WICT UK welcomes Valentina Kovaluk to the Board

Tell me about yourself

I was born in Ukraine but, like many people from that part of the world, I am half Ukrainian and half Russian. My family travelled a lot but we ultimately settled in Bratislava, in Slovakia, where I studied law.

I then moved to London where I continued my legal education and I qualified as a solicitor in 2010 at a Magic Circle law firm. After 8 years in private practice in the City, I moved to O2/VMO2 as an in-house legal counsel.

In July 2022, I changed my career – I left the wonderful world of the law and joined the even more wonderful world of finance, as a Finance Director in Liberty?Global’s?Treasury Team.

I’m definitely a career-minded person and success at my job and financial independence have always been important to me but, more importantly, I am also a family person and a friend to others.

Why is WICT important to you?

I would like to quote the poet, Nikita Gill: “Fill your life with women that empower you, that help you believe in your magic and aid them to believe in their own exceptional power and their incredible magic too. Women that believe in each other can survive anything. Women who believe in each other create armies that will win kingdoms and wars.”

I think WICT provides a platform to do just that with support from other women and men.

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What is your role at WICT UK?

I am Finance Co Chair and a member of the Executive Team.?

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What do you plan to achieve in your first year on the WICT UK Board?

I will support the organisation and the members as much as I can and help to expand the influence of WICT in the UK.

What would you say to your younger self??

Never give up.

Earlier in my career I was often scared to make mistakes. I think that initially prevented me from taking risks, challenging myself more and growing my career faster. Recently I found this quote by the great American engineer, Thomas Edison, that I wish I’d considered when I was younger. He said “I have not failed. I found a thousand ways that won’t work".