Alumni Area
Experiences of Alumnis
Interview with Marius Pilibas
by Juris Grišins
by Juris Grišins
You all certainly remember fellow Marius (Pili). Yes, he is the one who wrote thesis about 3G telecoms (co-authored with Anna G). I had the honor to work and share apartment with him for quite some period of time during my stay at Trigon Capital in Tallinn. As I went to Iceland, Marius remained in Trigon and with the company has moved first to Vilnius and now also to Warsaw. So here is what has happened and what might happen to him in the future…
(I have been allowed to make a comment on the photo that you can see a bit bellow - no, that is not when Marius was 15, that is when he was blond:)
Q: Missing studies?
A: Probably: I really do not miss the sick achiever atmosphere. But a couple of the people, the time one could spend chilling with them, knowing that the big game is yet to start and this is somewhat a rehearsal. Yep, that is something to miss, I think. But those things are meant to be missed - not re-lived again, because, to tell the truth, to have it all over again would such so much donkey *****. These days I spend not too much time in Riga, but getting there from time to time - brings back something, something nice too have memories of.
Q: Are you keeping in touch with the former coursemates from SSER?
A: Yep, I do. I meet some Lithuanians on weekly basis and almost as much socialising as I can handle these days. Latvians - yeah, from time to time we have a pint of beer or some coffee. The Estonians, however, are somehow above (or below) my radars. If not for my work, I would have even less contact with'em*.
Q: So did you ever read business related books after the graduation?
A: Isn't most of the things that you read after studies one way or the other related to your work? At least that seems to be the freakish thing about our work. Also, we, SSER guys, graduate a bit screwed in our heads with the aspirations to top the world, which makes it hard to avoid further self-education.
Going beyond our small, charming, but mostly boring region, I think masters from a good school is more than useful
Q: Would you think MBA or masters would add to your professional career in the Baltics?
A: Truthfully, I don't think if one is targeting a career in Baltics, masters is as useful to anyone as this seven letter word is impressive to making the decisions on your career. And I like to have that illusion that I make my own career decisions. Going beyond our small, charming, but mostly boring region, I think masters from a good school is more than useful: no proper company shall consider "a Baltic star" anything unless he/she has something that those people understand. And they understand good degrees from good Western names.
I personally from time to time am entertaining an idea of doing masters. Still, I regard it more as a sabbatical: a chance to drop work, get full-time studies and probably change some directions in my life. Doing masters and coming back to the same area of work or the same place would most likely take away a chunk of the meaning from this degree.
Q: If you would like to study, where would it be?
A: Full time studies- definitely not in Lithuania and not the Baltics. A warm (and humid) climate would be such a plus (think: Mediterranean). I could stand the Albion, but Germany or Benelux are to be almost ruled out. At the same time I am rather skeptical and suspicious of anything that has stars and stripes to it, but a good metropolitan institution there would certainly look attractive - simply to challenge my presuppositions.
Q: How did you get around in Trigon?
A: Really? We're gonna do this now? I drove over to an interview in Tallinn, and was offered a job afterwards. A thrilling story. To tell the truth, we investment bankers (if I may define myself as such) are all about thrills. A good thing about the work is that you do not have to come in before 9 a.m. Moving around is good. You even get an exciting project from time to time.
Warsaw – that is the city I can thrash: its buildings – gaudy monstrosities in most of the cases, grey and dusty.
Q: Does it feel like a prestigious field to be working in?
A: Some people regard working in investment banking as a boon of sorts.I myself am an opponent of a statement by some French thinker from the days of enlightenment, who said that work made a man. Work is a good control tool, which, in combination with omnipresent marketing that is so good in selling us everything we do not need, assures that everyone of us, millionaire or a ticket man at the cinema entrance, ploughs his plot of the proverbial land. This all is simply to say that I take my work with a grain of salt: it is an important part of my life, but it is not my life. Sometimes fun and stuff, but the real pleasure and achievement is not there. Sure, it can help me satisfy my insecurities, narcissistic complexes, etc. But is life about being cooler than the others?
Q: Are you thinking of starting own entrepreneurial career one day?
A: Private business, yep, it is interesting. Not some private consultancy or anything related to my today's job. It would be so fun to run own cafes or a restaurant, a wine cellar or two. Something where you can be involved from the beginning and can see a tangible, yet charming, end product.
Now I, and I suspect many other people from SSER, are dealing with papers, data and ideas. Would that be marketing people trying to sell us everything we do not need, or auditors and consultants, getting high on information and self-fulfilling prophesies but rarely seeing how it relates to real life, real things, real people. Or us investment bankers, deeming to be the high-flyers of the world (and I immediately visualise Di Caprio at the nose of Titanic - am such a victim of pop culture), who often do not have a clue of the meaning to the things that we do. So in that respect, something small and real would definitely give me pleasure at a certain stage in my life. But not yet. Not yet.
Q: During the last years you have been living all the three capital cities of the Baltic States, and now also in Warsaw - what are your impressions on each?
A: Tallinn - a nice one, a cold one but a cosy one. Probably it is so because it is that small and you don't really need any means of transportation if you live nearby the center of the town. Winters are deathly and sea often reminds a lake, but man do they know how to party. Not many things can match marching back home at 4 a.m. on a June night (that seems just like an
I take my work with a grain of salt: it is an important part of my life, but it is not my life
ordinary daylight anywhere further south) after dozens of cocktails in some stag party in Tallinn. And you cannot compare it to Riga: it would be unfair to any other town. The studies and everything, they simply put the town in the league of its own. And Vilnius, I love the city: the women, the pubs, the places. Pretty much everything, and why shouldn't I: true, it is boring, but I'd better die of such boredom than of loneliness somewhere else. Warsaw - that is the city I can thrash: its buildings - gaudy monstrosities in most of the cases, grey and dusty. However, it is a city, as opposed to anything you can find in the Baltics. A league of its own, again.
Q: What would be your perfect holiday travel destination?
A: Traveling - a great brainwash. Just as with studies, I fancy warmer climates here too. Cuba is a treat. But for anything extended I would really like some not as pleasure-friendly places. Mountains in Nepal or Burma. Or Scottish lands: misty and damp. These are the places where I would try to escape the world.
It would be so fun to run own cafes or a restaurant, a wine cellar or two. Something where you can be involved from the beginning and can see a tangible, yet charming, end product.
Q: Maybe you picked up any new hobbies?
A: Hobbies. Since I came back to Lithuania (which was end February 2002) I took up some karate Kyokushin. It is not always pretty to see me come to business meetings with bruises, but it's totally worth it. Apart from that I do not have anything exceptional - books and music.
Q: Have you heard any amusing rumors about yourself lately?
A: Rumours. Am a boring individual, hence, no one takes the effort to come up with any.
* All of the above applies in no way to Mr. Mart Lume - simply because you cannot call him an Estonian. He is such a socialising freak that you simply cannot miss him if he's on this planet: give Liumcas a cheer for that, and a long one.
(I have been allowed to make a comment on the photo that you can see a bit bellow - no, that is not when Marius was 15, that is when he was blond:)
Q: Missing studies?
A: Probably: I really do not miss the sick achiever atmosphere. But a couple of the people, the time one could spend chilling with them, knowing that the big game is yet to start and this is somewhat a rehearsal. Yep, that is something to miss, I think. But those things are meant to be missed - not re-lived again, because, to tell the truth, to have it all over again would such so much donkey *****. These days I spend not too much time in Riga, but getting there from time to time - brings back something, something nice too have memories of.
Q: Are you keeping in touch with the former coursemates from SSER?
A: Yep, I do. I meet some Lithuanians on weekly basis and almost as much socialising as I can handle these days. Latvians - yeah, from time to time we have a pint of beer or some coffee. The Estonians, however, are somehow above (or below) my radars. If not for my work, I would have even less contact with'em*.
Q: So did you ever read business related books after the graduation?
A: Isn't most of the things that you read after studies one way or the other related to your work? At least that seems to be the freakish thing about our work. Also, we, SSER guys, graduate a bit screwed in our heads with the aspirations to top the world, which makes it hard to avoid further self-education.
Going beyond our small, charming, but mostly boring region, I think masters from a good school is more than useful
Q: Would you think MBA or masters would add to your professional career in the Baltics?
A: Truthfully, I don't think if one is targeting a career in Baltics, masters is as useful to anyone as this seven letter word is impressive to making the decisions on your career. And I like to have that illusion that I make my own career decisions. Going beyond our small, charming, but mostly boring region, I think masters from a good school is more than useful: no proper company shall consider "a Baltic star" anything unless he/she has something that those people understand. And they understand good degrees from good Western names.
I personally from time to time am entertaining an idea of doing masters. Still, I regard it more as a sabbatical: a chance to drop work, get full-time studies and probably change some directions in my life. Doing masters and coming back to the same area of work or the same place would most likely take away a chunk of the meaning from this degree.
Q: If you would like to study, where would it be?
A: Full time studies- definitely not in Lithuania and not the Baltics. A warm (and humid) climate would be such a plus (think: Mediterranean). I could stand the Albion, but Germany or Benelux are to be almost ruled out. At the same time I am rather skeptical and suspicious of anything that has stars and stripes to it, but a good metropolitan institution there would certainly look attractive - simply to challenge my presuppositions.
Q: How did you get around in Trigon?
A: Really? We're gonna do this now? I drove over to an interview in Tallinn, and was offered a job afterwards. A thrilling story. To tell the truth, we investment bankers (if I may define myself as such) are all about thrills. A good thing about the work is that you do not have to come in before 9 a.m. Moving around is good. You even get an exciting project from time to time.
Warsaw – that is the city I can thrash: its buildings – gaudy monstrosities in most of the cases, grey and dusty.
Q: Does it feel like a prestigious field to be working in?
A: Some people regard working in investment banking as a boon of sorts.I myself am an opponent of a statement by some French thinker from the days of enlightenment, who said that work made a man. Work is a good control tool, which, in combination with omnipresent marketing that is so good in selling us everything we do not need, assures that everyone of us, millionaire or a ticket man at the cinema entrance, ploughs his plot of the proverbial land. This all is simply to say that I take my work with a grain of salt: it is an important part of my life, but it is not my life. Sometimes fun and stuff, but the real pleasure and achievement is not there. Sure, it can help me satisfy my insecurities, narcissistic complexes, etc. But is life about being cooler than the others?
Q: Are you thinking of starting own entrepreneurial career one day?
A: Private business, yep, it is interesting. Not some private consultancy or anything related to my today's job. It would be so fun to run own cafes or a restaurant, a wine cellar or two. Something where you can be involved from the beginning and can see a tangible, yet charming, end product.
Now I, and I suspect many other people from SSER, are dealing with papers, data and ideas. Would that be marketing people trying to sell us everything we do not need, or auditors and consultants, getting high on information and self-fulfilling prophesies but rarely seeing how it relates to real life, real things, real people. Or us investment bankers, deeming to be the high-flyers of the world (and I immediately visualise Di Caprio at the nose of Titanic - am such a victim of pop culture), who often do not have a clue of the meaning to the things that we do. So in that respect, something small and real would definitely give me pleasure at a certain stage in my life. But not yet. Not yet.
Q: During the last years you have been living all the three capital cities of the Baltic States, and now also in Warsaw - what are your impressions on each?
A: Tallinn - a nice one, a cold one but a cosy one. Probably it is so because it is that small and you don't really need any means of transportation if you live nearby the center of the town. Winters are deathly and sea often reminds a lake, but man do they know how to party. Not many things can match marching back home at 4 a.m. on a June night (that seems just like an
I take my work with a grain of salt: it is an important part of my life, but it is not my life
ordinary daylight anywhere further south) after dozens of cocktails in some stag party in Tallinn. And you cannot compare it to Riga: it would be unfair to any other town. The studies and everything, they simply put the town in the league of its own. And Vilnius, I love the city: the women, the pubs, the places. Pretty much everything, and why shouldn't I: true, it is boring, but I'd better die of such boredom than of loneliness somewhere else. Warsaw - that is the city I can thrash: its buildings - gaudy monstrosities in most of the cases, grey and dusty. However, it is a city, as opposed to anything you can find in the Baltics. A league of its own, again.
Q: What would be your perfect holiday travel destination?
A: Traveling - a great brainwash. Just as with studies, I fancy warmer climates here too. Cuba is a treat. But for anything extended I would really like some not as pleasure-friendly places. Mountains in Nepal or Burma. Or Scottish lands: misty and damp. These are the places where I would try to escape the world.
It would be so fun to run own cafes or a restaurant, a wine cellar or two. Something where you can be involved from the beginning and can see a tangible, yet charming, end product.
Q: Maybe you picked up any new hobbies?
A: Hobbies. Since I came back to Lithuania (which was end February 2002) I took up some karate Kyokushin. It is not always pretty to see me come to business meetings with bruises, but it's totally worth it. Apart from that I do not have anything exceptional - books and music.
Q: Have you heard any amusing rumors about yourself lately?
A: Rumours. Am a boring individual, hence, no one takes the effort to come up with any.
* All of the above applies in no way to Mr. Mart Lume - simply because you cannot call him an Estonian. He is such a socialising freak that you simply cannot miss him if he's on this planet: give Liumcas a cheer for that, and a long one.
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