mong those of the Ukrainian diaspora who tried their luck in their ancestral home is Petro Rondiak, an American auto dealer in Kyiv since 1995. Rondiak’s unexpected path to Ukraine was circuitous, like many who’ve surprised themselves by carving out new lives here.

Rondiak’s father left Ukraine at the age of 12, fleeing with his parents from the post- World War II hardships under Stalin. He joined the United States Army as one of the first Green Berets, and Rondiak grew up sorting out life among Army posts around the world.

There was one consistency, his parent’s Ukrainian heritage. “It didn’t matter what city or country we lived in,” says Rondiak, “there were always plenty of people of Ukrainian background who pulled together into an extended community. My parents observed their cultural customs. They did their part to keep their language alive by having the family speak it around the home.”

An electrical engineer for Raytheon, Rondiak supervised the construction of advanced automotive control systems in the US and in Ireland. Ukraine’s siren call came via a pal and Raytheon colleague, Dan Kulchyckyj. He was working with a Ukrainian-American Delaware car dealer, John Hynansky, to establish an automotive beachhead in Ukraine. After independence, Hynansky gained an exclusive for the country with Ford.

Rondiak joined the enterprise in 1995, helping to obtain backing from the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation. He brought along his bride from Cleveland. Ola, an artist and psychotherapist, was also of Ukrainian background, and shared his desire to explore their heritage up close. They added three children to their exploration team.

Selling automobiles in a new country was a very different hat to wear, but Rondiak relishes his role as managing director at well-known Winner Automotive. Winner has added exclusive distribution rights for Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and Porsche. Rondiak takes particular interest in the latter, shepherding it to one of the top performing markets in Eastern Europe.

Identifying Ukraine as a strong growth opportunity early on, Ford helped out with competitive pricing, and the small company rapidly grew to serve customer demand. Along the way came the long term perspective from “weathering two financial crises and a revolution,” Rondiak says.

“2008 saw revenues of €100M. Then we had to manage the economic crisis that in 2009 brought a 75 percent drop to the automotive market. Last year Ford sales dropped from 13,000 a year to nearly 4,000. But 2010 has been one of the only years since 1992 that we’ve not experienced huge upheavals in the business environment from policy changes or instability. That consistency is good for business. The company, now with 230 employees, returned to profitability in the first quarter.”

Despite a major shift from credit to cash in the wake of the financial crisis, Fords are tracking back this year to sales of 8000, with 10,000 forecast next year.

“We see the signs of recovery in our business, and from what our customers tell us,” Rondiak says. “We see increasing demand from middle class customers.
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I’m bullish on Ukraine, and on the rewards of an owner and colleagues who conduct an honest and transparent business, paying close attention to customer service,” Rondiak says. “It earns us customers for life. Working with Ukrainian professionals every day is a profound pleasure. They return trust in return for the commitment we’ve made them for a long-term presence.”