ABOUT
BIOGRAPHY
Konstantin Sokolov is the founder of IJS Investments, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on the intersection of technology, finance and critical infrastructure. He is a major shareholder in Viva, Armenia’s largest mobile and telecommunications company, spearheading the company’s investment in and delivery of 5G and upgraded cloud services.
In addition, he is also Chairman of the Northern Pillar Energy Consortium, a clean energy and fiber-optic undersea cable initiative connecting Europe and Africa, and Chairman of Pelagos Data Centres – an initiative committed to meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving digital landscape and supporting the next generation of technological advancement.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Munich Security Conference, globally recognized as a leading forum for high-level debate and dialogue on the most pressing international security challenges. He is also a Board Member of the American Friends of the Munich Security Conference.
Having started his career in telecommunications, Konstantin has drawn on his previous expertise as Director of Enterprise Architecture at Qwest Communications (now Lumen Technologies). In that role, he helped to modernize U.S. Government telecommunications infrastructure and developed pioneering, next-generation solutions in telecommunications and financial services. Konstantin is also an expert in the energy sector, previously serving as Managing Director for Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions at Centrica PLC.
He has led restructuring projects for sovereign wealth funds and central banks, steered the listing of firms on all major stock exchanges and provided strategic counsel to governments and major companies.
Konstantin is a U.S. citizen and a married father-of-two. He holds a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science and an executive MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. A strong advocate for and private donor to the School, he is a member of the Chicago Booth and Polsky Center Private Equity Council.
PERSONAL STORY
Born in 1975 in St Petersburg, then part of the Soviet Union, Konstantin Sokolov had a humble upbringing, proud of his Jewish heritage.
Emphasis on the value and benefits of education was a constant during his childhood. His mother was a respected academic but, like many university staff, was not well paid. Konstantin had, however, inherited her intellect. He excelled at school, particularly in mathematics, and from the age of five received English tuition from private teachers paid for by his mother from her modest salary.
When he was 11, Konstantin was gifted a Casio calculator brought back by a family friend from a trip to the West. The device could perform limited programming functions and while commonly used by students overseas, it was inaccessible and unaffordable to most people in the Soviet Union.
It was a profound moment. As Konstantin explored its functions he realized the damage caused by the Soviet Union’s failure to provide basic resources to schools and universities and the overall failure of the Soviet system to foster a prosperous society.
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 oppression of the Jewish community, which primarily targeted intellectuals, professionals, and the medical community.
Konstantin wasted no time putting his education to use. By the age of 15, he was supplementing his family’s income by working as a translator and software developer. After leaving school, he attended St Petersburg State University, one of the most respected academic institutions in Russia. He graduated with a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, at age 21, Konstantin moved permanently to America and began working for a respected company at the forefront of cutting‑edge technology.
In 2005, he completed an executive MBA at the prestigious University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an institution that embodies the value placed on education and entrepreneurship in the U.S. He considers it the best investment of his life.