Leadership

Igor is the CEO and Co-Founder of GamesUp42. With more than a decade of experience in business development, operational management, data processing and strategic planning, he is a recognized industry expert in online payments, equity investment management, marketing and online games across Europe and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). An entrepreneur at heart, Igor has also developed successful new ventures in real estate, fast food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Over the course of his career, Igor has successfully led several business ventures. Since 2018, he has served as Managing Partner at ITGV, an equity investor in innovative enterprises in automation, data center management and network services. From 2007 until 2017, he was Chairman of the Board at DengiOnline, a leading online payment processing company serving the fast-developing e-commerce markets of Russia and other СIS countries. Igor also co-founded Killfish, the biggest chain of discount bars in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan and Mozgo.com, one of world's largest pub quiz companies.

Igor holds an Executive MBA from Stockholm School of Economics, an MBA from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, and a Master’s in innovation management from St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University. He is currently a mentor at the Higher School of Economics, providing academic and career guidance to students of Russia’s leading university specializing in the economy and finances.

Mikhail is the Co-Founder of GamesUp42. Mikhail brings creativity, strategic thinking and business acumen to GamesUp42 based on more than 18 years of experience leading Russia’s largest and most successful board game company, Hobby World.

Hobby World produces and globally distributes, games for children, families as well as strategy, military and card collection games. Games that the company publishes include international blockbusters such as SpyFall, Berserk, The Settlers Of Catan, Carcassonne, Munchkin, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Ticket To Ride, Game Of Thrones, Arkham Horror, among others.

With more than 500 games in its portfolio, about 30% have been developed by the company itself and published in 26 different languages in 24 countries around the globe. The company’s international partners include Disney, Marvel, Asmodee, Hasbro, Games Workshop. Hobby World publishes more than 50 games and 450 books under its brand annually and is the organizer of Igrocon – the largest boarding games festival in Russia and CIS region with over 40,000 participants each year.

Mikhail is a graduate of the International Institute of Economics and Law.

Olga is GamesUp42’s Chief Operating Officer. In addition to project and financial management experience, she is an expert in IT and code production, in particular for games.

Prior to her current position, Olga was a Code Producer at Larian Studios (Belgium) and a CEO of its Russian studio in Saint-Petersburg.

Previously, Olga served in various roles at Dengi Online, a leading online payments processing company serving the fast-developing e-commerce markets of Russia, CIS and the EMEA regions. She worked her way up the company from a project manager, to the head of projectmanagement office, and ultimately to the head of the IT department.

Olga graduated from the computational and applied linguistics department of the St. Petersburg State University. She also holds professional certificates - in Prince 2 Project Management Methodology from APMG International and Product Management from ScrumTrek.

Nikita is GamesUp42’s Head of Project Management Office.

Nikita has 20 years of experience in operational and financial project and product management, including payment and toll collection systems, software development, software solutions delivery and logistic and billing projects for large e-commerce companies.

Nikita has a specialist degree in organization management from Saint Petersburg State University of Economics

Andrey is the Chief Business Development Officer at GamesBoost42, a factoring services company within GamesUp42. He brings almost 20 years of experience in games development, games publishing, project management and financial services to his current position.

Over the course of his career, Andrey managed game projects delivering multimillion revenues to companies. He was deeply involved in the creation of numerous well-known games, including Farm Frenzy, The Treasures of the Montezuma, The House of 1,000 Doors, Beholder and Beholder 2. He co-designed a production conveyor that resulted in more than 30 new game projects on an annual basis, involving various platforms.

Prior to joining GamesBoost42 in 2020, Andrey worked at Alawar, an international game publishing company – first as head of publishing department, and later as President and CEO. Under his leadership, a new business grew into a global company selling more than 200 million copies of games in over 100 countries annually.

Andrey graduated from the Novosibirsk State Technical University in 1998

Ilya is the CEO of META Publishing (PostMeta Games Limited), a full-cycle PC and console games publishing company within GamesUp42. He has in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of game development, sales and marketing, and international management. With over 13 years in game development, Ilya delivers a remarkable ability to execute transactions with swiftness and precision.

Prior to joining META Publishing in 2019, Ilya held senior business development positions at Softclub and 1C-Publishing, market leaders in Eastern Europe and CIS, and at 101XP, a game publisher with a global footprint. In these positions, he oversaw relations with business partners in the United States, China, Japan and South Korea. These partners included Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Google, Apple, Facebook and Valve, among others. At Softclub, Ilya managed catalogs of titles including: Total War Series, Sonic, Company of Heroes, Aliens, Divinity, EVE Online and Witcher series, totaling over $50 million in annual turnover.

Ilya has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics.

Aleksandr is the co-founder and CEO of Sun Strike Studios, a company creating 2D and 3D graphics for video games and mobile games, as well as promotional art, GUI and animation. Having dedicated his life to design and art, Aleksandr has a unique and highly appreciated perspective on graphics for games and promo materials.

Prior to launching Sun Strike Studios in 2016, Aleksandr was the 3D art producer at Social Quantum, a top-10 game publisher in CIS region. He built and led the design team from the company’s creation to a leading position in the highly competitive market.

Aleksandr is a graduate of Omsk State University.

Vasily is CEO at AdvGo42, an analytical, promotional and traffic optimization company within GamesUp42. With more than 20 years of online advertising experience, he is a recognized expert in the highly competitive online promotion industry.

Vasily founded RealWeb, an advertising agency which he managed for most of his career – taking it from a local start-up to a diversified international group of companies providing services to clients in Europe and Asia. In 2020, Vasily executed a management buy-out and transferred operational control of RealWeb to the management team.

Vasily is a graduate of St. Petersburg Technical University, with a bachelor's degree in management. Currently, he lectures at the University of Technology and Design.