Vladimir Bagaev

Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University

“Legal innovator and media manager, passionate about connecting people and bringing positive changes to society.”

Hometown: Talnakh, Russia

Fun fact about yourself: Guided by my principles, I moved from Russia to Georgia in May 2022 to assist those affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, specifically volunteering to provide essential medicine to refugee communities.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Saint Petersburg State University, 2006), Master of Jurisprudence (Saint Petersburg State University, 2006), Magister Juris (Oxford University, 2008)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? CEO at Zakon Publishing (Moscow, Russia)

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? NA.

Where will you be working after graduation? Not decided yet.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Vice President, Student Association Board: Developed operational framework for 30+ student-led events and provided critical support to cohort-wide traditions, including the annual Gala and the Impact Investment Competition. I also supported the delegation for the MBA Tournament (MBAT), where Team RSM secured the prestigious “Best Delegation” award.

Founder of RSM Toastmasters Club: Identified a gap in soft-skills training and established the RSM Toastmasters Club to help MBA students and alumni practice public speaking and presentation skills. Currently, the club has 20+ members. It also helps students to extend their network by engaging with alumni of the school, who are also members of the Club, and by visiting other Toastmasters clubs across the Netherlands.

External Relations Leader, Maas Impact Ventures: Managed strategic partnerships for a student-driven impact investment platform aimed at providing hands-on venture capital experience for future MBA cohorts.

Legal AI Public Talk Organisation: Curated and moderated the public talk “The Future of Legal Profession” featuring 5 leading professionals who implement AI in law firms and corporate departments; the event was attended by 40+ guests including MBA students, alumni, legal practitioners, and law students.

Founder, Mindful Drinking Society: Launched an inclusive social initiative designed to foster cohort cohesion through non-traditional networking; I organized over 30 events, including curated wine tastings, to provide a diverse range of engagement opportunities for the entire student body.

The RSM Student Award: Selected by my peers to receive this prestigious honor, recognising significant contributions to the MBA community and excellence in leadership.

Farewell Speech: Chosen by the cohort to deliver the farewell address at the Graduation Ceremony. My speech focused on the “Power of Connection,” advocating for intentional relationship-building as a fundamental tool for driving positive societal and professional change.

Academic Distinction (Cum Laude): Graduated in the top 10% of the Class of 2026. While my background is in law, I am particularly proud of achieving my highest marks in quantitative disciplines, including Statistics, Economics, Advanced Finance, and International Portfolio Management.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of founding and establishing the RSM Toastmasters Club. Public speaking and high-stakes presentation skills are essential for any effective manager, and Toastmasters provides a safe, structured environment to master them. By opening membership to alumni, I ensured the club serves as a powerful networking bridge for current students. The club now sustains 20+ active members, with open-house events drawing up to 45 attendees. I am especially proud that this initiative creates a lasting resource that will benefit not only my peers but also many future cohorts.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I developed and launched Zakon.ru, which became the most popular professional networking and discussion platform for lawyers in Russia. I initiated this project because there was virtually no unified legal community in the country, and I wanted to bridge that gap by connecting professionals nationwide. Today, the platform attracts a monthly audience of approximately 1 million visitors. While 60% of these users are non-professionals seeking free legal information and access to Russia’s largest database of lawyers, the platform’s core strength is its community engagement. Although our team provides professional legal news, I am most proud that over 90% of the 45,000+ posts are user-generated, proving we successfully built a self-sustaining ecosystem for legal discourse.

Why did you choose this business school? Rotterdam School of Management stands out for its flexible approach to the student journey. The school encourages students to develop their own projects that facilitate significant transitions in society and the economy. I wanted to explore how emerging technology will transform the way legal professionals operate and deliver their services.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Trevor Wegner, our Statistics professor, was outstanding in his dedication to his students and our learning outcomes. He possessed a rare ability to explain complex concepts with absolute clarity and generously committed significant extra time to meet with students to resolve any challenges they faced. His genuine care and warmth were truly unprecedented, creating a supportive environment that made even the most difficult quantitative material accessible.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Developing soft skills is central to any MBA program, and among these, Self-Marketing truly made a difference. This course empowered me to craft a cohesive professional and personal narrative. I now know how to ‘connect the dots’ between the diverse experiences that formed my personality and, more importantly, how to effectively present that story to employers, clients, and colleagues.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? The Impact Investment Competition was a true highlight of the year. Originally a private equity competition, the school and its students pivoted the focus toward impact investment several years ago. This shift reflects RSM’s motto to be a ‘force for positive change’ and our commitment to developing businesses that embed sustainability at their core. Organised entirely by students, the event involved nearly 30% of our cohort, demonstrating our immense team spirit and collaborative culture. This year, we hosted 15 teams from eight schools across Europe—the highest participation in years. The goal is to include Asian and American business schools in the near future.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have dedicated more effort to case competitions, both by participating in them personally and by more actively encouraging my coursemates to do the same. Participating in an international competition is a remarkable experience. It is more intense than any group assignment and also great for building relations inside and outside of your cohort.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? It was the case “VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid” (developed by Michigan Ross School of Business, case W86C10). I learned that cooperation with local communities and businesses could empower you to scale a sustainable business.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I love the Brandgrens (The Border of Fire) World War II Memorial. Light objects installed in the sidewalks of the Rotterdam city centre mark the border of the area that was destroyed by the German bombardment and ensuing fire. You can walk along this line and see how this tragic event reshaped the city. The impact of the memorial was amplified for me when I met an elderly man on the metro who had witnessed the bombardment as a young boy. This experience is deeply personal, as I left my own home country because it initiated a war, making Rotterdam’s resilience a powerful source of inspiration.

What business leader do you admire most? I admire Walt Disney. Not only did he create a company which turned imagination into business, he preserved the spirit of entrepreneurship which led to the foundation of Disneyland amusement parks in 1950s, currently providing a major part of the company’s operating income.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Using AI was an integral part of our consulting experience during the Living Management Project (LMP), where we solved real-world business challenges for companies seeking strategic advice from RSM. We leveraged AI primarily for the ideation phase, where it proved to be a powerful collaborator. The experience taught me that AI functions best as a sophisticated companion that helps you sharpen, challenge, and refine your original ideas.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Lila Frisher, a student from the US, had the vision to found a student-led impact investment fund in association with RSM. Inspired by her ambition, I joined the core team of ten students dedicated to bringing this bold initiative to life. Together, we successfully hosted the inaugural Impact Summit and organised the Impact Investment Case Competition. We also established our brand, Maas Impact Ventures by RSM, along with a governance structure to onboard future cohorts. I admire Lila for her visionary leadership in creating a legacy organisation that will provide hands-on investment experience for RSM students for years to come.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

I want to develop a product that will change the legal industry by making legal services more accessible and thus expanding the market.

I want to establish a foundation that will help tackle the biodiversity crisis.

What made Vladimir such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Vladimir had everything you could ask for in an MBA student.

Always prepared and ready to engage in class.

“He showed up curious and with a growth mindset. Was able to recognize what he did and did not know and not afraid to be vulnerable or take risks to enhance his learning. More importantly, he acted as a community builder and entrepreneur. Playing a vital role in the entire cohort’s experience by co-leading the Student Association and developing multiple initiatives to elevate our programme and student experience.”

Jochem Kroezen
Academic Director, International Full-time MBA Programme

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