Johan graduated Baruch College in 2023, with minors in Marketing and Political Science.
He was born in Uzbekistan, lived in Germany and Moscow, Russia. He is the founder of Légan, a community for Central Asians with a following of 1.3K+. Currently, he works as a Financial Analyst at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Johan’s Current Role
Basically what we do is to optimize the business. We have to see how the business works in hospitals etc. Secondly, we want to bring the best medicine possible to people around the world. I do things on the strategy level, I would say. You need to be creative in this field, thinking out of box without solely relying on numbers.
Johan’s Marketing Experience
My minor was in marketing, and I chose it because I like creating content. I was a marketing consultant for 2 companies. I got those jobs from my network as well. I mostly did ‘higher-level’ marketing including brand strategy and on-site projects too.
About Légan
I was born in Uzbekistan and spent most of my life in Moscow, Russia, and Germany. I’ve always felt connected to my roots and identity, so I started a page sharing cool and aesthetic pics of my culture. It quickly grew, and people began following and messaging me, saying they loved the content. It has since evolved into a platform for Central Asian students and people, with regular meetings (2-3 times a month). We have a following of 1,300 people—not a huge number, but these are real, engaged individuals who enjoy our meetings, dinners, and coffee chats. It’s also a great way to network.
Johan on his choice to do International Business
For me, since I really wanted to get into entrepreneurship and into the business field, I knew what I wanted to do. Also, I chose International Business because my family works in diplomacy and international affairs, and I’ve always been fascinated by global affairs and economics
Johan’s Journey to NYC
My first two years of college were at Westminster University in the UK, studying Business Information Systems, a mix of business and IT. Since I wasn’t really into IT, I decided to transfer to a college in NYC, drawn by the city’s vibrant atmosphere.
Johan’s Advice to Students
You should invest some time into your grades, but also people. When I was looking for a job, I would ask everyone I know about it for a job. Because I knew the right people, I had several job offers.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone! I know some people might feel anxious about talking to others. I’ll be honest—I applied to a thousand job applications, and when messaging people on LinkedIn, I remember that a lot of people didn’t respond. It’s never personal. Even within our teams, some people text me, and I may see it but forget to respond. So, just don’t take it personally! At the end of the day, you will get there.