The Vice-President of Sberbank established an incubator for IT-innovations

Former CIO of the Government Alexei Popov, who recently became the vice-president of Sberbank, has established an incubator company which purpose is to bring IT-ideas to the level of startups.

Project-Professional innovative solutions (Project-PIR) company was established in July, 2012. Its owner, according to the register, is Alexei Popov.

He led the IT-department of the Russian government before May 2012, and was appointed as the vice-president of Sberbank in September to supervise universal electronic card (UEC) issues as well as housing and communal services.

This company is an R&D-lab, its clients are exclusively IT-companies and other structures interested in R&D, - Popov said to CNews.

Until September, 2012 Popov had been the CEO of the Project-PIR, but after the appointment in Sberbank he left this post and appointed Elena Sakharova in his place who worked as the Financial Director of BSS (develops and implements e-banking systems).

Alex Popov was the CEO of BSS before joining the civil service in 2004.

Project-PIR, according to Popov, has no relation to BSS or Sberbank, and the services provided by the company are not related to his work at the bank.