People constantly follow unbeaten paths, come up with something fundamentally new, and take risks. Sometimes, they lose, but more often, they win and ultimately build a super-efficient business. Sergey Entts is among those people.
He entered the financial sector as a young specialist in the early 1990s to help shape the Russian banking business, battling through several economic crises and sovereign debt defaults. Various obstacles taught him to sense fluctuations in the financial market and to make balanced and competent decisions.
Now, looking back at the past three decades, we can say that Sergey Entts has always been focused on innovation, often creating revolutionary products and solutions ahead of their time. With a background in economics, he selected projects for his portfolio that demonstrated how information technology fundamentally transformed not only business processes but also the products themselves.
Sergey Entts was born on August 13, 1969 in Kamenets-Podolsky, Khmelnytsky region in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. In 1992, he earned his degree from the Economics Department of the Moscow State University, specializing in economics and political economy, then continued his studies in graduate school. While still a student, Sergey Entts and his university friends tried different entrepreneurial activities and finally created a commercial bank. Therefore, the banking business became his main specialization for the next 30 years.
Sergey Entts' expertise stems from a progressive career path—beginning with oversight of operational activities and evolving into a focus on strategic development. From 2014 until 2023, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors. On multiple occasions, he stepped up to lead the business through the bank's most challenging periods, navigating complex crises with decisive action.
In 2014, Derzhava Bank became the first on the market to offer clients the ability to remotely obtain bank guarantees (now known as "independent guarantees”). This business served as the foundation of the bank's single-product strategy, which ensured its strong position in the market segment.
Derzhava Bank has never worked with large or pro-government businesses, even though the entire business environment is monopolized by the Russian state. The strategy centered on small and medium-sized businesses allowed the bank to consistently rank high in Russian banking ratings in terms of efficiency.
In 2021, Derzhava Bank was ranked in the TOP 20 for efficiency and profitability in Russia according to Kommersant newspaper, and was also among the TOP 3 in RBC's ranking for the best conditions for providing bank guarantees.
Subsequently, as the bank became a market maker, the second most important area of activity for Sergey Entts became investments in securities, cooperation with major exchanges, and investment banking.
When building any of his businesses, Sergey Entts always followed principles of social responsibility and sustainable development (ESG) — long before it became a widely recognized framework. His activity in this area extends far beyond the companies he owns. For many years he has been on the board of trustees of the Economics Faculty of Moscow State University. He has also been a supporter of young artists and helped a boarding school for children with special needs.
In one of his interviews, Sergey Entts outlined the core principles of his business philosophy: "Sustainable development for us is following the principles of humanization of business, responsibility to society and the environment, with high quality of corporate governance. These are additional costs for business, but in the long term, both business and society as a whole benefit from this.”
His nonprofit projects include support for the Department of Population at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University and the faculty as a whole.
In collaboration with the Institute of Demography of the Sorbonne University in Paris, Sergey Entts and Derzhava Bank sponsored the education of Russian students enrolled in the International Management of Demographic Research program up until his departure from the bank in 2023.
In 2023, Sergey Entts left his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Derzhava Bank, concluding a long chapter of service. Since then, he has not been associated with the bank’s activities and has pursued international ventures outside the Russian financial market.
In 2025, Sergey Entts invested in Ypsilon Capital, a financial company in Dubai (UAE), launched the establishment of Muras Bank in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic), and is currently finalizing the reconstruction of an agro-tourism facility in Tuscany (Italy).
When creating businesses or products, Sergey Entts does not merely follow trends — he often creates them.
