Anastasia Stopnevich: soft power behind growing Cyprus-based wealth management firm

We met Anastasia Stopnevich, 44, co-owner of the Cyprus-based wealth management corporation Wise Wolves, in an unconventional office: a sailing catamaran. Since this summer, she and her family have been traveling around the world, and the vessel now serves as her headquarters.

Despite the beautiful surroundings that some might find distracting, Stopnevich maintains an intensive routine. She holds three to five business meetings a day and continues her education; she is currently in the sixth module of an 18-month online Harvard program, Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB), which requires eight to ten hours a week, while also caring for a newborn.

This is the story of how Anastasia became a partner in one of the most successful fintech corporations in Cyprus and what helps her maintain such a demanding lifestyle.

First steps in business

Anastasia grew up in a small village of seven thousand people in the Commonwealth of Independent States. At the time, cash in the region was scarce, and barter was the norm. Families exchanged food, fuel, and labor. As a result, her household functioned as a small farm, producing and preserving its own supplies. From that environment, she learned what hard work really means, how systems work, and how survival depends on organization, effort, and cooperation.

Her first exposure to entrepreneurship came through her older brother, who sold imported goods in the area. Later, she crossed borders herself, working as a paid carrier of goods. That experience taught her logistics, risk, and incentives long before she learned business terminology.

After the death of her father, Anastasia began talking to a psychologist at her school, which was uncommon in the region at the time. That led her to enroll in university in 1998 to study psychology, searching for ways to better understand herself and restore her inner stability.

While this helped her personally, her professional future remained unclear. “At the time, psychological education in the country offered limited career prospects and little practical training,” Anastasia explains. Therefore, after graduating, she moved into operational roles: first as a courier dispatcher, then as a manager at an advertising company. She advanced quickly, becoming general director and overseeing contracts, teams, budgets, and strict deadlines.

Starting a venture

Sustained pressure eventually led to burnout. She left, having acquired the skills needed to work independently. In 2010, she founded her own advertising business, which later evolved into an engineering and architectural lighting company. Without formal training in the field, she relied heavily on intuition and experimentation, as well as her education and work ethic. “I worked harder than most to learn and progress more quickly,” she notes.

It was during this period that the practical value of her psychological background became clear. It helped her better understand her reactions, limits, and decision-making patterns. She learned which clients she could work with and which she could not. She focused on assembling teams with deeper technical expertise and led them effectively.

In 2012, she faced her first serious challenges, including conflicts with a business partner. At the same time, her marriage was failing and absorbing most of her energy. “With five percent left,” she says, “you can’t build a business.” After her divorce, her focus returned. However, a few years later, the pandemic pushed her back into survival mode. She had to use some of her savings to meet obligations to clients and partners and invested heavily in therapy, coaching, and supervision. That personal work further reshaped her leadership style: clearer boundaries, stronger hiring decisions, and less emphasis on control.

A new chapter of life

Her connection to Wise Wolves began at a sailing regatta, after which she became first a client and later a donor to the Together Forever charitable foundation, which helps finance medical treatments for children. Seeking long-term asset and inheritance planning, she invested her own savings after aligning with the company’s philosophy and values—trust, responsibility, and cohesion.

She later met the founder, Sergey, during a sailing regatta organized by a business school community, and they quickly connected. “A boat shows who a person really is,” Anastasia says.

They later fell in love and became partners both in life and in business, united by shared values. Anastasia’s business experience and education proved valuable to the growing company. With her involvement, the firm became more successful in attracting clients, many of whom are families. “Our meetings often feel like family-to-family conversations—a couple speaking with another couple, or parents discussing concerns with professionals who understand the realities of raising children and planning for future generations,” she recalls.

She notes that her psychological training once again proved valuable; it gives her the tools to create what she calls “emotional safety” during negotiations—a space where sensitive issues can be discussed openly. This approach not only resolves conflicts more effectively but also supports long-term relationships within teams.

Research supports this method. Studies confirm that negotiations built on emotional intelligence and perspective-taking are more likely to result in agreements that endure. For example, a paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that women’s more relation-oriented, interpersonal style often leads to less aggressive opening offers, but also to a higher likelihood of reaching a deal. Their greater willingness to share personal information and adopt a cooperative stance helps build connection while lowering the risk of impasse in negotiation settings. This is what makes Anastasia a distinctive voice in the industry.