The perfect harmony between professional and personal life

Meet Mikhail Dubov, Lead Data Scientist at Revolut Business, and a concert pianist. 

Every Revoluter is a person with passions, interests, hobbies, and surprising skills. These talents, outside Revolut, often reveal the real essence of each employee.

At Revolut, most of our Dream Team aren’t just the best at doing their job, but are exceptional people who showcase Revolut's values into everything they do in life. There are extraordinary athletes, artists, or musicians who delight hundreds with their melodies.

Meet Mikhail Dubov, Lead Data Scientist at Revolut Business, musician since he was 5 years old, and a concert pianist. We spoke with him to learn more about his story, passion for music, and his journey through music and data science.

How long have you been with Revolut and what do you work on?

I joined the company back in 2020 and spent the last 4 years working on Revolut’s business banking product — Revolut Business. Over these years, growing from a mid data scientist into the role of Lead Data Scientist at Revolut Business has been a fantastic journey, and it’s been amazing to see both the data team and the overall product mature so much in my time here.

Speaking of your passion for music, how long have you been playing the piano?

Longer than I remember myself! My dad is a professional violist, so I was surrounded by music from the very beginning. I started my formal piano studies when I was 5 years old, and played in public for the first time when I was 6.

Can you briefly tell us about your career as a concert pianist?

It almost came to a complete halt when I was 15, and stopped playing the piano for about a year, devoting all my free time to programming instead. It was only when I accidentally heard the recording of Sergei Rachmaninoff playing his Second Piano Concerto that something clicked inside me, and I felt a strong urge to get back to the instrument.

It wasn’t for another 2 years that I discovered that there’s a whole world of amateur piano festivals and competitions out there. Finally, a success at the 2014 International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Paris convinced me that I should get back on stage and perform regularly, which I’ve been doing ever since.

"As a musician, you develop a really strong aesthetic sense,  which helps enormously in my daily work as a data scientist — that being either writing readable Python code, or creating dashboards that please the eye of the stakeholders.”

At what point did you decide not only to dedicate yourself to the piano, but also to develop a career in data science?

Programming has been another passion of mine since I was very young. The tech world always catches me, and my interest in developing myself in this area was very strong. 

Having to pick 1 field as my professional career was a truly challenging decision, but the good advice from my parents led me to choose tech as a professional path with great potential and much to discover. And, to be honest, I’ve never regretted this decision, as I am fortunate to be able to pursue both of my passions.

How do the two worlds (technology and music) complement each other?

Surprisingly, there’s a lot of overlap. Performing on stage is akin to public speaking, which is a very important skill for a data scientist — it’s just that as a pianist, you get to “speak” in the much more superior and complex language of music.  

“The good advice from my parents led me to choose tech as a professional path with great potential and much to discover. And, to be honest, I have never regretted this decision.”

How does life at Revolut allow you to balance your career as a pianist?

The benefits that Revolut provides are crucial for balancing my work and my personal life as a pianist. One of those benefits is the flexible work-from-home policy, which is essential as it allows me to save time and avoid the daily commute, freeing up a lot of time that I can dedicate to playing the piano.

What advice would you give to someone who has another passion in their life and wants to balance it with their job?

Discipline and time management are key, but to be honest, I’m still learning how to be better at these myself. Another piece of advice I can give is to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. When I first moved to London, back in 2016, I had no idea how busy the amateur music-making scene was here. It truly has been a godsend — I’ve met countless fantastic Londoners I’ve been playing chamber music with over the years.

Being exceptional in 1, 2, or many areas is possible. At Revolut, we're very proud to have employees who excel in areas beyond their profession and we're happy to support them on their journey. By providing safe spaces, understanding flexibility, and nurturing their interests, we aim to be an ally in developing these passions. Our commitment to our employees is total, and we look forward to supporting them at all times.