ENGLISH SUMMARY

Concierge Services with a Clientcentric Approach (pages 100-103)

Unlike her socially active peers, Ayla Gurbanova joined her father’s family business with an aim to strengthen it and watch it grow. With her personal experience and hereditary flair, she confidently leads the VIP CLUB CONCIERGE AZERBAIJAN company to vast and new horizons.

The M.O.S.T.: You are quite young, but you already run a rather specific business. Who came up with the idea of creating a company providing concierge services?

Ayla: My father came up with a burning idea of such a business back in 2008. By that time, he already had extensive experience in the service industry, which allowed him to expand the range of provided services. As for me, I had a soft spot in my heart for luxury and with exclusivity since I was a child, which surprised my parents. After graduating from university, I found an article about a concierge service company in England, written by its founder, in a glossy magazine. After reading it, I realized that it was the sphere where I wanted to work, so I asked my father to allow me to join forces with him and learn all about the family business.

The M.O.S.T.: The culture of using concierge services has not quite yet developed in our country. Was it difficult to enter the local market with this business?

Ayla: You’re absolutely right. In 2008, presenting the club card and talking about its advantages, we really experienced emotional stress but in a good sense. We understood that, as pioneers in the local market, we would have to explain what this card was for. On the other hand, we had to be ready to fulfill the wishes of our clients. Being the first was our main advantage! Therefore, a great responsibility was assigned to us. In developed countries, concierge services are an integral part of business people’s lives. These services are clearly associated with wealth and luxury, as well as a lifestyle that envisages attending various status events, living in expensive hotel suites, etc. We understood that a concierge company provided services mainly for wealthy people who had refined taste and very high requirements for quality. Therefore, working with such a profile of clients is a big challenge.

Concierge services appeared in Azerbaijan in the early 2000s, and gave the ‘wow’ effect. Sometimes people reacted a bit inadequately. Though our clients’ portrait has changed a lot over the years, it still happens quite often that they don’t know what they need and cannot describe their problems. It is our manager’s task to get to the bottom of the matter and offer the client what he really requires.

The M.O.S.T.: It is clear that you work for a certain circle of people. What are the criteria for inviting them to join the club? And what kind of clients do you prefer not to work with?

Ayla: I cannot say that we have a certain criteria for joining the club. We don’t like the idea of dividing people by class, but I understand what you are talking about. The reputation of the client is probably the most important thing. Now we are working with our existing client base. Marketing promotion at this stage is just by word of mouth. We will neither hang up banners nor shoot videos and air them on TV channels. Confidentiality is the basis of our work. We have two levels of cooperation, which differ in the number of services, but the quality of

service is equally high and impeccable for all clients. However, it is true that our clients are people who, in one way or another, have made their way in the world.

Self-belief as a Precondition for Success (pages 62-65)

16-Year-Old racing driver, Jamil Hasanli Rogers, despite his young age, has already competed at dozens of racing circuits in different countries. In an interview with The M.O.S.T. Magazine he talks on his Azerbaijani origin and the connections with the country he fondly remembers. He also speaks about his role models in Formula 1, the qualities he thinks every racing driver should have, the obstacles he faces on his path to success, and shares what helps him perform to his maximum ability.

The M.O.S.T.: Your greatgrandmother, Shafiga Gasimova and great-grandfather, Ashraf Hasanov are the People's Artists of Azerbaijan, yet you have lived most of your life abroad. What kind of connection with Azerbaijan do you have?

Jamil: I have returned to Azerbaijan every year for summer and Christmas since I left, aged three. My grandparents still live in Khagani Street [Ed. note: a street in the city centre] in Baku. Each year we rent a beach house in Sumgayit and I spend six weeks there with my family. When I come home to Baku I eat dolma and pilaw [Ed. note: Azerbaijani national dishes] and walk the city in the evenings. To me, Baku is the place I go to relax and all my memories, thoughts and feelings are of home, of love and family. I have always kept a flag of Azerbaijan in my bedroom and wherever I race, it always travels with me. As I have grown older, I have come to learn that Azerbaijan is a small but very proud nation who easily deals with much larger nations with pride and dignity. The shadow we cast on the world is far larger than our footprint and I am very proud to be Azerbaijani. The Baku Grand Prix is one of the best on the Formula 1 calendar and my dream and single ambition is to compete in Baku in Formula 2 and hopefully Formula 1 as an Azerbaijani Licensed Racing Driver.

The M.O.S.T.: Over the past eight years, you have won many awards. Which one of them is the most important to you?

Jamil: My proudest moment in racing did not involve an award. It was the first time I competed in the British Karting Championships at Nigel Mansell’s circuit. There are many excellent drivers at this event – the best drivers in Europe travel to this tournament and all the British F1 drivers have raced there. Therefore, I was very nervous, and expected to finish in the top 50, no more. However, I succeeded in my first attempt in reaching the grand final and finished P18, ahead of many excellent and experienced drivers. This was the first time I realised that I could drive against the best drivers and not be embarrassed. It gave me a lot of confidence and during my next race I finished in the top 10, and completed the SuperOne championship P3.

The M.O.S.T.: In August 2019, at the age of 14, you made your debut in the Superone karting championship (the national karting championship in the UK) and won a bronze medal in your very first season. How has your life and career changed after this milestone in your career? Did you become famous at school after that?

Jamil: Because I started racing so young, my school has always been aware of my racing – I have done many speeches in school about racing. The school has always allowed me to attend races and miss lessons. However, when I entered the SuperOne championship, my friends were able to see me race for the first time, because it was on television. I think they were surprised at how fast the karts go, and how good I was! Unfortunately, children can be cruel and I faced a lot of jealousy with many challenges from people who see me as different. Racing is a hard sport to do without a lot of support and money. Even though my parents each work two jobs to help me race, my school friends think I am rich, so I get bullied for that. However, the bullying has made me stronger. It has pushed me to confront the question,

“Do you want this?”. I realised that jealousy comes from people who see me pushing hard to achieve something impossible which makes me realise that they don’t have something to fight for. Meanwhile, I am fighting to achieve a goal that my talent has presented me, and I am also pushing to put Azerbaijan into professional motorsport. I train every day with the knowledge that young Azerbaijanis see my struggle, and I receive so many messages from them telling me I am living their dream. I receive new messages every week from children asking how they can also become racing drivers and from parents thanking me for sharing my story.

Elegant minimalism by Jean Liu (pages 108-112)

Having degrees from Georgetown and Harvard Universities in foreign service

and theology, Jean Liu chose a circuitous route to pursue her passion for design. In an exclusive interview, she tells The M.O.S.T. Magazine how she started her business in this sphere in a converted garage studio, what distinctive features her full-service interior design firm has now, and what her own house looks like. She also explains why she prefers to use natural materials in her designs, how she understands the word “elegant” and why she thinks that she is living her professional dream.

The M.O.S.T.: One can say that anyone can be considered an interior designer, as we all sometime rearrange furniture in our rooms or buy a new floor vase. However, not everyone earns money by doing that. At what point of time did you turn from an amateur into a professional? What was the impetus for you?

Jean Liu: I received my first interior design job when a friend visited one of the houses I had renovated to sell.

She was going through a divorce, but couldn’t afford to sell her home, so she insisted on paying me to help her change the furniture throughout, so the place would no longer remind her of “him.” By the time I was finished working on her unit, I had gotten two more jobs from friends. The practical side of the design business such as taking money, paying sales tax, applying for a resale certificate so I could pull fabrics from showrooms is what ultimately forced me to establish Jean Liu Design. In the next few years, I started spending more time working on interior design than my “day job,” until I ultimately resigned from my corporate role and delved into design full-time and full-heartedly.

The M.O.S.T.: As far as I know, your degree is in an area not related to design...

Jean Liu: That is correct. I studied

Foreign Service at Georgetown University and went on to get a Masters in Theology from Harvard. I had planned on working at a think tank studying the role of religion in policy. In hindsight, I should have known how drawn I was to interior design, because during my freshman year of college, I went home with a friend over Thanksgiving, since the break was too short to fly home to see my family. Her mother was an interior designer and worked out of her house. I spent an inordinate amount of time in her sample closet playing with fabrics all throughout Thanksgiving!

Azerbaijan in Photos by Mexican Ambassador (pages 70-73)

Mexican Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Rodrigo Labardini has been heading the Embassy in Baku since 2015. However, in the diplomatic and journalistic circles, he is well known not just as an experienced diplomat, but also as an enthusiastic photographer, who is accompanied almost everywhere with his camera. In an interview with the Azeri Observer Magazine, Mr. Labardini explains what attracts him to photography, shares how he sees Azerbaijan through the lenses of his camera, and delights us with the feedback he receives on his photographs of Azerbaijan’s beauties from his foreign followers on social media.

The M.O.S.T.: Do you remember the moment when you realized that you were quite a talented photographer? Tell us about your introduction to photography.

Rodrigo Labardini: My passion for photography started with taking photos of my children. When my first child was born I spent one full hour looking at her baby face in order to burn that image into my memory, and I recall it easily even now. With the second child, I did the same, and with the third I did the same but I also decided that it is a lot better to have them in pictures. So before his birth I went out and bought a camera. Therefore, I can say that I started taking photos on December 10th, 1999 – the day when my third child was born. I liked the pictures I took, because these were pictures of my son, but at the same time I realized that they were quite bad, out of frame, not focused… therefore, I started to learn how a camera works, play with it, look for interesting shots. First, I experimented on my family, because they were the handiest models. Little by little my photos became better and better. I guess it’s my distinctive feature – I always try to be perfect, to get things right. After some time I bought a professional camera with changeable lenses and started to work with it.

The M.O.S.T.: Is it difficult for a diplomat to develop in photography?

Rodrigo Labardini: I am not sure. Being a part of the diplomatic corps helps me in photography. Other diplomats know me, they know I carry my camera, and feel comfortable with that. If we are at a private party, they can relax, knowing that I send the shots only to people who are in them and nobody else. Moreover, I send only pictures where I believe the person will like himself or herself. Now, many of my diplomatic friends have their profile photos in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, taken by me, which I consider the best compliment.

The M.O.S.T.: Could you describe how you see Baku, Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani people through the lens of your camera?

Rodrigo Labardini: Azerbaijani people are warm. When I say that I am from Mexico, they say, “Mexico? Football! Mariachi!! Music!!! Tequila !!!! ” and immediately open their arms and heart to me. As for Baku, it is an amazing city. Driving home from the airport is a total surprise. The road has so many buildings that you never expect to see. Take, for example, the Socar Tower, which looks like a spaceport waiting for you to take you somewhere in the universe…