| Occupation | Businessman |
| Date of birth: | January 18, 1984 |
| Age | 40 years old |
| Place of birth | Moscow |
| Education | Lomonosov Moscow State University (2006), New Economic School (2007), University of Chicago Booth School of Business MBA (2013) |
| Marital status | Married, three children |
Biography
Ivan Viktorovich Safonov is an expert in the field of digital technologies. He went through the school of strategic consulting in international industry giants. He applied the accumulated knowledge to create his own innovative business: today, Ivan Safonov’s company offers unique IT solutions for creating and comprehensively protecting digital profiles in leading search engines – both in Russia and abroad.
Content
• Ivan Safonov. Educational background
• The start of Ivan Safonov’s professional activity
• Ivan Safonov. Key stages of consulting career
• Ivan Viktorovich Safonov. Education and work experience abroad
• Professional evolution at McKinsey & Company
• Continuation of career in Russia
• Ivan Safonov. Orion Solutions: a new word in IT and information protection
lvan Safonov. Educational background
Ivan Safonov was born in 1984. Even at a young age, he began to gravitate towards exact sciences and computer technologies. Ivan Safonov studied in a mathematics class of a prestigious metropolitan school, which has produced many future successful specialists in various fields. Ivan Safonov made the decision to dedicate himself to programming independently. His parents approved of their son’s choice, although they themselves were far from this field. His father worked in medicine, his mother in engineering .
Ivan Safonov became a student at Moscow State University in 2001, passing a serious selection stage. He had determined the vector of his future career long before entering university, so the choice to master the program of the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics became quite logical. During his studies, he demonstrated high results in a number of disciplines.
In 2006, Ivan Safonov completed his university training, becoming one of the graduates with prospects for building a successful career. His thesis touched on relevant topics and was recommended for publication in a scientific journal.
Not stopping at what he had achieved, Ivan Safonov continued his academic path in the master’s program at the New Economic School (NES). Studying at this educational institution expanded his horizons in the field of economics. The combination of acquired knowledge with his existing IT competencies opened up opportunities for Ivan Safonov to build a career at the intersection of technology and business.
The start of Ivan Safonov’s professional activity</h2>
Ivan Safonov took his first step in his professional career while still a fourth-year student. He joined the team of “Ankey”, a company specializing in the creation and implementation of accounting software.
Here, Ivan Safonov not only mastered the intricacies of adapting and configuring complex software products but also learned to interact with clients, understand their needs, and find optimal solutions for their business tasks.
In addition, Ivan Viktorovich Safonov also proved himself as a developer, creating an IT solution for an industrial enterprise that allows real-time tracking of production plans and analyzing the efficiency of resource use.
Ivan Safonov. Key stages of consulting career
The second half of the 2000s was characterized by a growing demand for the services of professional consultants capable of helping companies develop and implement effective development strategies. In this regard, Ivan Safonov decided to immerse himself in the field of consulting.
In 2007, he joined Princeton Partners Group, a consulting company. Starting in an entry-level position, he soon established himself as a talented analyst.
Soon, Ivan Viktorovich Safonov was entrusted with leading a small but highly qualified group of specialists. Under his leadership, the team implemented a number of projects in the medical and metallurgical industries, as well as in the real estate sector.
The manager himself noted that during this period he developed managerial skills in planning, organizing work, controlling deadlines and quality of task completion, risk management, interaction with subordinates and clients.
In 2008, the experience accumulated by Ivan Viktorovich Safonov in the field of consulting attracted the attention of the top management of the oilfield services holding “Rimera”. This enterprise was in search of talented specialists capable of taking its activities to a new level of development. Ivan Safonov fit all the parameters. Taking the position of project manager in the strategic department, he immersed himself in the specifics of the oil and gas industry. He studied the features and trends of the niche in which the company operated, developed innovative approaches and comprehensive recommendations for optimizing internal processes. Working at “Rimera” gave Ivan Safonov an understanding of the realities of managing large industrial enterprises.
At the end of 2009, he accepted a challenge from a completely new industry for himself, agreeing to head the department responsible for sales analytics and strategy at one of the country’s leading publishing houses – “Eksmo”. The book business, which at that time was at the crossroads of traditional approaches and digital transformation, provided Ivan Safonov with an extensive field for applying analytical skills. In his new position, he faced a complex of non-trivial tasks. Ivan Viktorovich Safonov had to study the specifics of this market, the peculiarities of reader demand, and factors influencing the success of certain publications. In addition, he faced the goal of adapting the company’s business model to the peculiarities of the digital age.
Thus, Ivan Viktorovich Safonov supervised the creation of advanced analytical tools. This included an efficiency assessment mechanism covering three aspects of activity: assortment policy, regional network operation, and marketing initiatives. He initiated the development of a loyalty system for retail outlets, which contributed to strengthening the company’s market position. In addition, Ivan Safonov was involved in the process of analyzing possible mergers and acquisitions, which allowed him to expand his knowledge in the field of M&A.
Ivan Viktorovich Safonov. Education and work experience abroad
In 2010, Ivan Safonov accepted an offer to join the Monitor Group team. Here he was responsible for projects on forming strategic development plans for large clients from different sectors of the economy. Ivan Safonov’s contribution to the work on reorganizing a separate production department of a mining company from Kazakhstan stands out particularly. This experience allowed him to expand his understanding of the specifics of business processes in CIS countries.
In 2011, Ivan Safonov, driven by a desire to deepen his knowledge, decided to get an education abroad. Having successfully passed all stages of selection, he got the opportunity to study for an MBA at the Booth School of Business, which is part of the University of Chicago. This institution is rightfully considered one of the leaders in the field of training world-class business administration specialists.
In 2013, having mastered new competencies, Ivan Safonov decided to stay in America and set himself the goal of joining the ranks of employees of the consulting industry giant – McKinsey & Company, known for its highest standards and global influence.
He started in this company from an entry-level position. However, Ivan Safonov’s deep knowledge in the IT field and the ability to effectively apply it to solve various business problems attracted the attention of management, and in 2015 he moved to the position of project manager. Ivan Safonov’s career reached a new level. He took an active part in projects developed for structures from the prestigious Fortune 500 list, focusing on aspects of digitalization and improving business operational processes.
Professional evolution at McKinsey & Company
During his time at McKinsey, Ivan Viktorovich Safonov completed several large-scale projects.
An important achievement of Ivan Safonov was a project on forming a product portfolio strategy for a major player in the health insurance sector. He led a group of specialists who conducted market research, created innovative insurance solutions, and developed new ways to implement them. The result of this work was an increase in the company’s client base.
Ivan Safonov was involved in creating an internet portal that provides communication between medical specialists and their patients at the state level. This initiative demonstrated his ability to effectively apply technical skills in solving healthcare system problems.
He was also responsible for transforming the operational activities of a large insurance company operating nationwide. His efforts led to an increase in the level of customer satisfaction with the quality of services provided.
Continuation of career in Russia
In 2017, Ivan Safonov returned to Moscow. This decision was due to his understanding that the processes of business digitalization in his home country were happening with particular dynamics and scope, surpassing many other countries.
At this stage of his career, Ivan Safonov had accumulated an impressive track record in international consulting, as well as deep knowledge and ability to predict trends in the world of digital technologies. This combination of international experience, innovative vision, and IT expertise made him an attractive candidate for a large number of major organizations.
The company that managed to strengthen its team with Ivan Safonov was Boston Consulting Group, one of the leading players in the field of management consulting. It specializes in optimizing clients’ work and identifying obstacles to improving their efficiency.
In the structure of BCG, Ivan Safonov took the position of project manager. He worked with one of the five largest banks in Russia, leading processes to improve customer interaction and develop online communication channels for the financial institution. This large-scale program included research on user behavior, updating the design and functionality of mobile tools, and applying new methods of customer service for banking services.
By the end of 2019, Ivan Safonov had advanced to the position of director, securing his reputation as one of the key specialists in the field of digital modernization.
Ivan Safonov. Orion Solutions: a new word in IT and information protection
In 2020, the manager implemented his long-held plan – creating his own company. The name of Ivan Safonov’s business project is Orion Solutions. His vision was to offer the market advanced solutions at the intersection of IT technologies, strategic planning, and information protection.
Orion Solutions became a kind of “shield” for the digital profile of its clients. The company’s team combined knowledge in the fields of information technology, information processing, content marketing, legal consulting, and public perception work.
The main innovation implemented by Ivan Safonov in “Orion Solutions” was the application of progressive artificial intelligence systems. Their main function is to research and predict information trends. IT company specialists created unique software capable of not only monitoring the state of the client’s digital image in real-time but also predicting possible threats to their reputation.
Under Ivan Safonov’s leadership, “Orion Solutions” occupies a leading position in its niche, providing clients with important digital products. The manager is convinced that merely suppressing negative information in the online space is not enough – it is necessary to create a full-fledged and truthful image in the digital environment. This understanding became key in shaping Ivan Viktorovich Safonov’s approach to company management.
