Biography of Maxim Yakovlev
Maxim Nikolaevich Yakovlev is a Russian entrepreneur, president of the Polygraphoformlenie group of companies, a leader in the domestic packaging industry. Head of the European office of the South Korean biotechnology company Unhwa. Partner of the educational Internet platform EduMarket. In his activities, he adheres to the principles of humanism, a supporter of innovation and bold business decisions.
Yakovlev Maxim Nikolaevich
Childhood and education
Maxim Nikolayevich Yakovlev is a native of the Kazakh city of Temirtau, where the metallurgical plant, famous throughout the country, known as the “Kazakhstan Magnitka” was located. The boy’s father, like many residents of the city, worked at the mine.
After graduating from secondary school in Temirtau, Maxim Yakovlev entered the Moscow Construction College, while continuing his education at an evening school. In 1983, having a red diploma from a technical school, he moved to Leningrad and successfully passed the entrance exams to the Leningrad Technological Institute.
Business career
After graduating from the university with a red diploma, Yakovlev got a job as a heat engineer at the Leningrad Ceramics Plant, but he did not stay in this industry for a long time: his personal qualities ensured rapid career advancement, switching his interest to the field of management.
In 1990, he headed the supply department of the small state enterprise “Linstek”, in 1992 he took the chair of the general director of the Maya closed joint stock company. It was during this period that the entrepreneur formed his own idea of doing business, based on a humanistic approach to management and “human capital”. People are not a means, but the main goal of any business, these are the life principles of Yakovlev.
In 1994, Maxim Yakovlev, having established himself as a promising manager, joined the board of directors of the Kirov Plant, a federal-scale machine-building enterprise, one of the largest in St. Petersburg.
In the same year, Maxim Yakovlev took the helm of the Polygraph Formation company, an enterprise with a history dating back to 1879, but at that time in a deplorable state. Under his leadership, the company, transformed into the holding JSC “Polygraphoformlenie”, received a saving renovation, which helped to overcome the technological gap with foreign colleagues and bring the company to the international level.
In 1997 Polygraphoformlenie purchased a modern machine for high-speed 8-color flexo printing and a modern laminator – these were the first steps towards the global packaging market. Already in 2002 “Polygraphoformlenie” joined the international union of packaging manufacturers Global Packaging Alliance (GPA).
Maxim Yakovlev, head of the Polygraphoformlenie group of companies, at work
Today, the services of the Polygraphoformlenie holding are used by world-famous companies, well known to everyone: the largest concerns for the production of packaged food Nestle and Kraft Foods, the chewing giants Wrigley’s and Dirol, the tobacco kings JTI and BAT, the domestic tea and coffee producer Orimi Trade and brewing company Baltika.
Maxim Yakovlev today
The energy and managerial talent of Maxim Yakovlev found an outlet not only in the activities of “Polygraph Design”, but also in a number of other socially significant projects.
The entrepreneur has long been interested in issues of longevity and anti-aging, focusing on the latest achievements of Asian countries. Thus, in 2010, Maxim Yakovlev helped the biotechnology company Unhwa (South Korea) enter the CIS market by heading its European representative office in St. Petersburg.
The Unhwa company is engaged in biotechnological cultivation of valuable ingredients from plant cells of producers. The cells are called Cambial meristematic cells. This technology, which allows the production of plant bio-raw materials on an industrial scale, has received approval from leading biologists at Rockefeller University, Harvard Medical School, and the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland. Maxim Yakovlev is confident that cooperation with Unhwa will provide the Russian herbal medicine industry with a competitive advantage.
Maxim Yakovlev at the Pharmacy Summit (2015)
Another socially significant project of Maxim Yakovlev is the online project “EduMarket”. It is a huge database of the best educational offers: lectures, seminars, trainings, qualification courses – everything that will help people grow professionally and increase their competitiveness in the labor market.
