10.09.2026
On October 15, Energy Club will hold a forum in Kyiv called “Energy of Women’s Leadership: Women Holding the Energy Front of Ukraine”. The focus will be on the experience of female leaders in the Ukrainian energy sector, who, in the conditions of a full-scale war, ensure the operational stability of companies, make difficult decisions, retain teams, and determine strategic directions for the development of the industry.
The forum aims to show the real contribution of women to the energy sector, share practical anti-crisis cases, and support the development of female leadership in a field that has traditionally been considered male.
One of the speakers at the forum will be Olga Slyshynska, head of the investment projects department at Solar Garden. She works at the intersection of technical expertise, financial models, sales, and negotiations with big business and investors. In an interview with Energy Club journalist Olena Karpachova, Olga Slyshynska spoke about the peculiarities of female leadership in the energy sector, the role of trust and professional competence in large projects, the power of teamwork, the prospects for energy storage systems, and what helps the Ukrainian energy sector move forward today.
– Ms. Olga, you have repeatedly participated in Energy Club events, where you talked about engineering, financial models, and energy storage systems. What does it mean to you to speak at a forum dedicated specifically to women’s leadership? Has your view on the role of women in the energy sector changed over the past year?
– A female leader in the Ukrainian energy sector is still perceived as an exception to the rule, as technical positions and top management have traditionally been considered a male domain. However, today’s realities and the shortage of personnel are pushing the market to change: women are increasingly actively entering complex technological industries and proving their effectiveness.
Over the past year, my view on this has only strengthened, and speaking at the Energy Club women’s leadership forum is an opportunity to clearly show that the level of expertise in the energy sector is measured not by gender, but by the depth of knowledge, relevant experience and specific results. Proof of this is my colleagues, female CEOs and top managers who implement complex engineering and investment projects. Professionalism is assessed by expertise, not gender.
– You work at the intersection of technical expertise, sales, and negotiations with big business. What qualities are most important for a manager today to ensure that a customer entrusts the company with the implementation of a large-scale energy project?
– Big business and investors do not buy promises – they need a predictable result with minimal risks. In order for a customer to entrust a company with a large-scale energy project, a manager must combine three fundamental qualities:
– In your work, you have to convince clients to invest in complex and expensive solutions. How to find a balance between technical arguments, project economics and human trust?
– Economics, engineering and trust are a vicious circle. Any negotiations with top management or investors always begin with the language of numbers: what is the economic benefit of the project.
Then technical reasoning is included – it confirms that this economy is realistic, and the solution is designed for the long term, not the short term.
However, the foundation of everything remains human trust. Big business does not just buy equipment or numbers in a table, it chooses partners. If the customer sees that the contractor genuinely cares about his project, understands the challenges and takes responsibility for the result, this is what turns difficult negotiations into a long-term agreement.
– Often, it is women who are able to find compromises and build effective communication. Have there been situations when this management style helped to implement a complex project or reach an agreement between all participants?
– The ability to listen, balance and relieve tension in negotiations are key soft skills of a manager. In complex energy projects, confrontation sometimes arises due to a difference in focus: the customer sees the project through the prism of investments and payback, and the engineers – through the prism of technical standards and risks.
The main thing withThe management task is to combine these two worlds:
In the company, we gather engineers, financiers and lawyers at one table to find the same balance. When the client sees that we understand his business goals and at the same time completely close the technical block, trust arises, and any disputes are transformed into constructive work.
– You work in an industry that is rapidly changing. How can a manager not get lost among new technologies, regulatory changes and a constant shortage of time? What helps you make the right decisions?
The dynamics of the energy market are really high, and there are enough challenges here. Two things help me not to get lost in this flow: clear focus and a strong team.
The right decisions are always the result of a synergy of specialists. Our financiers calculate investment models, engineers track the best global technologies, and lawyers ensure impeccable regulatory and permitting standards.
When the entire team – from specialized specialists to the CEO – works in a single context and moves in the same direction, any changes in the industry are perceived not as chaos, but as new opportunities. People are strengthened by people.
Therefore, it is the team that provides balance in all changes in the industry. People are strengthened by people.
– During previous speeches, you emphasized that a successful project begins with the right process, not with equipment. Can we say that a strong team is built in the same way – not from individual specialists, but from properly built interaction?
– Absolutely. A strong team is not just “stars” in their field, gathered in one company. As a rule, these are ambitious people, where everyone strives to defend their own position. And it is a well-coordinated system of interaction that makes these stars strong and the company successful.
Even the best engineer or manager will not produce results if there is no clear process of communication, support and mutual understanding. Everyone in their place must understand their own area of responsibility: who to contact and at what stage and be sure that they will receive help. After all, everything works according to the Win-Win strategy.
– How do you see the next stage of development of the Ukrainian energy sector? What technologies or approaches are still underestimated today, but in a few years may become a standard for business?
– The next stage of the Ukrainian energy sector is decentralization and flexibility. And here, the first priority should be paid to energy storage systems (ESS). Unfortunately, many still perceive them only as a forced purchase in case of blackouts – I have repeatedly emphasized this, including during speeches at the Energy Club.
However, there are long-established models with proven financial efficiency: UZE allow not only to guarantee business autonomy, but also to significantly save the budget during the daily operation of the enterprise.
The second underestimated direction that will give the greatest economic effect is the intelligent management of consumption and generation in real time. Sooner or later, all Ukrainian enterprises will come to this. Our energy system is in dire need of flexibility, and it is UZE that will become the new standard for business.
– What is the greatest professional achievement for you today: implemented megawatts, successful projects or people who have grown up alongside you as specialists?
– Implemented megawatts and constructed facilities are the measurable result of our work. But behind each of them there are always people. Without a strong team, there will be no constructed facility.
Joint implementation of a complex project is a path through challenges and exhausting decisions. Therefore, the launch of the facility into operation is a real holiday for each of us. And for me, as a manager, a special kind of pleasure is to see how people grow in the process, become stronger specialists and together sincerely rejoice in common success. This is the greatest achievement.
– What helps you personally maintain energy, motivation and confidence when you have to work with large investments, responsibility to customers and the challenges of wartime at the same time?
– I am kept by the realization that our work has a real impact on the sustainability and development of the country. On the one hand, we give enterprises energy independence, allowing them to work and scale. On the other hand, we create solar generation as separate, highly profitable investment objects that attract capital into renewable energy.
In this rhythm, it is important to maintain a balance between strategic vision and daily practice. It is possible to implement a large-scale investment project of a 100 MW solar power plant within a year, and at the same time solve the urgent needs of a specific business.
It is this combination – the development of the renewable energy market, attracting investments and supporting Ukrainian entrepreneurship – that gives me strength, energy and clear confidence that we are doing the right thing.lin business.
– What advice would you give to young women who are entering technical professions today, but still doubt whether they will be able to compete in a field that is traditionally considered “male”?
– I would advise not to try to compete based on gender. It is worth competing with knowledge, professionalism and specific results.
All doubts about “male” fields need to be discarded – this template is a thing of the past. You need to develop, set a goal, break it down into a clear plan and consistently move forward. Everything will definitely work out.
Ukrainian energy of the future is not only new technologies, storage systems and decentralized generation. It is, first of all, a new culture of leadership, in which professionalism is more important than stereotypes, a team is stronger than an individual specialist, and trust becomes no less important than a financial model.
Women are already an integral part of this transformation. And their role will grow along with the industry itself. Because the energy sustainability of Ukraine today is created by those who do not simply adapt to changes, but become their driving force.
