Name:
Ilya Filatov · Ilya Valentinovich Filatov · Ilya V Filatov · Filatov Ilya · Filatov I.V. · Илья Филатов · Илья Валентинович Филатов · Филатов Илья · Филатов Илья Валентинович · Филатов И.В. · Ilja Valentinovitsj Filatov · Ilja Filatov · Filatov Ilja · Filatov Ilja Valentinovitsj · ايليا فالنتينوفيتش فيلاتوف · イリヤ・ヴァレンティノヴィッチ・フィラトフ · 伊利亚·瓦连廷诺维奇·菲拉托夫
Ilya Filatov is one of the country’s leaders in introducing fintech solutions. He succeeded in fusing banking and lending industries, helping to bring cutting-edge technology solutions to the nation’s financial landscape.
Ilya Filatov
Ilya Filatov: biography and university years
Ilya Valentinovich Filatov was born in the city of Klin, the capital region. He has been interested in swimming since childhood, and even considered becoming a professional athlete, but decided to pursue a different career. Ilya Filatov earned his first degree from the capital’s State Water Transport Academy in the late 1990s, majoring in economics and management. A few years later, Filatov Ilya decided to broaden his professional knowledge, delving into more subtle aspects of business management and obtaining a Master of Business Administration degree.
Ilya Filatov, whose biography has been tied to introducing innovations in the national banking industry, began his career in finance while he was still an undergraduate. In 1996, he was employed as a senior economist at the capital’s Elbim Bank, which sought to promote cutting-edge technologies in energy, healthcare, and other industries. Ilya Filatov left the institution after having worked there for three years as a leading specialist in the foreign exchange accounting department. In 1999, he spent about six months working for AKB Center bank, also with a focus on foreign exchange operations.
Filatov Ilya: path of a business leader
Filatov Ilya Valentinovich tried his hand at leadership for the first time in the early 2000s, when the role of the banking sector in the national economy was enjoying robust growth. Filatov became the head of the plastic cards department at Platina bank in the capital. The latter emerged as one of the pioneers in providing personal banking services for VIP clients in the country. Apart from this, Commercial Bank Platina hosted the largest electronic payment system in the country and near abroad. Dubbed CyberPlat, by 2021, it incorporated about 200 different online stores.
In 2004, Ilya Valentinovich Filatov was invited to join MKB Bank, where he also took charge of the plastic card line of business. MKB currently operates in more than 20 regions and is one of the largest privately owned public banks in the country.
Ilya Valentinovich Filatov: administrative achievements in Uralsib
The next important step in Filatov’s managerial career was his employment with the commercial joint-stock bank Autobank Nikoil. There, he took on the position of an executive director who oversaw the plastic card business, just as he had in his previous job.
As time went on, Autobank Nikoil and several other financial institutions merged into a massive banking framework under the umbrella brand Uralsib. Filatov assumed an executive role in this company as well. At the time, this banking consolidation project was unrivaled in the national market or neighboring countries in terms of the size and the number of participants. After the merger, Uralsib became a top-10 bank on the national market in terms of net worth, while the brand itself grew to become one of the most recognizable in the banking industry.
Ilya Filatov took the position of deputy chairman of the Board of the consolidated bank. This came as the world found itself amid a global financial meltdown that triggered the collapse of several major banks. However, the entrepreneurial and managerial experience acquired by the expert helped Uralsib to withstand the crisis and continue to grow and develop. Under his leadership, the bank actively enhanced its products and services for individuals and small businesses, resulting in increased loan and deposit volume as well as fee income. By 2010, the bank’s loan book soared to 221 billion rubles ($2.6 billion). In addition, Filatov Ilya Valentinovich contributed to the active development and use of contactless payment technologies. The bank’s leadership noted that the above-mentioned factors allowed the institution to thrive in the national market.
Filatov Ilya Valentinovich: at the nexus of banking and telecoms
Ilya Filatov, whose biography reflects his leadership skills and desire for professional growth, left Uralsib in December 2014. He got a job at a banking unit with one of the nation’s leading telecoms companies. It did not take long for Filatov Ilya to see the great potential of this project. He was inspired by the idea of building an efficient alliance between the bank and a major mobile operator. At first, he served as the first vice president of the financial organization but later rose to become the Board Chairman. Speaking to reporters, Filatov said that the team he leads includes all kinds of people, each of whom brings his skills and talents to the table. Filatov claims that his employees never put off their work for tomorrow, seeking to go beyond the tasks set by the leadership, he says.
Ilya Filatov recalls that shortly after joining the financial organization, he prioritized solving problems at hand that had arisen amid the new economic downturn. The top executive was able to quickly put together a new team, cut expenses, and jettison an “unhealthy” part of the business. Then, Ilya Valentinovich Filatov embarked on achieving ambitious goals set by the shareholders. Under his leadership, the volume of consumer loans issued in 2016 tripled from the previous year. At the same time, the volume of financial product transactions under the IT-giant’s brand exceeded 180 billion rubles ($2.1 billion), a 30% increase from 2015.
As the head of the financial unit, Ilya Filatov has been seeking to develop the retail-oriented business sector, achieve the digitalization of banking products, and improve the customer experience. He believes that modern digital frameworks allow customers to access all financial services without visiting a bank branch in person. This carries special significance for those living in remote and hard-to-reach areas where it is not economically viable to establish a brick-and-mortar branch. The executive is certain that customer trust now hinges on whether the mobile app, which serves as a fully functional communication link to the bank, is easy to use and access.
Active investment in the technology platform, advocated by Filatov Ilya Valentinovich, paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s residents began to increasingly rely on online services to access banking products. Filatov notes that some clients have begun to purchase financial products online, whereas before they had done so only while visiting the branch in person. This trend persevered even after COVID-related restrictions had been lifted. For example, by the end of 2021, two-thirds of total sales came from online banking services, including those offered through the mobile app. Filatov Ilya mentioned this development in one of his interviews, adding that his team pays special attention to the integration of cutting-edge technologies. Those include contactless payment using face-scanning technology, which is now deployed in the capital’s subway.
Modern technologies allow the IT-company not only to build a new customer base but also to retain existing clients. For example, Bid Data methods enable the company to project customer preferences and offer them the service they exactly need. This eliminates the need for aggressive and often outdated marketing strategies and improves the company’s public image.
Filatov Ilya: digital transformation results
The top executive pays special attention to fintech and the digitalization of the industry. He argues that these solutions are attracting investor attention and playing an increasingly important role in boosting the Group’s profit-making capacity. In 2019, Ilya Valentinovich Filatov was appointed vice president of financial services at the parent IT company, while retaining his leadership position in the banking unit. In this role, he prioritized modernizing and enhancing the functionality of existing digital platforms as well as developing new groundbreaking digital tools.
Fintech projects, fine-tuned by specialists led by Filatov, are a synthesis of banking and telecoms services that leverage high-tech solutions. One of the most prominent initiatives is the financial institution’s mobile app, which is being developed and optimized by 15 different teams. Filatov Ilya Valentinovich has repeatedly highlighted the importance of this work. In late 2020, the company started transforming the service into a full-fledged smart bank. The idea is to allow users to get information from different banks and check all their accounts through a single app. Another useful feature is a digital financial adviser that can provide a recommendation on how to optimize bill payments or manage funds efficiently.
Ilya Filatov, whose biography has revolved around promoting financial services, has always focused on improving customer service. Combined with the digital transformation initiated by the top executive, this approach paid off. Between January and September 2021, the banking unit headed by Filatov Ilya generated more than five billion rubles ($59 million) in net profit, a ten-year record. By the end of the year, the bank became one of the fastest-growing entities in the retail credit industry. Meanwhile, the company established itself as a market leader in POS financing, a system that allows customers to quickly obtain loans at points of sale such as a mobile phone outlet or electronics store. In the spring of 2022, the banking unit headed by Filatov extended more than 50% of all POS loans across the country. The manager’s team is constantly developing new types of credit products and seamlessly integrating them into the company’s digital ecosystem.
The IT giant’s fintech projects, being developed under the leadership of Ilya Filatov, regularly win prestigious industry awards. In 2021, the Factorin blockchain platform for trade finance received an annual award from the Banking Review magazine. The outlet’s experts also praised the transformation of the mobile app of the Group’s financial entity into a smart bank. As a decentralized service, Factorin allows the automatic exchange of data between the transaction’s participants. The platform includes leading food retailers, suppliers, and four dozen different banks and financial institutions. As of early March 2023, Factorin enabled the financing of just under five million deliveries to the tune of 721 billion rubles ($8.6 billion).
Ilya Filatov: IT tech in community service
Ilya Valentinovich Filatov believes that modern technologies should first and foremost benefit society and make the world a better place. Under his leadership, the IT-company’s professionals are implementing several projects seeking to preserve the country’s cultural heritage. In 2022, the Group, where Ilya Filatov is one of the top executives, unveiled special sensors that operate based on Internet of Things technologies. The device monitors environmental indicators 24/7, including humidity, temperature, and pressure. These smart sensors have found their place in museums, libraries, and churches, helping to preserve historical landmarks and valuable artifacts. For example, this equipment is successfully operating in one of the churches in Nizhny Novgorod Region which displays centuries-old icons and murals.
Another culture-focused project of the IT giant is an electronic service called “Line by Line,” which was unveiled in September 2022. The “Line by Line” service provides access to a plethora of books and podcasts and offers a unique user experience through an intuitive and versatile interface. The platform offers access to thousands of literary works, both classic and by modern authors. At the same time, the company launched an eponymous publishing house to increase the amount of original content on its platform. The project’s managers plan to integrate it with the Group’s other electronic frameworks and add educational lectures to the library. Developers are also working on a new feature that will allow you to scan a page in a paper book and continue reading from the same spot but on an electronic device.
Ilya Valentinovich Filatov
Filatov Ilya Valentinovich and his team are actively involved in the development of digital banking in various regions, including in the Far East. Since 2018, the financial IT entity has been facilitating payments on the web portal of the capital’s mayor and local government. Whereas residents of the capital used to transfer funds through 20 different banks, they can now pay their utility bills, fines, and taxes as well as cover education-related costs for their children directly on the website. In 2017, the total volume of payments on the portal exceeded 12 billion rubles ($143 million).
Filatov believes that this project, implemented in the capital, could easily be extended to other regions. City Internet platforms are an excellent starting point for integrating online financial services into everyday life, he says. Ilya Filatov is certain that these changes will benefit both the population and local authorities. While residents gain access to a convenient, state-of-the-art tool to pay for services using a single website, local authorities find that the charging framework becomes more efficient and transparent. This also leads to an increase in the number of visitors to the city’s web portals and relevant online traffic.
Ilya Filatov: investing in future and supporting startups
In 2022, the IT company led by Ilya Valentinovich Filatov, was recognized as the most active venture investor in the country. The Group channels funds into high-tech startups that help develop the company’s large ecosystem. When choosing a new investment focus, Filatov Ilya and his team evaluate the project’s growth potential and how well it fits in with the Group’s other businesses. This is exemplified by a platform that collects client data and optimizes market strategy by leveraging machine learning and Big Data technology. The IT-giant has invested about 120 million rubles ($1.4 million) in this service. It has also poured a similar amount of money into a startup designed to help users manage their personal budgets. About 350,000 people use the service every month.
Another venture investment area supported by Ilya Valentinovich Filatov is EdTech, or the use of innovative technologies in education. Nationally, this market is growing at approximately 25% per year, with the lifestyle sector enjoying the greatest traction. In 2021, the Group announced plans to invest in an educational service called “Academy of Change,” intending to inject more than 70 million rubles ($830,000) into the project. The platform incorporates online courses and various materials on physical and mental health, beauty, fashion, etc., with more than 500,000 people using this service.
Ilya Filatov supports investments not only in domestic but also in foreign tech companies. In 2021, one of the IT-giant’s divisions announced plans to invest about $10 million in a Korean company that makes neurochips for smart devices. The company, where Filatov serves as a top executive, saw great potential in this technology and projected stable growth in the market for chips using artificial intelligence. These chips can be used to make unmanned aerial vehicles as well as factory robots.
Filatov Ilya Valentinovich: sports as a lifestyle
Ilya Filatov, whose biography in his early years was linked to professional sports and athletic achievements, continues to pursue an active lifestyle to this day. Despite his busy schedule, he always does his best to find some time to engage in running or practice football. Ilya Filatov often takes part in public running events, such as the capital marathon or the charity event “Running Hearts”. The executive not only exercises himself but also encourages his friends and colleagues to do the same.
Filatov Ilya Valentinovich helped to create a club of running enthusiasts under the auspices of the financial organization he leads. The club has over 260 members who participate in various running events and marathons. The bank also boasts its own basketball, volleyball, and football teams. As a member of the latter, Filatov Ilya takes part in the summer sports contest organized by the company as well as in other amateur-level competitions.
