Vadim Fedotov

Biography

Fedotov was born on January 19, 1985 in Leningrad, the son of Vadim Fedotov, a Russian renowned tennis player, and Yelena Davydova, a writer and journalist. In 1991, his family moved to Germany.

In 2005, Fedotov graduated from Schloss Hagerhof High School in Bad Honnef. Later this year he moved to the United States.

In 2009, he graduated with honors from the State University of New York at Buffalo, with a Bachelor of Science (BSc), majoring in International Business and Marketing. In the same year he moved to Moscow, Russia.

From 2009 to 2011, he worked for Barkawi Management Consultants GmbH & Co.KG. as the head of the Department of Procurement and Optimisation.

In 2011, Fedotov was named the director of sales in the Russian subsidiary of Groupon. In August 2012, he became the CEO of Groupon Russia. The Profile Magazine featured Fedotov in TOP 100 Best Appointments of 2012 in Russia In 2013, in addition to his role in Russia he was also named as the CEO of the Ukrainian subsidiaries of Groupon Inc.

In 2015, Fedotov was appointed to the managing director of the digital entities of Gazprom-Media Holding including chairman of the Digital Committee and CEO at CJSC Rutube

In May, 2016, Fedotov managed the merger of CJSC Rutube and Pladform LLC to establish a joint venture “Ruform LLC”, creating the largest online video distribution service in Russia. Fedotov is the chairman of the board of Ruform LLC.

From 2012 to present, Fedotov is a Member of the executive committee of the international public organisation Germany – Russia – The Next Generation.

Sport career

At the age of 18, Fedotov debuted his international sports career for the German national basketball team. He regularly played for the German youth national teams from 2003 till 2005.

In 2005, Fedotov went to attend State University of New York at Buffalo where he was recruited to become a member of its NCAA Division I college basketball team. He went on to play for four seasons as the power forward for the University’s Buffalo Bulls in the Mid American Conference (MAC). In 2009 Fedotov was named Academic All – MAC, awarded annually to 5 student-athletes who have excelled in athletics and academics.

Family

His father, Vadim Fedotov, won multiple tennis championships in the Leningrad region in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991). He is also a winner of The Open Tennis Championship of Russia among men (1986, Sochi).

Fedotov's mother, Yelena Davydova, is a writer and a journalist. She graduated from the Faculty of Philology at St. Petersburg State University and had her works published in literary magazines, e.g., Star, Neva, Aurora. In 1998, Universal Word Publishing House published a collection of short stories The Girl To Talk To. She taught at universities in Germany, the United States, and the Arab countries.

Fedotov's grandfather, Sergei Davydov, was a poet, novelist, and screenwriter. He is considered to be "the youngest of the poets of frontline generation". The author of more than 20 collections of short stories, novels, and poem cycles, including Come to the Fire: Poems, Waterfront: Poems, The Confusing Trail. Sanatorium of Dr. Volkov: Novels, and Harsh Holiday: Poems.

Fedotov's grandmother, Zoya Davydova, since 1966 and for more than thirty years held the position of chief radio director of the Leningrad Committee for Television and Radio, later All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in St. Petersburg. Under her supervision, over a hundred radio plays based on the works of classical and contemporary writers were broadcast nationally. For several of them she has been awarded with the International prizes for her role as the director.