I’m Alexander Golev. I build businesses. I’ve been doing it long enough that I can’t really imagine doing anything else.
I’m British, despite what my name might suggest. I chose the UK to be my permanent home because I like how things work here: the rule of law means something, people respect your privacy, and a UK business is taken seriously anywhere.
Before Great Britain, I lived in Switzerland, Cyprus, and several parts of the former Soviet Union. I worked in all of them. Different languages, different cultures, different ways of getting things done. Each place had its intricacies. I came to respect how they worked, and how to work within them.
Living by My Philosophy
I’m an entrepreneur. It’s how I’m wired. I’ve been building businesses for most of my adult life, and I genuinely enjoy it. Building teams, making things work, running projects, creating something where there was nothing before.
Building things means problems come up. When they do, I want to fix them, not argue about whose fault they are. You made a mistake? Fine, let’s not do it again. Now, what’s the solution?
And the fixing always involves people. Behind every company, every contract, every negotiation, there are actual humans. Corporations don’t make decisions. The people inside them do. When we negotiate with Microsoft or defend a client in an audit, we’re dealing with human beings who have their own pressures, their own targets, their own way of seeing things.
My Daily Life
Most of the time, I’m the CEO of SAMexpert. We help companies make sense of Microsoft licensing and cloud costs.
These are subjects that have been made deliberately complicated. Microsoft licensing is a maze, and the people who sell it have no incentive to make it clearer. So companies overpay, or they get audited and told they owe millions they didn’t expect. We help them understand what they actually need, negotiate on their behalf, defend them when Microsoft comes knocking.
Beyond the Professional Sphere
Away from work, I have plenty to keep me occupied. I’m training for my microlight pilot licence, something I’ve wanted to do for years. I ride a motorcycle, I run and cycle. I speak several languages and I’m always learning another, and I spend a lot of time cooking, baking, and writing music.
Despite all of this, I am also a ‘serial dad’, and I spend a lot of time with my children. My wife Nadia is an extremely talented painter – her work hangs in galleries, and a lot of it hangs on our walls at home. Our house is full of art and noise.
Engaging with You
I’m always happy to hear from people. You can find me on LinkedIn, and if you want to ask questions about Cloud FinOps and Microsoft Licensing, I do regular Q&A sessions on SAMexpert TV.