Maxim Panyak

Maxim Stefanovich Panyak (; born July 15, 1972, in Novoalekseevskoe, Pervouralsk District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, RSFSR, USSR

Education & Early Years In 1974, his family moved to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), where they continue to reside. From 1979 to 1989, Panyak attended School No. 76, where he met his future business partner, Ivan Kuzovlev.

Maxim Panyak is responsible for assortment, brand relations, and personnel management. Under his direct leadership, the company’s assortment has grown to 5,000 brands, more than 200 of which are carried exclusively by Gold Apple. The workforce expanded from 12 employees in 1996 to 14,000 by 2025. Advanced personnel management and training systems were introduced, including training through virtual reality technology. It became possible to solve the problems of commissioning large-scale projects: in 2025, the company opened a distribution center in the Istra district, creating more than 600 jobs at one time.

Personal Life & Interests Panyak resides in Russia and has three children. His father, Stefan Grigorievich Panyak, is a professor at the Department of Geology and Emergency Protection at the Ural State Mining University. At the OFC World Championship tournament High Roller, became Russia's first Chinese poker world champion.