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Denis Sverdlov

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Denis Sverdlov
Денис Свердлов
Sverdlov in 2012
Born
Denis Lvovich Sverdlov

(1978-06-06) 6 June 1978 (age 46)
Agara, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (now Georgia)
NationalityRussian
Alma materSaint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics
OccupationBusinessman
TitleFounder and former CEO of Arrival
TermMarch 2016 – November 2022
Children3

Denis Lvovich Sverdlov (Russian: Денис Львович Свердлов; born 6 June 1978) is a British-based Russian businessman, and the founder and former CEO of Arrival, a British electric vehicle manufacturer based in London. The businessman who was worth $11.7 billion in April 2021 lost his billionaire status in April 2022. Sverdlov's 94% decline in net worth is the largest wealth loss of anyone outside China who appeared on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in 2021.[1] In 2012–13, he was Russia's deputy minister for communications and mass media.

Early life

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Sverdlov was born in 1978 in Agara in the then Soviet republic of Georgia.[2] He was raised in Saint Petersburg by his engineer parents who were employed at a state-operated factory specializing in manufacturing fan blades used in electrical turbines.[3] He has a degree in economics from Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics.[4]

Career

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After graduating in 2000 Sverdlov founded IT Vision, an IT consulting firm.[5]

From 2003 to 2007, Sverdlov was the co-founder and managing partner of Korus Consulting, an IT consulting firm in Russia.[5]

Sverdlov was a co-founder and chief executive of Yota, a Russian mobile broadband company, until its acquisition by MegaFon in 2012.[4]

Post-acquisition Sverdlov set up the Kinetik Trust to invest in a range of promising technologies and bring them to market.[6]

He was Russia's deputy Communications and Mass Media Minister for 15 months before stepping down in 2013.[4] He left this position following new legislation which banned government officials from holding assets abroad.[7]

Sverdlov founded Arrival and began its operations in the UK in 2015.[8] He was its CEO from March 2016 until November 2022.[9] In March 2021 Arrival went public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, CIIC Merger Corp.[2]

He is also the founder of Roborace – the world’s first driverless electric racing platform.[10]

Personal life

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Sverdlov is married, with three children, and the family moved from France to London in September 2015.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "SPAC Produces One of World's Biggest Billionaire Implosions". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Henni, Adrien (5 April 2021). "Former Russian Government Official Denis Sverdlov Scores $10Bln With Electric Vehicle Startup". Moscow Times. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  3. ^ Arlidge, John (21 May 2021). "Meet Denis Sverdlov, the man with the £6 billion electric van". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Holgate, Ben (24 September 2015). "Russian businessman driving a £20m electric lorries dream". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "# 447 Denis Sverdlov". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021.
  6. ^ Cotterill, Joseph (16 September 2015). "Kinetik bets on electric trucks with UK investment". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. ^ Henni, Adrien (5 April 2021). "Former Russian Government Official Denis Sverdlov Scores $10Bln With Electric Vehicle Startup". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Management Team". Arrival. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  9. ^ Jolly, Jasper (24 November 2022). "Founder of troubled electric van maker Arrival steps aside as CEO". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Roborace is building a 300kph AI supercar – no driver required". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 9 July 2021.