/ ABOUT
Konstantin Sokolov is an experienced entrepreneur and private equity investor with a track record of transforming critical infrastructure in the telecommunications, energy and financial services sectors.
Konstantin is the founder of IJS Investments, a private equity investment company focused on the intersection of technology, finance, and infrastructure. He has also led restructuring projects for sovereign wealth funds and central banks, and has steered the listing of firms on all major stock exchanges.
Konstantin has established the Northern Pillar Energy Consortium, an initiative to connect Europe and Africa, providing clean, affordable energy and high-speed digital communications to meet the needs of tomorrow’s world. An expert in the energy sector, he was previously Managing Director for Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions at Centrica PLC.
As a major shareholder in Viva, the largest mobile and telecommunication company in Armenia, he has championed digital transformation, drawing on his previous expertise as Director of Enterprise at Qwest Communications (now Lumen Technologies). In that role, he helped to modernize United States Government telecommunications infrastructure and developed pioneering, next-generation solutions in telecommunications and financial services. He has also provided strategic counsel to governments and major companies.
An American national and married father-of-two, he has a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science and an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
/ PERSONAL LIFE
Born in St Petersburg in 1975 and proud of his Jewish heritage, Konstantin Sokolov had a humble beginning during the latter years of the Soviet era.
His mother was a respected academic but like many university staff was not well paid. Konstantin did, however, inherit her fierce intellect and that of his father, a physics professor, and excelled at school, particularly in mathematics.
When he was 11, Konstantin was given a gift of a Casio calculator brought back by a family friend from a trip to the West. The device could perform basic programming functions and while commonly used by students in the West, it was inaccessible and unaffordable to most people in the Soviet Union.
It was a profound moment. As he explored its functions, Konstantin was fascinated by the potential offered by the growing field of computer science but despaired at the Soviet Union’s failure to embrace such innovation.
His disenchantment with the Soviet regime was also influenced by the experience of his grandmother, a veterinarian who had been sent to a gulag in the early 1950s during Stalin’s repression of Jews and members of the intelligentsia.
Aware of her son’s precocious ability, Konstantin’s mother dipped into her meagre earnings to hire language tutors so that her son would be fluent in English. From the age of 15, Konstantin would supplement his family’s income by working as a translator and software developer.
After leaving school, Konstantin attended St Petersburg State University, one of the oldest and most prestigious academic institutions in Russia. He graduated with a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Konstantin had abandoned his initial intention to work in academia and scientific research. Instead, he resolved to pursue a business career in the West. He was privileged to join a Western technology firm at the forefront of cutting-edge technology.
Having moved to the US, he completed an Executive MBA at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the second oldest business school in the US whose alumni include some of the most influential figures in the business and technology sectors. He retains strong links with the School of Business to which he is a private donor, focused on empowering the next generation of business leaders.
/ PORTFOLIO
Mr. Sokolov’s investments and activities focus on the transformation of critical infrastructure on a global scale and have made significant contributions to the worlds of finance, telecommunications, energy, real estate, and technology.
Viva is the largest mobile telecommunications company in Armenia. It provides a wide range of offerings including mobile, fixed, corporate network and cloud services.
XData Group is a premier software development firm that specializes in delivering cutting-edge solutions for financial institutions. The Group offers a highly customized approach to software development and aims to provide seamless and scalable performance to its clients.
The Northern Pillar Energy Consortium is an undersea cable initiative that will carry both energy and telecommunications, reviving the historic connections between Europe and Africa and helping both continents to achieve important economic, societal and environmental goals.