Pavlova: "I'm Not Here to Meddle"

In an interview on the Nets website, Irina Pavlova lays out what she's going to be doing as president of the Mikhail Prokhorov company that owns the Nets...and what she's not doing.

"I think the main thing is I’m not here to meddle," said Pavlova, president of Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings USA.

"The team has great management, and I’m not here to tell them how to do things. I’m here to make their jobs easier, to facilitate any support they feel they need and to make sure everyone is in the loop regarding any concerns or issues that come up.

"I don’t want anyone to think that I’m replacing anyone – I’m definitely not. I am just here as an addition."

Specifically, Pavlova said her job is to serve as a conduit, to "bridge the gap" between the Nets offices and Onexim's main office in Moscow. She admits there are cultural differences. Russian businesses, she notes, are less structured.  She knows.  She was Google's first Russian employee.

Pavlova is also straightforward about other inter-cultural concerns.

"We’re not the Boogeyman, we’re not the Mafia; we’re normal people, doing business just like anyone else here. I think that removes a lot of the stereotypes, and just dealing with people face-to-face really makes them trust you more and makes you trust them. It works both ways."

• NETS: Irina Pavlova Q&A: Sports, Spirit and SPAM - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets
• The Nets new managers are not the boogeymen. Just for the record. - Kurt Helin - NBC Sports