# Alexander Starostin

> Alexander Starostin is the co-founder and CEO of First Data, a marketing technology company founded in 2017 that uses depersonalized purchase data to build advertising audiences and measure campaigns. His earlier career was in PR and digital production. His public work focuses on purchase prediction, advertising measurement and expansion into Central Asian markets.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at First Data Company
- **Organizations:** First Data Company
- **Education:** Accounting, analysis and audit; qualification level not specified, Financial Academy (as described by Starostin in his podcast interview)
- **Known for:** Co-founded First Data in 2017 and remains listed as CEO., Built a company that reports analyzing more than one billion purchases each month., Led First Data during its expansion into Central Asia and the addition of Rostelecom as a shareholder.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — After approximately eight years in PR, decided to start his own business, according to his later recollection; worked in digital production including websites and social media.
- **2017** — Co-founded First Data; the company records four founders and pre-seed investment from IIDF.
- **2022** — Began developing an international data business focused on Asian markets, according to his professional profile.
- **2023** — Discussed expansion in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; First Data records a UAE representative office and a CRM personalization product.
- **2024** — Rostelecom became a First Data shareholder.
- **2026** — Appeared on the Koshkin PRO Business podcast and was quoted in an EKONIKA campaign case study.

## Achievements

- Co-founded First Data in 2017 and remains listed as CEO.
- Built a company that reports analyzing more than one billion purchases each month.
- Led First Data during its expansion into Central Asia and the addition of Rostelecom as a shareholder.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — An October 14 sponsored EKONIKA, Starlink and First Data case study quoted Starostin on recurring seasonal purchase behavior; reported campaign outcomes included a 40.3% decline in cost per action over the placement period.
- **2026-05** — Appeared on Koshkin PRO Business in an episode dated May 26 about building First Data and purchase-data advertising.
- **2025-12** — A December 24 company-blog interview discussed the Rostelecom partnership, management adaptability and planned personalization products.

## Links

- Website: https://firstdata.io/
- LinkedIn: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/alexander-starostin-12bb463

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alexander-starostin
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15