26.11.2025
The Energy Club forum “ENERGY OF FEMALE LEADERSHIP: Women Holding Ukraine’s Energy Front,” taking place on December 10 in Kyiv, aims to demonstrate women’s contribution to operational resilience, financial viability, and the strategic development of the energy sector. It will share practical anti-crisis case studies that allowed companies to survive and support women’s leadership in a traditionally “male” sphere.
One of the key speakers, Iryna Beresnieva, CEO of Tolk Ukraine LLC, will focus her presentation on how female leadership is shaping a new management style in energy, how to combine resilience with humanity in wartime conditions, and what solutions allow a supply company to maintain predictability and service even during blackouts.
In an interview with the Energy Club media department, Iryna shared real anti-crisis cases and spoke about the most difficult challenge for the market: lack of transparency, limited access to data, and a lack of unity between the regulator and the ministry. She explained how she motivates a team working under pressure 24/7, why women are becoming increasingly influential in this sphere, where Tolk Ukraine is moving strategically during the war, and why the future of energy lies in decentralization, partnership with consumers, and new aggregator business models.
At the core of her message is a simple but fundamental idea: Ukraine’s energy resilience today relies not only on technology but on people capable of acting decisively yet humanely, supporting one another in the most difficult times. It is precisely this style of leadership that is shaping the industry’s new future.
— Ms. Iryna, as the head of the supply company “Tolk Ukraine,” you found yourself between a rock and a hard place: on one side, destroyed generation and extreme market volatility; on the other, millions of consumers needing energy and service. Which challenge was the most difficult for you personally as a manager: the operational (resource procurement, cash gaps) or the human (team management and communication with clients during blackouts)?
— Absolutely everyone is between a rock and a hard place today—both literally and figuratively. Operational challenges were and remain a constant part of the job: resource procurement, cash gaps, planning, balancing—this is a process that doesn’t stop for a single day or hour. But it is extremely important to me that our consumers always feel and know: we have everything under control, regardless of difficulties, market fluctuations, or blackouts.
Yes, all the listed challenges during the war are incredibly difficult, but together with the capable Tolk team, we handle them with maximum confidence, and no blackout is capable of deteriorating our partnership relations with consumers. After all, trust and service stability are what we preserve despite the external chaos.
However, I will give you a different, much more painful example of a challenge for me personally: the non-transparent operation of the market, limited access to data, and uncoordinated interaction between the regulator and the ministry at a time when the country needs unity. When it is necessary to unite, we see confrontation, and it is precisely this, not the operational aspects, that is the most critical factor holding back development. Business has already learned to live in conditions of operational difficulties, but systemic market distortions are what need to be corrected as soon as possible if we want stability, predictability, and energy security.
— A supply company is, first and foremost, people: contact centers, sales managers, analysts. How do you manage to motivate and maintain the productivity of a team working 24/7 under colossal stress, absorbing pressure from both the market and the clients?
— A supply company is indeed, first and foremost, people. In our case, it’s not just contact centers, sales managers, or analysts. It is also accountants, lawyers, financiers, economists, procurement specialists, customer service managers, HR managers, administrators, secretaries, and drivers. It is a whole living organism where everyone performs an important function, and everyone influences how the consumer feels and how the market works.
Regarding people—I truly got lucky. Without any exaggeration, I can say: the most sensible and capable people work specifically at Tolk Ukraine and within the Tolk Group. My team doesn’t need to “break themselves” or prove anything for the sake of motivation—they need support, understanding, and human presence. And I am ready to be there 24/7, especially during periods of uncertainty when it is impossible to build a long-term strategy, but it is crucial to have a clear answer to two simple questions: what are we doing, and what for?
Managing such a team is neither a burden nor a challenge, but a great professional pleasure. Everyone is in their place, with a high level of responsibility and a sincere desire to do better. That is why our productivity relies not on control, but on trust.
I motivate the team to preserve energy and effectiveness through various tools:
Open dialogue and involvement in decision-making;
Recognition of even small but important victories;
Flexibility whenever possible;
Creating an environment where mistakes are not feared;
A sense of a shared mission that has meaning.
Our style is not about rigidity, but about humanity. And this is exactly what makes the Tolk Ukraine team the most energetic and resilient in an energy market that constantly tests boundaries.
— Energy, and especially trading and supply, are traditionally considered “male” spheres. Our forum is dedicated to women’s leadership. Did you have to face stereotypes on your path, and has the attitude toward female executives changed during the war, in your opinion, when stress resistance and results took precedence over gender?
— Yes, at the beginning of my path, stereotypes were very palpable. Energy looked like a completely male world, and a woman was perceived there more often as an exception than a full participant. Back then, it became a personal challenge for me. In meetings with heads of strategic and large enterprises, I often saw surprise and doubt even before I spoke my first word.
But it quickly became clear that it is not gender that shapes authority, but professionalism, consistency, and the ability to act confidently even when there is uncertainty all around. When you lead a team, support clients in all aspects of power supply, and make decisions under stress, people start seeing you not as a woman or a man, but as a leader.
Now, a different trend is noticeable in the market: there are more women in energy, and this is perceived not as an exception, but as a natural process. And I note with pleasure—and I am incredibly grateful for this—how men are increasingly not just accepting but sincerely supporting this transformation. Because it is a woman who brings the energy of life, depth, emotional resilience, a different style of thinking, and the ability to maintain balance where everything is fragile and shaky into this sphere.
During the war, this manifested very clearly—when internal strength, endurance, empathy, and the ability to inspire became more important than external signs. That is why today women occupy leadership positions—and this is an extremely important signal for the future: female presence in energy is not about war or struggle, but about creating a bright, sustainable, and humane approach.
And, by the way, in this context, no one doubts anymore why today a strong and competent woman holds a [top government] role in Ukraine.*
(Translator’s note: The original text refers to the “Prime Minister,” likely referencing the significant influence of high-level female leaders like First Deputy PM Yulia Svyrydenko).
— As an executive, you have to think about the future. How have the war and the current crisis changed the long-term development strategy of Tolk Ukraine? Where do you plan to invest: in new digital services for clients, in your own generation (e.g., RES), or perhaps in energy storage systems to reduce market dependence?
— The war has completely changed the approach to strategizing because today it is impossible to build scenarios for 5–7 years ahead. But we at Tolk Ukraine do not stop looking into the future—we just act differently now: faster, more cautiously, yet more decisively where it provides resilience to the business and our consumers.
The market has become even more volatile, generation greatly reduced, and predictability severely limited. That is why we chose a path that allows us to reduce dependence on external factors. We are developing digital services, analytical tools, and customer support that works even during blackouts—and this is our unique advantage.
In parallel, we are carefully studying investment opportunities in directions that create energy independence: local generation, RES, and storage systems. But most importantly, we are building a model where the client receives not just electricity, but confidence, predictability, and partnership.
As a leader, I see Tolk Ukraine’s task not just to adapt, but to shape a new approach to supply—smarter, more technological, and future-oriented.
— In the second panel of the forum, we will discuss the “green transition” and decentralization. What role, in your view, can supply companies (aggregators) play in stimulating this new, distributed generation in Ukraine? Do you see a new business model for yourself here?
— Decentralization and the “green transition” are impossible without suppliers and aggregators because we are the bridge that connects the consumer, the market, data, and technology. Tolk Ukraine has a unique advantage—we see what is happening at the level of real business, we hear the needs of clients, and we understand how their generation, flexibility, and storage can become part of the energy system.
I am convinced that the new business model lies precisely in partnership: when the consumer not only buys but also produces, optimizes, gives back surplus, and participates in balancing. And the supplier becomes not a seller of electricity, but a guide into this new world of energy.
For Ukraine, this is a chance not to catch up with Europe, but to become a country that is already forming its own model of energy decentralization—and doing it very quickly and, in my opinion, successfully. And Tolk Ukraine is ready to be the player that catalyzes this transformation—with market expertise, responsibility, and the trust we have already built with consumers.
The only thing that needs close attention now is the clarity, simplification, and optimization of the regulatory framework, which must gently integrate decentralization into Ukraine’s energy life.
— One of the main questions of our second panel is advice for young women just starting their path in energy. What would you, as one of the few female CEOs in this industry, advise those who are hesitating whether to enter this profession?
— My advice is simple: do not allow doubts or other people’s perceptions to narrow your opportunities. Energy is not just about formulas, tariffs, and the market. It is about impact, resilience, and the ability to hold positive energy in the most difficult moments.
Women possess a natural strength to act in uncertainty, make complex decisions without unnecessary noise, and combine logic with empathy—and this is exactly what the energy sector needs today. If you want to develop, have a voice, influence the future, and create change—this sphere is definitely for you.
I have traveled this rather interesting path and I know: a woman’s place in energy does not need to be fought for or proven to anyone. It simply needs to be occupied—confidently, with dignity, without apologies, with positivity, and with an understanding of all the responsibility that rests on our fragile but incredibly strong shoulders… You will be surprised how quickly you start being respected for results, rather than evaluated by gender.
— You will be a key speaker at our forum. What is the main message or thesis you plan to convey to the participants during your speech?
— My main message is simple: Ukrainian energy today relies not only on technology but primarily on people.
On those who know how to maintain balance in chaos, act under pressure, and remain resilient when the country is going through the hardest trials.
Tolk Ukraine is an example of how the combination of professionalism, humanity, service, and responsibility creates stability for businesses and consumers even during periods of total and chaotic outages and market turbulence.
I want the participants, and all Ukrainians without exception, to feel: we are not just adapting—we are forming a new style of management and leadership, where strength is combined with softness, and results with mutual support. And it is very important to understand: anger, rejection, and skepticism destroy us from the inside. At a time when the country is at war, we must be united, in mutual respect, understanding that war is not the end, it is only the beginning of something new. The beginning of our new future, which we are creating right now, starting with ourselves.
We truly deserve a better future because we are Ukrainians. We are strong. We are free. We are capable of incredible things. And that is why the future of Ukrainian energy will be successful—because there is room in it for different voices, different approaches, and different methods of being an informal leader, but with one common, bright, and peaceful goal: light, development, and a happy life!
