Nikita Pipko

Nikita Danilovich Pipko (Никита Данилович Пипко; born 25 May 1968, Moscow) is a Russian media executive, founder and president of Igronik Group, which is among the top 3 largest advertising holdings in Russia. He is the winner of the awards "Media Manager of Russia" and "National Business Communications Award".

Advisor to the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Sergei Stepashin (2011–2013), Advisor to the Director General of the Export Insurance Agency of Russia (EXIAR) (2012–2013).

Early life
Nikita Pipko was born on 25 May 1968 in Moscow.

In 1990, he graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University.

Pipko also graduated from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) with a degree in Real Estate Management and the Northwestern Management Institute with a degree in Finance and Credit and a degree in law.

In 2003, he defended his PhD thesis on "Organisational and economic aspects of real estate management" at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

In 2012–2013, he worked at the Export Insurance Agency of Russia (EXIAR) as Advisor to the Director General, where he supervised the issues of interaction with government authorities.

From 2011 to 2013, he was Advisor to the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Business career
In 1992 he founded the Igronik Group, the main activities of the group at the time of its foundation were trade, property management, complex equipment of facilities, tourism.

He has been in the media industry since 2003, when the first advertising agency became part of the group. It specialises in media buying, internet marketing, out-of-home, production and MICE (meetings-incentives-conferences-events).

In 2014, Pipko received the title of winner of the "Media Manager of Russia" industry award for successfully managing a multi-profile group of companies.

In 2022, amid the departure of foreign brands, the Russian advertising market began to consolidate. Under the leadership of Nikita Pipko, three local agencies — Progression Group, Strong Advertising communication group and Sova local agency — joined Igronik.

In November 2022, Pipko initiated the creation of a joint venture between Igronik Group and ADV Advertising Group to work with the corporate sector and carried out preparatory work to combine the expertise of the two groups.

In autumn 2022, Igronik and Mediaplus Group Russia merged to jointly purchase advertising, and a single centre of baigning expertise was created for this purpose under Pipko's leadership.

In June 2023, Nikita Pipko, President of Igronik, signed agreements with the heads of the Yaroslavl and Tver regions at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. For the Yaroslavl Oblast, Igronik worked on creating a positive image of the region to attract investors, and for the Tver Oblast, it created a marketing strategy for the development of the region's tourism potential.

In November 2023, Igronik announced its entry into the UAE advertising market. The company obtained a commercial licence in the UAE, which allows it to place advertising in all media — television, outdoor advertising, radio, print media, and the Internet. The company has registered a legal entity in the country and hired the bulk of the team. It will cooperate both with advertisers from the UAE who plan to enter the Russian market and with Russian companies. Investments in the launch totalled about $2 million, which should pay off by the end of 2024.

At different times Nikita Pipko has participated in the development of marketing strategies for Bank of Moscow, Rosgosstrakh, Svyaz-bank, Uralsib, Sogaz, Leto Bank, VTB Bank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiyskiy Kapital Bank. Among the clients of Igronik Group: Promsvyazbank PJSC, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, Rostelecom PJSC, Pochta Bank PJSC, VTB Bank, Rosselkhozbank JSC.

Igronik Group is among the top 3 largest advertising holdings in Russia.

Charity
Nikita Pipko is a partner of the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival, collaborates with the Bolshoi Theatre, is a member of the Society of Friends of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, a patron of the Pushkin Museum and the Cosmoscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, and a benefactor of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In June 2024, he became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Blagodeanie charitable foundation.