go, that is, everyone wandered blindly and made just as many mistakes. All were on an equal footing.
In October 2007, Natalya Kasperskaya became the company's CEO and sole owner of InfoWatch, a developer of systems for protecting confidential information from insider threats.
2011: Sale of a part of a share in Kaspersky Lab
On January 20, 2011, it became known that the American direct investment fund General Atlantic acquired a large stake in Kaspersky Lab. This is the first time in the history of an anti-virus developer that a professional institutional investor has entered the company.
The parties do not disclose either the size of the stake in Kaspersky Lab acquired by the Americans or the amount paid, but they report that upon completion of the transaction, General Atlantic will become the second largest shareholder of the Lab. The largest shareholder of the company will remain Evgeny Kaspersky, who has a controlling stake.
Part of the shares transferred to the General Atlantic fund previously belonged to one of the company's former shareholders, the other part, which Evgeny Buyakin called "symbolic", was issued additionally. According to CNews, Natalya Kasperskaya, co-founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of Laboratoriya, acted as the main seller of the shares. Shares of Eugene Kaspersky did not participate in the transaction.
Natalya Kasperskaya told CNews that the share of the new investor in the "Laboratory" will be "less" than 20%. According to her, she retained a substantial part of the company's shares, and she has no plans to leave the chair of the board of directors, "unless the shareholders decide otherwise."
She plans to invest the proceeds in her own projects. These are the developer of solutions for leak protection Infowatch, the Nanosemantics company, which deals with the semantic analysis of written speech, and the Kribrum project, which studies the reputation of companies by analyzing their mentions on the Internet and other media environments.
The transaction was initiated by General Atlantic: its chief executive John Bernstein says that the fund has long been looking for a manufacturer of protective solutions for investment and "approached Kaspersky Lab about a year ago with a proposal for cooperation."
According to the source of the agency, the motive for the crime of the Savelyevs and their friends was the desire to pay off the ransom received for loans made in one of the banks.
The attackers searched the Internet for a potential victim for ransom. Their choice fell on Ivan Kaspersky after they found his home and work addresses on his Vkontakte page.
At the same time, according to the Kommersant newspaper, the kidnapping was organized by a repeatedly convicted "professional criminal", and the attackers followed the young man for several months, choosing a scheme for committing a crime.
Interlocutors of LifeNews said that the kidnapping was carried out "unprofessionally". Around 8:15 a.m., Ivan was filmed by surveillance cameras in the Strogino metro station closest to his place of work, and at about 9 a.m., the kidnappers forced him to call his relatives and hand over the terms of a ransom of 3 million euros.
The second evidence of the unprofessionalism of the criminals, the law enforcers called the content of the prisoner in the same house in the garden partnership "Grove" near Sergiev Posad, where they lived themselves.
- On the evening of April 21, 2011, LifeNews reported that a ransom was paid to the kidnappers of Ivan Kaspersky, the amount of which was not disclosed. After the prisoner was released, law enforcement sources said the media had been misinformed to appease the kidnappers.
In an interview with RSN, Natalya Kasperskaya said that her son was not tortured and was kept handcuffed and locked in a bathhouse. The kidnappers constantly changed the phone numbers from which they made ransom calls. While law enforcement was busy releasing young man, she and her husband "sat on Petrovka in a separate room and waited for the kidnapper's call." On the last day, the offender did not get in touch, and the parents of I.Kaspersky found out that everything was over, after the information appeared in the media.
“On Sunday, at Easter, we were still waiting for a call, but we already saw that the operatives were increasingly conferring without our participation, they were clearly preparing for something,” says Ashmanov. “This is a very dangerous moment when the vectors diverge: the operas need to grab the kidnappers, and the parents need to return the kidnapped child alive and unharmed.” After lunch, the operatives said that there would be no more calls, the kidnappers were identified and caught, now they are going after Ivan, who is no longer in danger. The operation ended in the evening. Ivan was released. Five participants in the abduction were detained (three are members of the same family), four of them are now under arrest, an investigation is underway. Evgeny and Natalya Kasperskaya with Ashmanov were invited to the office of the head of the department, congratulated and offered to celebrate the happy event with vodka with coarsely chopped sausage and cheese. Ivan's mother saw Ivan only at 4 o'clock in the morning, before that he was taken testimony.
- According to the official information of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, Ivan Kaspersky was released from the hands of the kidnappers only on Sunday, April 24, 2011. By this time, his location had already been located using a working mobile phone. This information has been made public official representative the capital's police department Viktor Biryukov. According to law enforcement officers, Ivan Kaspersky's condition is "satisfactory."
According to the official information of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, the release was carried out as a result of a military operation by officers of the FSB, the MUR and special forces. The operation in the area of Sergiev Posad "passed without a single shot being fired."
The kidnappers had an appointment to hand over the ransom in Moscow, where the Saveliev family and one of their accomplices went. The cars they were driving were stopped to check their documents, and the perpetrators were detained.
At the same time, another capture group entered the territory of the garden where the prisoner was kept. Ivan Kaspersky was found in the building of the bathhouse, where he was guarded by another accomplice of the Saveliev family.
Ashmanov did not rule out that the ultimate goal of the bandits was not a ransom at all.
“I think they wanted to put pressure on Evgeny Kaspersky or Natalya, the shareholders of Kaspersky Lab,” he argues. “Perhaps we never heard the true demands.”
2012: Purchase of 16% in the German antivirus company G Data
On October 15, 2012 it became known that Natalya Kasperskaya owning InfoWatch holding acquired 16.8% of stocks of the German anti-virus company G Data Software AG.
The shares were bought from several former minority shareholders, in particular from a Berlin-based venture capital investment company. On October 23, at the annual meeting of GData shareholders, Natalia Kasperskaya will be elected to the board of directors of the German company.
The cooperation between Natalia Kaspersky and G Data began in 1996, when the co-founder of the German company Kai Figge offered Natalia a partnership at the CeBIT exhibition in Hannover. Then Natalia headed the anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab, and the two anti-virus manufacturers agreed on technological cooperation.
As Natalya Kasperskaya herself stated, she has been watching G Data for many years and believes that she "deserves more international success." “In a few years, G Data has made a major technological breakthrough. As a member of the board of directors of G Data, I will be engaged in strengthening the highest reputation of the company in the international market, and I also want to bring my knowledge and experience in the anti-virus industry to the company,” said Natalia.
As InfoWatch's press service commented to Tadviser, the company has been looking towards European companies for a long time, and this acquisition fits into the plans for promotion in this market. Moreover, this is not the last acquisition, but the press service refused to give more detailed comments. Further plans to increase the package in G data are also unknown, as well as the cost of the acquisition.
2015: Foundation of the farm
As TAdviser found out, in the fall of 2015 Natalya Kasperskaya established the Green Lamb peasant farm. The farm is located in the suburbs, in the picturesque places of the Serpukhov district, Natalya Kasperskaya confirmed to TAdviser. More details - in a separate.
2017: Head of the Information Security Committee
On August 2, 2017, the president of the InfoWatch group of companies (GC) Natalya Kasperskaya is elected head of the Information Security Committee, created in the Developers Association software products"Domestic software". The Committee was formed as part of the implementation of the program "Digital Economy Russian Federation”, which defines the goals, objectives, directions and deadlines for the implementation of the main measures of state policy to create the necessary conditions for the development of the digital economy in Russia.
2018: Natalya Kasperskaya became the owner of Neklis-bank
In February 2018, the CEO of the InfoWatch group of companies, Natalya Kasperskaya, spoke about how she was forced to become the owner of Neklis Bank. According to her, the deal was not carried out from a good life: a credit institution is a "big headache." Read more.
Family
Natalya Ivanovna has two children from her first marriage and two from her second. Natalya Kasperskaya has repeatedly stated that four children are not so many. And, if there had been an opportunity earlier, she would have given birth again.
After the publication of a message on the ITpedia website that Natalya Kasperskaya celebrates her birthday on February 5, readers had the idea to give something to the respected master of the Russian IT market. Being limited in funds, they decided to donate a list of names for the fourth child of Natalia. It was not known for certain who Natalya was waiting for - a girl or a boy. Therefore, the list of names spontaneously began to include both female and male. Maybe it's an accident, but the name Maria, which the child eventually received, was on the list of ITpedia readers long before her birthday.
- Trajan- a real imperial Roman name, consonant with the professional interests of Natalia Ivanovna
- Klava- No comments
- Bagomir- Bringing peace to software filled with bugs
- Optimizander- consonant with "optimizer" (occupation of Natalya's husband - Igor Ashmanov)
- Aipion- there is an assumption that the IPO is the desired goal of Natalia
- Aitislav- Glory to information technology
- insiderina- in tune with Natalia's professional interests
- virusilium- a derivative of the name Vasily and the word "virus"
- Yuesbina- from USB - the main tool of insiders with whom Natalya Ivanovna is fighting
- Avira- the name of the antivirus, quite suitable for the name of a person
- Folder- folder - a person with this name is doomed to become a good dad
- Exenia- from the extension of the executable file exe
- Kav- for son - from KAV - Kaspersky Anti-Virus
- Keys- for daughter - from KIS - Kaspersky Internet Security
- Casperite- for son - abbreviated from the surname and IT
- Masha!- just Maria, without reference to IT and profession.
- Runetta Igorevna- loudly
- Verusoid- a derivative of the name Vera and the word "virus"
- Ivanka- a derivative of the Patronymic, Name and Surname of Natalya Ivanovna, very respected by me
- skyper- a derivative of the Skype program, as well as meaning free communication with the whole world without borders
- Bluetooth or Bluetooth- you know what the name comes from
- Connectin- derived from Konstantin and connect
- immunity- strong immune system
- Camputador and Camputador- Spanish computer names echoing Toreador
Hobby
He is fond of playing the guitar, skiing, hiking, reading professional literature, likes to travel in the company of friends and children. Fluent in English and German.
Quotes
- About Evgeny Kaspersky as a manager- Kaspersky is not a leader. He is engaged in other activities that have little to do with the formal position of "CEO". Since Eugene is the main shareholder of the company, he can appoint himself to any desired position.
- About the crisis at Kaspersky Lab- Unfortunately, over the past 4 years, the Laboratory has focused its product portfolio (in fact) in the field of protection for Windows quite strongly ... The problem is that modern technologies are developing quite quickly - new platforms appear that are either free of viruses or they are very rare . They need new types of protection... Another threat to the market is free antiviruses, which, although gradually, are gaining more and more popularity... The third problem that I would pay attention to is the so-called. targeted attacks. Those. attacks with a specific target. For example, special Trojans written for Alfa-Bank systems. Antiviruses are powerless against such threats. We need new solutions. I do not rule out that they will come not from old market players, but from newcomers ... At one time, I convinced Kaspersky and other shareholders that it was necessary to attract external capital just for the purpose of buying businesses and technologies in new interesting areas. We even managed to attract an investor, but, unfortunately, Kaspersky blocked the idea of development through acquisitions... To be honest, I do not see new growth drivers within the company that would give LK the opportunity to organically grow faster than the market. Consequently, the business growth rate will continue to decline.
- About own employment- Basically, I am engaged in the affairs of the company. Another 2-3 times a week there are questions about the Kribrum project - this is such a project for automatic monitoring social networks, Infowatch has a solid share in it. In third place is Nanosemantics, a company that works in the field of artificial intelligence. She is also known for her "mass" project - http://www.iii.ru. Now we are reworking it quite a lot and by the summer we plan to roll out something completely new. And last week, for example, the Cebit exhibition took up all my time ... I have a couple of small projects, but I take much less personal part in them.
- About my teachers- I consider the head of Kami - Alexey Borisovich Remizov - my first business teacher. My second husband, Igor Ashmanov, who has a number of high-tech businesses, had a huge influence on my formation as a businessman (or businesswoman?? :)).
- About the female president of Russia- We have a lot of women in the government. Two ministers and a vice-speaker, that's not counting a bunch of lower-ranking officials. Perhaps the next president will be a woman. Just for this, a worthy candidate should (more precisely, should) appear. So far, there are no such politicians on our horizon.
- On the meeting with Vladimir Putin- Just three weeks ago, several representatives of the IT community of software developers met with the Prime Minister in the Novosibirsk Academgorodok and proposed a number of measures to stimulate domestic software development. The prime minister accepted our proposals, and, as far as I know, relevant instructions have already been given to the ministries. In particular, we proposed introducing mandatory reporting government departments and state-owned companies on the volume of purchased domestic and imported software. They proposed some measures to support the state patenting abroad, as well as the opportunity for high-tech enterprises to invest in development without the risk of being closed by the tax office for losses. The prime minister promised to think about these two points. There were several other proposals - to stimulate the export of high-tech products, to develop self-determining organizations, etc. The prime minister accepted these proposals and gave instructions to the responsible ministers. »
