\nPlease see the interview with\u00a0Tamara Khizanishvili<\/span> \u2013 Head of Trade Finance and Factoring Department, TBC Bank<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
First of all, please tell us about your success story, what stages did you go through, what difficulties did you face and what stage are you at now?<\/strong><\/p>\n
First of all, thank you very much for your interest. All success is probably due to the people around me. I got married at a very early age and had a child. Of course, it was a big challenge. However, with the support of my husband, I managed to overcome all obstacles. Thanks to him, I became an independent and self-confident person. After graduating from university, I started working in a bank. I ended up in the Department of International Relations there completely by chance. The main criterion was knowledge of the English language. I often say that it takes a lot of hard work to be successful, but it’s also the luck of being in the right place at the right time. It was this luck that started my work in the international department in the direction of trade financing.<\/p>\n
It was a completely new direction for Georgian banks, which gave me the opportunity to create trade finance products from scratch. In this process, I had to actively interact with almost all directions in the bank, which gave me the opportunity to learn more or less about all the activities of the bank. This knowledge still helps me a lot in my work today. Over the past 20 years, I have led trade finance at several leading banks: Bank of Georgia, HSBC Bank Georgia, and now TBC Bank. You are really lucky when you do what you love, which allows you to constantly be in shape, develop, learn, get in touch with different businesses, the world’s leading banks and international financial institutions. It is important to approach the work creatively, to look at every challenge and obstacle as an opportunity.<\/p>\n
I remember one of my managers, who is now my closest friend, told me: always think about how things will work out for you, even if it seems impossible at first glance. That’s what drives me. I never throw away my shield-sword despite the obstacles. On the contrary, I try to find a solution and achieve the set goal. I think that without challenges our life would be uninteresting and boring. Now that I think about it, I probably didn’t even think about success. I am motivated and empowered by facing challenges, looking for different and innovative solutions, communicating with interesting people, learning something new, supporting others, sharing my knowledge. It makes me happiness if I can be useful to the people around me, my team, my work and contribute to the overall success.<\/p>\n
What was the biggest challenge on your career path, an obstacle that seemed insurmountable at first, but you were able to overcome it<\/strong> anyway?<\/strong><\/p>\n
The biggest challenge is probably related to learning. As I mentioned, I got married early. My great desire was to continue my studies at a business school in the UK or USA. However, it was unimaginable for me to leave my family and work for 2 years. During this period, I finished post-graduate studies and did my thesis, I received the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences from the State University of Georgia. But I always wanted to study at the master’s level. A few years ago, I realized my long-time goal. I received a master’s degree from the University of Sheffield. The main thing is not to give up and the opportunity will appear.<\/p>\n
What is your main motivation to keep moving forward?<\/strong><\/p>\n
My motivating force is, first of all, the people around me who believe in me and encourage me. Also, the desire to learn and develop. The more difficult the goal is, the more interested I am in overcoming obstacles. My driving force is the desire to care for others, which gives me the strength to face difficult challenges and not disappoint those who have a hope in me.<\/p>\n
Tell us about your current activity at TBC Bank, what position and direction you work in, and in a few words, tell us about your future plans.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I can talk endlessly about my work. I started working at TBC Bank in 2018 as the head of the trade financing and factoring department. I was very lucky to be in a good environment where I was surrounded by a friendly and highly qualified team. Trade financing includes various products that we offer to clients: bank guarantees, documentary letters of credit, documentary collections, and factoring is the best product for short-term working capital financing.<\/p>\n
My team is actively involved in relations with the bank’s clients. We help businesses conduct trade operations with minimal risk and recommend the most suitable product for their business. Our main task is to offer the most effective and least risky financing structure to each company based on their needs. In this process, we have to thoroughly study the project, find out about the company’s activities, contact with their partner foreign or local companies, as well as foreign banks, international financial institutions. Our activities are very diverse and most importantly, the projects are not alike. Therefore, we always have the opportunity to learn new things. I am very proud to be a member of the TBC team.<\/p>\n
Our main goal is to make life easier for people and take care of our customers. TBC is the leader of the Georgian market. It has a 49% share of the market in trade financing, and up to 70% of the factoring market. Undisputed leadership of TBC is recognized by such international financial institutions and reputable international publications such as: Euromoney, Global Finance, EBRD, ADB, FCI, RFIx, Commerzbank. Every recognition is a source of pride for my team, but also a great responsibility to always maintain the appropriate quality and always offer Georgian business the best, innovative products and services.<\/p>\n
As we know, you are the chairman of the banking committee of ICC Georgia. What activities and projects do you carry out within the framework of this committee and do you plan to implement any initiatives in the near future?<\/strong><\/p>\n
In December 2020, I was elected as the Chairman of the Banking Committee of ICC Georgia. For me, this is a great honor and at the same time a challenge. I had to start implementing various activities within the framework of the committee during the pandemic, which was, of course, unusual. I started working with great enthusiasm. The Paris Banking Committee is the lead committee of the International Chamber of Commerce that develops and issues international rules. The main goal of our committee is to explain the mentioned rules in detail to Georgian businesses, to provide news on the changes, as well as to increase the awareness of international trade products in the market. This year we have already held a very interesting two-day conference on trade finance and factoring products. The regional conference, aimed at both banks and businesses, covered Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The organizers of the event were ICC Georgia, EBRD, FCI and ICC Dubai. We had trade financing experts invited as speakers, as well as foreign companies from Turkey, Greece, Spain, Romania, who shared their experience with Georgian business. The conference was successful and we received a very good feedback.<\/p>\n
At the end of November, with the involvement of ADB and ICC Dubai, we are planning another conference for women entrepreneurs to help them increase their knowledge in trade finance. Of course, we have interesting ideas for next year as well, which are being developed. However, we promise that the events will be dedicated to the most relevant issues that are of interest to the players of the Georgian market.<\/p>\n
Finally, limiting ourselves to the traditional question, what would you advise aspiring professionals and young people who are now taking their first career steps?<\/strong><\/p>\n
It is a difficult question. It’s hard to give advice. Everyone has their own way of development and success. However, a few things are universal: hard work, curiosity, constantly seeking new things, deepening knowledge, accepting challenges as opportunities, and relentlessly moving towards the goal.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>