Photo from personal archive

Maxim Behar is the CEO of M3 Communications Group and the Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of the Public Relations Agencies. He is also the founder and former editor-in-chief of the Bulgarian daily Standart. He has a degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Prague. Behar recently visited AUBG for a lecture on the practice of public relations during an economic crisis. 

Maxim, you are one of the pioneers in the Bulgarian public relations business. What made you start in the field? 

I have always worked in the field of public communications. ... It was very logical for me to do something with PR, when I withdrew from journalism in 1995. At that time, the PR Business was not known in Bulgaria. Everyone who wanted to part ways with journalism opened an advertising agency. We all started with making business cards and business forms with logos. Then, when big American corporations entered the Bulgarian market, we, step by step, specialized in the sphere of PR. The main reason behind my own involvement in the field was because this was a business niche in Bulgaria. As you know, every business exists because there is a certain need for it.

When you started work, there were no schools for it, and people were learning by doing public relations. How did you learn? 

When I was in college, the term "public relations" was not known. ... [The] words [advertising and marketing] still sounded very exotic in Bulgaria and in the whole of Eastern Europe for that matter. Ultimately, two trips that I undertook, for a month each, to Japan and the United States in 1999 opened my eyes for a lot of things. In Japan I completed a one-month course in Japanese style of management in Yokohama. Even though I felt terrible, because I did not understand 99 percent of the material, [about four] months after I came back to Bulgaria, I realized that I had actually learned many useful, effective, and humane things. After that I went to the States, where I visited about 20 PR agencies for one month. These two months determined the future development of my business. ... I have also learned a lot from my clients. Our large clients like Microsoft, Nokia, and Canon actually grabbed us and pulled us upwards because they were setting and constantly lifting the bar. 

Is there a difference between working for a larger corporation or a smaller customer? 

There is a difference in working for each individual client and working on each separate event. ... Of course, sometimes the responsibility is bigger, because much more money and people are involved. ... However, there is a golden rule, which states that a happy client tells three other people and an unhappy one tells seven. That is why I have never made any difference between small or large clients or small or large projects.

You have been to AUBG several times. What are your impressions of the students and do you think we need more private colleges in Bulgaria? 

I think we need only private colleges. I think AUBG is one of the best higher education schools in Bulgaria and throughout its existence it has always had formidable faculty and a very precise student selection procedure. 

Have you had AUBG graduates working for you?

Yes I have and I was not very pleased. It was some time ago and I think then AUBG was trying to prepare Bulgarian students to be successful managers in America and not here in Bulgaria. I have had a lot of talks with former AUBG President Julia Watkins and also with Dimi Panitza and [Princess] Maria Luisa [members of the Board of Trustees of AUBG], in which I've explained this problem in the education of AUBGers. I do not know what the current situation is, but I put the students of the American University very high in my personal rank list.

What skills and personal traits are you looking for in a young professional who would like to work for you? 

I cannot make a hard worker from a lazy person; I cannot make an honest person from a liar and a plotter; I cannot make a team player from an individualist. I am looking for people that are correct, honest, responsible, and loyal. I do not always find them, because I have a lot of people working in our office. However, this is my goal. That is why I have focused on one single determinant - glitter in the eyes. This glitter shows ambitious people who want to succeed. From there I try and work on their character, if I can and need to. If I can develop these people, we stay together; if not, we separate.

This interview took place in Behar's office in Sofia on April 10.