Moscow · Commercial & Digital Transformation
Denis
Kulakov
Thirteen years turning commercial complexity into clarity — at the intersection of category strategy, ERP product ownership, and AI-driven automation.
About
The way I
think
I don't separate business problems from digital ones. They're the same problem — and the distance between them is where the real work happens.
My career has been one long experiment in crossing boundaries that most organizations treat as walls: between commercial and IT, between category management and product thinking, between process design and data infrastructure. Azbuka Vkusa — Russia's most demanding food retailer — has been the laboratory.
What I've learned is that the most impactful transformations are never purely technical or purely strategic. They require someone who can speak fluently in both, hold the tension between speed and rigor, and build enough trust across functions to actually move things forward.
Today I'm most energized by problems that sit at that intersection: where a business model needs to change, the data infrastructure isn't quite there yet, and AI tools are beginning to make things possible that weren't possible a year ago.
Selected Impact
A record of
outcomes
Designed the live-migration mechanism for a full ERP transition, cutting the projected timeline from a year to months — with zero critical disruptions to supply or assortment.
Defended a $1.1M production platform upgrade, rebuilt the assortment architecture, and grew own-roast coffee to 55%+ of segment sales — sustained 10–15% YoY for 5 years.
Drove 85% revenue growth and 115% volume growth in own-roast whole bean coffee YoY. Increased hot-beverage category margin by 4 percentage points in a single year.
Piloted an autonomous AI analyst for GR using OpenClaw and n8n — agreed the MVP with IT and InfoSec, deployed to production, saving 4+ hours of manual work per day.
Career Arc
How I got
here
Finding and closing efficiency gaps across the full commercial function: category management, pricing, VED, internal services, PR/GR, and on-site production. Running a change backlog, facilitating cross-functional work, and deploying AI tools to reduce manual effort and sharpen decision quality.
Owning the ERP product for assortment management across the commercial department. Product vision, roadmap, backlog, functional requirements, and go-live governance — including the live-environment migration that touched ~80% of company turnover.
Full P&L ownership of tea, coffee, cocoa, vegan, crackers, checkout zone and café beverages — a cluster representing ~5% of company revenue. Defended a $1.1M capex investment, built a private label growth platform, and sustained double-digit category growth for five years.
Assortment management and category development for tea, coffee, and cocoa. Doubled inventory turnover in the first six months. Grew herbal & fruit tea subcategory share from 11% to 23%. Ran the "Tea Festival" promo — +135% revenue, +150% units.
Import of food and non-food goods from Europe, India, Sri Lanka, and Israel. Supplier search, market analysis, contract negotiation. The foundation of everything that followed.
In Action
Beyond the
spreadsheet
Media & Publications
Thoughts &
conversations
Speaking appearances, expert commentary, and published work on commercial transformation, retail innovation, and the practical application of AI in FMCG.
Entering the B2B Market: How a Retail Coffee Platform Scales Beyond the Shelf
The Glove
Coverage of the strategic move to launch Azbuka Vkusa's own-roast coffee into HoReCa supply — the result of a category transformation built around a production platform and a private-label roadmap led from concept to commercial deployment.
ReadThe Packaging Reflects the Relationship: Azbuka Vkusa's Private Label Vision
Coffee Tea Cacao Industry Portal
Feature on the brand identity strategy behind AV's award-winning private label packaging — illustrating how product vision, assortment architecture, and consumer positioning were designed as a coherent system.
ReadEthnic Tea Collection — Building a Brand Narrative Through Category Design
Behance
Case study of the Ethnic Tea Collection launched under Denis's category ownership — a product line that reframed private label from price-driven to culturally-authored, translating assortment strategy into a coherent consumer brand.
ViewAzbuka Vkusa × Sage: When Retail Meets Restaurant
Buro 24/7
Coverage of the Sage restaurant collaboration — a co-branded menu that brought restaurant-quality products into AV cafés, demonstrating how strategic partnerships can expand audience reach and reinforce premium positioning.
ReadEl Copitas Bar × Azbuka Vkusa: Bringing World-Class Bartending to Retail
Okolobara
Feature on the limited-edition beverage collaboration with El Copitas Bar (top-10 World's 50 Best Bars) — a category initiative that used high-profile partnerships to differentiate the beverage assortment and attract new customer segments.
ReadContact
Let's start a conversation
Open to senior roles in commercial transformation, digital strategy, and product leadership — and always happy to connect.