Real biography of Dmitry Potapenko. From security guard to successful entrepreneur: business history of Dmitry Potapenko Potapenko entrepreneur biography

Soap bubble Dmitry Potapenko. Impenetrable soap bubble. December 15th, 2015

A couple of years ago, having once again noticed this impudent slob on one of the talk shows, appreciating his boorish pressure, he said to his relatives: “Our oppositionists still haven’t grabbed hold of him? It’s in vain. He’s like a bulldozer. He’ll take over the city with his arrogance and blatant lies.”

I waited. For a week now, liberal resources have been busy promoting Mr. Potapenko. Refer tovideo clip , they incomprehensibly exclaim, “Beautiful! He’s cutting down the truth!” They go to search engines and, writing with joy, replicate the biographical information scattered on the Internet of an unprecedentedly successful businessman and two-time world champion in karate.

Let's start with something minor, but striking. With karate.
" Twice world champion in karate. Multiple champion of Moscow and Russia".
Zero specifics. What championships, what countries, what years? People who know first-hand about karate shrug their shoulders. Haven't heard the name "Potapenko".
Yes, even " wrestled professionally"Also a multiple champion, probably?
I almost forgot - a great golfer. " I started playing golf and in my first year I received a medal as « Olympic hope » "

"The first company « Black leopard » I built it from scratch at 18 years old".
Okay, let's skip it.

Obvious inconsistencies in various biographical information and interviews in the early 90s. During the same year, Mr. Potapenko "studied at MIREA", " founded his first retail chain - Tusar electronics stores", " was the director of the Otari Kvantrishvili gambling club", and " worked as a security guard"(immediately after creating your own retail network, or immediately after getting a job with the most influential thief in law?).

In 1995, a twenty-five-year-old security guard with electronic gambling experience became "Vice President Sales and Marketing Grundic GmbH". One bio at a time" in the Baltic countries". According to others" in the CIS and Baltic countries". Again, zero confirmation.
" CEO « JSC MEZ DSP » "(Moscow experimental particle board plant in Podrezkovo).
" Vice President for Investment Development of PBC« CreditImpexBank» " (formerly "Kreditimpex Bank" on the old Arbat?).
" Deputy Group Manager « Logos » ".
" General Director of LLC « Wholesale centers » ".
"General Director and Chief Accountant of CJSC « RemtransAVTO » ".

Such a busy schedule did not interfere with the studies of the multi-machine genius. "MBA, California Heyward State University, Economic option"(correct - California State University, Hayward)." MBA, Economics, All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade".

Previously, the media (in his words) repeatedly presented Potapenko as "founder and manager of the network « Pyaterochka » ". Often recorded in "owners", "general directors". Upon closer examination, it turned out that he came to a working network (created by Andrei Rogachev and Alexander Girda), so he could not possibly be the founder. Now only"sales network manager « Pyaterochka "(2003-05) "

He has been working for the last 10 years"Managing partner of the European operational management company Management Development Group Inc.". Russia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Belgium, all the way to China.
Here you should definitely look into the respected cargomax : http://cargomax.livejournal.com/2982.html.
Questions, questions.

Among the heaps of data he voiced, there is no doubt that Potapenko was 45 years old, that he studied at Kuntsevo school 714, that he studied in the karate section in the area, was a farce, submitted documents to MIREA, traded at Gorbushka, hung around with bandits and much more. years ago I was involved with Pyaterochka.

A cross between Khlestakov and Bender, comes from a criminal background? With the organic makings of a self-promoter, in the armor-piercing style of “lying without blinking an eye”? Or a truly talented, mega-creative businessman operating fabulous millions in six (at least) countries?

As an adult, I lean towards the first option. That is, to Ostap Ibragimovich Khlestakov. A salesperson (lectures, seminars, forums, TV - all based on a fabulous biography) and monetizing the results of this dust-free work.

Potapenko repeats from interview to interview: " I am the son of two GRU colonels". Not far from the lieutenant's son...

An amazing candidate for the position of new Navalny. Plus new Nemtsov, new Kasparov and new Kasyanov combined. It breaks better and holds a blow better. He will be able to portray his closeness to the people in a less lame manner. Speaks simple, understandable language, sometimes obscene. A quick reaction coupled with the aforementioned boorish pressure and attack.

Remember the pre-election photos of the Navalny family, taken in an American, deliberately benevolent format? The Potapenko family also does not disappoint. Watchable wife-psychologist Elena, two daughters (the eldest of whom, according to their father, "winner of almost all Russian Olympiads in physics and mathematics").

There are an abundance of soap bubbles in politics. The promise and danger of Potapenko lies in his thick-skinned impenetrability. A kind of impenetrable soap bubble.

Four quotes from the future opposition leader

"We, of course, have a very high opinion of ourselves (the country, the people). We supposedly know a lot, but in fact we really are Mongolia, just with a gas baton"

"We are the last redneck, we can’t do anything other than get drunk and sing songs. The main thing for us to say is “We are from Russia!” Let us already understand that the world is moving along the path of globalization. Russia depends on buyers abroad and it’s time to start talking politely there and stop being rude"

"Are you for the country?
- No you're wrong. I'm for myself"

"What's good about Russia? We have a great client: we spit on him, but he adores us"

Biography of Dmitry Potapenko - a success story

Basic information: Dmitry Potapenko is a well-known entrepreneur with a sensitive strategic mind. He has a unique personality, eccentric appearance (the businessman’s height is 189 cm, weight is 98 kg), his clothes are not much different from the average man. Despite the crisis decline in the country, his business is only developing.

Life path of an entrepreneur

Potapenko Dmitry Valerievich was born on March 30, 1970 in Moscow. He has three diplomas of higher education, also an MBA certificate, DNV GL Group. An unexpected speech (December 2015) during an economic symposium, as well as a tense discussion between the entrepreneur and the deputy chairman of the State Duma committee in the industrial field, V. Gutenev, helped Potapenko gain the name of an honest person who stands for the truth, regardless of the position the person occupies. However, Dmitry has critics who consider him a mixture of Ostap Bender and the illusively charming Khlestakov Ivan.

Currently, the businessman is the main partner of Management Development Group Inc, which exists in the form of several dozen food chains, manufacturing companies and cafes, such as:

- “Gastronomchik”;

- “ArtPrague”;

- "HozMag";

- “Pizza Uno”,

Experts say that Potapenko’s annual profit is more than $300,000,000 million.

The early years and family circle of Dmitry Potapenko

The result of the joint marriage of 2 colonels of the Main Directorate of Intelligence Operations, he spent a quite happy childhood. During school, Dmitry was a member of many activist circles (for example, Komsomol). The young man was especially fascinated by karate, in which he holds two championship titles. But this information is not entirely reliable. The biography that a businessman has is very similar to a story with an adventure plot. Telling reporters about his life, he himself more than once noticed the colorfulness of certain moments. Primary school went smoothly, the grades were excellent, but with age he seemed to have lost interest in acquiring knowledge. Still, after 11th grade, the teenager entered MIREA.

At nineteen, the young man left his parents’ home, began to live independently, and gained vast experience in different types of income:

Orderly (mental hospital, morgue);

Management of a banned gambling organization owned by Otari Kvantrishvili, an influential figure in the illegal world;

Personal security guard of billionaire Vitaly Malkin.

Career advancement

The very first trade skill was selling chewing gum to peers during adolescence, then selling equipment at Gorbushka. Then things became more serious, and here is a rather impressive list of works presented below:

1995 - 2000 - Vice President (GrundicGmbH in the Baltic States);

1998 - 2001 - General Director of the Open Joint Stock Company "MEZ DSP", Vice President of PBC "CreditImpexBank", responsible for connections along with the promotion of investments);

2001 - 2003 - deputy. in the Logos enterprise, head of the Limited Liability Company "Wholesale Trade Headquarters";

2003 - 2005 - manager at Pyaterochka (Moscow/region);

2005 - present time - founder, co-manager of Management Development Group Inc.

Private life of a businessman

The lucky retail salesperson is married. His wife Elena also has a lot of specialties: lawyer, economist, psychologist. Now she works as the general director of the psychotraining organization “Maximum”, which is engaged in personal development and increasing individual potential.

The couple raised two daughters. Gracheva Maria - older, was fond of technical sciences (in particular, mathematics, physics), had prize-winning places. After school I entered the Faculty of Physics at Moscow State University.

Natalya Potapenko, the youngest daughter, graduated from a lyceum school with in-depth study of IT.

Dmitry Valerievich devotes all his free time to his family, goes to the fitness room, according to him, there is no love for luxury, although he has quite a lot.

An unspoken business principle is that money loves silence. The colorful and charismatic Dmitry Potapenko, an entrepreneur with 25 years of experience, lives contrary to this popular wisdom. From a young age, he embarks on risky ventures, opens his own businesses, develops a ready-made business, while managing to appear on radio and television, give interviews, conduct seminars and, more recently, write books.

Dmitry Potapenko

Potapenko's childhood and early life

Despite the publicity, the details of the businessman’s career path are difficult to reconstruct: it contains many gaps, ambiguous episodes and discrepancies. It is reliably known that Dmitry Potapenko was born in Moscow in 1970. Evil tongues were talking about the family's affiliation with the special services, but there was no serious confirmation of the rumors.

Potapenko's education

As a child, the future businessman practiced karate, tried wrestling, but did not forget about the exact sciences, as a result of which Dmitry Potapenko became a student at the Moscow State Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation. Even then, his entrepreneurial abilities were evident, and in 1992 the first Potapenkovo chain of electronics stores was founded "Tusar", which lasted until the end of the 90s. More accurate information about her has not reached our days. A year later, Potapenko completed his studies with the qualification “technological design engineer”, but there is no connection between his further career and education. He also has an economic education, although in an interview he ironically calls himself a “plow economist”: in 2003, he received an MBA degree from the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade.

Dmitry Potapenko

Career of Dmitry Potapenko

Potapenko himself believes that his serious career began in 1995, when he became vice president of marketing for the representative office of the German concern Grundig in the Baltic countries. Before that he worked part-time orderly at the morgue, sold equipment at the legendary Gorbushka - in general, he led a standard life for an active young man in the 90s. The sporting successes of his youth were also useful in adult life - Dmitry Potapenko worked as a personal security guard for the president of the Russian Credit bank.

Dmitry Potapenko, founder and managing partner of Management Development Group

The 1998 crisis - an impetus for career development

Dmitry Potapenko met the default of 1998 in the position of general director of the Moscow Experimental Plant of Particle Boards - an enterprise that did not prosper in the 90s, and after Potapenko left, it eked out a modest existence. He remembers this period as one of the most critical in his career. At the same time, the entrepreneur held one of the senior positions in CreditImpexBank, which has now died due to the revocation of its license, but Potapenko no longer had anything to do with this.

Success in Russian retail

Dmitry Potapenko truly became a public face in the early 2000s. The success of the Pyaterochka chain, of which he has worked as a manager in Moscow and the Moscow region since 2003, is associated with his activities. It was at this time that he was invited to television shows dedicated to business issues and on radio broadcasts. He earns a reputation as a witty, straightforward speaker who is not afraid of either authority or competitors. The experience of working for the owner became for Dmitry Potapenko an interesting, but intermediate step in his career - since 2005, he became the founder and managing partner of ManagementDevelopmentGroupInc.

Speech by famous businessman Dmitry Potapenko in Kirov

Small networks are the basis of Potapenko’s business

Today's enterprise of Dmitry Potapenko is, in fact, a union of entrepreneurs who are ready to legally confront business giants on an all-Russian scale. Strategic Management Fund ManagementDevelopmentGroupInc. helps businesses and networks pass government audits and grow as a result of the audit. It is difficult to find more detailed information about the project - in the Russian segment of the Internet it is presented as a one-page site with a minimum of information.

Brands Potapenko

Not too much is known about the brands promoted by the company. The Stavropol “Gastronomchik”, for example, is trying to reach the level of online trading; ProdECO’s contacts are completely lost against the background of the manufacturer of special equipment of the same name. This is not surprising, since in numerous interviews Dmitry Potapenko stated that two or three stores per city is already a network, and it is precisely such projects that are the object of his business interests. In total, according to various sources, the annual turnover of managed mini-grids has reached $300 million.

Business abroad

In addition to Russia, Dmitry Potapenko conducts business in 9 more countries. It all started with several grocery outlets in the Czech Republic, which he accidentally got as payment for a debt. A businessman views his assets abroad as a long-term investment that pays off more slowly than in Russia, but functions more reliably. This is primarily due to the attitude of the state towards business - in the Czech Republic it is an assistant to the entrepreneur, and not an executor squeezing out the last juice. In addition to the Czech Republic, Dmitry Potapenko has projects in Belgium, Bulgaria and China.

Photo from Potapenko's VKontakte account

Political career

His extraordinary oratorical qualities, pressure, and directness made Dmitry Potapenko popular with the audience. His desire to fight for the rights of entrepreneurs forced him in 2016 to join the business ombudsman party “Right Cause,” which was soon renamed the “Growth Party.” Under its banner, Potapenko ran for the State Duma in the 2016 elections. He conducted his campaign in Kaliningrad. The businessman claims that on principle he did not use “dirty” technologies, paying for votes; naturally, in the existing political conditions, he lost, but gained invaluable experience and the opportunity to once again speak publicly about the rights of business.

Speech by Dmitry Potapenko at the Business Forum "Strategy-2017"

Personal life

The family life of Dmitry Potapenko, despite all the openness of the entrepreneur, also gives many reasons for gossip. His wife is a native of Penza, Elena, a lawyer by first education, an accountant by the second, and a psychologist by the third. The latest achievement of a charming young woman is a specialization in psychological counseling and psychocorrection. From 2009 to 2016 she was the general director of the Penza center "Maximum", who conducted business training, is now engaged in private practice.

Dmitry Potapenko with his wife Elena

An obvious workaholic, Elena believes that her husband works around the clock. According to some reports, Potapenko got married in 2014, a year after they started dating. Now they are raising two daughters, one of whom is studying at the institute, the second at school. Dmitry’s infamous statement about a wife who would hang herself because of boots worth more than 4.5 thousand rubles, from an interview in “Arguments and Facts” in 2012, probably refers to some other wife.

Potapenko now

Reports on the activities of the company managed by Dmitry Potapenko have not become public, but his popularity as a journalist and radio host is growing. On Fridays, the entrepreneur can be heard in the program “In fact” on the radio “Komsomolskaya Pravda”. On Thursdays, he invites his fellow businessmen to the “Potapenko Course” program on “Echo of Moscow,” which he has hosted since January 2016. The editor-in-chief of this station, , was delighted with the speech of Dmitry Potapenko, who was just starting his political career, on the interaction between the state and business, and allocated him an hour for the author’s broadcast.

The entrepreneur is characterized by ineradicable optimism: he believes that Russian business will survive in any political and economic situation. This does not prevent him from recommending partial transfer of assets abroad for insurance purposes. The opinion of a businessman can be heard in his own Youtube channel, where he uploads all broadcasts on radio and television, a series of interviews “Business Cases”, dozens of speeches at forums and seminars.

Potapenko the writer

The new incarnation of Dmitry Potapenko is his “Honest book on how to do business in Russia.” In it, he opens the eyes of beginners and describes what awaits them in their work. This is the real experience of a businessman, and advice and warnings for beginners. A fascinating narrative depicts in detail the interaction with inspection authorities, law enforcement agencies, competitors - everything that awaits the daredevil who decides on the feat of doing business in Russia. As is typical for Dmitry Potapenko, all the horrors and nightmares of entrepreneurship are described with humor and optimism.

Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation; Diploma "Engineer-design-technologist". MBA, Economics, VAVT under the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. MBA, California Heyward State University, Economic Option.

Entrepreneur, economist, founder and managing partner of Management Development Group Inc. Member of the Federal Political Council of the Party of Growth

"Biography"

Born in Moscow. At school I was fond of karate. After graduating from school, he entered the Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation and in 1993 received a diploma in the specialty “Design and Technological Engineer”.

"Companies"

Management Development Group Inc,

"News"

Book by Dmitry Potapenko “Business is verbs and nouns that end in numbers”

One literary critic once said: “Adjectives are rubbish of speech.” I think he would have liked the title of the book by economist and entrepreneur Dmitry Potapenko, who managed a large number of projects in various fields, “Business is verbs and nouns that end with numbers.” This book is the author's textbook on retail and production: where should the retail outlet be located; why a canteen is so much more profitable than a restaurant with original cuisine; how to train and motivate staff, how to prevent theft; what questions to ask so-called “business consultants”, etc. - right down to how to place goods on the sales floor and how many linear meters of rags there should be for cleaning the floor.

Shop solidarity. Businessmen comment on the case of the founder of Dodo Pizza

Dmitry Potapenko, founder and managing partner of Management Development Group Inc. (Potapenko’s colleagues faced accusations of extremism after selling a carload of wallpaper to Turkey)

The situation must be brought into the public sphere immediately. “Cut to hell without waiting for peritonitis,” as they said in the famous film. Because you can do this as long as you are not a participant in the process. What Fedor is trying to do now is a very short-term story. Don’t indulge yourself in the illusion: the investigator will quickly make sure that, at best, a lawyer can bring information into the public sphere. Therefore, publicity is one of the tools, and it is limited by law. Employees are part of the public sphere, and they should also know what is happening and why the company behaves this way.

As for drugs, this is a traditional story, but it is especially bad that they were found at several sites. With a high degree of probability, I admit that it was planted. However, management needed to respond to the first case. Because as soon as a systemic pattern arises, even if it is a provocation, the investigation has many reasons to act the way they are acting now.

I have little doubt that the next stage in this situation will be additional taxes and charges against Dodo Pizza for non-payment. This happens all the time, and Dodo is no exception. In general, the company as a taxpayer is attractive to attack. Now, in general, any company that publicly turns over a billion rubles can come under attack.

Dmitry Potapenko visited the Kaluga region

On February 1, 2018, the Association of Entrepreneurs of the Kaluga Region organized a meeting with one of the most famous Russian entrepreneurs and public figure - Dmitry Potapenko.

Dmitry spoke about the economy of the Kaluga region and shared with the audience about various opportunities for business, citizens and public figures. The following were presented: the Forum of Civil Activists, which will be held in Moscow on March 16, and the competition “My Project – My Future”. Participants were able to ask questions.

This event was attended by entrepreneurs, public figures, representatives of public organizations and the media.

Dmitry Potapenko produces a program about the Ulyanovsk region

The politician and entrepreneur will dedicate a program from his author’s series “The Economics of Simple Things” to our region. Dmitry Potapenko says: “It is known that gadgets and tape recorders are not produced in Russia. In fact, it's getting worse. We do not produce shovels and nails, we do not provide ourselves with clothing, dishes, furniture and other basic things. The capital is doing great, but in the regions the number of jobs is falling. Why doesn't the economy of simple things work for us? How to start producing all this? How to breathe new life into Russian regions, since the whole country must develop, not just Moscow.” These and other issues will be discussed in Dmitry’s new series of programs entitled “The Economics of Simple Things.”

Potapenko: “It is doubtful that business will want to return to Russia and sit down”

Businessmen do not want to return to the country, but fair justice above all, managing partner of Management Development Group Dmitry Potapenko told Infox.Ru.

“The issue is not a refund, the issue is a review of the case. The main and key thing there is a change in the preventive measure. And only after this can we talk about a return. People will not return unless their preventive measure is changed. There is an agreement that the preventive measure is being changed, but if the court finds the businessmen guilty, they will compensate for the damage caused,” explained Dmitry Potapenko, commenting on the message of Ombudsman Boris Titov on Facebook that he handed over a list of businessmen to Russian President Vladimir Putin who want to return to their homeland, but are hiding from Russian justice in London.

Potapenko: No one will return capital to the Russian Federation after the amnesty is announced

A member of the federal political council of the Rosta party, businessman Dmitry Potapenko, on NSN, said that these measures will not help return capital from abroad.

“Amnesty is a beautiful word, but the parameters that have been proposed today will not allow us to do anything. No one will return it. The problem is not the amnesty. This is the same as going out and saying: “Guys, come back.” For what? To have the same negative conditions? We have only 0.5% acquittals. When the president reported four years ago, he said that we had 200 thousand criminal cases initiated and only 15% of them were in fact. All the rest are irrelevant. Now, according to the commissioner’s office, in the nine months of last year there were about 220 thousand criminal cases. Our investigative authorities and tax authorities are not slowing down the dynamics,” the entrepreneur noted.

Dmitry POTAPENKO: “Those who want to come to power want to “take a place” and not “change the system””

In his interviews two years ago, Dmitry Potapenko compared entrepreneurs and supervisory authorities to a cow and a butcher. Now, the businessman believes, the situation has worsened:

“Over 9 months of 2017, 300 thousand entrepreneurs left the market, 270 thousand criminal cases were initiated. Now entrepreneurs are closing their current accounts en masse. More than 500 thousand entrepreneurs are on stop lists, unable to conduct business.

The butcher’s behavior has become that of an executioner,” Potapenko sums up.

Dmitry Potapenko: We are being exterminated so that there is no private economy

Entrepreneur Dmitry Potapenko told Sobesednik.ru what an acidic atmosphere Russian businessmen work in.

On December 20 and 21, the “Growth Party” will hold an election congress, at which it will decide to nominate its leader, Commissioner for Business Protection under the President of the Russian Federation Boris Titov, as a candidate for the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. During the presidential campaign, Titov plans to go on vacation and give up his company car.

Dmitry Potapenko- not just a charismatic Russian entrepreneur, in recent years he has grown into a politician, known for his sharp criticism of the state’s economic policy. Also Dmitry Potapenko became famous for bringing to light those who are behind such a phenomenon as , which our hero quite rightly considers an illegal mechanism for seizing real estate from citizens.

Dmitry Potapenko, without being the creator of really large retail chains for the mass sector, is known as a kind of consulting guru in the development of this area of domestic business and as an interesting speaker, a prominent public figure, loved by the press.

Biography of the charismatic businessman Dmitry Potapenko

The trading networks led by the hero of our story feel quite confident even amid the storms of crisis and sanctions, but the largest networks that he led in the past are still not his property, ours states news business portal.

Potapenko Dmitry
Industry - Trade, retail
Company - Management Development Group Inc
Position - Managing Partner
Place of birth - Moscow

Dmitry Potapenko- Managing partner of Management Development Group Inc, this charismatic businessman is known for his harsh statements. For example, at an industry conference of retailers, he said: “Each of you will be offered to “sit on the track” as soon as the business becomes interesting to some specific kid in uniform” (see the full text of the speech). In the interview, our speaker also honestly admits that he does not eat in the establishments he owns and does not buy food in his stores: “If you start introducing an emotional component, then you stop seeing the nuances,” explains Mr. Potapenko.

In the 1990s, Dmitry Potapenko was a security guard for a year and a half, protecting the president of the Rossiysky Credit bank. Dmitry Potapenko founded his first retail chain in 1992 with the company Natashkyang Korotia Systems - these were Tusar electronics stores.

Career of Dmitry Potapenko

1995-2000 Dmitry Potapenko- Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Grundic GmbH in the Baltic States
1998-2001 Dmitry Potapenko - General Director of OJSC "MEZ DSP", Vice President for Investment Development of PBC "CreditImpexBank"
2001-2003 Dmitry Potapenko- Deputy Manager of the Logos Group of Companies, General Director of Wholesale Sales Centers LLC
2003-2005 - manager of the Pyaterochka distribution network (Moscow and Moscow region)

2005 - present vr. - Managing Partner of Management Development Group Inc.

Education of Dmitry Potapenko

Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering and Automation, MBA (Economics)
BABT under the Ministry of Economic Development, MBA (Business & Economic Option) California State University (Hay Ward)

Here's what Dmitry Potapenko writes about himself:
A native Muscovite in the 4th generation, of which there are no longer any left in Moscow... I studied a lot and am still studying... MBA, California Heyward State University, Economic Option MBA, Economics, VAVT under the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade
Certificate of the Moscow Regional Chamber of Auditors, “International Accounting and Reporting Standards” IAS/GAAP
Certificate of the center “Det Norske Veritas”, “Internal audit of quality systems”. Standards ISO 9000:2000, Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation; Diploma "Engineer-design-technologist".

Business proposals of Dmitry Potapenko

How to spend my money... I will decide myself... no need to write or call...
Have worked. A lot of. And I will work. Because life is work... on something different every time. Rest is the same as work. If you do it professionally, of course.
Grundig. "Pyaterochka", "Carousel", "Skhodnya-Mebel", GC "Logos", etc.
Now he is the founder and managing partner of Management Development Group Inc. www.7MD.EU Then it’s like an official resume, so as not to explain: “What did you do “Before now”?” “Pyaterochka”, “Karusel”, Retail chain
General Director of the JSC. Network Manager for the Central Federal District. A chain of supermarkets with more than 150 facilities. Retail trade, Development
What did you do yourself? Operational management and development of the Pyaterochka chain in Moscow and Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region
Development of business processes and procedures for the Karusel hypermarket
Launch of the Karusel hypermarket

Work with the Mayor's Office, Prefectures and Administrations of Moscow, the Government of Moscow and Moscow Region, the Administration of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region
Search and purchase of objects and land plots for construction and rent
Preparation of company documents and launching an IPO
Creation of construction projects and their approval by the State Emergency Service, Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision, the Consumer Market Administration, and GLAVAPU.
External architectural solutions and advertising companies
Creation of shopping complexes with a unified concept
Creation of layouts and layouts.
Planning and control of the work of merchandiser companies.
Sales and pricing policy
Financial flow management
Credit policy, attraction of investment resources from the Government of Moscow and Moscow Region, international investment banks and companies
Preparing the company for an IPO
Organization and control, work of companies in the field of procurement, sales, logistics, warehouse complex, 10,000 people.

GC "Logos", LLC "Wholesale Sales Centers"

Deputy Manager of the Group of Companies, General Director of the company. A group of companies from 7 areas of wholesale and retail channels in Moscow and the CIS for the sale of printed products. Dealer and wholesale supplies to the regions.

What did you do yourself?

Management, development and restructuring of the holding.

Minimization of taxation.

Organization and control of the work of companies in the field of procurement, sales, logistics of the warehouse complex, 2500 people.
Analysis of the financial and economic activities of the company, $10 million/month.
Planning new areas of activity

OJSC "MEZ DSP and D", PCB "CreditImpexBank"

CEO. Vice President for Investment Development. One of the largest factories in Europe for the production of chipboards and furniture parts. Related productions. Woodworking technologies, building materials.

What did you do yourself?

Enterprise restructuring and crisis management.
Business development programs in cooperation with PCB "CreditImpexBank".
Holding project management.
Minimization of taxation.
Optimization of customs procedures, credit and leasing relationships;
Creation of a system for adapting a company to fiscal audits.
Financial flow management;
Management of a team of 2500 people;
Creation of a management team according to the Myers Brix typology.
Conducting equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions of companies.
Optimization of business and business processes according to ISO 9000:2000 and IAS/GAAP;
Corporate development of areas.
Reengineering of holding divisions.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Moscow office of the American corporation Manhattan Ind. Corp. Exclusive manufacturer of goods under the following trademarks: Grundig, AKAI Ind, Sankyong Cemical.

What did you do yourself?

Strategic and operational planning and management;
Creating a marketing strategy, positioning the product.
Marketing research; market segmentation;
Company positioning;
Company pricing strategy, TM promotion.
Monitoring and management of logistics operations.
Minimization of taxation.
Organization of wholesale and retail trade operations of the company ($120 million/year turnover).
Creation of client networks and service networks in Moscow and the regions.
Placement of orders for production at factories in South Korea, China, USA, Germany
Development and analysis of investment projects.
Development of new products and services;
Minimization of taxation.
Internal training programs
Management of information and analytical flows

Dmitry Potapenko, businessman: “Before the crisis, entrepreneurs did not work, but were just bars” Comments: 110
Businessmen are groaning under the yoke of the crisis. What do entrepreneurs have to sacrifice?
Will the new Trade Law reduce food prices? Who took advantage of economic problems to redistribute property? About this and much more in an interview with the former general director of the Pyaterochka retail chain, Dmitry Potapenko, managing partner of Management Development Group Inc., which includes a dozen retail chains, restaurants and manufacturing enterprises with a total turnover of more than $140 million per year.

FIVE FLIGHTS PER WEEK

The interview took place on the field. At 10.30 Dmitry Potapenko arrived from Perm at the Kazansky station. We agreed to meet in the neighboring one - Leningradsky - at the monument to Lenin. The businessman was going to transfer to the train to Tver.

He is about ninety meters tall and weighs over 100 kilos. Dressed in a suede jacket and leather pants. The look is completed with a short haircut. The police like to check the documents of such comrades at train stations - what a millionaire he is! And not a single bag with me (in response to a perplexed question, he pulls out a bag with toothpaste and a brush from his jacket pocket: “I travel light”).

What are you, Dmitry, going to Tver by train - a crisis?

This is the same as saying: Muscovites take the metro because of the crisis. Although normal people usually travel by whatever transport is convenient.

- “Normal” people, perhaps, actually drive whatever they need. But for some reason I have never seen businessmen with multimillion-dollar fortunes on trains...

Don't think of rich people as schizophrenics. Many of them buy groceries at Auchan and travel around Moscow by metro. “Ninety percent of the office plankton, who need to be driven with a filthy broom from any job, strive for this fetish - the car,” he says reverently Potapenko, rolling his eyes.

Don't you have a car?

And not just one - five. But the question is different: why? If we are talking about prestige, then we return to the thought of schizophrenia. On the other hand, imagine that you bought a Lamborghini. You live in a village where everyone has it. Attention, question: are you enjoying the fact that you got a Lamborghini?

No, if in this village it is in every yard...

Right. And it’s another matter if you get out on a public road, and there are “sixes” and “eights” nearby... The person who thinks that they are making fun of him in a “Lamborghini” is just a sucker. He has an inferiority complex. And I don’t care about all this. I can take the metro too. - Potapenko pulls out a travel card for 60 trips from his shirt pocket. - I travel to Tver by train 2-3 times a month, when a meeting of the board of directors of one of the retail chains is held there. Four to five flights per week. This is how I always work.

“THE WORKERS WANTED TO PUNCH MY MOUTH”

How has the crisis affected the work of your enterprises?

Demand collapsed. Sales in our retail chains fell by an average of 16%. We began to prepare for the crisis ahead of time, in May last year. Since then, depending on the chain and region, they have reduced staff by 40%, assortment by 15-60%, and store area by 5-40%. We had to deprive top managers of bonuses. This is approximately another 0.5% of the total turnover of the networks. As a result, we not only did not go to a loss, but also significantly increased our profits. And from November 1, we will reduce another 10% of staff. But overall, the current crisis does not terrify me.

Has it ever been worse?

In 1998, I, a young hotshot in a vest, headed the Skhodnya-Furniture factory. By that time, the company’s employees had not been paid wages for 8 months. And I need to organize production - I fired almost 1.5 thousand employees in two months.

Didn't they spit in your back?

The first thing the hard workers wanted was to punch them in the face. But it is difficult. In addition, I know what a person needs, I know how to resolve conflicts.

So what does a person need?

Money and the opportunity to find a job later. Troublemaking does no good. Well, the man fumed and ate his severance pay. What next? A potential employer will say: “Why do I need this freak who didn’t work, but swung his license?!” Finding a job will not be easy.

Why are the management of other retail chains now complaining about losses?

Because until recently they did a terrible job. They began to think with their heads only when the crisis came. Set goals and reduce costs for business processes. Before the crisis, many people had businesses to show off in front of women.

AVTOVAZ WORKERS ARE NOT TO GUILTY

It turns out strange. The crisis originated in America, and, judging by the rate of economic decline, it hit Russia first... Why?

Before the crisis began, Western guys played on our dead stock market. When they had their own problems, they said: “We went, the wives said - return the money home.” And then it turned out that the Russian stock market does not exist. Yes, there is no crisis in Russia! If we haven’t built a damn economy for 20 years, and everyone has been doing “administration,” then what do you want? Which statesman was responsible for AvtoVAZ in the form in which it still exists? Nobody. And the money pumped into it is colossal. And they will pump it in, because the enterprise is so-ci-al-but-mean-mine,” the businessman pronounces syllable by syllable. - AvtoVAZ employees, of course, are not to blame for producing such cars. The person in charge of the auto industry as a whole is to blame.

How will we get out of the crisis?

Through pseudo-nationalization.

What else is this?

Sometimes a negative image of a particular business is deliberately created. And then officials and security forces transfer this business to themselves or to the right people. Businessmen will only have the husks of small enterprises left. The big money will go to mayors, high officials or their associates - in a word, to the state.

You can't even call it corruption...

I’ll tell you now about corruption. The other day, the head of the Investigative Committee, Bastrykin, said that if officials are imprisoned at the current rate, there will be no one to work. That is, he openly said: corruption cannot be overcome. I believe that it is impossible to fight corruption in this country. Corruption is the quintessence of power.

Citizens and businessmen in Russia do not break the law because they want to break it. But because the laws are deliberately written in such a way that you cannot help but break them.

Are you sure you can’t do without bribes?

Try opening a store or restaurant. 33 regulatory authorities and about 600 by-laws await you. The point will start working in the best case after 9, and usually after 14 months from the start of paperwork. During this time, it is necessary to pay rent for the premises and salaries to employees. And the businessman will also be accused: why is he complaining - his business is still profitable...

Is it unprofitable, or what? It’s no secret that the trade markup on goods sometimes reaches 100%.

We earn so much that our pockets are full of income! - Potapenko sneers. - Although if we read the statements of the largest retailers, verified by foreign companies, we will see: net profit does not exceed 1.5 - 2%.

You're not begging. - I point to the expensive watch on Potapenko’s hand.

The bulk of my business is grocery stores and inexpensive restaurants like canteens. I make money not on the markup, but on the number of clients served.

THE LAW “ON TRADE” PUSHES TO CRIME

Officials, together with senators and State Duma deputies, are promoting a new law “On Trade”. Will the document reduce prices in stores?

The main innovation: the law introduces another regulatory organization - the Federal Antimonopoly Service. When in America fuel prices jumped along with oil prices, in Russia a liter of gasoline still cost 20 rubles. FAS conducted inspections and issued fines. What, the price of gasoline has fallen?

There is an interesting clause in the law. When entering the retail network, the manufacturer will be charged not 15 bonuses, as now, but only one. Prices must go down.

They won't go. The manufacturer simply will not be part of the retail chain. Imagine the situation. You are a merchant. 70 manufacturers with a product line of 100 items each are vying for a shelf measuring twenty meters. A total of seven thousand positions. And you only need to choose 60 of them. How will you personally solve this problem?

I’ll take brands that are well-known, and I express the first thought that comes to mind.

Don't know...

The current bonuses are an auction rate. Whoever paid the most from the manufacturers made it onto the store shelf. The money officially passed through the accounts and was taxed. Now they say: “No, guys, this is wrong.” No question - payments will go into the shadows.

That is, the problem will be solved by bribing the merchant?

How else? Man produces socks, bicycles or milk. The product is similar to one already available on the market. What to do? The manufacturer himself will take the money out of his pocket, but this will be a bribe.

What to do?

The problem must be approached from a different angle. The amount of production capacity in the world is 150 times greater than what is needed for consumption. There is a crisis of overproduction. Only in France, for example, the state does not fight the networks, but pays producers extra so that they do not produce excess. In this case, everything is not lost. But we are doing the diametrically opposite. We raise import duties, “protect domestic producers,” twist the arms of retail chains...

IN RUSSIA THERE IS NO COMPETITION FOR LOADER POSITIONS

In Europe prices are falling, but here they are rising...

They are growing due to increasing costs. Let me remind you that at the beginning of 2009, each of us - let's say, “ordinary people” - silently swallowed the 30% increase in the price of utilities. Naturally, this affected the costs of the entire business.

Until recently, the low salaries of Russians were called our competitive advantage over the West...

Look at the advertisements - Muscovites want salaries starting from 1000 euros. But even in Europe the normal salary is more modest. For example, the average Bulgarian or Czech receives about 400 euros. Guest workers work in the retail and restaurant industries around the world. In the French “Simple” (Auchan chain), the cash register is staffed by Vietnamese people who, at best, speak a few phrases in French. The Wal-Mart checkout counter in America is staffed by Mexicans. But here they say: it is impossible for the loader to be Tajik. But we have no competition for the position of a loader.

Well, in Moscow and St. Petersburg people are actually unaccustomed to hard work, but in the regions?

In Tver, where we are going, all quotas for foreigners have been reset, which means I can’t hire them. Previously, Uzbeks worked for me for 8 thousand, and they worked, - Potapenko mints the syllables. - Now Tver residents don’t work for 14 thousand. They know that they are irreplaceable, and they simply ferment.

Lower positions should be occupied by people without education, with low needs, but not by local citizens. This is an international trend. Replacing the Soviet word “limitchik” with “guest worker” did not solve the problem. Then there was a limit, and now there should be a limit. The townspeople will not become janitors.

How big is the role of chain stores in trade?

Networks are not the main channel for bringing products to the buyer. At least 15 thousand retail outlets are registered in Moscow. Different formats: tents, chain stores, something else. There are only 75 chains operating in Moscow and the Moscow region - no more than 800 stores. So, 800 stores versus 17 thousand. Question: if I’m a manufacturer, why the hell am I going online if there are a huge number of free points?

According to Soviet habit, 99.9% of production managers associate the word “sales” with the State Planning Committee. They do not understand that when you produce a product on an industrial scale, the first task is not production, but marketing. It is the basis of economies around the world. But it doesn't work for us. Our product is not available in any country in the world. And not because it is not allowed there, but because it costs three times more than its analogues.

You are a manufacturer yourself, why don’t you solve this problem at least for yourself?

I have two production facilities in different cities. But at the same time, I really understand what I make the goods from. And they produce everything from this. When someone starts yelling: “I am a domestic manufacturer!” - I propose to prove this without populism and politics. Whose equipment are you using? For some reason it's imported. Whose labor force? Tajiks. Information technology is also not Russian. Ingredients are also often imported from abroad. It's like calling a BMW assembled in Russia a domestic car. The same applies to our entire economy in general.

Dmitry Potapenko- World karate champion. In the late 80s - early 90s, he worked as an orderly in a morgue, a security guard in a casino and a bodyguard for the president of the Russian Credit bank. At the age of 25, he became the youngest vice president at the Grundig company in the CIS and Baltic countries. Former director of the Pyaterochka and Karusel retail chains, the Skhodnya-Mebel factory and other enterprises.

What is Dmitry Potapenko's Business - Management Development Group Inc.

Now he is the managing partner of Management Development Group Inc., which includes the retail chains ProdECO and Gastronomchik, the restaurant chain Restoranchik and other enterprises. The car fleet includes Mitsubishi Pajero, Lexus and Kia Rio. Married, has two daughters.

Potapenko Dmitry Valerievich:
At the age of 25, Dmitry became the youngest vice president at the Grundig company in the CIS and Baltic countries. Former director of the Pyaterochka and Karusel retail chains, the Skhodnya-Furniture factory and other enterprises.
Now he is the managing partner of Management Development Group Inc., which includes the retail chains ProdECO and Gastronomchik, the restaurant chain Restoranchik and other enterprises.
Staff size: 7,500 people.

Management Development Group Inc.- European operational management company. Management and support of businesses: Retail food chains “ProdECO”, “Gastronomchik”, “Marka”, “Tverskoy Product”, “Economy”, “Orange”, “4 Seasons”, “Russian Cuisines”. Southern Federal District, Central Federal District and Ural Federal District. “Tasty” Bulgaria. "Levner" Czech Republic
Retail DIY networks: “Parade of Planets”, “KhozMag”, “Kangaroo” Ivanovo.
Chain of canteens and cafes "Restoranchik". Real meat", "Restaurant". Real fish”, “Pizza Uno”, Construction workshop ECOnomStroy, Design Bureau “ArtPrague”. The Group's turnover in 2013 was 367 million US dollars.

The annual turnover of 367 million dollars is impressive, especially considering that Potapenko hosts programs on several radio stations, is a frequent guest on television, and conducts master classes and seminars. Running a business with a turnover of a third of a billion dollars, and even managing to do such a volume of public work - this undoubtedly deserves respect.

Go to the website of Management Development Group Inc. The first thing that surprised me was that language switching doesn’t work on the site, only the Russian version is available, Czech and English are provided, but they don’t work, it’s a bit strange for a company with its head office in the center of Europe, but oh well, let’s look further
Management Development Group positions itself as a company that is engaged in external operational management and business creation according to the technical order of the investor. And below is a list of objects under management, the logos of these companies are located on the right side of the main page - “Gastronomchik”, “Restaurant”, etc.

True, in an interview in 2009, he says, “Good afternoon, dear colleagues. I’m Dmitry Potapenko. Who doesn’t know - the owner of 12 retail chains, a couple of four restaurant chains, and other little bullshit.” this negligence, of course, is captivating, is it a joke? - either 2 restaurant chains, or 4, and there’s plenty of crap too, well, 367 million dollars in turnover, who’s going to keep track of what’s owned, not to mention the logistics.
Here, of course, the question arises: Is Potapenko the owner of networks or the owner of a network management company? Or are these different projects?

Let's see what kind of brands are managed by Management Development Group. Unfortunately, you won't be able to go from the main site, since the links don't work, you'll have to Google, I won't attach screenshots of the search results, so as not to inflate an already voluminous post. If you have any doubts, you can search by company names yourself.

"ArtPraga architectural bureau", the logo actually says architectural studio, let's look at both options - hmm, strange, there are no matches, it is mentioned only on the MDG website, neither the official website nor any other mentions.
“Restaurant, real meat” has no website, no address where you can go for dinner, no reviews from restaurant critics - it is mentioned only in an interview with Potapenko himself.
“Restaurant, real fish” is the same story as with real meat, there is nothing on the Internet, not a single photograph.
"EconomStroy" there are a lot of results for such a request, the logos do not match even once, it is impossible to determine whether it is Economstroy or not.
"ProdEco" is somewhat of a coincidence - it is unlikely that Potapenko is a Czech coal company; Potapenko did not mention assets in the mining industry. A company from the Sverdlovsk region, with a similar type of activity “creation of retail enterprises”, office in Vyshnyaya Pyshma, spelling of the name is different ProDeCo, completed projects do not overlap. There is a mention of a certain Prodeco store in Shchekino; it is reported that the ProdEco brand belongs to the Ecoriteil company, which in turn is part of the holding of one of the largest chemical enterprises, Shchekinoazot.
Portal Wallmart.ru - only the main page works, the last and only update was May 28, 2015, places for advertising banners are occupied by advertising of the portal itself, links to sections either do not work or lead back to the main page.
“Gastronomchik” there are many stores with this name, the logo from the site does not overlap, the name fits http://gastronomchik.rf/, a grocery chain, “shop at home” format, 2 in the city of Essentuki and 1 in Budennovsk.

This gives a turnover of 367 million dollars?

Google also does not know about the Levner network in the Czech Republic, or about Vkusno in Bulgaria - no websites, no addresses, no mentions. It only knows the address at which the company is registered: Chech Republik 130 00 Praga 3, Blodkova 1280/8. Somehow, from a company with a turnover of 367 million and a staff of 7,500 employees, you expect a little different, but on the other hand, why these high costs.

True, new data has recently appeared; in an interview on December 10, 2015, Potapenko answers a journalist’s question
During your debate, you talked about the fact that you work, among other things, abroad. At the same time, Russian conditions were criticized and conditions in the West were praised. What format do you run your business there?

It remains approximately the same. Manufacturing, a small carpet factory, a small chain of canteens, not very large retail. All this amounts to approximately 25 million euros of annual turnover, no more.

That is, it’s already 25 million, but it was 367 - is that overestimated? Or fell from 367 to 25 in 2 years? 25 is only in Europe?

I spent several hours searching for information, but the answer to the question of who Mr. Potapenko was never appeared. What businesses does he have in the Czech Republic, Belgium, China, Russia that give such a turnover?
Without this, it is impossible to understand what logistics problems his enterprises are experiencing.
I don’t question the talents and business qualities of Dmitry Valerievich, times are difficult, but where can you look at the fruits of his business activity? Why was the tactic chosen to close information about the business, given such media openness of the owner himself?

The transfer of Oleg Tinkov's "Business Secrets" to RBC in 2012, we are also talking about the Czech company Management Development Group, Dmitry confirms the staff of 7,500 people and the fact that he is the owner of this company.

An article by Sergei Stepanov on the Ardexpert portal provides information from an open database on Czech enterprises:
- The company Management Development Group Inc. is listed in this register. s.r.o.
- The founders are Dmitry Potapenko and, apparently, his parents.
- According to the explanatory note to the balance sheet available on the website, there are NO employees at all in the company - only the director-secretary, which is Mr. Potapenko.
- The company has no revenue, at least as follows from the balance sheet for 2013. For the year 2104 there is no balance in the system yet.