Construction is a highly competitive industry, and to add to this, success cannot be achieved without good teamwork. But despite the challenges, you can still find ways to make a name for yourself, build a brilliant career, and become a real professional. Leonid Monosov undoubtedly proved that it is possible. He started out as an ordinary foreman and worked his way up to the senior management of big Moscow companies, adding dozens of successful and important projects to the list of his accomplishments. Thanks to this man, the Russian capital can now boast of the modern Manege exhibition complex, the new buildings of Moscow State University, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and many other architectural masterpieces that make up the modern metropolis.
Childhood, Youth, and the Choice of Profession
Leonid Monosov was born in the Belarusian city of Mazyr, into an ordinary working-class family, on March 2, 1958. His mother was originally from Belarusian Polesie and his father was from Moscow. The family chose to live in a cozy green town on the hills, which is often referred to as “Belarusian Switzerland.” Maybe Leonid would have lived here for many years and grown old surrounded by his children and grandchildren, but life had different plans for him.
When the boy was 5 years old, his mother tragically died and his father decided to return to his hometown. The decision made sense, since a large city opened up more prospects for the inquisitive child who started showing a sharpness of mind and talent for exact sciences from an early age. His father realized this and made the difficult choice to move, so that his son could start school in Moscow.
The family settled in the Sokolniki area; the boy was enrolled in School No. 315 right next to their apartment building. It was here that the teachers helped young Leonid to develop his talent in physics and mathematics. Thanks to his exceptional education, Leonid Monosov managed to enter a prestigious Moscow university on the first try, without any tutoring or preliminary courses. It is no wonder that his children would start their academic journey at the same school many years later.
As a teenager, Leonid himself probably thought about what profession to pursue in the future. But, noticing his son’s analytical mind, his father advised him to choose a career in the construction industry. His reasoning was simple. Moscow was expanding, new neighborhoods and the subway were being built, and the city needed a modern infrastructure and transport interchanges. So builders would have a lot of work to do for years to come. His prediction was right, because even 40 years later, the Russian capital continues to grow and fill up with new residential buildings, supermarkets, and business centers that meet modern standards. And Leonid Monosov, who by now had become not just a good builder, but a successful top manager, is still in demand in his chosen field. But to get to this level, he had to go through a difficult professional path.
First Experience of Working in a Team
After graduating from the University of Transport in Moscow with a degree in industrial and civil construction in 1980, Leonid Monosov was assigned to Glavmospromstroy, an organization with a rich and colourful history. This was quite a prestigious place to work, as Glavmospromstroy was responsible for the most complex and interesting projects of that time. The history of the enterprise began back in 1937; one of its first tasks was to relocate several houses on what is now Tverskaya Street, including the famous Golitsyn Mansion, which nowadays houses the Government of Moscow.
Among the most unusual and complex projects of Glavmospromstroy are the construction or reconstruction of:
- Ostankino Tower.
- Main building of Moscow State University.
- Kremlin Palace of Congresses.
- Kurchatov Institute’s buildings.
When the young engineer joined the staff of Glavmospromstroy after the university, the company was at its height. It had just finished dozens of pieces of infrastructure that were built specifically for the 1980 Olympics. Its architects and designers received state awards and became household names in Moscow. It was considered prestigious and honorable to work at Glavmospromstroy, so there were plenty of people willing to get a job here. Moreover, the company’s staff consisted of more than 3 thousand highly qualified specialists, so Leonid Monosov had something to strive for.
However, he did not get a job related to his specialization right away; the young engineer was first hired as a foreman, and about a year later, he was promoted to construction site supervisor. It was a difficult period of learning — this time in practice — when the reality of working on a construction site either confirmed or refuted academic dogmas he had learned at the university. Leonid Monosov had a team of workers under his command; he taught them some things, but mostly he learned from them himself. It was then that he developed his management skills and got his first invaluable experience in the construction field.
Leonid Monosov remembers this period in his life with gratitude and warmth, because despite the challenges that can happen in any professional environment, the teamwork here was great. Later, when he had become deputy CEO, he always repeated that the company’s achievements and awards are the result of painstaking, thoughtful, and balanced teamwork. Being a talented leader, he would hardly have been able to single-handedly, without the support of his team, execute those challenging tasks that were frequently imposed on one of the leading Moscow construction companies.
The projects were indeed complex and time-consuming. When perestroika began, it brought about private investors who were ready to finance grandiose projects. The enterprise, which by that time had become a joint-stock company and was renamed Mospromstroy, received an order for the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It was a private initiative that was backed up by the highest echelons of power. But the money for the cathedral, destroyed in 1931, was donated by people from around the world. It was rebuilt in 6 years and became an important landmark in the Russian capital. And this is not surprising, because the contractor managed not only to restore the exterior and interiors of the religious building based on the surviving drawings, but also to create a modern complex in the center of Moscow with a developed infrastructure (access roads, underground parking, utility facilities).
There are many other projects that Leonid Monosov likes to reminisce about. These include the TASS headquarters and buildings of various educational institutions, like the Mining University. Employees of the Moscow company also had to eliminate the consequences of the earthquake in Armenia; they used their best efforts to put up several high-rise residential buildings in Leninakan. But there were also some aspects of work that Leonid would have liked to improve for the sake of efficiency. He was able to do it later, but at a new place of work.
The Key to a Successful Business
In 1999, Leonid Monosov took charge of the Moskapstroy engineering company, which had been providing construction representative services for more than half a century. That is, it was responsible for overseeing the site preparation process, connecting buildings to utilities, and completing all the paperwork. In Soviet times, it would hardly have been possible to change the business profile of such a company, but with the collapse of the USSR, this had to be done. Construction companies began to switch to self-financing; their revenue from that point on depended not on government grants, but on the volume and quality of the work they performed. More and more difficulties began to arise with the latter, because a single residential building sometimes had several companies responsible for its construction. And other times, lacking its own resources, general contractors hired third parties to do certain works.
As a result, construction regulations were not always observed, and the company in Leonid’s charge, along with other contractors, was often deemed unreliable — if a building did not meet the standards, all those involved in its construction were found guilty without any exception. No one would even try to investigate which part of the construction process Moskapstroy was actually responsible for.
Leonid Monosov decided to radically change the situation and began by expanding the list of services provided by the company. From that point, it started dealing with turnkey contracts, monitoring new projects throughout the whole construction process. The contractor considered it good form not to just design and put up a new building, but also develop the surrounding areas. Muscovites soon realized that any project led by this company would be completed on time and with additional perks in the form of asphalt access roads, playgrounds, lawns, flower beds, benches, and gazebos.
To organize business operations at such a high level, the head of the company created about 20 subsidiaries, each of which was responsible for its own area of work. All actions of the subdivisions were coordinated and monitored by the management. Special attention was paid to the employees who were carefully selected for their jobs. As a result, over the course of several years, Leonid Monosov built a strong team that could handle even the most complex and unconventional tasks. It was this company that the city authorized to restore the Manege exhibition complex after the fire of 2004. Moskapstroy specialists faced up to the challenge, not simply restoring the architectural ensemble to its original form, but also adapting the complex to modern realities.
It is no wonder that not only private developers turned to this contractor for its services — the company also easily won public contracts and put up new buildings all over Moscow. These were residential, office, and administration buildings, shopping centers, and amenity infrastructures — millions of square meters every year. Over the course of several years, the company’s financial performance tripled, and this allowed Moskapstroy to not only provide good salaries to employees, but also enter the residential real estate market. It began to participate in construction projects both as a client and as a contractor at the same time.
The construction industry, just like any other business, was affected by the 2008 economic crisis; many companies ceased to exist due to lack of orders. The number of new projects at Moskapstroy dropped and there were no buyers for the property that was already built. In light of this, Leonid Monosov decided to rent out apartments, which made it possible to ensure a stable inflow of funds. The money was enough to pay the salaries and keep the company afloat in a time of crisis.
In Search of New Horizons
Leonid Monosov has been interested in investment since the late 90s, but he did not get the opportunity to put his ideas into practice until much later. 2012 was marked by a new milestone in his biography, when he became an executive at AFK Sistema. This large company bought shares of promising startups and propelled them to the next level. For example, it successfully implemented such large projects as MTC and OZON. But Leonid seriously delved into investment even later, when he became vice-president of the Moskapstroy-TN company.
Its current field of expertise is investment, with funds being invested in construction projects. The company’s track record is not very extensive yet, however it includes not only residential buildings, but also the Na Ordynke business center, the Pavshino shopping mall, and the Krasny Mayak warehouse complex. Being the owner of new buildings, the company has the authority to both sell and lease them. Considering the rising cost of real estate, this helps Moskapstroy-TN generate stably high revenue.
Family and Children
Leonid is well known in construction circles, but he tries to avoid publicity and does not display his personal life. He is married and has adult children who followed in their father’s footsteps and also devoted their lives to the construction industry.
Andrey Monosov is a graduate of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering; he is a successful entrepreneur and top manager at one of the capital’s construction companies. Just like his father, he prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye. However, it is known that Andrey Monosov is married and has a son and daughter.
Alina Monosova is a graduate of MGIMO (with a master’s degree); she chose an economics major, but later on, got a job in a construction company, where she worked for 10 years and made the way from a regular manager to an executive. After that, she was in charge of the investment department at Skama Group for several years.
One of Alina’s areas of interest is psychology; she has completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at MSU and is currently studying for her master’s. However, she admits that she does not intend to change her profession or make money of it — her goal is to understand herself better and to build a healthy relationship with the world around. Alina Monosova is a certified Gestalt psychologist and life coach; she focuses on personal growth and self-actualization issues. Together with her friends from around the world, she writes a blog dedicated to the nuances of living in a metropolis.
