Albert Efimov is an accomplished R&D manager, engineer, inventor, and PhD holder in AI with over 30 years of experience leading complex scientific and technological projects in the field of innovation, IT, and telecom. He has authored and published over 50 scientific papers and 14 patents, including three of the best inventions in Russia. His areas of expertise include new R&D management processes, IT strategy development and execution, and business analysis in the telecom industry.

Efimov has worked in various start-ups in the telecom industry since 1993, including Mobile Telesystems, Orange Business Services, and Equant, where he held directorial positions specializing in IT strategy development, business process integration, and business development. In 2011, he initiated the creation of the first robotics center in Russia while he was part of the Information Technology Cluster at the Skolkovo Foundation, leading to a hundred startups emerging in the field of robotics.

Efimov joined Sberbank in 2017 and founded the Robotics Laboratory, a leading center for research and innovation in autonomous robotic systems. He was elected head of the Department of Engineering Cybernetics at NUST MISIS in 2020 and held the position of Vice President and Director of R&D at Sberbank, responsible for improving the efficiency of research units through the synergy of internal and external partners, including universities.

Efimov’s educational background includes a Doctor of Philosophy in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, a Masters in Communications Management from the University of Strathclyde, and a Masters in Computer Science from the Moscow State Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics, and Automation (Technical University). He also completed a Summer School program on Human-Centered Robotics at Imperial College London.