Profile review: Russian -> Biotech (non-traditional background)

Hello!

Here is some information about my background and current activities. It would be really helpful to hear your advice and evaluation of my profile. The main question is whether I have sufficient chances to get accepted into the target schools that can add value to my profile. I do not find applying to the 2nd Tier schools useful for my particular situation, thus I do not want to overestimate my ability to get accepted to the Tier 1. I am planning to apply for the 2021 intake.

· Demographics: Male, 26 years, Russian. I was born and raised in Voronezh, a major city in Central Russia.

· Education:

I've got BSc (honors) in Management from Voronezh State University. 5.0 GPA, №1 student in the class. Semester abroad: FH Joanneum, Austria - Global Business Program

The main story about my education is that I was accepted to the University of Miami for BSc in Business Administration in 2011, but then I was rejected to get a U.S. visa. Three times.

· GMAT or GRE (include section breakdown): just about to start the preparation

· Work experience (highlight amount of work experience, industries, roles, promotions, special accomplishments, international exposure):

(Consultant within Tax Function Effectiveness Team, PwC Russia, Jan 2014 – Jun 2014, 6 mos)
During my last semester at the university, I was granted an exception from the Dean of the department so I was able not to be present at the lectures so I could move to Moscow and work full-time for PwC Russia as an advisory consultant in Tax Function Effectiveness team.

In this role I was:
• Consulting the Russian Government on tax effectiveness issues
• Developing tax internal control systems
• Developing automatization of business processes for the Oil and Gas industry
• The main finished project – automatization of tax risks analysis based on a user-friendly interface for client’s employees.

(XXX Products, Vice President Of Business Development Jun 2014 – Jun 2015 1 yr 1 mo)
After half a year of work, I was offered to come back to my hometown and join a local FMCG distribution company (I was losing a "blue chip" company position but I decided to switch to the position with much more responsibility and prospective leadership experience).

I've worked as a VP of Business Development for a little more than a year, totally redesigned company's strategy, implemented best managerial practices (KPI, internal controls, merchandising automation, etc.), net profit doubled as a result of teamwork - management of the company offered me a share of the company and C-level position of Chief Business Development Officer.

(Partner & Chief Business Development Officer, Jun 2015 – Jun 2018, 3 yrs 1 mo)
I've spent 3 more years in that position, in which we as a team succeded to broaden the company geography all over Central Russia, attracted a lot of National Retail Chains as customers and included several internationally-recognized brands in our portfolio. (Currently, XXX is providing FMCG logistics with a focus on bio, organic, gluten-free and sugar-free food products for Russian federal and local retail chains, wholesalers and independent retail. Operating across 10 regions in central Russia for 800 clients. Key facts: $5 million in revenue, 40 employees).

(Partner & Member Board Of Directors, Jun 2018 – Present, 1 yr 8 mos)
From June 2018 I quit my full-time position and remained as a shareholder and a Member Board of Directors of the company.

(XXX Logistics, Member Board Of Directors Apr 2016 – Present, 3 yrs 10 mos)
Also, in science 2016 I was appointed Member Board of Directors in FMCG distribution company XXX Logistics operating in the neighbor Tambov region helping shareholders to establish more transparent management, reporting, and internal controls. (XXX Logistics is a private logistics company operating in Central Russia regions with a significant range of FMCG products for 1200 clients. Key facts: $15m yearly revenue, 250 employees)

At the beginning of 2018, I began to think that despite the fact that I earned enough money and solved interesting problems at work, I really wanted to be involved in something bigger than that. I started to look around and into myself to find a new source of motivation. And I came across Longevity Biotech, the emerging field of research trying to understand the mechanisms of aging and to develop therapies targeting it. I was always fascinated by science and always wanted to solve problems on the edge between science and business, so I decided to radically switch the industry trying to stay at the same function and to ally my skills and expertise to the new field.

(XXX Longevity, Chief Business Development Officer, Jun 2018 – Aug 2019 1 yr 2 mos)

Since then, I've worked for a year in XXX Longevity (at Skolkovo Biomedical Cluster - Moscow), a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the progress of science to combat human aging. During that period I've assembled and managed a team of 15 Ph.D.s developing diagnostics of aging out of the combination of well-known biomarkers. We have developed a state-of-art check-up for early diagnostics of age-related diseases and an algorithm of their prevention based on the personal biomarkers of the patient and integrated it into one of the biggest lab chains in Russia. During that period I visited several major international conferences on Longevity and have been lucky enough to meet and become friends with fascinating people in the industry worldwide (occasionally, a lot of them are ethnical Russians).

(XXX Hong Kong, Chief Business Development Officer, Aug 2019 - Present)
In August 2019 I was offered a position of CDBO at XXX, Hong Kong-based Health/Bio-tech start-up focusing on transforming clinical data into lifesaving tradable assets.
Since then I was responsible for the general and product management (except the development part where CTO is responsible), HR, data privacy regulation compliance, international exposure, and new market entrance (done great with South Korea). Recently we were accepted to the #2 accelerator from Silicon Valley.

Also, I recently was appointed U.S. Transhumanist Party Foreign Ambassador, thus now I can officially represent the idea of putting science at the forefront of politics in the part of the world I located in.

· Extracurricular activities (highlight notable undergraduate and post-undergraduate ones):

• Winner of The Vladimir Potanin Foundation Federal Scholarship, Autumn 2011 (one of the most competitive scholarships in Russia)
• Winner of The Vladimir Potanin Foundation Student Project Competition within a team, Winter 2012
• Winner of The Oxford Russia Fund Scholarship, Spring 2012

U.S. Transhumanist Party Member

Since 2018 I am writing pop-sci articles and posts demystifying gerontology and exploring how we evolve to deny the fact of our own mortality and how that evolutionary adaptation impair our progress towards radical life extension. I've been a guest on several podcasts and events speaking on Longevity Biotech and participated in the establishment of the Belarus Transhumanist Movement.

· Post-MBA goals:

I want to move to the US and to enter a managerial position in one of the Longevity-related biotech/neurotech companies from Boston or Bay Area. I feel that my non-US college and irrelevant Russian business experience can be a challenge to get the desired position in the U.S. without the transitional intermediate such as a branded MBA.

· Target schools:
1 GBS Stanford
2 HBS Harvard
3 Berkeley Haas
4 MIT Sloan
5 UCLA Anderson
6 Wharton
7 Kellogg MMM

· Other information relevant to your profile:

The interesting thing I wanted to mention in my application is that regarding the absurd situation with my U.S. visa back in 2011, and thus my failed U.S. education, I would do all that I can to protect my children from the unfortunate to have "wrong citizenship" putting barriers between them and education or career that they want. So when my wife was pregnant, we managed to give birth to our daughter in Miami, FL so hopefully, she will not face the problems that I did.

Thank you for any feedback.