Ivan Mikhnevich was born in Orsha, Belarus, in 1979. He is divorced and has three daughters. After years of dedicating his life to business and after being the owner of one of the most important companies in the online games industry, he is now focusing on new projects that involve innovative technologies.
In 1998 Ivan founded the Wargaming business together with his classmate, Eugene Kislyi, and his brother,Victor Kislyi. Wargaming Group became a developer and distributor of massively multiplayer online games in 2010. Ivan Mikhnevich was one of its co-owners until 2014 when he sold his shares. Later on, he created other companies like Alpein Software Swiss, and Synergy Horizon, in Switzerland and Cyprus, with a subsidiary in Belarus, respectively. In 2012 he became a Cypriot citizen and settled in this country where later he participated in politics, more specifically in the Ego O Politis party.
Mastering the Battlefield: The Success Story of Wargaming
Wargaming was Ivan Mikhnevich’s first big success in his career. The company was founded by students in 1998 and skyrocketed in 2010 with the release of World of Tanks, which within a couple of years became one of the most popular games in the world.
One year later, Wargaming moved to Cyprus and so did many of its owners, including Ivan. The company nowadays owns several buildings in Nicosia. The decision to buy real estate was taken in 2013 to safeguard the company’s money when the banking crisis of that same year stroke Cyprus.
Also in 2013, Wargaming purchased shares at 40 million euros each in Hellenic, a Cypriot bank. Thus, Wargaming, together with the American investment fund, Third Point, became holder of 30% of the said bank’s shares.
Wargaming is now one of the largest companies within the CIS. It’s actually number three being only behind giants like Mail.ru Group and Yandex. According to SuperData Research, in 2014, the creators of World of Tanks earned over 500 million dollars, and the year before, the company had generated $457 million in revenue.
By that time, Wargaming already had 15 ongoing projects in the online games industry, but its more famous one continues to be World of Tanks. According to the company, the game has over 100 million users worldwide. Other games by Wargaming include World of Warplanes, World of Warships, and Master of Orion (released in 2016).
Finally, Wargaming cut ties with Russia and Belarus as they sold the shares they owned in companies like Lesta (Saint Petersburg), and Game Stream (Belarus). They also closed their largest office in Minsk, where approximately 2,000 people were employed.
A new stage: life after Wargaming
After selling his Wargaming shares at the time of their highest value, Ivan Mikhnevich invested in new projects such as Alpein Software Swiss and Synergy Horizon. A few years later, in 2017, he created, together with other businesspeople, the Cypriot political party Ego o Politis, English for “Me the citizen”. Nonetheless, politics was just a stage in Ivan’s career. Since then, he hasn’t participated in any other parties and politics is not in his plans.
Alpein Software Swiss
This Swiss business has two main areas of expertise. Firstly, it provides ERP and business intelligence solutions, being an SAP Certified partner and having several SAP products. The most known one in the SAP world is JIRA2SAP, which brings these two worlds together by incorporating JIRA.
The second line of business is about providing security in different ways and through specific products. Clients can enjoy services like password management, storage and protection, as well as desktop protection, thanks to which they can access their computers virtually from any device. Finally, they provide a platform designed for secure communication and team collaboration based on encrypted information.
Synergy Horizon
This is Ivan Mikhnevich’s most important project at the time as it reflects his commitment to building a better future. Ivan made his fortune by working in the IT industry and building online multiplayer games. Now he continues in the same field but with a new, innovative shift: high-tech chemistry focused on developing post-oil&gas technologies.
Ivan wants his three girls to live in a better world where the main energy sources no longer depend on oil and gas, and this is what Synergy Horizon is about.
Basically, since currently the industry is focused on imitating wood with plastic, Synergy Horizon intends to imitate plastic using wooden-based materials through lignin-based polymers.
Ivan’s personal life
In 2022, Ivan divorced his wife, Aygul Mikhnevich to whom he was married for almost 16 years. They have three daughters and lived in Nicosia for ten years after having left Belarus. The separation was not without financial disagreements. At first, Aygul wanted a third or a half part of the whole estate, however it was settled with real estate, several million dollars, financial support for her, and full financial care for the children. Thus, Ivan was able to keep 100% of ownership over his business.
A story of perseverance and an opportunity to change the world
Ivan created his fortune through hard work and perseverance, and he knew when to change the course of his career. Being the former owner of one of the most profitable businesses in the CIS, he could have chosen to simply relax and enjoy his wealth, but this is not Ivan. He is committed to building a better future that does not depend on oil and gas. This is why he is investing money and time in Synergy Horizon to make his dream come true.
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