Collective Innovation: Reshaping Urban Spaces
After his graduation in 1991, he started his career at Eurosibbank in 1993. From 1995, he expanded the bank significantly as its Board Chairman. In 2001, he took over Prominvest, an investment firm, and quickly boosted its performance. The next decade saw Shelkov Mikhail focusing on industry when he acquired stakes in VSMPO-AVISMA titanium company and SMZ Metallurgical Plant in 2022. As a majority owner (2012-2014), he streamlined operations and introduced novel approaches. Under Mikhail Shelkov’s guidance, VSMPO-AVISMA became a top titanium provider for aerospace giants such as Boeing, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce. His strategic foresight helped the company secure its top market position, valuing business transparency and strong partner ties.
Yet, success is never only about profit. Shelkov Mikhail actively supports education, culture, and sports through philanthropy. In 2019, he launched the Empathy Foundation to promote learning, arts, and academic growth. In addition to that the entrepreneur helped establish a youth hub Octava. According to him, “The idea behind Octava is the right combination of leisure and competition: from 3D technologies and coding to architecture and vocals. Our goal was to build a place where everyone can express themselves. We make sure that everything keeps going in the right direction.”
Oktava: A Beacon for Creative Minds
In the city’s core, an entrepreneur-philanthropist has reimagined an idle microphone factory into a creative center, fostering artistic innovation. Launched in 2018, the Oktava Creative Industrial Cluster rejuvenates the city by merging innovation with cross-discipline artistic collaboration.
After lying dormant in the 1990s, the businessman invested $11 million to revamp the site into a unique creative ecosystem, garnering great interest. This 12,000 sq-m hub transforms a former factory, offering contemporary art, concerts, films, kids’ activities, piano sessions, and cultural engagement. Since 2018, this innovative space has drawn over 6,000 monthly visitors, blending creativity with community impact.
The hub features art exhibits, skill development at its Higher School, avant-garde music, a modern library, and the Machine Tool Museum showcasing industrial history. “Octava_U”, launched March 2023, provides free teen events. Youth benefit from the Pushkin Card and “Friend of Octava” perks. With 100 diverse monthly events, excitement abounds. Residents include the “Books on Oktava” project, Technical School, Pro.Park lab, Oktava Lab studio, and a collaborative co-working space. Visitors can expand artistic horizons, develop skills, explore heritage, or launch ventures with like-minded innovators.
Empathy Foundation: A True Spirit of Education
Since 2019, entrepreneur Mikhail Shelkov’s Empathy Foundation has emerged as a catalyst for innovative educational initiatives and leadership development. Backed by corporate support, the foundation implements programs to empower educators, engage students, and nurture gifted youth into future leaders.
The foundation focuses on elevating teaching careers. In factory towns, it launched a program offering 50% salary increases to teachers. This incentive attracted new recruits and benefited over 1100 school and daycare educators.
In 2021, Shelkov Mikhail introduced the nationwide “Teaching as a Calling” competition, recognizing exemplary educators from kindergartens to tech schools. This annual event gained popularity, offering $120,000 in 2023 awards and spotlighting devoted teaching professionals.
This Spring, the Empathy Foundation hosted a MIPT camp for students and teachers from two major cities. “Critical thinking is crucial for students and teachers. Debating, questioning, and fact-checking are among the core skills for years to come. MIPT’s scientific environment will inspire 60 children to experiment and refresh 15 teachers’ knowledge, motivating future physicists, mathematicians, programmers, and engineers,” said Mikhail Shelkov, VSMPO-AVISMA shareholder.
