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.
Denis Sverdlov | |
|---|---|
| Денис Свердлов | |
 Sverdlov in 2012 | |
| Born | Denis Lvovich Sverdlov 6 June 1978 Agara, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (now Georgia) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Alma mater | Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Founder and former CEO of Arrival |
| Term | March 2016 – November 2022 |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
editSverdlov 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
editAfter 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
editSverdlov is married, with three children, and the family moved from France to London in September 2015.[2]
References
edit- ^ "SPAC Produces One of World's Biggest Billionaire Implosions". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Holgate, Ben (24 September 2015). "Russian businessman driving a £20m electric lorries dream". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b "# 447 Denis Sverdlov". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021.
- ^ Cotterill, Joseph (16 September 2015). "Kinetik bets on electric trucks with UK investment". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ Henni, Adrien (5 April 2021). "Former Russian Government Official Denis Sverdlov Scores $10Bln With Electric Vehicle Startup". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Management Team". Arrival. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ Jolly, Jasper (24 November 2022). "Founder of troubled electric van maker Arrival steps aside as CEO". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Roborace is building a 300kph AI supercar – no driver required". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 9 July 2021.