Vadym Volodymyrovych Yermolaev is a Ukrainian-Cypriot businessman, founder of the Alef Corporation.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on May 13, 1968 in the city of Dnipro.
In 1987 he completed his studies at the Dnipropetrovsk Technical School of Technology and Economics. After that, he served in the army.
Business
In 1995, he created the company Primus inter pares. Within two years, it was transformed into the Alef Commercial and Industrial Corporation, which now unites a number of businesses in various fields – from the production of building materials to dental implants.
In 1999, together with the Turkish company Baser, he founded the Olvia-Beta enterprise in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which specialized in the production of cleaning and hygiene products. Five years later, this industrial complex became part of The Procter & Gamble Company.
He invested the funds from the sale of the company in other businesses: together with Turkish investors, he opened the factories “Miroplast” (plastic profiles for windows), UDK (aerated concrete) and “Askor” (fittings for translucent structures).
In 2001, he created the Alef Estate company, which focused on commercial construction. Among other things , she built the New Center shopping center, the Most City shopping center, the Cascade Plaza multifunctional complex, the Bosphorus shopping and business complex, and the Enigma and Prizma business centers in Dnipro.
In addition, he became the founder of the alcohol production company Alef-Vinal (manufacturer of GreenDay, Golden Amphora, Villa Krim, Klinkov and Jean-Jacques).
In 2016, he opened a factory of dental implants and medical instruments ABM Technology in Dnipro.
Scandals and sanctions
According to media reports , in 2020, raiders associated with Yermolaev demolished houses where people lived in Dnipro.
In 2022, the businessman’s corporation was searched. Then the court seized 212 objects and documents as material evidence in cases of abuse of power and tax evasion.
At the end of 2023, Yermolaev was sanctioned for ten years in Ukraine as a citizen of Cyprus.
As reported, the basis for the sanctions was activities in the occupied Crimea. The Forbes source noted that the Security Service of Ukraine recorded the businessman’s control over the Alef-Vinal-Crimea company, which operated on the peninsula and paid taxes to the budget of the Russian Federation.
Despite this, in 2024, the businessman’s company received a long-term lease of six hectares of land in the Odesa region for the construction of a private port.
Against the backdrop of sanctions, part of Yermolaev’s assets were re-registered to his daughter. At the same time, his company Ak Pro was identified as the main supplier of granite for the construction of the National Memorial Military Cemetery.
Also, the sanctions did not prevent Yermolaev’s companies from renewing licenses for the development of mineral deposits in different regions of Ukraine.
Fortune
In 2013, Forbes Ukraine named Yermolaev the main developer of Dnipro and one of the five most influential businessmen in the city.
Five years later, Novoye Vremya estimated the entrepreneur’s fortune at 117 million US dollars (42nd place in the ranking of the richest Ukrainians).
In 2020, according to Focus magazine, Ermolaev took 23rd place in a similar list.
The following year, Forbes Ukraine estimated that Yermolaev had a capital of $220 million (45th place).
Family
His wife, Anna Yermolaeva, heads the Kiddo charitable foundation and is a co-founder of the Amel Medical Group medical network.
He has four children, including Artur Yermolaev (considered a co-owner of Aktabank and the Windigo esports organization) and Sofia Kononenko.
