Inna Jovic is the Vice President – Advisory and Information Services at Network International. She is sharing her story on balancing act between motherhood and her successful career in Corporate Banking and lately Payments industry in the UAE. Inna is the living proof that the sky’s the limit.
Inna is Ukrainian/Australian who relocated to UAE 12 years ago with a vision of only staying in the country for one year. Now she calls UAE home.
Below is the short interview from Inna on her career path, goals and aspirations.
Can you tell us how long you’ve been in the UAE and your career path?
I was born in Kiev, Ukraine. My family migrated to Australia when I was thirteen years old. I finished my university degree in Finance and began my career in Sydney, Australia working for National Australia Bank for three years. I initially moved to the UAE with an idea of staying here for one year, traveling the world and returning home. Little did I know at the time that this country would be my third home.
I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to work for HSBC Bank in Dubai, continuing from my career path in Australia, managing a portfolio of multinationals in a transactional banking team. After five wonderful years with HSBC another amazing opportunity came up to join Mastercard in the space of B2B corporate payments. I spent six years with Mastercard in UAE, learnt a lot, met many fun people and built even stronger relationships with corporate clients in the region.
Six months ago I joined one of the largest acquirers in the UAE, Network International as Vice President, Advisory and Information Services. I am excited about this opportunity to utilize my existing skill set and expand my knowledge in the area of data analytics. I really do believe the future is in the data and the insights we can derive from it.
What are your career goals?
“Sky’s the limit.” I am focusing on growing and developing my career in the ever evolving fintech industry. It is never boring. It is very important to me to always be stimulated.
Perhaps at one stage I will explore the options of becoming an entrepreneur, but I don’t feel it’s in the near future.
What motivates you in life and in your career?
My children certainly motivate me in life to be the best version of myself in all aspects. Children learn from the examples we set in daily life.
I am a positive person by nature. I am very passionate about fitness, staying healthy and in shape. I always challenge myself. Gym training helps me to stay focused and motivated in personal life and in my career. Both sport and finance require discipline and vision to what you want to achieve.
What do you feel is your biggest strength?
I come from multicultural and very contradictory backgrounds Ukrainian and Australian.
It taught me the ability to adapt, accept and move on. As cliché as it sounds, I do think life is too short to focus on negative insignificant events or people. I like to participate in the events that excite me and surround myself with people who motivate me and add some value to my life. In my career path I came across many challenges which taught me how to deal in difficult circumstances.
Give us one word that describes you the best.
Multidimensional.
In the Middle East, not many women work, especially not in my industry. Being a mother is my number one priority, followed by sport, travel and fashion. I would say all aspects of my life are completely opposite and not interlinked.
My professional life is in finance, but in my personal life, I am playing many different roles that makes me multidimensional.
Has there been a project that forced you to be innovative and creative?
I think all of my roles to date required me being innovative and creative. Considering I am working with complex corporate clients and banks, each discussion and each proposition must be unique. In order to be competitive in the technology world, it is always necessary to think outside the square and use an innovative mindset when working on the solution design.
Do you believe women in business bring different aspects to changing mindsets?
I think it’s great to have a balance between women and men when it comes to work. However, it is more important to have the required skill set rather than gender I would say.
What makes you excited about Mondays?
I am very organized. It is crucial in order to keep a healthy balance between personal and work life. It is super important to me to ensure children are happy and my work is striving. I write a “to-do” list daily and I like to tick things off as I achieve them. Visualization is the first step in achieving any goal.
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. I do think each day is the opportunity to implement any changes we desire.
How do you start and finish your day?
I start my day with waking up my kids, preparing breakfast for them and school lunch and sending them off to school. Since I am passionate about nutrition and healthy lifestyle, I like to do it myself instead of passing it off to my maid. I like to monitor what my kids eat. After they leave home, I make myself a cup of coffee and I call my mom in Australia every morning. With the time difference, morning is the only opportunity we get to speak.
I finish my day at the gym or socializing with my friends. Evening is the only time I have to train, around 8pm. It is not an ideal time of the day but I still make sure I don’t skip it. I am used to it now. It is my lifestyle.
What do you value most about your culture and vision?
Well, I believe in diversity. I believe different cultures and people teach us different things. We all should appreciate each culture for what it has to offer. In Dubai we are lucky to have the opportunities to meet people from different cultures. I am open minded and I embrace what each culture has to offer.
Connect with Inna Jovic on LinkedIn.