Spotlight – Irina Mischenko

Irina Mischenko is well-known in ASUS as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to technology know-how and promotional prowess. Irina builds PCs for fun and can take you on a tour of pretty much any product made by ASUS start to finish, and indeed does just that with customers and partners, covering the largest territory the company serves in geographical terms. We managed to get Irina to talk to us for a few minutes just so you get a better idea of the people that make ASUS work.

Let’s begin with the usual questions – what do you do at ASUS and how long have you been with the company?

I’ve been with ASUS for more than four years now, and am proud to be responsible for open platform business group marketing in Russia and CIS countries.

Can you share your first memory of technology with us?

 

My first memory of technology is an old photo laboratory my dad used to have in our home 25 years ago. I enjoyed helping him mix chemicals and then watch how blank pieces of glossy paper turned colourful to show my family. It was kind of a strange miracle with never before felt smells and feelings, a mysterious workflow, red scary lighting, and always fantastic results.

What’s the best thing about the technology you use every day?

 

I think it is reliability. And some special comforts, when you know that your ASUS laptop safely keeps all your essential work-related information, as well as my home PC, based on a TUF SABERTOOTH P55i. It’s always ready to show and share my favourite movies, and my ASUS router always takes me online even if there’s a blizzard going on outside my apartment. These everyday comforts bring me calm after a busy day, when I know exactly which button I need to press, and everything else will be done by my ASUS technology.

Given a chance, which new product would you design?

 

What a question! The only place where I still can’t use any ASUS product is my bathroom, so I definitely would like to design some waterproof gadget for early morning email reading and writing. I wish it would read mail and news to me and write responses and comments by dictation. Then I will not lose even a second and will always be on the right wavelength.

Are there any challenges special to the place or area where you work?

 

Russia is a great country but it differs a lot from the rest of the world. In Russia we are used to living on out-of-the box design thinking, though we always keep in mind customer feelings, and remember to have clear ends in mind, use lean thinking, consider all side effects, and never forget about alternatives. Russia is a country of great space and variety, a train from the most eastern part to the most western part will take you 10 days! And of course the weather! It goes from 50°C to -70°C and you never know what to expect and how to prepare.

Do you get to travel a lot for business?

 

Yeah I do… my plan is to perform an ASUS roadshow or dealer training in each and every city, and there are almost 1000 such cities! So I travel by bus, car, train, airplane…and I meet tonnes of great and different people and the only regret is that I never have that touristy feeling or any sightseeing activities done, but still I bring souvenirs from each and every place I have been to.

Desktop or notebook PC? Which do you prefer?

 

Both solutions are essential in modern everyday life. As my work brings me to different places, cities and even countries daily, I always have a laptop with me. But still, I am sure that my best companion is the desktop I assembled on my own. It is always ready for an upgrade and very stable, efficient, and even silent. Sometimes I fall asleep without shutting it down or turning it to sleep mode, plus I always know that it will support my love for new PC games in full resolution and with the highest performance possible.

Is technology art?

 

Sure it is! And it is definitely beautiful, which is proved by ASUS daily, from our DIGI+ to the marvelous ASUS robo-flowers I was lucky enough to see at ASUS HQ.

Do you think it’s possible to combine technology and society without any problems, and are there any concerns?

From my educational background I know that society always goes with technology, from stone axes to top-end artificial intelligence. Sometimes I even think that without technology humanity would not really be itself, but a random crowd of wild people in search of food and with only simple instincts to be satisfied.

Finally, your activities beyond work – what are your hobbies?

I love to cook, though unfortunately it is possible only once a week during the weekend. I think cooking is always an art form of creation, and it’s very pleasant not only to develop and perform a go-to-market plan and action, but to create some small but true masterpiece for myself, and be inspired by this beauty of creation for the whole of the following week.

Thanks much Irina, and safe travels wherever you go!