Anna Varibrusova has worked in the defense industry for more than a decade—long before Defense Tech became one of the most prominent sectors of Ukraine’s economy. Today, she is involved in the strategic development of her family’s company, international negotiations, new projects, and partnerships.

In this interview, Anna Varibrusova discusses how she built her own professional role within the family business, how the full-scale war changed her understanding of responsibility, why expertise accumulated over years carries particular value, and how she sees the future of Ukrainian Defense Tech.

You have worked in the defense industry for more than a decade—long before Defense Tech became one of the most prominent sectors of Ukraine’s economy. How has your own role evolved over that time, from joining the family business to taking part in strategic decisions, international negotiations, and developing new business lines?

If you compare who I was professionally ten years ago with who I am today, they are essentially two very different roles.

At the beginning, it was important for me to immerse myself in the business as deeply as possible: to understand the product, the manufacturing processes, the specifics of the defense industry and international operations, and to learn to see the entire system rather than just an individual task.

Over time, I began taking responsibility for specific areas, negotiations, complex projects and, most importantly, the outcome.

For me, responsibility is the key word in management. You can have a title, a family name, or status, but real professional weight comes when your decisions influence where the company is headed—and when you are prepared to take responsibility for their consequences.

Today, I am involved in the company’s strategic development, international negotiations, developing new business lines, and partnerships. I once entered an established system; now I have the opportunity to shape its transformation and help determine what it will look like tomorrow.

I did not inherit a ready-made professional role. I built it gradually—through work, decisions, and results.

Family businesses are often viewed primarily through the lens of legacy. But turning that legacy into your own professional achievement is a challenge in itself. How did you manage to build a truly professional partnership with your family—to learn how to disagree, defend your position, make difficult decisions—and at the same time ensure that people in the business see you for your own results, rather than simply your last name?

In our family, there was never an attempt to artificially separate the personal from the professional. I developed a respect for professional roles very early in life.

I was four years old when my mother first took me to visit my father at work. I heard everyone addressing him as “Serhii Tymofiiovych” and asked my mother why they called him that. She explained that his father’s name was Tymofii. So I asked, “Then who am I?” She said, “You’re Anna Serhiivna.” I’ve introduced myself that way ever since.

Even today, when my father introduces me to people, he often says, “I’m Serhii Tymofiiovych, and this is Anna Serhiivna, my daughter.” Sometimes I ask him, “Dad, why do you have to tell them right away that I’m your daughter?” And he says, “Because I want to brag.”

But it has always mattered to me that people see Anna Serhiivna first—the professional and the partner—and only then the daughter of Serhii Tymofiiovych.

In a family business, that does not happen automatically. We have some fairly tough disagreements, and I had to learn to support my position with results, numbers, and completed projects.

At some point, you stop having to prove that you deserve a seat at the table because your contribution already answers that question. Today, my father and I can strongly disagree on strategic issues, and my arguments are treated as those of a partner. To me, that is what a genuine professional partnership within a family looks like.

Defense Tech has traditionally been seen as a male-dominated industry. Have you ever felt that, as a woman, you had to prove your professional credibility more than men did?

Yes, especially in the beginning. Sometimes I walk into a negotiation and can see that people first register my appearance, my age, the fact that a young woman is sitting across from them—and only afterward consider my professional experience. But that stopped bothering me a long time ago. In fact, I find it interesting to watch how their attitude changes over the course of a conversation.

Twenty minutes in, it no longer matters whether the person across the table is a man or a woman, how old they are, or what they look like. What matters is how well you understand the product, the market, the technology, and the negotiation process—and whether you can stand behind your words and decisions.

I have worked in this industry for more than ten years, participated in international negotiations and complex projects, and worked across different markets and business cultures. At a certain point, the need to prove anything to anyone simply disappears—your experience speaks for itself.

At the same time, I never wanted to become “one of the guys” in a male-dominated environment. I do not need to be tougher or act like a man to be taken seriously. I can love dresses, heels, and beauty while negotiating complex technology products.

Femininity and professionalism are entirely compatible. And if someone underestimated me at the beginning of a meeting, my job is to make sure that by the end of the negotiation, there is no question left in their mind.

You were working in the defense industry before the full-scale war. How did your personal attitude toward business change after 2022, when the results of your work literally became a matter of people’s safety and lives?

Even before 2022, I took my work very seriously. But the full-scale war completely changed my sense of responsibility.

In the first days of the war, I signed a contract with a volunteer territorial defense unit. It was a deeply personal decision for me: I did not want to be someone who worked in the defense business and helped the country only from behind a desk. I felt that I needed to be as involved as I possibly could.

That was when the line between “work” and “what is happening to my country” disappeared for good.

In most businesses, a mistake can cost money, damage a reputation, or result in a lost deal. In our industry, the cost of a mistake can be entirely different. Once you understand that, everything changes: the speed of decision-making, the standards you set for people and products, and, above all, the standards you set for yourself.

I have become far less tolerant of the phrase “good enough.” In Defense Tech, “almost works” means it does not work. “Almost on time” means it is late.

At the same time, the war has taught me to separate what matters from what does not much faster and to preserve my energy for the things I can actually influence.

When you know where and why a product created by your team may be used, you see your responsibility very differently. There are days when I am exhausted, when I am afraid, when I wish I could spend even 24 hours without being responsible for anything. But I know very clearly why I wake up and go to work.

You talk a great deal about responsibility, family, the company, and the country. But to ask a very personal question: What does Anna Serhiivna herself want?

That is probably the hardest question, because for a very long time I lived according to what I “had to” do: work, take responsibility, be strong, not let down my team, my family, or my partners. After the full-scale war began, that feeling only intensified.

But today, I am learning to ask myself not only, “What am I supposed to do?” but also, “What do I want?”

I want to build a major international business and see Ukrainian technologies in countries around the world. I want to create something that will be associated with my generation and with the decisions I made.

At the same time, I do not want my entire life to become work. I love traveling, people, and experiences. I love learning, becoming fascinated by new ideas, and seeing the world.

My ambition is to combine meaningful professional achievement, a name of my own, family, and a full life.

I want to be able to say: I can have a lot. And I am willing to work hard for it.

Today, Defense Tech appears to be one of the most dynamic and promising sectors of Ukraine’s economy, and a growing number of entrepreneurs and investors are considering entering the industry. But you know this market from the inside and were working in it long before it became a focus of widespread attention. In your view, does it make sense to enter the defense business in 2026? Where are the real opportunities for new businesses and investment today, and where is the promise of easy, rapid growth an illusion? What barriers and challenges should entrepreneurs be prepared for if they decide to enter this field?

I absolutely believe Defense Tech is worth investing in today. But this is not a market where having capital and spotting a promising trend is enough. Expertise accumulated over years carries enormous weight here.

Our company has operated in this industry since 1998. Over that time, we have gone through different stages of market development, changes in legislation, technology, demand, and external conditions. Nearly three decades in such a complex industry means, above all, developing the ability to adapt continuously.

What worked five or ten years ago may no longer be enough today, and wartime conditions have accelerated the technology cycle even further. For a Defense Tech company, the ability to evolve is effectively a matter of survival.

Today, I see significant potential both in emerging Defense Tech startups and in established Ukrainian companies that already have engineering expertise, manufacturing capabilities, strong teams, and the ability to take a product through the entire journey—from an idea and prototype to serial production and market entry.

An investor in Defense Tech is investing in more than a specific product. They are investing in accumulated knowledge, people, technological infrastructure, manufacturing expertise, reputation, international relationships, and the ability to scale a business. In my view, this expertise remains one of the most undervalued assets in Ukrainian Defense Tech.

We are also open to strategic partnerships and investment. We are interested in partners who can help us scale production, accelerate new development, localize technologies, create new products, and expand more actively into international markets.

I see the next major stage in the development of Ukrainian Defense Tech as a shift from a large number of individual promising projects toward strong, systematic companies capable of competing globally.

So my answer is yes: Defense Tech is worth entering and investing in. But I would look particularly closely at companies that have already proven their viability, have real-world experience, and are capable of taking a technology all the way from concept to market.

A good idea can be developed in a day. But expertise built over nearly three decades can’t be bought.