When Alexei Orlov Won the Coveted O-1 Visa

MTM Founder Awarded America’s Citizenship Prize Reserved for the Extraordinary

The prestigious O-1 Visa is a non-immigrant temporary working visa granted by the US government to alien individuals who demonstrate extraordinary abilities and have earned outstanding achievements in athletics, business, education, the arts, or the sciences. This particular American visa awards foreign citizens who have received national and even international recognition for their work in their field. Moreover, recipients are usually very well-known within industry circles and receive great praise from their professional colleagues. 

The honor of being granted the O-1 Visa also comes with a few perks that most American visas do not see. For example, the O-1 can serve as proper admittance in the country for three years initially, and recipients can renew this visa an unlimited number of times for an extension of one year as long as they still hold employment that keeps them eligible. In addition, there is no set maximum duration of time specified on an O-1visa.

To become eligible, the American employer with whom the person plans to work must file the petition with the USCIS on behalf of the employee and act as their US petitioner throughout the application process.

Only the elite receive the O-1 Visa. Only the exemplary receive the O-1 visa. Only the decorated receive the O-1 visa. Only the leaders receive the O-1 visa. And Alexei Orlov received the O-1 visa.

Who is Alexei Orlov?

Alexei Orlov is a seasoned entrepreneur with experience that spans three decades and six continents. He is an expert in the global marketing and brand activation arenas, something he has made part and parcel of his life. In addition, Orlov is a renowned specialist in operational change management, marketing deployment, and international brand strategy. His intricate knowledge of so many sides of business coupled with dynamic and passionate leadership skills has been the fuel that powers his extraordinary career.

Alexei Orlov is the founder and current CEO of MTM, a network of highly skilled entrepreneurs specializing in media optimization and the activation of precision brands. Boosted by proprietary, cutting-edge technology designed by Orlov himself, MTM agencies assist brands in recognizing and capitalizing on the moments that matter most for the interest of their specific audience of consumers.

Alexei Orlov has also served as a leading advisor to many top-tier global companies. He steers and coaches blue-chip executives to help them improve their communication and brand activation strategies. Orlov also equips these corporations and their leaders with the necessary skills to help them overcome their operational challenges. He encourages business leaders to think and apply their unique advantages to help them survive and thrive in cluttered and fierce trading environments.

Overview Of Alexei Orlov’s Career

Before Alexei Orlov conceived and built MTM, he worked with the Chairman and CEO of DAS as his Senior Advisor. Here, he used his rebranding prowess to oversee a dramatic turnaround in the company, attracting new business partners and giving DAS a new face.

Orlov also worked with Volkswagen Group China as their Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). With Volkswagen, Orlov oversaw all company marketing strategies, including brand positioning, which saw the automotive brand grow its portfolio across China and the greater ASEAN. In addition, he worked with colleagues to improve Volkswagen’s commercial excellence, creating buzz for the company far beyond China’s borders.  Orlov also oversaw marketing deployment and brand integrity for the company’s leading brands, including Porsche, Bugatti, Seat, Lamborghini, Bentley, Audi, Skoda, and Volkswagen.

Earlier in his career, Orlov worked with Wunderman as its European President for eight years. He later became the company’s Global COO and then held the position of Global Executive Vice Chairman. He also worked with WPP, another automotive business, as its Global Strategic Lead. In addition, Orlov led agencies such as JWT, Y&R, Mindshare, Wunderman, and Ogilvy & Mather for Volvo, Mazda, Landrover, Jaguar, and Ford.

Before this, he served Volvo Cars as its Director of Communications (globally) and as Marketing Director for Volvo (United Kingdom). During Orlov’s tenure, Volvo UK was the second-largest Volvo Corporation branch globally regarding overall sales.

As a young man, Orlov had the privilege of holding the title of the youngest executive in Avon with his appointment as the Marketing Director of the cosmetic retail brand for Europe.

Throughout his career, Alexei Orlov has received many prestigious honors and awards. For example, in 2012, the World Brand Congress awarded him the coveted CMO of the year award. He received the same award in 2013.

In the same year (2013), he received the Cannes Gold Lion Award. This award came after he worked with a team of experts at Proximity to create the People’s Car Project. This project became the most prominent platform on social media attracting 108 million followers and over 28 million users.

The Perfect Candidate for the O-1 Visa

In the end, Alexei Orlov received fourteen letters of recommendation from many different moments in his life. Some came from colleagues he had worked with at Rapp in the previous two years. Other letters came from people of excellent business prestige from all over the world that had known and worked for the MTM CEO. A few recommendations even came from business colleagues Orlov had worked with for more than two decades. In addition, he received recommendation letters from past colleagues now employed by prestigious brands such as Bacardi Limited, McCann Worldgroup, DAS Group of Companies, New York University – STERN, Volkswagen, among others.

Orlov needed three recommendations to qualify for consideration of the O-1 Visa, and Alexei Orlov received fourteen. Even the number of people who came forward to write recommendation letters is a true testament to the extraordinary abilities of Alexie Orlov and the rich legacy he left behind with everyone with whom he worked. 

All these recommendations contributed to Alexei Orlov’s journey to the US. As a result, Rapp Worldwide Inc. filed his petition for an O-1 Visa on September 19th,2014. On October 1st of the same year, Alexei Orlov received his notice date. As a result, he officially became the bearer of an O-1 visa, allowing him to enter and work in the United States classified as a citizen of extraordinary ability and achievement.