Women in Blockchain: Yana Novikova Gets it Done

Yana Novikova is on a mission to solve complex problems before they actually become problems. In her seven years at Ripple, Yana has approached every challenge with the determination to find clarity in complexity by using her wealth of experience and industry knowledge. 

She started her career at Ripple as one of the first product managers working on the technical protocol layer, progressed to leading the On-Demand Liquidity team, and most recently earned the role of Head of Product for RippleX. 

Her accent affords others a glimpse into her background, but she is more concerned with looking ahead, especially when it comes to anticipating the needs of the customer.

“You have to understand the industry and you have to understand what’s important for a customer and when it’s important,” Yana explains. “You don’t want to wait for the customer to ask for it. You almost want to already have the product for them before they even come to you.”

She continues to apply this type of thinking as both her role at Ripple and her respective customers — from the enterprise to the developer on the XRP Ledger — evolve. She excels at bringing together global cross-functional teams to enable customer feedback to be the north star for product development.

Yana is — quite literally — always moving forward. She’ll go for a run to think through the latest work puzzle or spend weekends climbing the San Francisco hills for a view of the Bay. Her drive to overcome work-related obstacles has manifested itself into a physical energy, reflecting the rapid pace of the crypto industry and her successful career journey. 

With all that Yana’s accomplished, she’s a firm believer in taking the time to celebrate the wins. She’s traveled the world and even lived and worked in Singapore for part of 2019. 

“Once she is in a social setting, you really realize there’s just so much more to Yana than just pure execution and the hard work that she puts in at work,” says Amir Sarhangi who worked with Yana for over two years on the On-Demand Liquidity team.

Yana has raised the bar not only for women pursuing careers in crypto, but everyone working in the blockchain industry. And she will continue to do so for years to come.

Feeling inspired? Check out our careers page to make your next move and join Yana on her professional journey.