For a vacation or to please investors? Why is Dobkin leaving?

What does this reshuffle mean? Is it a gradual withdrawal from operations by EPAM’s founder and long-time leader? Arkadiy Dobkin turns 65 shortly. Or, as some media outlets suggest, is it a formal reorganization to appease majority shareholders concerned about EPAM’s falling stock? Or perhaps something else entirely? We asked CEOs of both large and smaller IT companies for their perspectives.

Several declined to comment, citing a lack of insight. They suggested the reasons could vary widely, and only someone closely familiar with Dobkin could provide accurate explanations.

Version one: standard scenario: let the young take the wheel

Sergey Osipov, co-founder of Playsence and Placy, former head of The Agency of Wargaming, believes the leadership change at EPAM follows a standard scenario and won’t affect the daily lives of regular EPAM employees.

«A founder’s career typically follows this path: CEO to Chairman of the Board to either selling the business or 'retirement,'» he says. «At some point, the founder realizes it’s time to shift to strategic management, recognizing that a younger leader can handle operations more effectively.»

Arkadiy Dobkin doesn’t appear to be a «retiree.» Perhaps he simply wanted to free up time for a new venture. After all, a CEO works five days a week, while a chairman is formally involved only quarterly during board meetings.

What does a chairman do? Like other board members, they typically vote on matters such as CEO appointments, annual budget approvals, management bonuses and options, and similar issues. But the chairman doesn’t make decisions unilaterally—they vote alongside other board members.

Osipov dismissed the theory of Dobkin being forced out under pressure from majority shareholders as mere speculation.

«This is simply a personnel rotation. There’s no hidden meaning to find,» Osipov believes. «If someone were 'ousting' Arkadiy, they certainly wouldn’t move him to the position of Chairman of the Board.»

He also suggests that Dobkin «undoubtedly chose a successor he was comfortable with,» meaning this reshuffling won’t lead to radical changes within the company.

A CEO of a large service company expressed similar sentiments, urging against sensationalizing the event.

«In large companies, transitioning from CEO to Chairman is standard practice. It’s a natural process with numerous examples. It’s simply age—we’ll all get there—and it’s better when younger people are at the helm.»

Retirement? You could interpret it that way, but one can retire at any time from any position without reshuffling roles. For now, Arkadiy isn’t leaving and doesn’t appear to be planning to. EPAM is simply redistributing responsibilities.

Version two: a stock booster

Meanwhile, some believe the founder’s age is irrelevant. The CEO change is a signal to investors that the company is modernizing by implementing effective, younger management and dividing responsibilities.

This measure was allegedly necessary against the backdrop of EPAM’s prolonged stock price decline.

«Notice that on the day of the announcement, long before the actual role change, the stock jumped more than 10%—investors are buying the 'future,'» suggested one speaker.

In fact, over the past five days, the stock has appreciated by almost 20%.

What «Executive» means

Regarding Arkadiy Dobkin’s functions in his new position as Executive Chairman, opinions diverged. Some believe the additional word «executive» doesn’t add significant meaning or grant the Chairman CEO powers—it’s simply synonymous with «senior» or «top.» Some openly admit they don’t know the difference between Chairman and Executive Chairman. Others suggest that understanding the distinction requires familiarity with EPAM’s governing documents.

The head of another large service company doubts that one can effectively combine the roles of Chairman of the Board/President and CEO.

«Obviously, the CEO role involves daily operational management of the company, communication with managers and clients, beyond just interfacing with the board,» he says. «The Chairman of the Board role (and the closely related role of President of the Company) involves defining the company’s development strategy based on investors' vision and conveying this strategy to the CEO with subsequent oversight.»

Combining the roles of CEO and Chairman of the Board/President is quite difficult: in some situations, it can lead to conflicts of interest for such a manager. Often, to execute investors' vision, the Chairman must develop strategies that are challenging to implement at the CEO level. A manager wearing both hats sometimes has to sacrifice either the strategy or its implementation.

Combining such positions has some analogy in government: it’s similar to one person holding positions in both Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Although some countries permit this, I believe it contradicts the principle of separation of powers and hinders state development. EPAM is an American company, and it makes sense they’ve decided to follow U.S. approaches, where a cabinet secretary cannot simultaneously be a member of Congress.

Assuming Arkadiy’s planned position from fall 2025 (Executive Chairman of the Board) is still close to the Chairman of the Board role, I believe such a change will benefit the company: each executive will focus on their role, completely eliminating conflicts of interest from dual positions.