# Ilya Poluyakhtov **Head of Legal** — Dubai, United Arab Emirates > Senior legal executive with 25+ years in capital markets and regulatory law, specializing in building multi-jurisdictional legal functions and managing complex financial infrastructure across nine jurisdictions. Career Archetype: **Frontier Navigator** (RS-DG) — One of the first Frontier Navigators on Saywise ## Links - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ilya-poluyakhtov - Telegram: https://t.me/ipoluyakhtov ## Experience ### Head Of Legal, Eqvilent (2021-10 – 2026-06) Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Built the entire legal function from zero for a quantitative algorithmic trading firm ($500M–$2B AUM) across nine jurisdictions and 14 entities. Managed regulatory licensing (MiFID II, SEBI, US radio transmission), corporate governance across regulated and non-regulated entities, and led 5,000+ contract reviews including M&A and complex transactional work. Designed contract lifecycle management and Legal OS infrastructure, delivering $2M+ in annual verified savings through automation and process efficiency. ### Deputy Chairman, Liquidation Committee & Chairman, Board of Directors, Nordea Bank Russia (2021-02 – 2023-06) Moscow City, Russia · Managed the voluntary liquidation of Nordea's Russian banking subsidiary as an independent adviser, navigating a legally and politically complex exit during Western bank pressure to withdraw from Russia. Obtained Central Bank of Russia (CBR) clearance for both regulated appointments and successfully completed the liquidation process. Published thought leadership establishing market authority on Western bank exit mechanics. ### Founder, IP Augmented Legal (2020-02 – present) Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Advising established and early days businesses on management, corporate and business law issues. 2022 year projects cover privately owned medical clinic on corporate governance and shareholder matters, the leading Russian musical institution re online classical music school launch, Russian and Irish investors on a JV relating to payment services. ### Executive Director, Head of Legal, Morgan Stanley Bank LLC (Russia) (2013-09 – 2020-02) Moscow, Russia · Led the Russian legal function for Morgan Stanley's local banking entity across four business lines (fixed income and equity trading, investment banking, investment management). Managed a team of two counsel, oversaw all external counsel relationships, and served as primary regulator interface through multiple CBR audits. Led major projects including bank liquidation, trading transition, RISDA implementation, data localization compliance, and contract repository systems. ### Managing Associate, Mainstream Corporate, Linklaters CIS (2006-09 – 2013-08) Moscow, Moscow City, Russia · Senior M&A and corporate finance lawyer advising international financial institutions, corporates, and investors on high-value transactions across Russia and the CIS. Led landmark transactions including RTS/MOEX merger, Goldman Sachs Russia entity setup, Lehman Brothers Moscow franchise establishment, and major deals involving AXA, UBS, Credit Suisse, and Mitsubishi. ### Senior Counsel, IFC - International Finance Corporation (2002-10 – 2005-08) Moscow, Russia · Senior legal adviser on Russian Corporate Governance and Russian Banking Corporate Governance projects aimed at raising governance standards across Russian corporates and financial institutions. Co-authored the IFC Russia Corporate Governance Manual, a landmark institutional reference publication co-published with the US Department of Commerce, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. ### Assistant Professor, Civil Law, Ural State Law Academy (1999-09 – 2003-05) Ekaterinburg, Russia · Lectured in Russian Civil Law and published doctoral research on civil law issues relating to property rights and obligations transfer (assignment) in the context of Russian Civil Code changes. Combined academic research with teaching responsibilities. ## Education ### Executive MBA, Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO (2017-09 – 2019-06) ### LLM in International Commercial Law, University of Nottingham (2005-09 – 2006-06) ### LLC in European law, Leiden University (2001-01 – 2001-01) ### Master in Private law, Russian School of Private Law (1999-09 – 2001-06) Presidential Programme ### PhD, Civil Law, Ural State Law Academy (1999-09 – 2002-06) ### Degree in Law, Ural State Law Academy (1994-09 – 1999-06) ## Projects ### IFC Russia Corporate Governance Manual Institutional reference guide for Russian corporate governance reform · Co-authored landmark publication on corporate governance reform in Russia, jointly published by IFC, US Department of Commerce, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. Established definitive standards for Russian corporate governance practice. ### YouAreNotAlone (не-один.рф) Volunteer social project supporting adolescents in psychiatric care · Founded and ran a volunteer initiative focused on socialization and psychological support of adolescents in psychiatric care without organic brain impairment. Designed educational and support programming, recruited prominent business and professional speakers, and managed all logistics and participant engagement independently. ### Legal OS & Contract Lifecycle Management Comprehensive legal infrastructure and automation system · Designed and built integrated contract lifecycle management system combining Notion, DocuSign, Google Drive, and Zapier for rapid contract location and audit trails. Created comprehensive Legal OS covering powers of attorney, HR records, contracts, disputes, policies, and KYC documentation with role-based access controls. Authored 60 SOPs and 50+ templated documents with automation features. ## Skills Insurance, Due Diligence, Corporate Governance, Cross-border Transactions, International Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Civil Litigation, Competition Law, Commercial Litigation, Joint Ventures, Legal Research, Private Equity, Leadership, Capital Markets, MiFID II, SEBI, ADGM, CBR Licensing, Multi-Jurisdictional Entity Build-Out, Acqui-Hires, Crisis Management, Employment Law, Contract Lifecycle Management, Legal Operations, External Counsel Management, Regulatory Audit, Compliance, Russian Civil Law, Banking Law, Securities Law, Data Protection, RISDA, Regulatory Licensing, Transaction Management, AI-Augmented Workflows, Notion, DocuSign, Sherpany, Zapier, Google Workspace, Slack, Claude, Chat GPT, English, Russian ## AI Fluency - **ChatGPT** (https://chatgpt.com) - **Claude** (https://claude.ai) - **Gemini** — Use it daily to boost Google Drive capabilities (https://gemini.google.com) - **Perplexity** — First step research tool (https://perplexity.ai) - **Notion AI** — The foundation of my legal OS (https://notion.so) - **Antigravity** — App building tool (https://antigravity.google) ## Q&A ### [What are your biggest strengths?](https://saywise.com/q/16458e492490) - To reinvent myself and stay optimistic despite the odds. (https://saywise.com/s/2de6f50016d5) ### [What AI tools do you use the most?](https://saywise.com/q/10c2b363a976) - I've been fun of Notion, Anthropic and Perplexity for some time. Claude Cowork allows to develop, customize and apply legal plugins. Perplexity helps with the research. Notion is my favourite app for daily operational job of managing team, tracing contracts, running controls and making Wikis. (https://saywise.com/s/4a377b16ee4c) --- Source: https://saywise.com/ipoluyakhtov (last modified 2026-08-30T07:36:34.810Z)