Andrey Kononenko On Commercial Real Estate Management, The Kazakhstan Market, And Why Practitioners Need Science
Andrey Kononenko began his career the same way most property managers do: finding tenants, resolving disputes, and patching holes in building budgets. But at some point, he asked himself a question that changed his professional trajectory: why, with similar locations and comparable conditions, do some properties consistently generate strong returns while others barely break even?
The search for answers took years of practical work, hundreds of real-world case analyses, and several academic publications. Today, Kononenko is the Director of Arlan Finance LLP in Almaty and one of the few specialists in the region who builds commercial real estate management as a fully structured system rather than a series of reactive responses.
Andrey, you moved from operational property management to developing your own methodology and publishing academic research. That’s quite an unusual path for a practitioner in this field. Where did it all begin, and what made you view property management differently from most of your peers?
It began with practice that raised more questions than it answered. I quickly noticed that most management decisions were made intuitively: you find a tenant—that’s good; they leave—you look for another. A vacancy period of two or three months was considered normal. No one really calculated what it cost. That concerned me, because every “normal” vacancy represented real financial losses—actual revenue the owner simply never received.
Gradually, I began analyzing how property financial models work, where hidden revenue opportunities exist, why tenants leave, and how to prevent it. It turned out that most properties lose between 30% and 70% of their potential income—and it has nothing to do with location. The issue is the absence of a system.
You describe property management as a systematic process rather than a set of reactive decisions. In practical terms, what does your approach look like when you take on a new property? What do you see that the owner may not?
Everything begins with an audit. I analyze actual income per square meter, the average vacancy period during tenant turnover, and unrealized revenue sources—such as facades, lobbies, parking areas, or digital screens that could generate advertising income but remain unused. The findings are often revealing: the owner believes they have a “well-performing property,” but in reality, up to one-third of its income potential remains untapped.
From there, the work proceeds across each area. This includes occupancy optimization through dynamic pricing, and building tenant relationships in a way that allows us to anticipate departures and respond proactively. We also address legal and financial issues: litigation, overdue receivables, technical deficiencies—all of which deter high-quality tenants and silently erode income.
Based on this work, I developed my own integrated revenue management methodology, built on four interconnected modules: dual-stream monetization, occupancy optimization, three-level compliance control, and a unified property efficiency index. The key idea is that a commercial property is not just rental space—it is a multifunctional income-generating platform. In practice, systematic implementation of the methodology increases occupancy to 92–97% and raises income per square meter by 30–70%, with a typical return on implementation achieved within eight months.
Kazakhstan is a market with its own characteristics: rapid growth, international players, and a professional property management culture that is still evolving. You could work in other jurisdictions, yet you remain here. Why this market?
Precisely because of its unique characteristics. Almaty is growing rapidly, international retailers are entering the market, and high-quality properties are emerging. At the same time, professional management culture is still developing. Many owners manage their properties independently or with minimal resources. This creates a significant gap between what a property could earn and what it actually earns. For me, that’s not a problem—it’s an opportunity.
More broadly, the CIS market—Kazakhstan, Russia, and neighboring countries—is at a similar stage of development. Systematic management remains a competitive advantage rather than an industry standard. In Europe and the United States, this approach has long been the norm. I am interested in working during this transitional period, when the industry is beginning to recognize the value of professional management.
You have published several peer-reviewed academic articles. That’s unusual for someone who is primarily a practitioner rather than a researcher. Why science? Is it a way to structure your experience, build client trust, or something else?
I’m asked this often, and I understand why. The answer is simple: when you are forced to describe your methods in a scientific article—to define them, analyze them, and support them with references—you gain a deeper understanding of your own work. Patterns that were previously intuitive become explicit. You can test them, refine them, and share them with others.
There is also a practical dimension. Publication in a peer-reviewed journal means your ideas have undergone independent evaluation. Clients value this—they want to know they are receiving a verifiable methodology, not just personal opinions. That transparency matters to me.
Many property owners believe everything is already “working fine”: the building operates, tenants are present, revenue flows. How do you approach those who do not see the problem you aim to solve?
I ask them a simple question: do you know how much money you are losing right now? Not in the past—but today, every month. Vacant spaces, unmonetized advertising surfaces, tenants leaving because retention strategies were never implemented—these are real losses.
I don’t insist on immediate change. I suggest starting with measurement: actual income per square meter, average vacancy duration, unrealized advertising potential. The numbers are almost always surprising. And at that moment—when the owner sees the real picture—true motivation to build a system emerges.
Looking ahead, where is the commercial real estate management market in the region heading, and what role do you see for yourself in the coming years?
The market is moving toward the same destination Europe reached about twenty years ago: professionalization and standardization. This shift is inevitable. The only question is timing. In Kazakhstan and across the CIS, the transition will likely happen faster than many expect, driven by pressure from institutional investors and international retailers. They are accustomed to higher management standards and are unwilling to accept inefficiency simply because of location.
For myself, I see two priorities. First, continuing to develop the methodology. The market evolves, new tools emerge, predictive analytics becomes more accessible, and the system must be continuously updated. Second, scaling. Currently, I work with individual properties and portfolios, but the methodology was designed to be scalable from the outset. My goal is that within a few years, professional commercial real estate management in the region will no longer be a rare competitive advantage—but the industry standard. It is ambitious, I know. But it is exactly the direction worth pursuing.
