Grit and Grace on the World Stage

Adnan Zai
5 min readDec 16, 2022

In a year that has seen many twists and turns, one unfortunate constant throughout most of the year has been the war in Ukraine. This David and Goliath story continues to fascinate the attention of the world, especially since Goliath refuses to capitulate to the Russian war machine. The reason? The indomitable spirit and unmistakable charisma of one man: Vlodoymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy has held his country together with a dichotomy of grace and grit for nearly a year. As a result, Time Magazine has named Zelenskyy its coveted Person of the Year for 2022. Along with the man himself, Time also gave a nod to the courageous spirit of Ukrainians, both in the country and around the world.

A Man Moving in the Right Direction

For a country besieged by war, Zelenskyy’s invincible spirit is a beacon to his people, as well as Ukrainians and supporters around the world. “Whether one looks at this story of Ukraine with a sense of hope or a sense of fear, and the story is, of course, not fully written yet … Zelenskyy has really galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal said when explaining why he was chosen this year for the honors.

The cover itself depicts Zelenskyy in his trademark army-green sweater, with a ring of individual figures and a throng of protestors surrounding…

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Adnan Zai

As an Advisor-In-Residence, Adnan particularly focuses on strategy, deal pipeline, and structuring.