Executive Suite: David Mavashev of Nastel Technologies

Born in what is now known as Tajikistan, David Mavashev taught math in Israel before becoming a programmer and being hired by an American bank.

In the United States he studied at what he calls "the universities of life: learning on the job."

He founded Nastel Technologies Inc., a Melville-based software development firm, in 1994. The name means "nascent technology leaders." (Click here to find the company site.)

Mavashev, 58, has five children, one of whom is Nastel's chief technology officer. He is active in the local Bukharian Jewish community and started the Isaac Mavashev Foundation, which seeks to preserve their heritage.

What are your plans to grow the business?
"We're planning this year to increase our sales significantly. Last year, with all this turmoil, we grew more than 25 percent. Last year the customer retention was very high. This year we're planning to exceed 50 percent or higher [in sales]." 

What do you look for in hiring?
"We're looking for top-notch people. In any profession, whether it's a doctor, programmer, a teacher, in order to execute, you need to go and have top-notch people. You're not going to go under the knife [of] a mediocre surgeon. It's also important to understand that [even] if you have top-notch people in the orchestra, if you don't listen to the conductor, the orchestra is not going to perform." 

How do you handle conflicts over ideas?
"When you have healthy debates and people are actually not afraid to express their opinions, at the end we have to bring facts. We go, we analyze and then at the end if someone can bring sufficient evidence that the approach is correct, we all go behind it and just move on. Whether it's me or anybody else."

How has your leadership style changed?
"When you are [the] founder, initially you take different positions. You basically run the company: marketing, and then you do sales and you do accounting - you do everything. . . .

"I have to keep myself from somehow interfering. Right now I'm more [focused] on the strategy rather than being involved in every single" thing. 

What would you change about Long Island?
"I would reduce taxes. To attract people to Long Island, you need some conditions for them to be able to afford buying a house, for example. The cost of living is high here. Therefore, we have to use some people outside of Long Island, people, for example, we have in Texas.

"Thanks to the Internet and to these communications we have, we can feel like we're still in the same place. If we had better living conditions in terms of cost, it would attract more people here. Of course, another thing is it's going to result in more traffic. That's a reason we don't want them to come here," he says with a laugh.

Do you rely on any low-tech solutions?
"We mostly talk to each other."

JUST THE FACTS
Who.  David Mavashev, chairman, chief executive
Company.  Nastel Technologies Inc., private company
Business. Business application performance management software provider
Where. Melville and nine other locations
Revenue. Less than $50 million annually
Employees.  Nearly 100, including almost 50 on Long Island