About Me
Hello, my name is Daniil Babaev. I was born and reached maturity in Soviet Russia. My parents, two sisters, and I lived in Pyatigorsk, a small town hidden in the Northern Caucasus Mountains. Shortly after I turned 16 years old, I permanently left home and everything comfortable to go entirely alone into an unfamiliar country. I waved good-bye to my parents, sisters, and friends and embarked on a life-altering journey. Though experiencing a vastly different country and its culture fascinated me, it was also tremendously difficult at the same time. I had to learn a new language, culture, people, and laws as well as ways to achieve success. It took a great deal of inspiration and hard work to go through that phase and to get where I am right now. I never fully realized the hardships associated with my decision to leave home for a foreign country at such an early age. It was quite possibly the most substantial accomplishment of my life, and I can honestly say I would be much less fulfilled as a person had I not seized the opportunity when I did.
So, I went to Cambridge, England to study English and then to Boston, USA to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree at Emerson College. Despite the difficult move and initial language barrier, I was very successful at Emerson, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
After graduation, I took a Junior Instructional Designer position with Performance Systems, a Boston-based consulting and performance improvement firm. My experience at Performance Systems has provided me with a fascinating and useful introduction to diverse industries in the United States. For example, I helped Pepsi-Cola reinvent their process for successful delivery of beverages and packages to the market. I worked with the mutual fund firm Janus to reengineer their outdated new-hire program utilizing the latest eLearning technologies. Over a period of four months, I worked with the United States’ top 24 laparoscopic surgeons to develop an online Minimally Invasive Surgery training program for Ethicon Endo-Surgery. Despite the demands of travel, working overtime, and unpredictable situations, the work proved to be extremely rewarding.
While working for Performance Systems, I became convinced that the promise of my profession is great and that earning an MBA would open tremendous possibilities for me in the future. As a result, I enrolled in the MS·MBA program at Boston University School of Management. Boston University’s emphasis on innovation, technology, and teamwork was a perfect match for my background and goals. The MS·MBA program gave me general management perspective, in-depth understanding of various functional areas, knowledge of finance and marketing, knowledge of different information systems, and even more exposure to people from different backgrounds. I graduated with Honors and three prestigious merit-based and community contribution awards.
The decision to live, study, and work abroad became the defining moment that changed my life forever. Nothing has been quite the same since I left home in February 1996. For me, it was the ultimate learning experience about life, culture, survival skills, responsibility, and most importantly about myself. It has been a self-defining voyage that has allowed me to get in touch with the person I am and the opportunities I have before me.
Please feel free to contact me if you want to learn more about me or my work.