# Borya Shakhnovich

> Borya Shakhnovich is a scientist turned software entrepreneur, airSlate co-founder and former CEO. Trained in computational biophysics and bioinformatics, he applied marketing technology from an earlier scientific-network venture to pdfFiller, helping expand the business into document and workflow automation. He is now listed as CEO of Pergola Studio.

- **Role:** CEO at Pergola Studio
- **Organizations:** airSlate, pdfFiller, Pergola Studio, AlpacaRelay, Orwik, Boston University, Harvard University
- **Education:** BS in Computational Biophysics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD in Bioinformatics, Boston University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and helped expand airSlate from PDF editing into document workflow automation., EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2022 New England Award winner., Led airSlate during its June 2022 financing at a $1.25 billion valuation.

## Career timeline

- **1990** — Moved to the United States with his family when his father took a Harvard academic position.
- **2001** — Completed undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- **2000s** — Earned a Boston University doctorate, taught bioinformatics there, and conducted systems biology research at Harvard.
- **2008** — Left academia for entrepreneurship; built an online network for scientific researchers.
- **2012** — Joined Vadim Yasinovsky at pdfFiller, bringing performance marketing technology; company biographies date his arrival to 2012.
- **2017** — General Catalyst invested $40 million in the business.
- **2022** — airSlate announced $51.5 million financing at a $1.25 billion valuation; won an EY New England entrepreneurship award.
- **2025** — Stopped serving as airSlate President and CEO; Vadim Yasinovsky returned effective July 7.
- **2026** — Pergola Studio publicly lists him as CEO; its portfolio includes AlpacaRelay.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and helped expand airSlate from PDF editing into document workflow automation.
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2022 New England Award winner.
- Led airSlate during its June 2022 financing at a $1.25 billion valuation.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Vadim Yasinovsky returned as airSlate President and CEO, effective July 7, ending Shakhnovich’s tenure in those roles.
- **2025-10** — Publicly offered support to airSlate colleagues during layoffs.
- **2026-10** — As checked in October 2026, Pergola Studio lists Shakhnovich as CEO. This is an observation date; the appointment date is not established.

## Links

- Website: https://pergolastudio.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaxno/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/boryaShax

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/borya-shakhnovich
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23