ENKHGEREL Ariunbold, CEO of Mongol Basalt, on Decreasing Mongolia’s Carbon Footprint & Investing in STEM Education
Interview by Batzul Gerelsaikhan, Photos by Suniko.
Get to know Enkhgerel Ariunbold (Hobby: 1998-2005) who became one of the Forbes Mongolia’s Top 50 Businesswomen of 2019! Enkhgerel is the CEO of Mongol Basalt JSC, the only basalt rock wool insulation company in Mongolia, which just got publicly listed on MSE in 2018. She is also the Co-founder of Unimat Education, which provides STEM education in Mongolia. Previously, she worked at Millenium Challenge Account (MCA) Mongolia, Crown Agents; and Luxottica Group, UK. Quadrilingual in Mongolian, English, Russian and Chinese, Enkhgerel has a Bachelor’s in Finance Management from UFE, Mongolia; and Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Operation Management from the London Metropolitan University, UK.
Full name: Enkhgerel Ariunbold
Hobby Alumni: 2005 (years attended 1998-2005)
Higher Education: Bachelor’s in Industrial Operation Management from the Metropolitan University, UK; and Bachelor’s in Finance Management from UFE, Mongolia
Sector(s): Industrial manufacturing; Sustainable production; Energy efficiency; Creative education and STEM development
Current Workplace: Mongol Basalt JSC; Unimat Education; stars Mongolia alumni chapter; Certified High Impact Coach from Dale Carnegie
Past Workplaces: Crown Agents for Millenium Challenge Account (MCA) Mongolia; Luxottica Group, UK
Languages: Mongolian, English, Russian, Chinese
Countries Lived In: Mongolia, Malaysia, USA, UK, China
Frequented Website: mse.mn, bloomberg.com, Netflix
Current phone(s): iPhone XS Max
3 Apps To Recommend: UBinfo, Family Link, Apple Music
3 Books To Recommend: “Scaling Up” by Verne Harnish, “Instant Turnaround” by Harry Paul & Ross Reck, Ph.D, “Proactive Parenting” by Mandy Saligari
3 Movies To Recommend: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Theory of Everything
3 Songs You Are Listening To Most Right Now: “Collide” by Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG, “Circles” by Post Malone, “Underdog” by Alicia Keys
AT HOBBY SCHOOL
1. How many years have you studied at Hobby School and where have you studied before and/or after Hobby?
I attended the International School of Ulaanbaatar (ISU) for my elementary years, back when they were located at Russian Science and Culture Centre (РЦНК in Mongolian). Then transferred to Hobby school for my 3rd grade until I graduated in 2005.
2. Did ISU open before or after Hobby? What were the main differences for you?
I’m not sure to be honest, perhaps they both opened at the same time... I was at ISU in 1993 and I’m pretty sure I was in the same class as Tengis Bilegsaikhan and Badruun Gardi (who all transferred to Hobby as well). Hobby taught classes both in English and Mongolian, while ISU just taught in English. That was the main reason for transferring.
3. What kind of a student were you? Were you one of the straight-A students who participated in the olympiads? Also, what is your fondest memory of high school?
I think I was a pretty good student, who cared enough about grades and tried my best to get B+ and A’s. I really enjoyed extracurricular activities and tried to take part as much as I could. I used to participate in the olympiads of Russian language, English language and Science; and competed with other schools in Ulaanbaatar. However, my parents made me take many after-school classes since middle school, such as piano, Chinese and other languages, which made it rather hard to keep up with extracurricular school activities.
High school wasn’t hard, annoying or depressing for me and I found it to be one of the most fun and joyful moments of my life. The fondest memory would be spending time with my classmates and recesses (i.e.: walking to P/E class and walking back from P/E classes). My classmates used to have so much fun preparing for the annual talent shows (singing, dancing and drama) at Zaluuchuudiin Soyoliin Tuv.
I actually enjoyed the fact that our school kept changing buildings/locations so many times - we were first based at Zaluuchuudiin Soyoliin Tuv, then the Indian embassy, then back at the Zaluuchuudiin Soyoliin Tuv and finally our own building. I like to embrace change. I guess I still am a nomad at heart.
4. What was your favorite class and who was your favorite teacher at Hobby?
My favorite class was physics. Physics was a more relatable subject where most theories could be practiced in real life. Other subjects I enjoyed were: English literature (because it made us read interesting books), architectural drawings, and science in English. Basically, I liked classes which taught us how to be creative, problem solving and expressive. With that being said, I didn’t enjoy classes that kept forcing us to just memorize facts and historical facts. If I think about it now, I’ve already forgotten most of those things taught at these short term memory checking classes (laughs).
5. I remember your class (which was led by you) donated chemistry equipment to the school.
It was actually technology equipment for the technology education class. Remember, boys used to have woodworking class while girls used to have sewing classes? It was rather outdated and very 19th century labor intensive education. It didn’t make any sense or use for us at that time.
My family and I founded a Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) development project implementation company named Unimat Education in 2012, which helps schools develop better quality and integrated creative education curriculum for Technology, Physics and Science classes. My classmates and I thought our school deserved improvement for its technical education classes. My classmates and I agreed it was important for Hobby students to have the opportunity to excel at creative and practical training subjects. Therefore, we donated around 10 million MNT worth of STEM development enhancing educational training equipment sets with books and manuals.
Initially, we wanted to fully renovate the technology classroom, but Hobby School didn't have any extra space for it. However, when Hobby School moves into its new building in 2020 Q4, I would love to continue our work and help develop the creative education development project more.
“I am proud to say my company, Mongol Basalt JSC, is supplying the stone wool insulation material for Hobby School’s new building in Khan-Uul district!”
6. After Hobby, where did you go for your bachelors?
I went to college in Borneo Island of Malaysia called Kutchin with my classmate Bolor Munkhtsas. Bolor and I applied together, studied the same classes and did almost everything together. Though, it felt somewhat like a holiday for us (laughs) probably because of the climate. Bolor and I were very dorky; our life circled around the library, dormitory and school. Occasional sightseeing. That’s it.
7. Why Malaysia? What was it like to study there?
We studied there for only a year. It’s really funny how we found the school. I was 16 when I graduated high school. When we were preparing for the TOEFL exam at an exam center, next door was a room that had a sign “Study in Malaysia!”, so Bolor and I took some fliers home. Google wasn’t popular back then, ok? (laughs). In 4 months, we applied to the school, got accepted and we left together. (All a blur now).
8. Why did you leave after a year?
I realized Malaysia was a better destination for a holiday, so I changed schools and I found myself studying Industrial Operations at London Met.Uni, in the UK for my bachelor's degree instead.
9. How was London Metropolitan University and London? Did you get any scholarship?
Just 20% scholarship. The school was massive as it had the highest number of students in London. In fact, it is very hectic and chaotic. London itself was so full of culture, history and new urbanization; it’s a real international hub. I think it’s often overlooked how international London is.
“I believe people need to travel more if they have the opportunity. Traveling builds skill and knowledge. You get to meet different people, experience interesting cultures, and see different interpretations and values of life, which helps us breakout of our little bubble. ”
CAREER
10. What was your first paying job?
While studying in the UK, I was able to work part-time. So I started working at 17 years of age, as London’s living expenses were really high. My very first official job was at an Italian worldwide Luxottica Group, which owns RayBan and Oakley brands and sells other retail sunglasses like Chanel and Dior. I started as a Retail Assistant at one of their high end retail shops at King’s Road. Only after a few months I was offered an additional role as a “new employee trainer” and eventually got promoted to Branch Manager in 18 months. I would say that I learnt much more from working, such as people skills, communication skills, how branding works, how marketing works, and how a company is run all together. You can’t really learn some of this at school, you know. I worked there until I graduated and came back home in 2011.
11. Didn’t you want to study for your Masters or continue working in London?
I just wanted to come back home. Also Mongolia was proclaiming itself to be the fastest growing economy with 17.5% GDP growth in 2011 and my family wanted me to come back and experience the boom. I thought I could always go back later.
3 years after I came back, I did another major in Finance Management at the University of Finance and Economics (UFE) of Mongolia. I was working on a 21 million USD new factory feasibility study back then for Mongol Basalt LC, and found myself lacking some skills in the financial analysis area. So I wanted to learn more about finance, specifically in Mongolian. I would say it was one of my best decisions yet. I have been using the newly learnt knowledge up until now. I really didn’t want to be dependent on others to understand these financial things, so I decided to study it myself.
Generally speaking, why should we be limited to one skill? Why can’t we have many types of skills? If you can, never stop learning.
12. And how was it to work at a family business straight from London?
I actually worked at Millenium Challenge Account (MCA) Mongolia after I came back. I was the office manager of the procurement agency called Crown Agents where I worked for a year. After that we found the STEM development program and pursued that.
13. For those who might not know, what does the Millenium Challenge Account do in Mongolia?
In 2007, Millenium Challenge Account (MCA-Mongolia), an independent US government agency, and Government of Mongolia (GoM) signed the first compact of MCA - a $285M grant for 5 years - with aim to reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic growth through investments in the following projects - “Property Rights Project”, “Vocational Education”, “Health”, “Road”, “Energy & Environment”, “Environmental & Social Assessment”, and “Social & Gender Assessment”.
I believe, the second compact of MCA-Mongolia was signed in September 2018, where $350M non-refundable aid was given for Water Supply Projects - a downstream wells activity, a wastewater recycling activity, and a water sector sustainability activity. My classmate Saranmandal is working on this and it is very interesting how Mongolia is deciding on clean water.
14. What made you quit MCA-Mongolia and join family business at Unimat Education? How does your STEM program work?
“Me and my father Ariunbold found it hard to find skilled engineers and workers to work in our factory and we understood the importance and lack of STEM and creative education development in Mongolia. So we founded the Unimat Education in 2012.”
We started researching more about creative education and developing practice based training modules for students from best practices around the world. Students and schools can reach out to us or we approach schools and help develop their technology education program including tools, equipment and hold teacher training seminars, as well as provide manuals and books for the teachers and students. This is all to better enhance the practice based learning skills of students from elementary school and throughout highschool. We have already implemented our STEM development program at over 300 public schools nationwide in Mongolia.
15. A lot of people who had nothing to do with an education sector, such as Mandal Daatgal JSC’s Ganzorig Ulziibayar, ikon.mn’s Bolortuya Chuluunbaatar, HobbyAlumni.com (the founders) or your company Unimat Education, are fighting hard to promote quality education and improve our society by starting from education. Why do you think that is?
Most of the people you mentioned went to schools or worked at companies abroad. They understand the hardship of finding qualified human capital in Mongolia.
“After running a business you understand what creativity means at work and how much of a difference it makes to have a creative engineer rather than a book smart engineer. ”
As a citizen of this country, I believe that we have an obligation to take part in the development of our country in every sector we are a part of.
16. As an employer who pays salaries and taxes, what qualities do you seek when you are hiring a new person at your company?
For example, when we offer full-time positions to our skilled part-time workers, they disappear on us! It’s annoyingly a huge problem for factories. It’s almost as if they prefer unpredictable, empty and incomeless “freedom” rather than a steady paying/insured job. Perhaps people still have long term commitment issues or some other who knows what problems facing Mongolian workforce these days.
Whenever we are hiring new employees I always do the second interviews. I like to ask them about their short term goals in life and what they did to improve their previous work place. You wouldn't believe how unprepared people are for this question. I try to find that little glimpse of initiative they may have.
17. As a tradition, please explain Mongol Basalt JSC in your own words to those who do not know?
Mongol Basalt (commonly known as Basaltwool) was founded in 2007 as the first rock wool manufacturer by my father Ariunbold. He graduated as an engineer from USSR, came back to Mongolia in 1990 and founded the first automobile windshield manufacturing company and later completed the first Mongolian rock wool manufacturing factory, which made him achieve the “Inventor of the Year” in 2011.
Right now, Mongol Basalt is the sole producer of rock wool thermal insulation material in Mongolia with production capacity of 5,000 ton per year, which will increase to 8,000 tons per year with our IPO proceeds. Our company is working towards achieving sustainable development goals and lowering Mongolia’s carbon footprint, specifically in the energy consumption sector. We are determined to reduce Mongolia’s air pollution by at least 80% in the next 3 years.
We were the initiators of ger district renovation/re-insulation project in Ulaanbaatar and have been working towards reducing household coal consumption one stove at a time. We have been working together with many NGOs who work actively on energy efficiency projects in Mongolia such as GERES, GerHub, and Passive-Ger.
18. How were your roles at Mongol Basalt JSC?
I started as a project manager for the $21M feasibility study and gradually was leading as the project director. Meeting international expert engineers from around the world and working on the new production line- feasibility study helped me understand our technology on a bigger scale. After the feasibility study was approved by the Science and Technology committee of the heavy industries, I took lead of the investment for the project. Eventually we had been approved for 9.7 billion MNT support from the Government and so the Italian insurance agency “SACE” agreed to insure our project, thus we had been approved for export credit financing from the Bank of Italy. Unfortunately, our government’s promise on support was short lived due to the upcoming election that year and thus we decided to postpone the pursuit of a brand new line.
And so, I was in charge of the initial public offering prospectus development and successfully made our IPO in 2018.
“We managed to raise 21 billion MNT of buying orders for our IPO on the last day of offerings, which was 3.5 times our asking investment. After we became a public company I was made CEO by the new board members and have been working for Mongol Basalt since. ”
19. Tell us what 3 things you like and 3 things you dislike about your job?
I like the fact that it is one of a kind company, so there are no norms or standards of the industry. Everything you set out is your new standard.
I like how I am given a rare opportunity to be able to implement business process reengineering. Every department is undergoing dramatic evaluation and restructuring via operation and management techniques and policies after going public.
I like how our products are making a remarkable input in not only Mongolia’s sustainable development goals, but also the world’s energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction agendas.
I dislike the fact that I am located at the industrial zone, far west from the city center. Really makes it hard to plan lunch meetings (laughs). And the traffic?
I dislike the fact that all expert engineers in our field are naturally outsourced. We are constantly in need of quality skilled engineers.
I dislike how few lunch options I have around my factory (laughs).
20. Who are Mongol Basalt’s clients? Is it only for the construction industry?
Our notable customers used our materials in Shangri-La, Oyu Tolgoi, New Airport Project, UB Department Store, Best Western Hotel, Romana Residence, Gegeenten, Skygarden, Baga Tenger project, etc. However, we also supply technical infrastructure insulation to major industrial clients such as CHP4 and CHP2 where we insulated their pipes. We can even use our products for agriculture industries to grow vegetables (vertical farming, hydroponic farming), road and construction industries. Eventually we are working on a new project to replace carbon fiber material (Basalt Fiber Project). We are a growing innovative company!
21. As of 2019 Q1, there are ongoing 52,000 housing projects - 32,000 are taking reservation orders, 18,000 - completed, and 14,000 are still working-in-progress (according to MIK.mn). 80.2% are categorized standard and 19.8% - business and high-end. In your opinion, how many of these construction projects used your basalt rock wool insulation? Can you give us a range of market share?
In 2019, we produced over 2,000 ton Basaltwool insulation products, which is around half a million square meter insulation. We have made 400 new corporate customers and sold to a thousand private insulation projects in a year. The standard has risen for most construction companies, and consumers are more and more aware of what they want to invest in.
“In one year, Mongol Basalt’s market share has grown double from 5% to 10% of Mongolia’s insulation market.
Majority of international projects constructed in Mongolia have A1 grade non-combustible rock wool insulation stated in the project drawings. We expect the market share to double each year. ”
22. What makes basalt wool insulation better than other insulation materials such as fiberglass, mineral wool, polystyrene, cellulose, etc?
Mongol Basalt’s main product, Basaltwool is by far the best man made fire resistant insulation known to modern science today. Quality insulation makes buildings energy efficient and it reduces the carbon footprint. Our insulation saves 80 to 1,500 times CO2 emissions throughout their lifespan.
“Made from lava rock, found commonly in Mongolia, it is non-combustible and withstands at least 1,000°C temperatures; noise cancelling and soundproof, which improves sleep, learning and work efficiency; chemical resistant; water resistant; and sustainable! It has an excellent durability and consistent lifetime performance (thermal resistance, dimension and form stability) during its lifespan.”
23. What are the insulation requirements for Mongolia where it is +30C in the summer and -30C in the winter? Why doesn’t every construction company use rock wool insulation? Is it too expensive?
Building standards and codes have been re-edited since 2015, now all materials used in residential and high rise buildings have to be fire resistant. Basaltwool is the only EU- A1 grade insulation material that can withstand higher temperatures than maximum fire temperature, which is above 900°C. If you really look at which companies are using our materials you can clearly see why. I think price was an excuse companies used over 5 years ago. If you look at what USD was worth then, and what it is worth now. We haven’t added our price for the past 5 years.
“Insulation is not a luxury, it is a fundamental necessity for the construction’s quality and resilience against weather and hazardous environmental risk factors such as fire, earthquake and flooding.”
At the end of the day we are talking about people’s lives and assets. The insulation materials cost doesn’t take up more than 5% of the total construction project cost in Mongolia. While in the more developed parts of the world insulation material would cost around 15% of the total project budget.
It’s actually very funny how Mongolian companies expect us to lower our price furthermore, while at the same time they are willing to import the exact same materials three times more expensive. I guess it’s how we are wired. The devaluation of our own nation’s worth, whether it is something we produce or develop. Perhaps the lack of common value of our nation made us this way.
24. How many insulation companies are there in Mongolia? How much are imported?
There are around 30 insulation companies in Mongolia. Most of which were founded in the early 2000’s and produce PU and EPS insulation. Every year their numbers are decreasing because their main raw material’s price keeps rising in China and also due to the unpopularity among consumers of this product. Only a handful of insulation importing companies operate, which mainly import from China and Russia. However, none of them import 100% rock wool insulation like us. Nevertheless, these companies make up for 80-90% of the total insulation market share.
25. I must ask, since we both work in the construction industry, why do you think Mongolia is taking so long to redevelop its ger district areas? 61% of Ulaanbaatar is still occupied by ger districts, and various issues such as pollution, environmental degradation, lack of infrastructure and limited employment opportunities persist in ger areas. What can we do to help, relocate and redevelop these areas? Is Mongol Basalt JSC doing anything regarding this?
The world is urbanizing very fast, 1 million people are moving to urban environments each week. So the challenge of maintaining comfortable, healthy and safe cities are becoming even more urgent. We have been trying very hard to work with the government to redevelop our ger district. Mongolia made a commitment on improving its living standards and reducing its carbon footprint at the Paris agreement. We have obligations as a nation to tackle the challenges the UN has identified as 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2030 the UN projects the world will have 41 mega-cities with 10 million inhabitants. If no action is taken, energy consumption is expected to rise by 50% in 2050.
Not only do our buildings need to be energy efficient, in order to accommodate comfortable living standards we need to consider noise pollution and building safety and waste management.
“The building and construction industry account for 35% of total waste generated globally. The Government needs to work together with the private sectors more productively to seek support on joint projects that we can develop on a bigger scale, i.e.: ger district redevelopment.”
Private sectors are developing much faster than the government. Most infrastructure and construction development companies are using much higher standards than the national building standards and codes.
The main reason Mongolia is taking so long to tackle this problem is simply because of the lack of integrated institutional policies and agendas, specifically developed for resolving the challenges, which all government bodies could subscribe to. From my experience working with the ministries and city agents, they have no relatable cooperations with each other, and it’s every man for themselves. They simply can not or have no will to work together. Unfortunately, there is a huge lack of competence at the government agencies, and when they receive external expertise support, they expect the foreign aids/experts to do all the job for them, including solving our own nation's problems.
In the last decade, ever since we went into the insulation business, we suggested best practice projects the EU and other developed nations had implemented regarding similar challenges. Such as the Solar District Heating project, Complete Ger District Renovation project, etc. Due to the inconsistency of the government policies and personnel, we end up repeating ourselves over and over again like a broken record to every new government and ministries.
26. Real estate companies are all predicting sales number drop. Are you diversifying to maintain your company’s revenue elsewhere?
In regards to how 2019 ended economically for us (Mongolia), I understand why real estate companies would make such predictions. However, I think the sales number won’t drop that low this year. Since the beginning of the year, major construction and development companies have already started construction work, as well as ongoing and new development projects have developed their purchase plans till the end of this year. Regardless of the economic situation and the government election, Multinational Mega-project construction phases are starting this year as planned, which will allow many subcontractors to revive again for the next 3 years. Private construction developers whose projects are only at their first block phases will remain headstrong and continue the rest of the phases in order to keep the value of initial investments.
“From my experience of previous elections, the Government will find a way to surge cash into the economy (again), and knowing how fragile the whole situation is, people will splurge on assets such as real estate and cars (again). Since we aren’t really the saving account type of society yet. ”
But to answer your question (laughs), yes, Mongol Basalt JSC is diversifying to other industries, such as agriculture. To be more specific, Basaltwool can be used as a soil substitute for hydroponic farming. Many successful research has been done on our products, and we have grown beans, flowers, strawberries and cucumbers already. We are preparing to launch the new product this year.
27. After LendMN and Mongol Basalt IPOs, there were over 7 IPOs on Mongolian Stock Exchange in 2019. You and LendMN seem to have started the trend of getting publicly listed in Mongolia! What makes you think that Mongolian companies suddenly started getting interested in IPOs?
We actually submitted our prospectus to the FRC a little before LendMN, so we could have been the first! (laughs).
“Mongolian stock exchange is at its early fetus stage, and I think there is so much room for growth and developments for the finance market.
We need to break the barriers for international investors, and make it easier for them to invest in public companies, it will help our stock market grow faster. ”
Imagine how much GOBI or APU shares were worth over 10 years ago. I think we can also see double digit growth in less than 10 years with a healthy market growth.
We initially wanted to raise 21 million USD to fully get the factory we wanted, but we got listed for 3 million USD to be realistic and start small to refurbish our current factory and its equipment. The factory expansion will expand our capacity by 1.5 times, increase product range, and cut production costs, which would make our products attractive to export and have a competitive price.
Our 21 million USD feasibility study was approved by the Ministry of Industry of Mongolia (before it was merged and shut down), so we are still looking to fundraise and complete our dream factory as our main goal is to start exporting to China, Russia and Japan, and a fully automated Euro standard line will give us the opportunity to compete with the international giants of the industry.
28. What was the main difference between being LLC and publicly listed company?
I believe that becoming a public company is one of the biggest growth milestones for any company. Especially for a company focused on innovative industrial technology and engineering process manufacturing, where the Government or the consumers do not understand the value of the company or the products, we constantly find ourselves trying to prove our worth. By becoming public, the value of our company is not only in our hands, but also in the hands of thousands of shareholders on the open stock market. Not only is the company's interest at stake, thousands of shareholders’ interests are at stake.
“IPO process motivates the company to want to grow bigger, develop faster, achieve higher results and accomplish more. I found that it improves their best practice, company culture, accounting practices and social responsibilities. ”
29. Congrats for becoming one of the Forbes Mongolia's 50 Best Female Leaders in 2019! How many female CEOs are out there in Mongolia, do you know? Especially at publicly listed ones?
Thank you very much. From what I read as of 2018, from the Top 100 companies listed on the stock exchange only 6% has female CEOs.
30. What is it like to work in a male-dominant construction industry as a woman?
In my opinion, it is advantageous. Often at meetings, people underestimate you as a woman and I’ve even been asked "where is your father?" at one or two meetings, perhaps it had more to do with my age than gender. At the end of the day it didn’t matter as I am pretty straightforward and can come to common grounds for positive outcomes. In business the end results are far more important than gender games. We still have a long way to go from here.
“I think women generate business much faster, as we do not need to deal with macho or ego games. Women have better soft skills, which are important for companies. We are more empathetic, which allows us to empathise with our customers better. We can naturally juggle many tasks at once. However, we are constantly asked to prove our worth, so we work harder and strive for more.”
Although, if I find myself facing gender discriminations at this day and age, I know I will not be fighting for myself, but rather for my daughter’s future and equality. This makes me want to try harder and make a difference even more.
31. I salute you for offering a work-life-balance at Mongol Basalt JSC by letting your employees take an extra paid day off once every 2 weeks! What made you have such a company culture and is it truly improving productivity in your company?
Thanks again. I guess I listened and cared. Also because of the location and nature of our operations we found it harder to keep female employees in certain positions longer. It’s actually only allowed for specific female employees who have younger children. I believe that a positive balance is very important for productivity and a good attitude towards your work.
I would definitely say it has helped improve our productivity in many ways. These employees substitute for each other, so when they get the extra paid day off they take turns and fill in for each other. I found that it helps cultivate people to know better about each others roles in the company and have a more team player attitude.
Since we started this, we have fewer HR movements in these positions than before, and employees seem more eager to work on bigger projects and can make deadlines better. I feel much more at ease to ask for better results and implement more HR development policies. Although this is just a small part of many of our changes, I expect to see greater results in the future.
32. Besides Mongol Basalt JSC and Unimat Education, you are also a certified “High Impact Coach from Dale Carnegie”. Can you tell us more?
While working on the STEM education development project I had an opportunity to do a TEDxTalk in 2015, about “Creative Education”. It really motivated me to dive into mentorship and creative thinking, especially about why our country is in need of creative thinkers in all fields and where the challenges are best tackled first hand.
“I did my second TEDxGMIT talk in 2019 on “Ger District Re-Insulation Project and Its Hidden Effects”. I learnt how much positive impact our re-insulation had on the daily livelihood of the families involved, and how much their quality of life was improved. ”
(See the video here). All we were calculating was 1) the decrease in coal consumption, and 2) energy efficiency, and 3) economic savings for the family. But as it turns out their general quality of life and family dynamics have become much healthier. For instance, the wife had much more spare time on her hands because they didn’t need anyone to stay home during the day and heat the stove every 4 hours, so she started working. With an extra income, the kids had cleaner clothes to wear to school, and the parents rested better without having to wake up in the middle of the night to reheat the stoves. The family looked much relaxed and happier and the house looked much cleaner compared to the previous year when we started the project.
The more and more years went by, I really understood the importance of mentorship. I became a certified coach because I wanted to learn the proper techniques for leading and changing a company. Becoming a CEO is no longer limited by hard skill challenges anymore.
“CEOs need to learn soft skills such as people skills, persuasion skills, mentor skills, logical thinking and analysis skills, empathy skills, motivation skills, and many more skills that they don’t necessarily learn at schools. ”
As a certified coach I am trained to find the companies, employees and personal needs. Determine the growth and development, and find new opportunities for them. Establish their current and future goals and how to reach them. Help enhance their advantages and find areas for further development.
33. And you are also a member of “Star Mongolia alumni Chapter”
Yes, Stars is a neutral, independent, not-for-profit organization registered in Switzerland. An inspiring global network of 2,100 alumni, which grows by 200 alumni every year, coming from more than 100 countries. One-third are women and 80 per cent having a background in business, and the rest in science, politics, culture, the media and NGOs.
Stars regularly publishes stars insights, which are exclusive contributions by business leaders and experts who scan the horizon to discuss geopolitical, economic, technological and further trends and developments which will impact society and business in the next few years.
PERSONAL
34. May we ask if you are single or married? What are your thoughts on family planning in Mongolia?
I am married to my classmate Enkhbayar and we have a daughter.
There is no family planning in Mongolia. You get pregnant and you marry! (laughs)
35. How do you relax? What’s your hobby or where can we find you when you are not working?
With my family, going out of the city for some fresh air or at a yoga studio.
36. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grow up?
I wanted to be a news anchor/presenter. I think they looked so cool and put together.
37. Now, where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I would love to be working on more STEM sector development projects, playing a bigger part in creative education paths for Mongolian youth.
38. Who do you admire most in Mongolia? A living person and why?
I admire my parents (cliche, but still...) for building their lives to what it is today from scratch. Especially my father for choosing one of the hardest career paths and pioneering in the innovative new material manufacturing field. Constantly fighting through obstacles and disbelief, no one in Mongolia believed he could make wool out of a rock.
39. Do you have any mentors? How did you pick them as mentors?
“My father recently became my mentor. I am saying recently as previously I do not think I qualified as a mentee. Mentorship is not a one-way relationship, mentees need to be qualified in order to have an excellent mentor. ”
I picked him as my mentor because he has been through it all and survived. Following the common norm of his generation I can see that he could have easily chosen a path in politics, yet he remained true to engineering and innovation. I think it is hard dedication to your own beliefs and goals, and you constantly yearn to learn and develop yourself more when you become a good mentor.
40. If you could compare yourself to another animal, what animal would you be?
Lioness.
41. What’s the best life advice that you’ve received? Who gave this advice?
When I was working at Luxottica Group in the UK, I was having a stressful day. One of my colleagues came up to me and said, “Today is just a tiny black dot on your entire canvas life, of which you will forget or simply laugh it off in the future.” This philosophy really changed my life, so whenever something bad happens at work or life, I manage my stress better and try to see the bigger picture and understand that shit happens in life.
42. A personal advice you would like to extend to fellow Hobby Alumni?
Use this #HobbyAlumni platform as an inspiration for better developing yourself and understanding why others are who they are.
43. A personal advice you would like to extend to fellow Hobby students?
Be friends with your teachers! Back in my time, we used to think that the world was about “us (the students) versus the teachers” and now that I am older and wiser now (laughs), I would like to tell you that teachers are there to help you and they are not your enemies. Use them as much as possible and they are there to guide you!
44. What are your good and bad habits?
My good habits: Managing stress, listening attentively, never jumping to conclusions and glass of warm water every morning.
My bad habits: Inconsistent eating and sleeping hours.
45. Funniest story at work you can share with us?
I really can’t think of any at the moment, sorry.
46. If you can pass 1 law globally, what would it be?
A stronger Climate Law (strengthen the frameworks, implement stronger policies, have fewer exemptions, higher carbon prices, more focused support on energy efficiency, and better prohibitions on land use)
47. Now if you can fix 1 problem in Mongolia, what would it be?
Corruption.
48. If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive who would it be, and why? Also, what would be your first question?
Christine Lagarde! I would like to know if she has a sense of humor or not (laughs). She is an impressive lady and I would like to ask her “Are you human?”.
49. Name 3 conspiracy theories you believe in.
Just for the amusement of this question! UFO exists, Elvis and Micheal Jackson are both alive and among us.
50. Who would you recommend to interview next from Hobby Alumni? And Why?
I would like to recommend my classmate Khulan Tsenddoo who is the founder of King’s Kids School of Ulaanbaatar. I would also like to recommend another classmate Saranmandal Dalai who is working on MCA water quality projects such as Central wastewater treatment plant, Tuul river multipurpose water reservoir, Flow regulation of Orkhon River, etc at Prestige Co.Ltd. in Mongolia. Both ladies would be an excellent read and inspiration.
“Mongol Basalt’s main product “basaltwool” is the best man-made fire resistant insulation known to modern science today.
Our insulation saves 80-1,500 times CO2 emissions throughout their lifespan. If you look at companies who use our materials, you will understand why.
Quality insulation makes buildings energy efficient and it reduces the carbon footprint. ”