Steve Jordan talks to Irina Yakimenko of Intermark about her recent acquisition and what it’s like running a company that many perceive as Russian, in a volatile world.
In a business world dominated by remote meetings, where a ‘get together’ invariably means half an hour on Zoom or Teams, it is sometimes good to slow down a little. And so it was when I dusted off my old Nissan, which rarely goes anywhere nowadays, for a 150-mile trundle to the fine city of Bristol in the west of England.
My mission was to interview Irina Yakimenko from Intermark. I had talked to her last year, when the company joined OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International), but I knew that there had been some changes since then. And, over the years I suppose I have developed an instinct for searching out an interesting story; a face-to-face meeting would give me the opportunity of exploring more. This, I suspected , was going to be a fascinating day.
We met at a restaurant high on the bank beside the River Avon shared equally by working boats and pleasure craft. The day was bright but breezy with the wind trying to snatch the menus from our grasp. I started by asking what had changed since our last chat.
“We have bought the company,” she explained. ‘We’ meaning herself and her business partner Marina Semenova. They had worked with the company for close on 20 years and been buying shares along the way. But this was a complete buyout from the original owners who were no longer involved day-to-day. “It wasn’t really a negotiation, more an ultimatum,” she said. “Either we bought it, or the company would close. We probably paid too much, but we love what we do.”
Does it feel different now that they own the whole company? Irina doesn’t answer immediately. Now, as throughout the two-hour interview, she paused first. I wondered if this was reluctance, but then realised that Irina prefers to think carefully before she answers. She doesn’t want to be misunderstood ...
Photo: Irina Yakimenko.