酷愛足球的俄羅斯商業大亨

Against a background of modern Moscow through the windows of the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, stood a tall man with enigmatic eyes and a sincere smile. He was in the midst of 100 of Russia’s most influential individuals — business owners, top managers, politicians and media people. While he was part of the crowd, he stood there friendly but somehow different to the others.

他眼神深邃、笑容真摯，站在歐洲最高摩天大樓“聯邦大廈”(Federation Tower)的窗前，窗外現代莫斯科的景緻一覽無餘。他是俄羅斯100位最具影響力的個人（其中既有企業主、頂級經理人，也有政客和媒體人）之一。儘管他親切地融入衆人之中，但不知怎地就是與衆不同。

I met Sergey Galitskiy at the reception hosted by Andrey Kostin, president of VTB, the Russian bank, and director-general of St Petersburg University’s Graduate School of Management, where I am dean. I was lucky enough to be drawn into a conversation with Galitskiy that gave me belief in a simple maxim: everyone should be given a chance to become great and change the world.

在俄羅斯外貿銀行(VTB)行長、聖彼得堡大學管理學院(Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University)（我是該學院的院長）理事長安德烈?科斯京(Andrey Kostin)舉辦的一場招待會上，我見到了謝爾蓋?加利茨基(Sergey Galitskiy)。我非常有幸與加利茨基進行了交談，他使我相信了一條簡單的格言：每個人都應該擁有變得偉大和改變世界的機會。

What took me by surprise was that during our three-hour conversation he said little about his core business, even though it definitely merited attention. One of the most esteemed businessmen in Russia, Galitskiy created Magnit, the country’s largest retail chain, with a philosophy that the regions, rather than Moscow or St Petersburg, which dominate Russian business, should be the starting point and remain the prime focus. He founded Magnit in the southern city of Krasnodar and it has grown largely in provincial centres — an unusual but successful approach. The chain now has more than 13,000 stores in 2,400 towns and cities across Russia.

讓我感到意外的是，在我們長達3個小時的交談中，他很少談及自己的核心業務，即使這絕對值得一提。作爲俄羅斯最受人尊敬的商人之一，加利茨基創辦了國內最大的零售連鎖店Magnit。他的經營哲學是，應該以地區（而不是主導俄羅斯商業的莫斯科或聖彼得堡）爲起點，並且一直將之作爲主要焦點。他在南部城市克拉斯諾達爾(Krasnodar)創建了Magnit，並在聯邦區中心迅速發展——這種模式不常見但很成功。該連鎖店如今在俄羅斯2400個城鎮擁有超過1.3萬家店。

Galitskiy’s success story first caught my attention 10 years ago. I started my career at a Russian aluminium company, managing marketing and sales of household aluminium foil in the north-west of the country.

10年前，我第一次注意到加利茨基的成功經歷。我在俄羅斯一家鋁業公司開始職業生涯，負責俄羅斯西北部家用鋁箔的市場推廣和銷售。

Magnit, our biggest customer, had just had its initial public offering. Later, when I had switched to an academic career at St Petersburg GSOM, I used Magnit as a case study in my classes on supply chain management. Magnit was a great example of Russian business that could be compared to the world-renowned US retailer Walmart and Barilla, the food multinational.

Magnit是我們最大的客戶，當時它剛剛完成首次公開發行(IPO)。後來，我轉行進入學術領域、在聖彼得堡大學管理學院工作，把Magnit作爲供應鏈管理課程的研究案例。Magnit是俄羅斯企業的典範，可以與世界聞名的美國零售商沃爾瑪(Walmart)和食品跨國企業巴里拉(Barilla)相媲美。

The topic of our first conversation, however, was not retailing but football. I was not a football fan but my attitude to the game changed dramatically after our discussion. I learnt how Galitskiy had taken on the challenge of developing a football club, FC Krasnodar, not only by engaging with local business but also by changing the whole football system.

然而，我們第一次交談的話題不是零售，而是足球。我不是球迷，但在我們交流後，我對足球的態度大爲轉變。我知道了加利茨基如何面對發展克拉斯諾達爾足球俱樂部(FC Krasnodar)的挑戰，不僅與當地企業建立了關係、還改變了整個足球體系。

Football is the most popular sport in Russia. At the same time, it has become a national tragedy. The Soviet Union enjoyed its greatest success at the Uefa European Nations’ Cup in 1960, which it won, but since then the national team has had some extremely poor results — and very few good ones. However, 1960 remains still so strong in the Russian memory that it is mentioned by the media during each big competition.

足球是俄羅斯最受歡迎的運動。同時，它也是民族的悲哀。1960年，蘇聯在歐足聯(UEFA)舉辦的歐洲國家杯（European Nations’ Cup，後改名爲歐洲足球錦標賽，簡稱歐洲盃）中取得了巨大成功，贏得了第一屆的冠軍。但是自那以後，蘇聯隊有過一些極糟糕的成績，卻很少取得好成績。然而，俄羅斯人有關1960年的記憶仍然強烈，每逢重大賽事媒體都會提及那一年。

The Russian Premier League is one of these. Its popularity has lured large Russian and international companies to fund the leading teams. Their sponsorship of star players and experienced coaches has led to some outstanding results in the recent past.

俄羅斯足球超級聯賽(Russian Premier League)是其中之一。該聯賽的高人氣吸引了俄羅斯本土以及國際大企業來贊助領先的球隊。他們贊助足球明星和經驗豐富的教練，最近帶來了一些令人矚目的成績。

Krasnodar, though, the youngest senior football club in Russia, has rewritten the rules. Galitskiy founded the club in 2008, investing his time and money and achieving the seemingly impossible by using his talent as an entrepreneur.

不過，克拉斯諾達爾足球俱樂部——俄羅斯最年輕的頂級聯賽俱樂部——重寫了規則。加利茨基於2008年創建了這家足球俱樂部，投入了時間和金錢並且利用他作爲企業家的才智取得了看似不可能實現的成績。

His ultimate goal, however, was not just to have a football team. He also had an ambitious plan to improve football in Russia by changing the whole approach to the game. He established an academy at Krasnodar for boys who dream about football as he did when he was a child. The academy has become a community of hundreds of prospective footballers aged 12 to 17, training and studying all week. The idea at its core is a devotion to football, the club and the city, creating a foundation for future success. Graduates of the academy have already surpassed expectations, playing in the Russian Premier League and in Europe.

然而，他的最終目標不只是擁有一家足球隊。他還有一個宏大計劃——通過改變整個足球體系來提高俄羅斯的足球水平。他在克拉斯諾達爾創辦了一家足球學校，面向那些像他年少時一樣擁有足球夢的少年。該學校現在有數百名12歲-17歲的準球員，整週進行培訓和學習。該學校的核心理念是熱愛足球、熱愛俱樂部、熱愛這座城市，爲未來的成功打下了堅實基礎。這家足球學校的畢業生已經超出了期望，在俄羅斯超級聯賽和歐洲聯賽效力。

The club’s newly finished stadium has been another ambitious project. Galitskiy funded the construction of the 34,000-capacity arena, which has been built not for profit but for the dream of giving everyone a chance and leaving a mark on history.

俱樂部新建成的場館有另外一個宏偉計劃。加利茨基投資建設了這座能容納3.4萬人的體育場，目的不是盈利，而是爲了實現他的夢想——給每個人一個機會、在歷史上留下印記。

These achievements, which Galitskiy revealed entirely without vanity during our conversation, were rooted in one big common idea: keep investing in the future and it will pay you back, both monetarily and morally. He is passionate about his city, his business, his football, his happiness and will do all it takes to move mountains while giving others the chance to live by the same conviction.

這些成就——加利茨基在我們聊天中完全不帶炫耀地講述了這些成就——根植於一個很大的共同理念：繼續投資未來，它會回報你的，無論是在金錢方面還是道德方面。他對自己的城市、企業、足球、以及快樂充滿了激情，會盡一切可能創造奇蹟，同時給其他人機會，使他們可以以同樣的信念生活。

A man of change is not generally recognised as a hero. The changes Galitskiy brings about are not seen as heroic. They are the result of a thousand simple steps taken by someone who keeps going with the future in mind.

變革之人一般不被看作英雄。加利茨基帶來的改變也不被視爲英雄之舉。它們是心繫未來之人跬步之積的結果。

Konstantin Krotov is head of the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University

本文作者爲聖彼得堡大學管理學院院長