Ukrainian Heroism Shown in Inna Larycheva, TurnKey Lender’s Humanitarian Hero of the War in Ukraine
With Kharkiv under attack, Inna managed to organize four separate buses from Kharkiv and evacuated over 150 people out of danger.
Austin, TX — The unbreakable Ukrainian spirit and heroism shown through in the way a FinTech executive woman sprang into action to evacuate an 80+ person team in Kharkiv along with their families and anyone else who needed safety.
Inna is the Operating Director of the Ukrainian branch of the global fintech company TurnKey Lender. For many years she has been the Executive in charge of an 80+ person Operations team in Ukraine. As a smart, effective woman who leads from the heart, Inna has been the company’s go-to contact for every possible organizational, management, staff, HR, and other operations-related issues.
And the amazing thing is, Inna is just one of those people who always has the right answers and not just for the Ukrainian branch but for all regions in the world. No matter the workload or request, Inna is always there for anyone in the company, always collected and focused, ready to listen and to proactively solve even the personal problems of her team members. Because she cares about them, not just as their superior and leader but as an emphatic human with a kind heart.
Historically, a large part of the TurnKey Lender R&D team is from Ukraine. With the largest office being in Kharkiv. Kharkiv is the biggest university and science center of Ukraine, the country’s second capital, and where TurnKey Lender’s founder, Dmitry Voronenko, started his entrepreneurial journey. This is also where Inna was based along with the 80+ person team she manages as the countries Operations Director.
It was a normal week for the Ukrainian team when on Thursday, February 24th Russia invaded Ukraine. Inna showed the unbreakable spirit of Ukrainians and pure heroism entering a humanitarian crisis management role to save the lives of her colleagues, their families, and anyone who needed help as war broke out.
Inna in her new super-Inna mode did an unimaginable amount of work to care for the safety and well-being of every employee in danger. In addition, to helping their families, organizing evacuation for groups of civilians, and securing humanitarian aid for organizations most in need in the warzone.
“Inna is one of the strongest organizational talents I’ve ever met. She knows how to orchestrate people and resources efficiently and has a deep understanding of who is capable of what role under stress.
I was among the first people she called, and she instantly found the right words to help me snap out of shock and get mobilized to help her contact all our people and start getting them out.
The amount of energy and dedication to helping people Inna had during these extraordinary times was unbelievable.”
– Olha Mamonova, TurnKey Lender Ukraine HR Manager
With Kharkiv under attack, Inna managed to organize four separate buses from Kharkiv and evacuate over 150 people out of danger. Included in the evacuation were not only staff, along with their families and animals, but also regular people from outside the company who needed help.
Reliable drivers came to Kharkiv outskirts to pick up team members and just civilians who were informed that there would be this option. Thanks to preparations and Inna’s ability to perform under unprecedented pressure, people who needed help – got it. The extra capacity of the buses were filled and many people were brought out of danger to safety.
For the families that traveled to safety by car, Inna miraculously managed to find safe accommodation along the way as the drive that usually took a day now required a three to four-day journey filled with endless chaos of civilians turned into refugees fleeing danger in a traffic jam.
Inna found out that one of the hospitals in her beloved Kharkiv suffered food shortages due to interruptions in the state’s supply chains. She then pulled her resources around Ukraine and organized the delivery of food supplies to the hospital making sure the patients and staff were not left to starve. Never expecting to face this kind of a challenge, the hospital’s head doctor called Inna crying to thank her.
The Ukrainian women and children who eventually got to the Polish border had Inna’s help finding the best crossing point where they didn’t have to stand in line for many days to reach the EU. As soon as they crossed the border, they were greeted and helped by the TurnKey Lender Polish office team led by Vit Arnautov.
Inna selflessly and sleeplessly managed to lead the team to safety and found accommodation in cities flooded with refugees. She also located safe routes and assisted with every problem the team faced under attack. A new reality where a Women of FinTech, Operational Leader had to take on new responsibilities and operate efficiently in circumstances that should have never resurfaced in the 21st century.
We can’t list here everything that Inna, the TurnKey Lender HR team, and everyone else on the Ukrainian team have gone through since this horrific war started. But all that happened is a true testament to the fact that the TurnKey Lender team and company can truly do anything. That our team, with our leadership at the helm, can weather any kind of storm without sacrificing our humanity, dignity, relations with our clients, or dropping the quality of the service we provide.
The entire company of TurnKey Lender wants to thank and acknowledge Inna Larycheva for her leadership, unmatched coordination management skills, and saving the lives of our employees, their families, and countless people outside of the company.
The TurnKey Lender team is hurting with its Ukrainian colleagues. But the actions of our team members with Inna leading them and our Ukrainian colleagues resolve, courage, and strength give us hope in the capacity of the human spirit and soul.