Quotes from Maelle Gavet

Russia is an amazing country to be an entrepreneur.

I think Russia is a difficult country, and it's very difficult for people to adapt here, especially if they don't speak the language well.

E-commerce is applicable to Russia, just as it's applicable to any other market.

I am an optimist. I believe the future is bright. I think people who see life painted in dark colors are the ones who do not take ownership.

I can tell you that when you're counting every penny, knowing that you are a single bad decision away from bankruptcy, you inevitably lose focus on what really matters for your business.

From the consumer perspective, what happened in the U.S. 10 years ago and Europe five years ago is now happening in Russia. People are beginning to understand that e-commerce is easy and safe.

The pickup points are a natural additional network for delivery. For me, the surprise is that Amazon didn't come up with that idea.

The Russians are not as addicted to coffee as the Americans. We should work on that!

I can be more cold than people would like me to be.

I have American friends in France, and when I meet with them, they tell me about everything that is wrong with France. I think there is a general expat syndrome, which means that whatever country you are in, you are always missing your own country and always thinking that the country you live in is actually not as good as it could be.

Consumers learn the value of being sure that what you want to buy is what you buy.

Competition is good because we need to educate customers, and Ozon.ru itself will not be able to do it.

My advice to anyone would be to focus on your current job and be the best at it. The rest will take care of itself.

I do not like the idea that a Russian company cannot be successful without Western experience. I think that, at the end of the day, it is a question of bringing benchmarks from other countries. So far, the golden benchmark has been the West.

That's the mantra I use when the team tells me something is too complicated. People keep saying, 'We need more prioritization.' I say, 'Guys, what you want is less work. And that is not going to happen.'

There's always a fine line between being too focused and missing opportunities, or being too wide and taking on too many.

A great deal of energy is spent daily on pushing the Russian e-commerce boom along while managing all aspects of growth and development along the way.

The fundamental vision hasn't changed. What does change is how you get there, because there are still problems you have to figure out.

The history of business has shown that companies usually only regulate themselves if they're forced to by legislation, or out of self-interest - often in the shape of a marketable message that will help sell more products.

The general message would be to say to all these young people: If you have entrepreneurial aspirations, there is money, there are consumers, there is a huge market. The only thing you need to do is to go there and start doing things.

Once in a while, I still witness occasionally sexist behavior and comments from men (which experience has taught me you should always deflect with humour rather than anger). Old habits die hard, after all, and it's unrealistic to expect dinosaurs to fall silent overnight.

It simply isn't acceptable for the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and others, which amass data by the terabyte, to say, 'Don't worry, your information's safe with us, as all sorts of rules protect you' - when all evidence suggests otherwise.

Ozon.ru is made up of four businesses. Ozon.ru is an online retailer, O'Courier focuses on shipping, Ozon.Travel, and our most recent acquisition, Sapato, the leading online shoe and accessory retailer.

Everyone in the United States asks me about being a woman CEO. To be honest, it has had no impact on my career. While I was at BCG, it didn't matter whether you were a man or a woman. The only thing that mattered was that you were good at your job.