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Aleksandra Efimova - Biography

A recognized business leader best-known for bringing luxury, hancrafted pointe shoes from Russia to the United States, Aleksandra Efimova offers a unique blend of executive acumen, global team building, and community leadership as President of Aleksandra Enterprises.

A high energy, creative thinker, and goal-driven entrepreneur, Aleksandra Efimova approaches each new business challenge with her intrinsic flair for innovation, creative problem-solving and measured risk-taking to create a sustainable and long-term vision for company growth. This vision has ultimately propelled Aleksandra Enterprises into the international spotlight as a company that transcends the boundaries of language and culture.

Ms. Efimova began her career on a path that is rare among other executives. Having graduated from the renowned Art School at the Hermitage State Art Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Ms. Efimova received training in classical dance, art and academics and later became a competitive ballroom dancer in the United States. In 1993, she moved to the United States and founded her first company, Russian Pointe Inc., while an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. Russian Pointe, Inc. provides dancers with the finest pointe shoes on the market today, crafted in Moscow in the grand tradition of pointe shoemaking. While the company continued to expand in the United States, Aleksandra’s ultimate goal was to complement her natural savvy in the fine arts with a strong foundation in business and international relations. The best way to do this, she felt, was to expand her knowledge in business ownership and development. Thus, in 2009, she was accepted to Harvard Business School’s elite Executive Owner/Management Program. In the meantime, she opened the Russian Pointe Dance Boutique in 2006, the company’s exquisite flagship store located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

In an effort to raise awareness for Russian culture in Chicago, Ms. Efimova founded in 2010 the non-profit group, Russian Culture Now, which aims to enrich people’s lives by increasing awareness of and appreciation for Russia’s current contributions to the fine arts and by fostering an international interchange of ideas through the arts and education.

On track to becoming one of Russia’s most promising young ambassadors in Chicago, Aleksandra found herself intrigued by the impact fine arts can have on childhood development. Thus, in 2010, Ms. Efimova started a new venture, Growing Through Arts®, which engenders learning and exploration about the arts in children through the use of children’s books, toys, and games.

Her reputation as a successful business owner dedicated to Russian-American relations was the impetus for Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley to appoint Ms. Efimova to be the co-chair of the Moscow Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International in 2010. Illinois Senator Mark Kirk also took notice of her contributions to international relations and, in 2011, appointed her to chair the Eastern European Advisory Board for Illinois Senator Mark Kirk. The board was created to address concerns of Eastern European constituents, small business owners, and community leaders, and includes representatives of several ethnicities, including Russian, Armenian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Ukrainian, Czech, and Hungarian business and community leaders.

In addition to her business enterprises, Ms. Efimova is also a strong supporter of the arts and serves on the Auxiliary Board of the Joffrey Ballet as well as the Junior Board of the Auditorium Theatre of Chicago. She is also a member of the Harvard Alumni Club, the Economic Club of Chicago, the U.S. Russia Business Council and the Chicago Loop Alliance.

Today, Aleksandra Enterprises operates Russian Pointe®, Russian Pointe Dance Boutique, Growing Through Arts® and Russian Culture Now. Her work is dedicated to sharing access to and enjoyment of the arts, and to building bridges among people of different cultures, particularly in educational, artistic, and business spheres.