Our Team
Our diverse team is made up of professionals with deep industry sector expertise
Team
We’ve assembled a world-class team made up of the most experienced and proven group of professionals in venture capital, energy technologies and solutions.
Alexander Starchenko
Managing Partner
Alexander is a Managing Partner of First Imagine! He has over 25 years experience in the energy and investment business, and he leads with a mindset focused on future and people.
Alexander Starchenko
Managing Partner
Alexander is a Managing Partner of First Imagine!
Alexander is the founder and the key driver of First Imagine! In partnership with passionate visionaries with big ideas and global ambition he helps to build great companies disrupting established industries.
He has over 25 years experience in energy and industry innovations.
Prior to establishing First Imagine! Alexander Starchenko served as a vice-president at Novolipetsk Steel Company, one of the world's largest public steel producers. While at NLMK, Alexander was focusing on energy and energy efficiency.
He has also served on several boards as a member and trusted advisor.
Previously among other roles he held a number of С-Suite positions in multiple IB and utility companies.
Alexander is the founder and the key driver of First Imagine! In partnership with passionate visionaries with big ideas and global ambition he helps to build great companies disrupting established industries.
He has over 25 years experience in energy and industry innovations.
Prior to establishing First Imagine! Alexander Starchenko served as a vice-president at Novolipetsk Steel Company, one of the world's largest public steel producers. While at NLMK, Alexander was focusing on energy and energy efficiency.
He has also served on several boards as a member and trusted advisor.
Previously among other roles he held a number of С-Suite positions in multiple IB and utility companies.
Boris Dorin
Partner
Boris is an experienced Investment Partner with a strong track record in venture capital, strategy consulting, innovation as well as the energy industry.
Boris Dorin
Partner
Boris Dorin is an entrepreneur, business executive and venture capital investor with extensive experience in deep tech, medtech and energy technologies. He has founded, built and managed several technology companies, including Bluetens, a French digital health company developing connected medical devices and digital health solutions.
As a venture capital investor, Boris focuses on deep-tech companies developing breakthrough technologies in sustainability, industrial transformation and resilience. His expertise spans innovation management, business development, corporate strategy, fundraising and technology commercialisation.
Boris has a multidisciplinary academic background. He holds an MSc in Applied Mathematics from Moscow State University (MSU), an MA in Economics from the New Economic School (NES), and a TRIUM Global Executive MBA from NYU Stern, LSE and HEC Paris. He also holds an MSc in Neuroscience and Psychology from King’s College London.
Tatiana Mitrova
Partner & Chair of the Investment Committee
Tatiana brings three decades of expertise in global energy systems, geopolitics and transition risks to our investment thesis.
Tatiana Mitrova
Partner & Chair of the Investment Committee
Tatiana is an internationally recognised expert on energy systems, geopolitics and long-term transition risks. At First Imagine! she helps assess the market context and system-level impact of the technologies we invest in, drawing on nearly thirty years of experience analysing global energy markets, from production and transportation to demand, pricing, policy and market restructuring.
She is a Global Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and a Visiting Professor at Sciences Po Paris. She is also the Founder and Director of the New Energy Advancement Hub (NEAH), a Cyprus-based research and education company focused on how large energy and industrial systems adapt under geopolitical, regulatory and technological stress.
Tatiana has advised governments, international institutions and the boards of major energy companies on strategy, risk and governance, and has served for several years as an independent director of international public energy companies. She is the author of eight books and more than 200 publications in scientific and business journals.
Tatiana holds a PhD in Economics and graduated from the Economics Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Yulia Kupriyanovskaya
Junior Partner, Head of Operations
Yulia leads our Operations team and is responsible for overseeing and managing overall risk as it relates to operations.
Yulia Kupriyanovskaya
Junior Partner, Head of Operations
Yulia leads our Operations team and is responsible for overseeing and managing overall risk as it relates to operations, and to identify sustainable and scalable process-enhancement solutions.
Yulia holds a BS in Quantitative Economics from Lomonosov Moscow State University and MSc in Major Programme Management from Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Prior to joining First Imagine in 2016 Yulia for 10 years worked for large international utility company in Moscow and London focusing on business development in power and gas markets across Europe. Before that, she worked for PWC Russia and Meta Group (currently Gartner).
Yulia holds a BS in Quantitative Economics from Lomonosov Moscow State University and MSc in Major Programme Management from Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Prior to joining First Imagine in 2016 Yulia for 10 years worked for large international utility company in Moscow and London focusing on business development in power and gas markets across Europe. Before that, she worked for PWC Russia and Meta Group (currently Gartner).
Boris Starchenko
Junior Partner
Boris drives our deal flow, from sourcing and screening new companies to industry analysis and investment assessment.
Boris Starchenko
Junior Partner
Boris is a Junior Partner at First Imagine! He leads the sourcing and screening of new investment opportunities and provides the industry and market analysis that shapes our investment decisions.
He works closely with the partners across the deal cycle, from first contact with founders to evaluation and investment, and supports our portfolio companies as they grow.
Prior to First Imagine!, Boris worked for private energy companies in London, gaining hands-on experience of the sector that remains at the core of our investment focus.
Boris holds a Bachelor's degree from London Metropolitan University.
Igor Ryapin
Investment team
Igor is in charge of technology and product-market fit assessment.
Igor Ryapin
Investment team
Igor is in charge of technology and product-market fit assessment.
An economist by training, Igor brings his experience from the power sector, where he was involved in assessing the economic benefits of what were then the new technologies of renewable generation and energy storage within power systems.
Igor joined First Imagine! at its formation, adding his passion for the energy sector to the team. As the firm has broadened its investment focus, he has been extending his expertise to concepts and markets beyond energy.
Sergey Donskoy
Investment team
Sergey is in charge of our portfolio valuation and financial due diligence.
Sergey Donskoy
Investment team
Sergey is in charge of our portfolio valuation and financial due diligence.
Prior to joining FI! in 2022, he had worked for 20+ years in equity research, first in Moscow and later in London. As a research analyst, Sergey was involved in preparation and execution of a number of equity placements across Materials, Logistics and Energy sectors.
Sergey holds a MS in Physics from Moscow State University and a MA in Economics from New Economic School. He is a CFA charterholder.
Sergey holds a MS in Physics from Moscow State University and a MA in Economics from New Economic School. He is a CFA charterholder.
Anna Frolova
Investment team
Anna supports our deal flow through financial analysis.
Anna Frolova
Investment team
Anna is an Analyst at First Imagine! and participates in deal flow sourcing, in-depth analysis and evaluation of potential investment opportunities, as well as supporting the management of our portfolio companies.
Prior to joining First Imagine!, Anna worked across investment analysis and capital markets, with a focus on financial analysis and valuation, investment research, transaction structuring and execution. Her experience includes preparing investment recommendations for investment committees, assessing complex financial opportunities, and working on fixed-income and structured finance transactions.
Anna holds an MSc in Finance from University College London and a BSc in Economics and Finance from Queen Mary University of London
Ilya Sukhanov
General Counsel
Ilya is in charge of the legal side of our investments, from deal documentation to fund and portfolio governance.
Ilya Sukhanov
General Counsel
Ilya is responsible for our legal and governance matters as General Counsel, advising across the fund's investments and portfolio companies. He oversees transaction execution, due diligence and compliance, supporting the investment team through the full deal lifecycle and ongoing portfolio management.
Ilya holds an LLB and an LLM in International Commercial Law, both from the University of Aberdeen, where he has taught law and is currently a PhD candidate. His doctoral research is in property law.
Svetlana Sirotkina
Investment team
Svetlana assists our deal flow on sourcing, evaluating and reviewing investment opportunities.
She is also overseeing the events marketing operations.
Svetlana Sirotkina
Investment team
Svetlana assists our deal flow on sourcing, evaluating and reviewing investment opportunities. She is also overseeing the events marketing operations.
Long-term mutual experience
We are partners with different backgrounds, who have worked together for decades and are passionate company-builders – we have a common vision and a good mutual understanding
Competences in key areas
Collectively we possess an invaluable mix of sector experience, proven corporate finance and VC/PE capability, startup and blue chip operational experience, technical understanding and top-tier management consulting expertise
Credibility and extensive contacts network
A particular strength is our deep industry network which can be used to accelerate and amplify growth
Associations & Memberships
First Imagine! is a Member Firm of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), the industry body for the private equity
and venture capital industry in the UK.
