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Katya Bakhareva, CEO and Founder of Benchmark Executive, a global executive search and HR consulting group of companies
Katya is a CEO and Founder of the Benchmark Executive international group of companies, serving clients worldwide, including Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and China. Today, it is recognized as a global group of companies specializing in HR consulting and fulfillment of unique, complex roles, comprises two companies – Benchmark and Be-EXEC – and has offices across Portugal, Serbia, Azerbaijan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China.
She and her team have successfully fulfilled over 400 projects for top-tier companies and has accumulated 47K candidates live database of resumes.
Our mission is to connect businesses and
exceptional C-level representatives, whole
teams, and unique talents with each other.
She and her team have successfully fulfilled over 400 projects for top-tier companies and has accumulated 47K candidates live database of resumes.
Our mission is to connect businesses and
exceptional C-level representatives, whole
teams, and unique talents with each other.
Katya began her career in a large executive search firm, where she was involved in recruiting: market analysis, candidate sourcing, and data collection. Feeling the desire for more impact and direct client interaction, Ekaterina left the company and joined a large PR agency. Her experience in marketing provided her with a deeper understanding of industry executives, leading luxury brands, and the media landscape. With this enhanced skill set, she returned to the recruitment industry.
Ekaterina gained valuable international recruitment experience while working for Antal (ex-part of the FiveTen Group) – a major UK recruitment company. The highly competitive environment allowed her to develop leadership skills, so she became the Head of recruiting in the B2C industry and established herself as an industry expert. She successfully completed challenging projects for clients who were previously considered as ‘impossible.’
In 2014, Ekaterina left Antal with the ambition to start her own venture. Driven by the desire to scale her skills and knowledge, she founded her own company – Benchmark Executive.
Ekaterina gained valuable international recruitment experience while working for Antal (ex-part of the FiveTen Group) – a major UK recruitment company. The highly competitive environment allowed her to develop leadership skills, so she became the Head of recruiting in the B2C industry and established herself as an industry expert. She successfully completed challenging projects for clients who were previously considered as ‘impossible.’
In 2014, Ekaterina left Antal with the ambition to start her own venture. Driven by the desire to scale her skills and knowledge, she founded her own company – Benchmark Executive.
Through her work with business coaches on real-life cases, Katya developed a passion for coaching and personal development.
Ekaterina completed her training at Focal Point in the UK, focusing on skills such as negotiation, teamwork, and delegation.
During her studies, she became certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a personality assessment tool based on Jungian psychology. This methodology helps to identify individual personality types, explain natural differences between people, understand the strengths, and find unique contributions each type can make to an organization. Ekaterina also mastered the DISC assessment.
In 2024, she continued her studies in personality assessment, delving into the Hogan, Harthill, and Clifton assessments.
Ekaterina completed her training at Focal Point in the UK, focusing on skills such as negotiation, teamwork, and delegation.
During her studies, she became certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a personality assessment tool based on Jungian psychology. This methodology helps to identify individual personality types, explain natural differences between people, understand the strengths, and find unique contributions each type can make to an organization. Ekaterina also mastered the DISC assessment.
In 2024, she continued her studies in personality assessment, delving into the Hogan, Harthill, and Clifton assessments.
- 2008: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- 2010: Focal Point Training, UK, London: Teamwork and Goal Setting
- 2016: Profile Analysis (PPA), Thomas International, Certified Consultant
- 2017: Institute of Psychodrama, Coaching, and Role-Playing Training, “Fundamentals of Psychodrama in Business. Psychodrama for Coaches”
- 2021: Nominee of the “Female Foundry” program, including over 25 hours of mentorship with a Google Industry Manager.
Be-EXEC success stories
The company with B2B and B2C businesses in the travel industry approached us with the task of finding an employee for the role of CFO. They had to take on 2 functions at once: work with investments and operational financial management and be ready to develop the company and bring it to an IPO. We filled this complex position with dual functionality in 6 months.
Large fashion retail companies that operate 100+ factories across China and employ thousands of workers in 5 different countries, had a business need to onboard unique professional teams. In total, we had to find and relocate professional teams (Head of production, quality control managers) to China. All these businesses partnered with Be-EXEC to make it happen fast and with the highest quality.
An advertising platform that buys online apps and social media ads has asked for help in finding a CTO. The founder, who was responsible for the product and development, went out of business after the sale of the company. We managed to close a key position in 3 months. After 1,5 years from the date of taking the position, our candidate continues to develop the product and brings it to new markets.
Today, Ekaterina and her team of consultants, project managers, and analysts specialize in filling strategic roles such as C-suite executives and other complex roles across e-commerce, fashion retail, finance and HR, marketing and media, product design, and IT and data.
Katya's Featured Publications
Topics to Discuss with Katya
1
How to build and develop a global service business
2
Specifics of executive search, onboarding C-levels, and finding strategic advisors and board members
3
Soft skills, hard skills, and metaskills: insights from the market, industry conferences, networking, and clients
4
The value of sociometric assessments for evaluating top managers (Hogan, MBTI, DISC, CliftonStrengths)
5
How leadership and specialized role requirements vary across regions (UK, Europe, MENA, China)
6
Talent acquisition, team development, and motivation of dispersed teams.
Working with leading technology businesses around the world
Leave a request to find the perfect candidate and close a key position
Leave a request to find the perfect candidate and close a key position