Programme

Makarov Valentin was born 16.04.1955 in Leningrad, Russia. Graduated from the Leningrad Aircraft Instrumentation Institute in 1978, in 1978-1985 he had been working in the Defense Industry. In 1985 entered the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. Since “perestroika” time he has got good experience of organizing international cooperation (1988-1992 – secretary in the Russian Delegation to UNESCO, in 1996-2000 as deputy Chairman of International relations’ Committee of Administration of St Petersburg). He has also got extended managerial experience in private business (1992-1996 – in Interprivatization Foundation and in the EuroConseil Rusian-French JV consulting company). President of RUSSOFT Association (earlier Fort Ross) since its foundation on 9.9.99, he has been organizer of lobbying campaigns in the Government and Chairman of numerous IT-events in Russia and abroad (RUSSOFT Forum, Software Outsourcing Summit, Mobile Software Forum, Russian IT-seasons). Chief-editor of the annual Russian export software industry survey since its beginning in 2003. Representative of Russian IT Association (APKIT) in WITSA in 2004-2006, 2012. Invited speaker at numerous international conferences and author of dozens of articles on IT in Russia.

Mr. Plugotarenko graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Department of Physical and Quantum Electronics (1993–1996) and Department of Control and Applied Mathematics (1996–1999), certified as Physical Engineer specializing in Applied Mathematics and Physics.From 2002, he was leading ICT specialist at the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE UNESCO – http://ru.iite.unesco.org).In 2004–2006, he was executive director and, from 2007, director of the Runet Awards competition. Since 2005, he has served as coordinator of programme committees for some high-profile sectoral conference events, including the Russian Internet Forum (RIF), Russian Interactive Week (RIW) and others.In 2005–2007, he served as deputy executive director of the Regional Non-government Centre for Internet Technologies (ROCIT – www.rocit.ru) – the oldest NGO engaged in expert evaluation, promotion and development of the ICT segment in the Russian Federation, upholding the interests of Internet users. In 2007, he was elected executive director of ROCIT.From 2005 he was ideologue and founder of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (NP RAEC – www.raec.ru), promoting the interests of Russian Internet players. From 2006, he was deputy general manager of NP RAEC.In 2011–2013, Mr. Plugotarenko was member of the Council of Coordination Centre for National Top Level Domains RU/RF – www.cttld.ru. Since 2010, he has been director of The Russian Association for Electronic Communications (NP RAEC).

Born March 21, 1957 in Leningrad. 1979 – graduated from Leningrad State University (Department of Mathematics and Mechanics) specializing in Applied Mathematics. 1979–1988 – Research Assistant, Junior Scientific Researcher, Scientific Researcher of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 1986 – successfully defended his Candidate of Sciences thesis in Physics and Mathematics, USSR Academy of Sciences. 1984–1995 – Lecturer, Associate Professor of the Department of Computational Mathematics at Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Physics and Mechanics. 1988–1992 – Senior Scientist of the Leningrad Institute for Informatics and Automation of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1991–1995 – Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of AstroSoft Company, St. Petersburg. 1995–1996 – Consultant of Microsoft Consulting Services, Microsoft Middle East (Dubai). 1996–1997 – Senior Consultant / Head of Practice, Microsoft Consulting Services, Microsoft Eastern Europe. 1997–1999 – Head of Accounts Department, Microsoft Representative Office in Russia, Microsoft Eastern Europe. 1999–2003 – University Relations Manager, Microsoft Research Lab (UK). 2003–2005 – Head of Government Relations, Microsoft Representative Office in Russia, Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe. 2005–2007 – Chief Strategy Officer, Cabinet of the Chairman of Microsoft in Russia and CIS Countries, Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe. 2007–2009 – General Director of Software Development Centre of EMC Corporation in St. Petersburg. Since April 2009, he has held the position of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of RVC OJSC.

Igor Ashmanov has worked in information technologies since 1983. He led the development of the ORFO spell-check programme at Informatic, was the co-owner and general director of MediaLingua, which published the MultiLex dictionary, and executive director of the Rambler Internet Holding. Over this time he has produced dozens of projects, including: the ORFO linguistic module (spell-checker and style, thesaurus, hyphenation module) in the Russian version of Microsoft Office, which is used by millions of people across Russia; Multilex electronic dictionaries, which remain the best tool for professional translators in Russian; the version of the Rambler search engine released in 2001, and most of the sites and services of the Rambler portal prior to their update in 2012. The Spamtest spam filter that protects tens of millions of users (now sold under the brand name Kaspersky Anti-Spam). The Novoteka news search engine, which combines and clusters news from hundreds of sources. Flexum – a service to create thematic search engines. At present, he is the CEO of Ashmanov and Partners and the chairman of the board of directors at Nanosemantika.

Sergey Beloussov is entrepreneur businessman and executive with more than 20 years’ experience of creating, developing and managing transnational companies involved in the IT sector in North America, Europe and Asia. He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He received a Bachelor’s degree in physics, a Master’s degree with distinction in physics and electrical engineering, Candidate of Science degree in information technologies from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and holds more than 100 patents. Sergey Beloussov currently serves as General Director at Acronis, a leading provider of new generation data protection solutions: backup, crash data recovery and secure access systems. Acronis data backup software helps enhance the security and accessibility of servers and data. Acronis solutions are built upon 15 years of research and development and are available in more than 130 countries, are translated into 14 languages. Acronis products are used by more than 5 million end users and over 300,000 corporate customers. From 2000 to 2011, Sergey Beloussov served as General Director of Parallels, a global leader in development of virtualization and automation software for individual and corporate users and service providers. He became Chairman of the Board of Parallels in 2000. In 2010, he founded Runa Capital, a venture capital firm, where he is now a senior partner. Mr. Beloussov supports innovation and advancement of science and education. He is the founder of QWave Capital, a VC firm, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Quantum Centre, board member of the Singapore Centre for Quantum Technologies, member of the Advisory Council of Innopolis University and member of the Supervisory Board of Novosibirsk State University.

<p> Born in Moscow, Russia on 27 August 1979.Graduated from the State University “Higher School of Economics”, Diploma in Economy and Business Administration.Since 1995 in Healthcare and Pharmaceutics.R-Pharm Founder. President of All-Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” (“Business Russia”), actively participating in the improvement of investment climate in the Russian Federation and the establishment of the regional investment standard.Member of the Economic Council under the President of the Russian Federation.Member of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy.Member of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation. Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Head of Commission on Investment Climate.Representative (public ombudsman) of the Commissioner of the Presidential Council on the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs on issues related to the protection of the rights of foreign investors.Board-member and Co-chairman of Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on pharmaceutical and medical industry.Co-Chairman of the National Rating CommitteeMember of the Public Council under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (pharmaceutical, medical equipment and technologies).Member of the Supervisory Board of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Agency for Strategic Initiatives". </p>

Alexander was born in 1971. He graduated with honors from Moscow Institute of radio engineering, electronics and automation. He has been working in Diasoft Company from the moment of the company foundation. In 1993 Alexander became the Head of the Information Centre. The Sales Department and Maintenance and Support Department have been founded under his guidance. In 1996 he was introduced into Diasoft’s Board of Directors. In 2005 Alexander was appointed Head of Business Development Department which incorporates sales, marketing and presale divisions. Currently he is responsible for Diasoft strategy at the Russian market. His main hobby is artistic photography, and associated hobby is organization of his own personal photo exhibitions. 1400 visitors in 10 days attended his ninths personal photo exhibition “Sasha Gentsis. Duets’ which has been recently held in Moscow. In addition, Alexander plays golf, takes mountain skiing and travels a lot. He believes that Island, Bolivia and Mongolia are the most exiting countries for travelling. He is married with two sons.

Born in 1978, Dmitry Grishin is considered as one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Russia. After graduating with distinction from the Faculty of Robotics and Complex Automation at Moscow State Technical University and working as a software engineer on several projects, Dmitry joined Mail.Ru in 2001. He became CEO of Mail.Ru in April 2003. In 2005, he co-founded the Mail.Ru Group. He then assumed the CEO role of Mail.Ru Group in 2010. In that same year, he helped transition the company as it went public on the London Stock Exchange. Dmitry became elected Chairman of the Mail.Ru Group Board in 2012. Currently, Dmitry also serves as the head of the department of Information Technologies and Programming at St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. His passion for innovation led him to found the Russian Code Cup – the largest competition for programmers in Eastern Europe. Through the Code Cup and other projects, he continues to foster growth in the technology sector worldwide. In 2012 Dmitry has founded Grishin Robotics, a global investment company that is dedicated to supporting personal robotics around the world.

Haas alumna, Managing Director of DFJ VTB Capital Aurora, a venture group specializing in investments in the developing world. Alexandra invests in a broad range of companies targeting enterprise, material science, alternative energy, and industry innovation and has grown a variety of product and services start-ups and emerging technology companies in the U.S, Russia and the CIS. Alexandra was named among Top 20 most influential men and women in Bay Area finance in 2015 (Worth). Alexandra is a President of the Global Technology Symposium, a premier investor conference on global emerging markets held annually in Silicon Valley since 2003, and was a private sector Co-Chair of the U.S. – Russia Innovation Working Group. She has spent her career connecting Bay Area investors with companies in emerging markets, supporting international cooperation and global talent. She is a board member of several tech companies, including Grid Dynamics, VisionLabs, and Rolith. Previously Alexandra was a founder and managing director of Landbridge Capital LLC, an investment firm targeting U.S.-based companies commercializing Russian technology. Prior to forming Landbridge Capital, Ms. Johnson was CEO of Libritas, Inc., a venture backed provider of Information Technology (IT) products and managed telecom services for small, medium and Fortune 500 Corporations. Libritas was acquired in 2001. Alexandra received an M.A. with honors from the Far Eastern State University, Vladivostok and a Ph.D. from University of St. Petersburg. She also has an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Dobkin is the cofounder, CEO and President of EPAM Systems. Under his direction EPAM Systems has grown to become one of the world’s leading software development outsourcing services companies. After earning an MS in Electrical Engineering from the Byelorussian National Technical University, Mr. Dobkin began his career in Minsk, Belarus. After immigrating to the United States, he held thought and technical leadership positions in Colgate-Palmolive and SAP Labs. A recipient of numerous awards, in June 2008 Ernst & Young named Mr. Dobkin winner of The Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2008 award in New Jersey, IT Consulting category. In 2006, Consulting Magazine named him to “Top 25 Most Influential Consultants”. In February 2012 Mr.Dobkin rang the NYSE Opening Bell to celebrate the company’s successful completion of its initial public offering. He continues to actively promote the former Soviet Union region and Central and Eastern Europe across the US and Western Europe by presenting at noted international industry and technology events, such as Gartner Outsourcing Summits, Forrester's GigaWorld IT Forum Europe.

Alexander Egorov co-founded one of the TOP 5 software outsourcing companies in Russia, Reksoft (http://www.reksoft.com), in 1991 and has served as CEO from its inception. Along with his duties at Reksoft Mr.Egorov co-founded and served as a member of the board in a number of successful IT ventures such as Ozon.ru (1998, the largest Russian online-bookstore) and Assist (1999, Russia's leading Internet Payment Gateway). Mr. Egorov repeatedly enters the “IT TOP 100” rating presented by the largest Russian nation-wide business newspaper “Kommersant”. In April 2003 - February 2004 he served as a Chairman of the Board of Russian Software Development Association RUSSOFT and is a constant member of the Board since that. Mr. Egorov is a frequent speaker in the world’s famous IT-related events hosted by Gartner Group, Forrester Research, ETRE and The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals. Mr. Egorov holds an MBA degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.

<p> Born in Moscow, Russia on 27 August 1979.Graduated from the State University “Higher School of Economics”, Diploma in Economy and Business Administration.Since 1995 in Healthcare and Pharmaceutics.R-Pharm Founder. President of All-Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” (“Business Russia”), actively participating in the improvement of investment climate in the Russian Federation and the establishment of the regional investment standard.Member of the Economic Council under the President of the Russian Federation.Member of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy.Member of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation. Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Head of Commission on Investment Climate.Representative (public ombudsman) of the Commissioner of the Presidential Council on the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs on issues related to the protection of the rights of foreign investors.Board-member and Co-chairman of Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on pharmaceutical and medical industry.Co-Chairman of the National Rating CommitteeMember of the Public Council under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (pharmaceutical, medical equipment and technologies).Member of the Supervisory Board of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Agency for Strategic Initiatives". </p>

Natalya Kaspersky was born in 1966 in Moscow. She graduated from the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering (MIEM) with a degree in Applied Mathematics. She holds a bachelor's degree from Open University in the UK. In 1997, Natalya and her former husband Yevgeny Kaspersky founded Kaspersky Lab and she became the general director. For the more than 10 years that Natalya ran the company, Kaspersky Lab went from being an unknown start-up to one of the leaders on the international IT market with turnover of half a billion (in the dollar equivalent). In 2003, Kaspersky Lab established the subsidiary InfoWatch, which began working on developments to protect companies from information leaks. In 2007, Natalya Kaspersky took over as CEO of the company. Under her leadership, InfoWatch has turned into a powerful holding companies specialising in information security in just a few years. Natalya Kaspersky actively invests in the development of high-tech companies, is a member of the advisory board at Russian Venture Company, is an advisor at the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, and an expert in the professional organisation of security officers.

Alexander graduated with distinction from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. His career has included almost 25 years’ work in the international IT, telecommunications and Internet systems market, including working in senior posts in some of the biggest international companies, such as Apple, Czech Telecom, GTS and Motorola. Alexander manages SPIRIT’s international business. SPIRIT is the world’s number one company in the development and licensing of software engines for voice and video transmission via IP systems. SPIRIT’s carrier-grade innovative communications software platform is used by communications operators, equipment manufacturers, software developers, web services and social networks and serves over a billion users in more than 100 countries.

<p> Born in Moscow, Russia on 27 August 1979.Graduated from the State University “Higher School of Economics”, Diploma in Economy and Business Administration.Since 1995 in Healthcare and Pharmaceutics.R-Pharm Founder. President of All-Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” (“Business Russia”), actively participating in the improvement of investment climate in the Russian Federation and the establishment of the regional investment standard.Member of the Economic Council under the President of the Russian Federation.Member of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy.Member of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation. Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Head of Commission on Investment Climate.Representative (public ombudsman) of the Commissioner of the Presidential Council on the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs on issues related to the protection of the rights of foreign investors.Board-member and Co-chairman of Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on pharmaceutical and medical industry.Co-Chairman of the National Rating CommitteeMember of the Public Council under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (pharmaceutical, medical equipment and technologies).Member of the Supervisory Board of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Agency for Strategic Initiatives". </p>

William (Bill) Savage is the vice president and general manager of the Developer Product Division within Intel's Software and Services Group. He joined Intel in 1990 as a software developer working on compilers. He is now responsible for Intel's developer products including Compilers, Performance Analyzers, Performance Libraries, Visual Computing software tools as well as the Intel Parallel Studio and Parallel Studio XE product lines. These products allow software developers to take full advantage of Intel processors through improved performance and time to market. In addition, Savage is responsible for hardware software co-design projects working closely with Intel design teams on future software technologies for Intel microprocessors. He is a board member of Havok, an Intel subsidiary. Savage holds a degree in Computer Science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Robert Farish is vice president at International Data Corporation (IDC), the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. He is responsible for IDC’s research, consulting, and events business in the CIS region. He has spent most of his professional life tracking the information technology market in Russia. Prior to joining IDC, Mr. Farish was the director of Russia Data Services, an independent Moscow-based IT research firm. In early 1990’s he also worked as a Moscow-based technology journalist. Today he heads IDC's regional team covering the CIS countries. During his time at IDC, Mr. Farish has personally authored studies on many of the technology areas addressed by IDC. His leadership has resulted in a major expansion of IDC's research, consulting, and events business in the CIS. He is a regular speaker at IT events in Russia and respected authority on the Russian IT market.

Born in 1982 in Moscow. Mark Shmulevich is a seasoned business development and innovation manager with a track record of managing high-technology innovation – from space engineering to nano-scale quantum devices. Currently Mark is a deputy Minister in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, where he is focused on fostering the development of the Russian IT industry. Mark was appointed this position in July 2012. Mark's previous job was a Chief Development Officer and Member of the Steering Committee of the Russian Quantum Center, a new cutting edge scientific research center in Moscow focused on quantum physics and quantum technologies. Before that Mark had been working in the field of space technologies for 6 years. He led formation of the joint venture between JSC Russian Space Systems (10000+ employees) and Trimble Navigation, USA, in the field of satellite navigation. He was a member of the Board of Directors of this joint venture in 2010-2012. Mark worked as a Head of Business Development of the Russian Space Systems from 2009 till 2012. Mark has been selected as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2011.