Khalilov Egor Dmitrievich

Egor Khalilov was born in January 1990 in Kazakhstan, but soon after his birth, his family moved to eastern Uzbekistan. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Fergana, where he graduated from the Gymnasium of World Languages.  Egor Khalilov showed a particular interest in the exact sciences, especially math and chemistry. He received high grades in these subjects, which testified to his analytical abilities and inclination for logical thinking. Egor Khalilov also actively studied English, which later played an important role in his professional career. 

In 1996, Egor Khalilov’s parents signed him up for a basketball league, and he quickly took to the sport and began to excel. Ten years later, he was already playing at a professional level and was awarded the title of Candidate for Master of Sport. Despite his achievements in basketball, Egor Khalilov realized that he did not want to pursue a career in professional sports and decided to focus on his academic and professional development instead.

Egor Khalilov started working in 2002, at the age of 12, with a job selling stationery and party supplies. This was his first work experience, which taught him the basics of customer service and inventory management. Then he worked in the food service industry for a while. He took these part-time jobs to help his family’s financial situation. Although Egor Khalilov's parents held prestigious positions (his father was a pilot and his mother was the head of an accounting department), their income did not always provide a decent standard of living. The desire to help his family pushed Egor Khalilov to look for work at an early age.

In 2005, Egor Khalilov started working for a private company doing apartment and house renovations, where he quickly demonstrated his organizational skills. Between the ages of 17 and 19, he supervised three construction teams, which included organizing and overseeing the teams’ work, estimating costs for upcoming projects, and managing employee payroll. During this time, he ran into a situation where a client refused to pay a team of contractors who had done the finishing work. Egor Khalilov stepped up and paid them out of his own pocket. This experience taught him about responsibility and the importance of honesty in business relationships. He continued to give most of his earnings to his parents, using his own money to take driving lessons and get his driver's license.

In 2009, eager to realize his potential and find new opportunities for career growth, Egor Khalilov decided to move to Moscowwith only 15,000 rubles to his name. At first, he stayed with acquaintances in a remote part of the city, then rented a bed in a hostel. Soon, he managed to get a job at Rusmontazh, where he worked as an equipment installation specialist for access control and visual surveillance systems.

Egor Khalilov and a few of his acquaintances decided to start their own business. He became the CEO of the new company, which specialized in certifying imported products in Russia. The company conducted product research, interacted with government officials, and issued relevant documents. However, Egor Khalilov soon left the business due to disagreements with other co-founders about the company's development strategy. This experience gave him insight into the complexities of entrepreneurship and the importance of a unified vision among company founders.

After leaving his own business, Egor Khalilov decided to focus on a career in information technology. From 2012 to 2017, he worked in the sales department at Softline, an international vendor of IT business solutions helping companies integrate digital technologies into their business processes. The company offers products for clients from various industries, including retail, healthcare, and government agencies. The company’s operations span across Russia, Europe, Asia, America, and India. 

Initially, Egor Khalilov sold training courses, but he soon transitioned to selling IT products. During this period, he worked with solutions from well-known software developers such as Microsoft and SAP. With his skills and persistence, he had the second highest sales in the company.

From 2018 to 2019, Egor Khalilov worked for InfoWatch, one of the largest Russian vendors of data loss prevention solutions. It controls about 50% of the relevant market in Russia. Egor Khalilov started as a sales manager, and a year later, he was promoted to head of the division responsible for working with the commercial sector. At InfoWatch, he gained extensive experience working with products aimed at ensuring enterprise information security. This proved to be a crucial stage in his professional career.

In 2019, Egor Khalilov joined Group-IB, an international company specializing in cybersecurity and combating cybercrime. It was founded in 2003 by a group of students from Bauman Moscow State Technical University and is today one of the leading providers of information security solutions worldwide. 

Egor Khalilov started out as a key account manager, and in 2020, he became the Director of Sales at Group-IB. In this role, he made several effective management decisions that made the division financially successful. In 2023, it generated 60% of the company's turnover, demonstrating his high level of professionalism and ability to manage large projects.

In spring 2023, Egor Khalilov was placed in charge of CIS countries. Thanks to his work, Group-IB signed an agreement with the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The memorandum outlined the framework for interaction between the company and the financial institution in preventing cyberattacks and enhancing information security. By the end of the year, Egor Khalilov was appointed head of Group-IB Central Asia.

Under the leadership of Egor Khalilov, the Group-IB Central Asia division expanded significantly. The number of employees grew from 6 to 60, with 70% being local IT professionals. Egor Khalilov actively recruits highly qualified professionals and plans to double the staff by the end of 2024. 

The Group-IB Central Asia division is actively involved in reconnaissance, the in-depth study of the causes and characteristics of cybercrime, analyzing security vulnerabilities, finding and developing the best IT solutions to combat online fraud, and the continuous monitoring of the current state of security systems. 

Under the leadership of Egor Khalilov, Group-IB has successfully entered new markets in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and is preparing to launch projects in Tajikistan. The international company continues to expand its network of Digital Crime Resistance Centers (DCRCs), launched in the Netherlands, Thailand, UAE, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. DCRCs are staffed with experienced researchers who investigate cybercrimes, respond to incidents, monitor local threats, and assess regional trends.

Egor Khalilov is married with two children. He previously enjoyed extreme activities such as riding motorcycles. Currently, he prefers bird hunting and fishing. However, due to his busy work schedule, he has little time for hobbies.

Egor Khalilov is active in the development of the IT sphere and cybersecurity in Central Asia. Under his leadership, Group-IB Central Asia has been quite successful and continues to strengthen its market position. Thanks to his leadership and professionalism, the company continues to grow and develop, offering cutting-edge solutions in information security and data protection.