Founder & CEO
Mihail Veklenko
Mihail founded Urban Factory in Rostov-on-Don in 2013, after more than a decade in real estate and development.
He initiated and led the agency’s key transport and planning projects — the Rostov tram network concept, the cycling programme for Rostov-on-Don, the Great Rostov agglomeration rail concept and the Socio-economic Development Strategy of the town of Zverevo to 2030 — and co-founded ANO Park Temernik and Urban Festival Rostov, where Urban Factory was born.
He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Urban Studies from The University of Manchester (joint programme with MSSES) and is a postgraduate student in urban transport at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb.
Since 2020 he has led the agency from Zagreb, Croatia.
Education
- Postgraduate study “Gradski promet” (urban transport), Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, University of Zagreb — 2024–present
- The University of Manchester (programme delivered with the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences) — Postgraduate Diploma in Urban Studies, 2013–2015 (awarded Oct 2015)
- Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don — Specialist degree in International Economic Relations, 2002–2007
Experience
- Session producer, Moscow Urban Forum (2013)
- Tutor, Faculty of Media Communications, Don State Technical University, 2014–2015
- On-site consultant, Innopolis, 2015
- Transport researcher, CRISALIDE (EU ERA.NET RUS Plus), 2018–2019
- Koordinator voditelja projekata, Institut IGH, Zagreb, 2022
Expertise
- City and territorial strategy
- Public transport and cycling
- Public engagement and events
- Project economics and partnerships
- International cooperation