Pavel Charny is the Managing Partner and Founder of ORTALEX, an organisational health advisory firm based in Dubai, UAE. ORTALEX aims to bring health to the world of organisations by helping leaders address the root cause of problems and align strategic intentions with people, culture, and structure. Pavel and his team strive to use contextually relevant data, tools, and methods to drive positive change and help organisations achieve greater success. With his 20+ years of expertise and innovative approach, Pavel is committed to improving organisational health and driving meaningful results. Learn more through our interview with Pavel Charny below.
The Beginnings
We asked, “Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your early life, and your education?”
Pavel says, “Certainly. My name is Pavel Charny, and I hail from Russia, though I have been based in Dubai since 2019. I hold three degrees, including two Bachelor’s and one Master’s, a quite rare blend of Psychology and Management Information Systems. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. at VU Amsterdam, where my research focuses on improving the coachee-coach matching process by reducing reliance on random factors such as demographics.”
We wanted to understand more about Pavel’s business. So, we asked him, “Can you tell us about your business and its presence in the GCC?”
He continues. “Our business, ORTALEX, was established in 2022 in response to the huge opportunity presented by numerous (especially IT) Russian businesses recently relocated to the Middle East. My vision for ORTALEX is to be a global network of former senior-level executives with backgrounds in HR and IT turned trusted advisors to the CEOs. While we are often considered an HR consultancy in the Middle East, we see ourselves rather as an Organisational Development consultancy, bridging strategy and organisational consulting domains together. Our team members, called Associated Partners, are located worldwide, from Poland to London to Dubai to Armenia. We are headquartered in Dubai because of its reputation as an excellent base for small startups like ours. Despite the challenges of the cost of living in Dubai, our globally distributed team has made it really manageable.”
The Last Year And Ultimate Plans
We further asked, “What are some of the growth and expansion plans you have in your pipeline?”
“Currently, we have received numerous requests from various countries such as the US, the UK, Uzbekistan, and indeed (we are not only serving locations starting from the U letter!) Saudi Arabia. We are not targeting Asia yet. However, we may consider expanding to Vietnam in the future since the economy is booming there. And indeed, we are always looking for more people to join our network, though we maintain a high standard for membership, so our focus remains on ensuring the quality of our network.” Replied Pavel Charny.
Our next question was, “How has the year been for your company?”
“Our first year of operation has been a year full of hope and promise. Despite the challenges that come these days with being a company with Russian roots, we have managed to survive and thrive. Great that setting up our business in Dubai was a straightforward and easy process.” said Pavel.
The Unique Factor & Teamwork
Different businesses have different factors making them unique. To understand what makes Pavel Charny’s business unique, we asked him, “What sets your business apart in the current competitive market?”
“Unlike large consulting companies, we believe in true partnership with our clients and complement their capabilities rather than replace them. Our core offering is organisational health, which can mean different things for different companies, ranging from HR analytics to well-being programmes. For us, it involves aligning the organisational culture, structure, and top-team capabilities. We believe no other consulting company truly considers this link despite some bold claims around.” Pavel Charny said.
Teamwork is an important part of any company, especially when it comes to attaining end goals. To throw light on this matter, we asked Pavel Charny, “What measures can employees and organisations take to build effective teamwork and unity?”
He says, “We believe that the best approach is to establish relevant measures based on an proper assessment of the organisational life cycle stage, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We also believe that values are crucial in talent acquisition, and we help our clients to identify them during selection, as they are more important than skills. Once employees are hired, their values cannot be changed. And what is more important, different organisational lifecycle stages require people with different values.”
Collaboration Fuels Innovation in ORTALEX
We further asked, “Can you tell us about the company’s focus and investment in research and innovation?”
“Our ecosystem is built on principles derived from my background in IT systems integration, and we stay updated on the most advanced tools available globally rather than developing our own. Our added value comes from using these tools together at the right time and place, and unlike large consulting houses, we are very flexible to build partnerships across the world almost instantly.
For example, this year, we partnered with Re:Config, a small Norwegian consultancy, offering a cutting-edge online AI organisational redesign tool. Another example is Valpeo, a Belgian boutique consultancy. They provide a unique online platform to assess executive teams, going well beyond the personality assessment, which has become a commodity these days.
The last example is South African CognaDev, a company that developed an automated gamified assessment platform, providing unique insights into organisational capability, which is a major roadblock to implementing even well-designed strategies. We strongly believe in the power of such partnerships, and we value our partners.” replied Pavel Charny
Dubai: Startup Growth Haven
Lastly, we asked him, “Any tips for startups looking to follow a similar path?”
He says, “Dubai is an excellent base for small startups like ours, with a supportive and growth-friendly startup culture. While the cost of living may be high, a globally distributed team can help manage associated challenges. Overall, our experience setting up our business in Dubai has been positive, and we recommend it to other startups.”
Connect with Pavel Charny on LinkedIn.
