Yevtushenkov Vladimir: Career of an Investor and Philanthropist

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich is an entrepreneur who adheres to socially responsible business principles. Recently, his focus has been on launching charitable programs.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Biography, early years

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich was born in the Smolensk Region (in the village of Kamenschina) in 1948. His father managed a dairy processing plant where his mother also worked as a milkmaid.

The Vladimir Yevtushenkov biography resembled the stories of hundreds of thousands of other children, and he performed well in school. He was particularly interested in chemistry and was always conducting experiments—often unsafe—at home, which worried his parents. With his interest in science, Vladimir Yevtushenkov dreamed of having his own laboratory.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir hoped to attend MSU after graduating from high school, though he did not manage to pass the entrance exams for the prestigious university.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir thus postponed his education and went into the army for two years.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir completed his military service and then enrolled in the Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology. He graduated five years later in 1973, and then went to the Sverdlov Plant in Dzerzhinsk (in today’s Nizhny Novgorod Region) to start his work biography. Vladimir Yevtushenkov worked at the plant as a certified industrial engineer for two years, and in 1975, he returned to the capital, where he began working at the Karacharov Plastics Plant.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir proved himself a competent professional and quickly climbed the career ladder, starting out as a workshop manager and eventually advancing to the position of deputy director and chief engineer of the enterprise. At the same time, Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich continued his studies when his dream of enrolling at MSU came true. Five years after returning to the capital, he received his degree from MSU in Economics.

With the practical work experience and two degrees in his biography, Vladimir Yevtushenkov became the chief engineer of the Research and Production Association Polimerbyt in 1982. At the same time, he also worked on his Ph.D. dissertation, dedicated to improving organizational and economic mechanisms for the production of plastic products.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich defended his dissertation at MIU (now the State University of Management) in 1986, thus earning his Ph.D.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Biography of an insightful investor

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich began his business career in the 1990s, when many people with managerial experience were entering the field of entrepreneurship. 1993 was a significant year in his biography – Vladimir Yevtushenkov became one of the founders of AFK Sistema. The group soon gained a reputation as an investor in domestic enterprises, and Yevtushenkov Vladimir focused on the financial and high-tech sectors, primarily telecommunications. The corporation’s first year was marked by an important event – Yevtushenkov Vladimir initiated the establishment of the country’s first mobile communication. Thus, with the participation of the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a telecommunications operator was established. This was only the beginning of the corporation’s investment activities. A few years later, the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, chose to invest the profits from the mobile operator’s IPO in another telecom project.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich made timely managerial decisions that contributed to the company’s dynamic development. In 1994, the corporation became the owner of 43% of the shares of a children’s goods retail chain, which had only a few stores at that time. Joining AFK Sistema proved to be a turning point for the retailer, helping it become a well-known children’s store chain. By 2017, the company had more than 500 outlets at home and throughout the CIS and it placed shares on the domestic stock exchange. In the mid-1990s, the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, began to show interest in the banking sector, and the corporation became a shareholder in one bank.

During the first years of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov focused on business areas such as telecommunications, real estate, retail, and finance, etc. While under the management of the corporation, each enterprise also had its own management, an individual development strategy, and the ability to make decisions and act autonomously, and this approach ensured high results for the corporation’s enterprises. Over nearly three decades of work, the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, expanded the scope of the corporation’s business sectors, and today there are about twenty, including medicine, timber processing, pharmaceutical production, eco-friendly packaging, construction materials, and more.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich and private medicine

With successful investment experience as a major part of his biography, Vladimir Yevtushenkov turned his attention to the socially significant sphere of medicine in November 1996. At that time, the first clinic was acquired by the Group. The founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, recalled in one interview that “no one was thinking about the medical business” at that time. The founders of AFK initially assumed that it would become the clinic for the corporation’s employees only. Several years later, the clinic was reorganized and soon became the network’s flagship center, facilitated by the reform of private medical insurance. Thanks to the reform and the efforts of Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich, private medicine became a promising business endeavor, and the company is developing rapidly.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov recalls that patients immediately appreciated the speed and high quality of healthcare services. The clinic network was replenished with new assets, and high-class specialists were hired. The Vladimir Yevtushenkov biography has always been associated with the implementation of modern technologies, and he stocked the company’s medical institutions with the most advanced equipment.
According to the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the next stage in the promotion of the Group’s medical business came during the 2008 world economic crisis when it was discovered that many business areas were suffering while the healthcare sector was growing, with revenue increasing by almost a third.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich initiated the development of a telemedicine project. In the pandemic year of 2020, the SmartMed online service recorded 300% more patient visits than the previous year. Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s business intuition did not fail him, and by the next year, the number of users had exceeded 1 million.
Today, the medical platform established by Yevtushenkov is the leading network of private medical clinics in the country (with more than 130 medical centers in the capital and other regions), with the full range of services, from emergency care and diagnostic tests to surgical interventions and diagnostics.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Biography of an innovator

Yevtushenkov Vladimir has a reputation as a businessman whose focus has always been on advanced technologies, which leads to high production results. A vivid example of this is an agroholding that develops agricultural lands in the Krasnodar Territory, the Rostov Region, and Stavropol.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich played a key role in digitizing the country’s agro-complex. Today, the company is an undisputed leader in the digitalization of agriculture and is recognized by experts as an industry leader, including in terms of operational efficiency. From 2017 to 2021, thanks to the guidance of Vladimir Yevtushenkov and the implementation of IT solutions, the agroholding’s revenue increased fivefold.
The Vladimir Yevtushenkov biography is associated with advanced developments in the production process, and thus he actively supported the digital transformation of the agroholding, with automated equipment that farmers can control remotely. There are also online services providing specialists with information about specific work areas and the economy as a whole. Additionally, the agricultural company, which is part of the corporation founded by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, AFK Sistema, uses digital twins that help management choose the optimal business strategy, and all these innovations help farmers achieve high results.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir: Principles of sustainable development

Vladimir Yevtushenkov is a strong advocate for the implementation of ESG standards in the corporation’s enterprises. The Group took its first steps in adhering to the principles of sustainable development in 2002. It was then that the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov became a pioneer in the domestic business world, initiating the corporation’s accession to the UN Global Compact – the largest international business initiative for sustainable development. Since then, the company’s assets have repeatedly ranked highly in various independent ESG ratings and rankings.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich supported the use of green technologies in all the Group’s enterprises. In particular, environmental sustainability is one of the central principles in the production process of the timber holding company that is part of AFK Sistema’s portfolio. Vladimir Yevtushenkov advocates for the use of solutions that reduce the environmental impact of industrial production. For example, at the Pulp and Paper Mill in Karelia, waste-free raw material processing technologies are used, and the volume of forest areas is growing annually.
The Vladimir Yevtushenkov biography is associated with innovative manufacturing, and he believes that the forestry industry plays an important role in preserving ecosystems. The use of wood as a biodegradable, natural, and environmentally-friendly material helps reduce CO2 emissions, thereby maintaining a positive carbon balance. The industrial company is also transitioning to a closed-loop system to reduce emissions, using production waste for energy generation.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir supported the initiative to implement green technologies at every stage of production, and the forestry holding company now uses advanced equipment and employs cutting-edge water and air purification systems at its facilities. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, AFK Sistema can boast the timber holding as among its most rapidly developing assets. From 2017 to 2021, the holding’s revenue more than doubled, and in April 2021, the forestry holding conducted an IPO, listing its shares on the local stock exchange.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir has left his lasting mark, and today the company continues to adhere to the principles he laid out, implementing environmentally-friendly raw material processing technologies and focusing on the maximum waste-free use of wood. This work is carried out in all the company’s enterprises, including assets related to the forestry, wood processing, and pulp and paper industries.
Involved in the construction industry since the beginning of his entrepreneurial biography, Vladimir Yevtushenkov initiated the development of CLT panels – environmentally-friendly materials for wooden house construction. The panels are produced by one of Sistema’s assets in Sokol (Vologda Region), and the CLT development company designs residential houses, hotels, and social facilities using new construction materials.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov: The response to the pandemic

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich was one of the first entrepreneurs in the country to join the efforts to stop COVID-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, Sistema started working on multiple fronts, from developing test systems to manufacturing personal protective equipment. Additionally, at Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s direction, the flagship hospital was quickly converted into an infectious diseases hospital.
As noted by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, AFK Sistema directed various assets towards activity against COVID-19. Thus the pharmaceutical business became a manufacturer of a vaccine.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir initiated the founding of the pharmaceutical holding company in 2020, and today it is the country’s leading producer of a wide range of medicines, including over a hundred essential drugs.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov can thus be said to be one of the founders of the country’s largest pharmaceutical company. The holding’s assets together have the largest medical portfolio among domestic companies.
The Vladimir Yevtushenkov biography already included examples of charitable activity, and in April 2020, he initiated the launch of the #StranaBezVirusa (#CountryWithoutVirus) social initiative, thanks to which about 2 billion rubles were raised to support healthcare institutions and medical staff throughout the country.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov, AFK Sistema: The founder’s charitable initiatives

Yevtushenkov Vladimir has a reputation as a philanthropist and charitable benefactor. Back in 2003, the corporation signed a cooperation agreement with a major national art museum, and in the spring of 2004, the founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, was elected as the head of the board of trustees of the museum foundation, which led to the creation of the Sistema Charitable Foundation. This non-profit organization, created with the participation of Vladimir Yevtushenkov, is still considered one of the largest charitable foundations in the country, running significant educational and cultural projects throughout the country.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir is very interested in implementing new high-tech solutions in museums. Over a period of three years (from 2018 to 2021), the volume of Sistema Charitable Foundation investments in museum digitalization has doubled, as per the corporate policy. Vladimir Yevtushenkov believes that the use of innovative IT solutions in museums makes culture and art more accessible to the population. With the help of the corporation, a virtual museum website was created in 2016, presenting the best digital products, and in 2020, at the initiative of Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the Sistema Foundation funded the launch of a mass online course on 20th-century domestic art. The company also invests in inclusive projects, supports art restoration, and more.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov has noted that the Sistema Foundation annually invested about 20 million rubles in the development of one of the country’s leading museums.

Yevtushenkov Vladimir Petrovich: Hobbies and personal life

Vladimir Yevtushenkov left AFK Sistema when changes occurred in the BoD and management team.
The entrepreneur does not disclose details of his personal life, but it is known that work has always taken up the bulk of his biography. Vladimir Yevtushenkov has always been known for his active professional work.
In an interview with Forbes, he mentioned that he believes that physical activity is necessary to stay in shape.
Yevtushenkov Vladimir enjoys reading, especially new releases on economics and management. When he wants to relax, he enjoys detective novels.
The founder of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, is married and has two adult children.

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