Kristina Kokhanenko
Founder & CEO
Kristina Kokhanenko is an accomplished strategic operations leader with more than 15 years of experience across consulting, investment, and education. As Founder and Managing Director of the Institute for Future Development (IFD), she oversees global partnerships, institutional development, and innovation-driven initiatives connecting academia and industry.
Kristina has played a central role in building several higher-education institutions in the UAE from concept to implementation. She led the establishment and successful growth of two landmark projects:
MODUL University Dubai (est. 2016) – the first Austrian hospitality-focused university in the UAE.
Synergy University Dubai (est. 2012) – the first and largest Russian private university in the UAE.
Previously, Kristina served as Administrative Director at MODUL University Dubai, managing multi-million AED budgets, audits, and cross-departmental operations for a Dubai Investments PJSC subsidiary. She also held senior leadership roles at DACH Advisory, a European-focused business consultancy, and prime investment bank VTB Capital, where she supported cross-border investment initiatives across the GCC.
Her expertise spans strategic management, regulatory compliance, financial planning, and corporate governance. Kristina has collaborated with international investors, ministries, and universities to advance sustainable education and innovation ecosystems across Europe and the Middle East.
She holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Durham (UK), an MSc in Money, Banking & Finance from Middlesex University (UK), and degrees in Corporate Finance and Financial Management from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.
Fluent in English and Russian, Kristina brings a multicultural perspective shaped by her work across the UAE, EU, and CIS regions.
Passionate about creativity, education, and lifelong learning, she actively promotes collaboration between entrepreneurs, educators, and innovators to build a future-ready global community.
