My Business Journey
I did not enter business as an entrepreneur from the very beginning. In the year 2000, I started working at the insurance company VESKO as an intern.
It was a very fast start: within just a few months, I was leading a business unit, and later became part of the management team. Even at that time, I realized that I was drawn to the dynamics of business, responsibility, and the ability to influence results.
One of the turning points in my career was the deal to sell the company to the international group AXA. I participated in this process and, in fact, saw for the first time how a large international business operates. After the deal, I remained with the company, which became part of AXA, and continued my career within a global structure.
Over time, I held the position of Deputy Vice President and was responsible for sales development and business scaling. It was a powerful experience that taught me systems thinking, discipline, and how to operate at the level of large international companies.
Transition to Entrepreneurship
At a certain point, I realized that I wanted more. In 2012, I made the decision to leave the corporate sector and start my own business. It was a conscious step into complete uncertainty.
I had a stable position, guaranteed income, and a predictable future, but it was important for me to create something of my own.
I became a co-owner of Arsenal Insurance and began building the company together with my partners almost from a new starting point.
I did not persuade anyone to follow me; moreover, I honestly warned people that it was a risk and that we might fail. Yet more than 150 people chose to leave with me. Today, that team has grown into a large organization of more than one thousand people.
Over the years, Arsenal Insurance has grown into one of the market leaders. The company has entered the top five largest insurers in Ukraine and became number one in the CASCO segment in 2026. For me, this is not just a business result. It is proof that a systematic approach, a strong team, and a clear vision work.
Innovation & InsurTech
Alongside the development of traditional insurance business, I have always thought about the future of the industry. In 2020, I founded Easy Peasy Insurtech – a startup that became an opportunity for me to move insurance into a different dimension.
We were the first in Ukraine to launch a Pay-as-You-Go model, where a person pays for insurance based on how they actually use their car. This is a fair and transparent logic that changes the customer’s attitude toward the product. Today, this direction is expanding beyond Ukraine and scaling into European markets.
I have always been interested in technology, and today I am actively implementing artificial intelligence in insurance. We are working on assessing vehicle damage through photographs, analyzing customers’ driving behavior, and automating many decisions that were previously made manually.
I am convinced that the future of insurance is speed, accuracy, and digital solutions.
In recent years, business has faced real challenges. During the war, we encountered an enormous number of new risks. It was difficult, especially due to limitations in reinsurance. However, we made the decision to act and not retreat. Our insurance company was one of the first to begin paying significant compensations for assets destroyed as a result of hostilities. For me, this is not only a matter of business, but also of responsibility.
Business speaker
I actively share my experience and am a speaker at leading business conferences and forums, including Forbes Woman, She Congress, Big Money Forum, FinRetail, and Superwoman.
I work with entrepreneurs and often speak about the concept of an “ownership mindset.”
For me, it is important that people take responsibility for their decisions and think not as employees, but as those who create results.
leadership & trust
My task is to turn ideas into money. At the same time, I clearly understand that people never work only for money. It is important for them to be part of something strong, new, and alive. Everyone wants to leave their mark, and that is what gives the energy to move forward.
Interestingly, I did not immediately realize myself as a leader. I was simply doing my work together with people I trusted. Only over time, when external recognition and questions began to appear, did I start to see it differently.
For me, leadership is about trust – it is about a situation where people believe in you so much that they are ready to follow you even into complete uncertainty.
“female” or “male” leadership
I don’t believe in the concept of “female” or “male” leadership. In business, there is only one thing – results.
The task is always the same: to turn one dollar into one hundred. Everything else is secondary. Character, toughness, empathy – these are not about gender, they are about the individual.
I often think about what makes a leader real. For me, first of all, it is inner confidence. People are very sensitive to the emotional state of the person leading them. If the leader is strong, the team becomes stronger as well.
I have also participated as a jury member in projects supporting small businesses in Ukraine. Supporting entrepreneurship and the development of new businesses is important to me. I always say that I am both an entrepreneur and a marketer.
investor & entrepreneur profile
philosophy is aStoicism
My philosophy is close to Stoicism: do what must be done and accept the result. There is both great freedom and great responsibility in this.
Your self-realization is the price you pay for the freedom to be yourself.
business is a sport
For me, business is a sport. Results matter here. I am quite demanding when it comes to efficiency, focus, and responsibility. But I clearly understand why I do it.
business & family
I combine business and family. I have a husband and two sons. It is important for me to remain a living person, not just a function. My husband, Serhii Avdeev, and I used to run two different departments in the company. They were the most successful ones. I joke that, in order to eliminate internal competition, he couldn’t come up with anything better than marrying me.
My values are responsibility, freedom of thinking, and long-term vision. I love creating. I love being first. I love building things that change the market.
«WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP» – A MYTH?
Professional experience in insurance
2000
VESKO Insurance company
I started working at the insurance company VESKO as an intern. Within just a few months, I was leading a business unit, and later became part of the management team.
After the AXA M&A deal, I remained with the company, and held the position of Deputy Vice President and was responsible for sales development and business scaling
2012
Arsenal Insurance company
I became a co-owner of Arsenal Insurance and began building the company together with my partners almost from a new starting point.
I did not persuade anyone to follow me; moreover, I honestly warned people that it was a risk and that we might fail.
Over the years, Arsenal Insurance has grown into one of the market leaders.
2020
Easy Peasy Insurtech
I founded Easy Peasy Insurtech – a car insurance technology startup. We were the first in Ukraine to launch a Pay-as-You-Go model, where a person pays for insurance based on how they actually use their car.
This is a fair and transparent logic that changes the customer’s attitude toward the product.
EDUCATION & APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT
I graduated from Zaporizhzhya State Engineering Academy with a degree in Enterprise Economics.
Later, I obtained an MBA from the International Institute of Business in Kyiv.
Business education helped me structure my experience and better understand strategy, finance, and management. I am convinced that learning is a continuous process, especially for an entrepreneur.
Interviews & TV Appearances
Marina Avdeyeva is a frequent guest on popular shows, programs, and special features focused on business and entrepreneurship
In an episode of the CEO Club business podcast, Marina Avdieieva, co-owner and Chair of the Supervisory Board of Arsenal Insurance, Yurii Kryvosheia, Managing Partner and President of UKST Toronto–Kyiv, and Serhii Zhyla, CEO of the Askaniia Group, discussed how to build strong teams, the role of a leader, and different management styles. Should you hire people who are stronger than you? How does internal competition affect results? What should you do when a company grows much faster than the capabilities of its team?
The participants shared their perspectives on what defines strong teams – people, structure, hierarchy, and leadership; how to address toxicity within a company and which methods can help mitigate it; how strong team members can motivate a leader to improve; what to do when the team’s level no longer matches the company’s growth; how to choose an effective management style; what defines a company’s success; how weak management can be disguised as a democratic approach; how to tackle hiring challenges, including developing talent, attracting young professionals, and recruiting specialists from abroad; and what truly motivates people to work.
Marina Avdeyeva talks about how IC Arsenal Insurance responds to major losses, how effective it is to engage in reinsurance in the West, how to build a strong local company, and how to compete on equal footing with market giants. You will learn how our main heroine raises her children, whether pursuing an MBA is worthwhile, what competencies a leader should possess, and why it is harder to make money from creative work than in operational business.
We will discuss the operational core and the mathematics of capitalizing an insurance company. We will uncover the secret behind IC Arsenal Insurance’s leadership and examine Marina Avdeyeva’s investment strategy. We will also look at the bold statements made by the episode’s protagonist through the lens of healthy skepticism and try to determine who is better at mathematics – the owner of Global Spirits or a board member of a major insurance company.
In the TV episode of the Careerist project, Andriy Pavlushyn (CEO of OTP Leasing) speaks with one of the most prominent women in Ukrainian business – Marina Avdeeva. Marina is a co-owner of Arsenal Insurance and ranks among the country’s most influential top managers. This is not just an interview about success, but an honest conversation about how to push your way forward, maintain a balance between family and managing a large company, and why good work always comes at a price. Marina shares personal stories – from buying her first car to the unusual circumstances of her marriage and her high-profile transition from AXA to her own business.
In this episode: The future of the insurance market and innovations in telematics. How to build a career that inspires? The full truth about the team’s transition from AXA to Arsenal. Do children hinder a career, and how to manage everything? What matters more: a diploma or real experience?
Victoria Pokatis, Editor-in-Chief of WoMo, visits Marina Avdeyeva, the managing shareholder of one of the country’s largest insurance companies, Arsenal Insurance. They discuss stereotypes, art, doing business with a spouse, and the secrets behind the company’s success. I’m an operational businessperson, available 24/7, 365 days a year. If I had to define my core functions, they would be motivation, inspiration, and communication. You can’t live in a state of permanence or stick to the same principles forever, because what has defined your success up to today is not necessarily what will define your success tomorrow. What was right yesterday may not be right tomorrow. Being adaptable is natural; rigid consistency is a refuge for fools. The owner is the most motivated employee in the company. You shouldn’t step away from operations entirely, but you can step away from micromanagement.
Marina Avdeyeva has been a member of the Advisory Board of the International Institute of Business (Kyiv) since 2011, actively participating in the analysis, evaluation, and refinement of the school’s programs, including MBA, Executive MBA, and International MBA. She specializes in the efficiency of business process management, has authored a number of academic publications on the subject, and frequently հանդեսs as an expert and speaker at events organized by leading business schools. The interview was recorded at the UBM forum in Lviv.
Marina Avdeyeva, managing partner of Arsenal Insurance, is a guest of Business Woman Day – a beautiful, intelligent, and driven woman. Marina selected 20 of the best questions and answered them candidly. She spoke about business, where to invest, and how to achieve success, as well as sharing a bit about her family and children.
Do you have a hobby, and do you have enough time for it? How did you overcome your fears when starting something new, investing large sums, or taking important and significant steps? Are leaders born or made? What would you advise future entrepreneurs to invest their time and money in? What motivates you? What key decisions have shaped your life, and are there any you regret? If you could travel back in time for a week, what year would you choose? How do you find a business idea? What do you think are the main principles of raising a happy child? Marina, do you consider Malevich’s Black Square to be art?Beyond professional skills, what qualities should a person have to bring maximum value to a company? What are your top 10 personal development goals for the next five years? Have you often experienced situations where men, upon realizing how successful and attractive you are, stopped communicating with you out of fear that their partner might earn more than they do? What are you most proud of in terms of your actions? Do you believe in people more than they believe in themselves? When will Arsenal Insurance start insuring works of art? How did you take your first steps in sales, and what was the most difficult part? In one of your talks, you suggested “crushing the competition.” How exactly would you recommend doing this, and is it possible to maintain good relationships with competitors at the same time? Who or what drives you when you set new goals?
Marina Avdeyeva is a Ukrainian entrepreneur, investor, business speaker, and managing shareholder of Arsenal Insurance, as well as the founder of Easy Peasy Insurtech. She has over 20 years of experience in the financial and insurance sectors.
She earned her first million at 27, is regularly ranked among Ukraine’s TOP 100 most influential women, listed in the TOP 50 fintech leaders, and has received multiple awards for innovation in insurance and fintech.
She began as an intern at VESKO in 2000, quickly advanced to leadership roles, and gained international experience during the company’s acquisition by AXA, where she later held a senior executive position.
In 2012, she chose entrepreneurship to build something of her own, leaving a stable corporate career to co-develop Arsenal Insurance, driven by a desire for impact, ownership, and long-term vision
The company grew into one of Ukraine’s top insurers, became #1 in the CASCO segment, and demonstrated resilience during wartime by continuing operations and paying compensations for war-related losses.
Easy Peasy is an innovative startup introducing Pay-as-You-Go insurance in Ukraine, using AI for damage assessment and driving analysis, and expanding into European markets with a focus on digital transformation.
Her leadership is based on trust, responsibility, and results. She believes in an ownership mindset, rejects gender-based leadership distinctions, and follows a stoic philosophy: focus on actions and accept outcomes.
She holds a degree in Enterprise Economics from Zaporizhzhya State Engineering Academy and an MBA from the International Institute of Business in Kyiv. She believes in continuous learning as a key factor in entrepreneurial success.
She speaks at major business forums on entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, and the “ownership mindset,” encouraging individuals to take responsibility and think like creators of results rather than employees.
She is driven by the desire to create, innovate, and build impactful businesses. Her core values include responsibility, freedom of thinking, and long-term vision, along with balancing business success and family life.