Two suitcases. $500.
And a story worth telling.
In 2012, Karina arrived in New York from Russia with two suitcases, five hundred dollars and barely any English. What she had instead was a conviction that where you start doesn't decide where you finish.
She built a career in finance, from JP Morgan to private equity, before moving into the rooms where reputations are made and broken: investor relations, crisis management and strategic communications at FTI Consulting, Sard Verbinnen & Co and FGS Global. Along the way she advised chief executives, including Elon Musk during the acquisition of X, earned an MBA from The Wharton School, and founded her own company.
Today she does the opposite of what PR taught her to do from behind the curtain. She helps people step in front of it, and own their narrative. Because the era of linear careers is over, and the ones who win are the ones who can tell their story.