#INTERVIEW: Inside The Akademy Circle

Anastasia Belyak and Kamilia Shaimieva are the driving forces behind The Akademy Circle, an exclusive intellectual hub featuring conversations on culture, education and genuine human connection. Through this vision, they have created a transformative space that transcends traditional networking. Anastasia and Kamilia speak to L’Officiel Arabia in an exclusive conversation, about the pursuit of purposeful and lifelong learning.

Delna Mistry Anand: What was the defining moment that compelled you both to initiate The Akademy, and how would you introduce the soul of The Akademy?

Anastasia Belyak: As I’ve often said, it has always been my dream to make the world a better place through the power of education. My second degree is in art history, and I’ve long felt a desire to create something intellectually rich and culturally meaningful - a project rooted in art and ideas, but not in a predictable or superficial way.

I wanted to build something deeper and more distinctive. That’s when I shared this vision with my partner, Kamilia, and together we created The Akademy Circle - an intellectual circle where people learn, grow, educate themselves, and support one another. It’s a space where knowledge is shared directly by great minds, and where culture, curiosity, and thoughtful dialogue truly come together.

Kamilia Shaimieva: The defining gap we observed was not a lack of information, but a lack of meaningful intellectual intimacy. There were plenty of panels, conferences, and networking events, yet very few spaces where opinion leaders and industry pioneers could speak honestly, without performance, without pressure, and without permanence. The Akademy Circle was born from the desire to reclaim dialogue as a craft. The soul of The Akademy Circle lies in curiosity,which is a foundation of all learning. It is truly a place where conversations are not transactional but transformational.

Looking back on the past 5 years, has the conversation within your circle evolved, and have you noticed a shift in the types of stories your members want to hear/ share?

Kamilia Shaimieva: Over the last five years, the conversations have matured in both depth and impact. Initially, many stories centred around success, ambition, and external milestones. Today, there is a noticeable shift toward inner journeys - failure, uncertainty, identity, mental resilience and responsibility.
Our members are increasingly interested in how people think rather than what they have achieved. We also witness how impactful these stories become for our members, people are more motivated when they hear a story of a fearless first female UAE F1 driver, Amna Al Qubaisi, or more spiritual when delve into the musical Rumi by Dana Al Fardan. We see it as a sign that the circle is doing what it was meant to do.

Anastasia Belyak: Over the past five years, it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch the relationships within our circle grow warmer and more meaningful. Many of our members have become close friends, and in some cases even business partners. There’s a genuine sense of trust and connection that has developed naturally over time.

What truly resonates with our members are the personal stories shared by remarkable individuals - their journeys, challenges, childhood experiences, and moments of doubt. All of our speakers are exceptional in their own fields, and hearing their stories directly, in such an intimate setting, feels like a rare privilege.

We’ve been honoured to welcome figures such as Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, an absolutely unique woman who made history, as well as Marina Abramović, the pioneer of performance art. These are truly great women and extraordinary human beings. Simply being in the room, listening to them, and absorbing their energy is an unforgettable experience.

At its core, our goal has always been to offer our members experiences that money can never buy. This is why immersive, one-of-a-kind moments are so valued within The Akademy Circle. One memorable example was a visit to the world’s largest private golf course, graciously opened to us by one of our members. The course once belonged to former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, where Churchill played and where President Kennedy once visited. Experiences like these - impossible to replicate or purchase - are what make our circle truly special.

Your sessions are known for being 'off-record' which is rare in this digital age. Can you share a specific memorable highlight?

Anastasia Belyak: Each of our events holds a special place in our hearts. We approach every event with great care, investing our time, energy, and soul into creating something truly meaningful, and preparing for each one as if it were unique. One evening that comes to mind took place just before Christmas, when we had the privilege of privatizing Lancaster House - one of London’s royal palaces and a location often used to represent Buckingham Palace in films and series such as The Crown. It was an extraordinary setting.

That evening, our members experienced something truly magical: the Principal Dancers of the Royal Opera House performed The Nutcracker just an arm’s length away. To witness the world’s leading ballet dancers in such an intimate setting, so close that you could feel the emotion and movement, was incredibly special. Moments like these capture the essence of what we strive to create unforgettable, deeply human experiences that stay with you long after the evening ends.

Kamilia Shaimieva: The unprecedented feeling of presence both for speaker and a member is so intimate, exclusive, shared only with them. We all live in a digital bubble and we aim to create a very special space where the power lies not in what is said, but in what is felt. The evening with Helen Sharman (CMG OBE, the first British astronaut) comes to my mind when a little girl asked her mother (our member), to come since she is dreaming about space. Or a moment that was shared by Delphine Bellini (CEO of Schiaparelli) on a day when Daniel Roseberry joined a team or Cordelia de Castellane (Artistic Director of Dior Maison and Baby Dior) when she shared her intimate experience of working very close with Karl Lagerfeld and many more.  It is in those unguarded moments that real connection happens, and those are the moments that stay with us long after the event ends.

How important is it for you to draw a balance to ensure that the dialogues remain locally rooted yet globally relevant? In what ways has this cross-pollination of ideas influenced your own perspectives as founders?

Kamilia Shaimieva: We begin by anchoring conversations in lived, local realities, cultural context, regional challenges, and personal experiences. From there, we invite global perspectives not as comparisons, but as “global lenses”. This balance allows ideas to travel without losing their grounding. Every person would be profoundly interested to know how art crimes are committed from Vernon Rapley (formerly V&A’s Director for Cultural Heritage Protection and now Chair of the ICOM International Committee for Museum Security) or why Lady Gaga decided to do Marina Abramovich’s transformational experience or how Stella Dame Rimington navigated 5 different identities being a spy or how Shaun Killa came up with idea of Museum of The Future shape and why. 

As founders, this cross-pollination has profoundly shaped our thinking. It has taught us humility that no single geography or ideology has all the answers and adaptability, and that relevance comes from listening deeply before speaking boldly. It has also reinforced our belief that the most powerful ideas are those that can resonate across borders while remaining true to their origins.

What is your vision for the next chapter of The Akademy? Are there new frontiers, be it in philanthropy, education or new territories, that you are eager to explore?

Anastasia Belyak: The world is incredibly vast and endlessly diverse, and because of that, the range of topics, voices and experiences we can explore feels limitless. This inspires us to make each initiative deeper, more thoughtful, and more ambitious than the last.

Of course, we’re proud of our recent partnerships with charity organisations such as UN Women UK, Air Ambulance, and Art of Wish, among others. Each collaboration reflects our desire to create meaningful impact beyond conversation alone.

Every time we feel we’ve created something truly magical, new ideas emerge -new figures to invite, new stories to explore, and new global moments that call for reflection. In that sense, there is no final destination for The Akademy Circle, only an ongoing pursuit of excellence, depth, and purpose.

Kamilia Shaimieva: The next chapter of The Akademy Circle is about intentional expansion. Not scale for the sake of growth, but depth with purpose. We are keen to explore intersections between dialogue and education, particularly in nurturing critical thinking, ethical leadership, and emotional intelligence. Philanthropy is another frontier we are approaching thoughtfully, especially where conversation can act as a catalyst for social impact, that is why we cooperate with different charity organizations starting from UK Air Ambulance to UN Women UK and many others. 

Ultimately, our vision is for The Akademy Circle to remain a space that evolves with its people, the one that continues to ask better questions, host braver conversations, and quietly shape the way individuals think, lead, and live.

@akademy_dubai | www.akademycircle.org