Ekaterina Litau
Entrepreneur, founder and CEO of BLCONS GROUP – a consulting firm specializing in audit, tax, and law.
Researcher, professor of economics.
Public speaker, expert in the field of Theory of Entrepreneurship, Financial Management, and Management of Developing Projects.
Award-winning author of two books: “Financial Management of Developing Projects” and “Fundamentals of Financial Management of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises”.
Visionary and innovator, contributing as expert to business-related special projects, discussion panels, competition juries, and media events.
PhD in Economics and Management, M.S. in Finance and Economics, Juris Doctor (J.D.).
BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Ekaterina Litau has been serving as the CEO of BLCONS Consulting Group since 2001.
For over 20 years, BLCONS Group has been providing effective solutions in the areas of audit and tax consulting to a wide range of clients, from small- and medium-sized businesses to large international manufacturers.
Ekaterina’s professional expertise in many areas of consulting combined with her vision and passion for innovation has been the driving force in setting the strategic direction of the company, which over the years has become a leader in the industry (www.blcons.ru).
EDUCATION
Since 2010, Ekaterina Litau has been conducting academic research at the junction of Entrepreneurship Theory, Management, Cognitive Economics, and Ethico-Aesthetics.
2018-2021
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH AND DISSERTATION
St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance.
What is the best approach to developing leadership competencies needed to manage innovation projects?
Dissertation topic: “Formation of entrepreneurial paradigm in innovative project work”.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Developed a multi-factor method for scoring projects. The method is a flexible tool for analyzing project potential and can be used both at the initial stage of the project and at the later stages of implementation.
- Designed a model of progressive materialization for the entrepreneurship anti-idea (Progressive Materialization of Anti-idea, PMAi) which allows to measure entrepreneurship and a project’s potential in terms of its innovating component
- Developed a model that allows to profile economic entities based on types of economic behavior (BPM, the Behavioural Preference Model), with BPM Innovator being distinguished from other types of economic behavior.
- Introduced the Entrepreneurial Vitality Model that incorporates ethics, aesthetics, economics, creativity and cognitive science as the basis on which entrepreneurial competencies are built.
2010-2013
PHD IN ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT
St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance
What are the factors that affect entrepreneurial activity?
Dissertation topic: “Theory and Methodology of Managing Small-Scale Enterprises”.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Building on current developments in cognitive sciences while using an interdisciplinary approach, pioneered the development of a research methodology for the entrepreneurship phenomenon.
- Introduced a new, highly practical method that, with help of an algorithm, solves the problem of managing the ever increasing information streams (the Information Problem), thus increasing the operations efficiency and profitability of a developing small business.
2004
Master’s degree in Finance, specialization “Finance and Credit”: St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance.
2003
Master’s degree in Economics, specialization “Financial accounting, analysis and audit”: St. Petersburg Higher School of Economics.
2002
Master’s degree in Law: St. Petersburg State University.
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
Auditor’s License: Diploma in International Financial Reporting (DipIFR Russia).
TEACHING
10 years’ experience in post-secondary teaching as a professor at a number of universities including Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University) St. Petersburg State University of Economics (UNECON), and Higher School of Economics (HSE).
Teaching in both Russian and English.
Based on original research, developed courses in Financial Management and Economic Psychology, as well as an interdisciplinary professional development course in financial analysis of business operations for auditors.
CURRENT RESEARCH
As part of her research work, Ekaterina Litau is leading an interdisciplinary project “Innovation and Innovators: a Quest for Entrepreneurial Talent”.
PROJECT INTENT
- Building a methodology for a multi-factor model of scoring innovative and entrepreneurial projects.
- Optimizing the process of identifying and supporting projects most suitable for business incubation.
Partners in the project are some of the leading business incubators of St. Petersburg (BI Ingria and the Polytech Centre for Tech and Business Development), as well as RBK St. Petersburg.
The project is a unique open platform for cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers, experts, and practitioners, established to support further developments in Entrepreneurship Theory, Psychology of Entrepreneurship, and Project Management.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Behavioral Preference Models (BPM) of economic entities; distinguishing characteristics of a BPM Innovator from other forms of economic behavior.
CURRENT SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS, TOPICS OF PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECH IN THE MEDIA
- What is the best way to develop “entrepreneurial intuition”?
- Why does the art of entrepreneurship need to evolve within the framework of morality?
- Entrepreneurship objectives as part of the global ecological system.
- The role of entrepreneurship in modern economic models.
- The role of beauty in business.
- Common mistakes in financial management of developing projects.
MEDIA APPEARANCES
Ekaterina is available for bookings, such as:
- public speaking at conferences, round tables, seminars and other events;
- column writing;
- article writing on topics of expertise;
- interview appearances.
