He is Chairman of the Reform Union Club (RUC) and Honorary Chair of the Bulgarian Economic Forum since its Foundation in 1997.

Ilian Vassilev also coordinates the Sofia Business School, a joint undertaking of the RUC and the New Bulgarian University.

[5] Since leaving Deloitte in 2011 to found his own management consulting company, Innovative Energy Solutions,[6] Vassilev has been an outspoken energy security activist,[7] supporting the development of shale gas fields in Bulgaria,[8] construction of the Nabucco pipeline project,[9] and commentator regarding the viability of the Belene NPP,[10] and the South Stream project.

He has been vocal about the fact that Bulgaria's Prosecution acts like a "baseball bat" and attacks those who criticize the status quo.

"[14] Recently, he underscored that the unexpected dismissal of an established journalist was an example of the authoritarian tendencies in Bulgaria.