23+ years, one throughline: build, then scale
From telecom C-suite to startup ecosystem builder to Mastercard's Eastern Europe growth lead — every chapter compounds into the next. 23+ years in the workforce since 2003, including 18+ years in leadership roles since 2008: 13+ years as a telecom executive, 10+ years in consultancy, 10+ years in retail, and 17+ years of hands-on AI & data analytics work.
Where the years accumulated
Director, Retail & Commerce Business Development
Mastercard · Eastern Europe Lead (Türkiye + CIS) · 12 marketsOwns go-to-market across a US$1.8 Trillion GDP territory. Drives C-level partnerships in retail, telco & fintech. Deploys Mastercard platforms — Dynamic Yield (hyper-personalization), SessionM (loyalty), Test & Learn, Digital Labs, Cyber & Intelligence. Scaled regional services revenue by an order of magnitude in three years despite war and hyperinflation, and defines and sells multi-million-dollar services.
Strategy & Innovation Section Manager
Azercell Telecom — TeliaSonera Group13+ years C-level telco executive trajectory. Led strategy, innovation and new-business incubation at Azerbaijan's tier-1 mobile operator.
Co-Founder & Managing Partner / CEO
Lotfi Zadeh Technology Center (LTC)Scaled Azerbaijan's largest tech hub — 5,000+ sqm across two locations, 500+ resident capacity, coworking, acceleration and investments.
Manager — Barama Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center
First corporate-backed startup incubator in AzerbaijanBuilt the national-first incubator to 20+ events and 100K+ engagements per year.
Founder & CEO — IBMS Solutions
Lean Six Sigma & Analytical CRM consultancyDelivered US$4M+ client savings; 150+ local & 5+ cross-border projects in 8 countries; 50+ LSS projects. As a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, personally trained and certified 100+ Yellow Belts and 20+ Green Belts, kept up to date.
Advisor & Board Positions
Seedstars (Global Ambassador) · Innovation Labs · Gold Ventures Investment (Partner)Global startup advisor (2x Innovation Lab), mentor to founders, advisor to corporates; investor partner.
Free Career & Business Mentoring
Students, early-career professionals, founders — pro bonoFor 10+ years, mentors students, early-career professionals and founders on career and business questions, free of charge — continued through his tenure at Mastercard. Recognized with Mastercard's 2026 CEO Force for Good Award, presented digitally to winners selected globally.
Finance · Marketing · Analytics · ICT
Business Intelligence 5+ yrs · Pricing 4 yrs · Investment banking 2.5 yrs · Systems 2.5 yrsA rare blend of analytical, financial and technical depth before executive leadership.
Where the time went
Innovation Management · 9 yrs
Strategy & Business Dev. · 5 yrs
Marketing, BI & Analytics · 5 yrs
Finance & Investment Banking · 2.5 yrs
ICT · Dev & Sysadmin · 2.5 yrs
Customer Experience · 2 yrs
Lived, led and mentored across four continents
Long-term postings in four countries, regional project leadership across the CIS and Middle East, and startup mentoring that reaches well beyond.
Mentoring also extends, remotely, to founders and professionals across Africa, Latin America and beyond.
Quick answers
How many years of experience does Imran Baghirov have in telecom, consultancy, retail and AI/data analytics?
13+ years as a telecom executive, 10+ years in consultancy, 10+ years in retail, and 17+ years of hands-on AI and data analytics work, across a 23+ year career since 2003 (18+ years in leadership since 2008), spanning Azercell Telecom (TeliaSonera Group), IBMS Solutions and Mastercard.
In which countries has Imran Baghirov worked or led projects?
He has lived and worked long-term in Sweden, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Nepal; led regional projects across the CIS (excluding Russia) and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan); and mentors founders and professionals in Switzerland, Ukraine, Africa, Latin America and beyond.