Executives/Smartcat CEO
Ivan Smolnikov, CEO of Smartcat

Who is the CEO of Smartcat in 2026?

Ivan Smolnikov is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Smartcat. Ivan has held the CEO seat since 2016, and was previously Scientist at Fiber Optics Research Center at the General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences.

Updated September 24, 2026
Time in seat
10 years
CEO since 2016
Career span
25 years
First recorded role September 2001
Founded
2016
Founder of Smartcat
Summary
  • Ivan Smolnikov founded Smartcat in February 2016 and has led it as CEO ever since.
  • Ivan Smolnikov was CEO, co-founder at ALS.ltd from January 2004 to March 2016.
  • Ivan Smolnikov studied at PREDICTIVE DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES, LLC and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) (MIPT).

Current company

Smartcat

Smartcat is the enterprise AI platform for global content, built for the speed, scale, and the complexity of today's markets. Smartcat's expert-enabled AI coworkers automate content creation, translation, and localization across every format, language, and team, from documents to websites to.

Technology, Information and InternetHeadquartered in WilmingtonFounded 2016Private company

Source: Smartcat on LinkedIn

Career and education

Ivan Smolnikov has been CEO of Smartcat since 2016. Before Smartcat, Ivan was Scientist at Fiber Optics Research Center at the General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences from September 2001 until June 2004.

Career

  1. Smartcat2016 to present
    • CEO & founder
  2. ALS.ltd2004 to 2017
    • Board MemberMarch 2016 to December 2017
    • CEO, co-founderJanuary 2004 to March 2016
  3. Fiber Optics Research Center at the General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences2001 to 2004
    • Scientist

Sources: LinkedIn profile

Education

PREDICTIVE DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES, LLCMoscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) (MIPT), M.Sc., Applied Physics and MathematicsMoscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) (MIPT), M.Sc., Physics, Fiber OpticsSource

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13 decision makers at Smartcat in Unify, vice president level and above. Choose a function to see who leads it.

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Top decision makers at Smartcat

Vice president level and above, most senior first
Sherali KarimovChief Technology Officer · NLD@smartcat.com
Jeff GalbraithVP of Sales · USA@smartcat.com
Stacey RicheyGlobal Vice President of People · USA@smartcat.com
Mukhamed KurbanovVP of Finance · PRT@smartcat.com
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Frequently asked questions

Who is the CEO of Smartcat?

Ivan Smolnikov is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Smartcat. Ivan has held the CEO seat since 2016, and was previously Scientist at Fiber Optics Research Center at the General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences.

When did Ivan Smolnikov become CEO of Smartcat?

Ivan Smolnikov has been CEO of Smartcat since 2016, according to LinkedIn profile.

What did Ivan Smolnikov do before Smartcat?

Ivan Smolnikov was Scientist at Fiber Optics Research Center at the General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences from September 2001 until June 2004, according to LinkedIn profile.

How long has Ivan Smolnikov been CEO of Smartcat?

Ivan Smolnikov has been CEO of Smartcat for 10 years, since 2016.

Reach Smartcat's decision makers

13 leaders at vice president level and above, with verified work emails and phone numbers in Unify.

Methodology

The seat holder is identified in Unify's professional profile dataset, then confirmed against the company's published leadership page, its SEC filings, and Wikipedia before publication. Career and education rows carry the public document they were taken from. Leadership team membership follows the company's own leadership page; in-seat dates come from filings where available and otherwise from the profile record. Company figures are read from the Unify headcount page for the same company and are profile coverage measures, never company-reported workforce totals. The employee preview lists vice president and senior vice president level profiles by department. No personal contact details are published.

Identity confirmed against Smartcat on LinkedIn. Last verified: September 24, 2026.