I am professionally involved in finance and investment in senior management positions in companies, as well as an independent expert. Born in Kaluga, Russia. Education and development:
Studied at the Moscow school № 21 with a specialty in mathematics studies. MIREA — studied computer engineering and networks, 1987−1991

University of Toronto Bachelor’s BA degree, economics, finance and accounting 1997−1998
https://www.utoronto.ca/

W. Simon Business School, University of Rochester, New York — MBA 1999−2000
https://simon.rochester.edu/

Imperial College London Petroleum Engineering, 2006 petroleum engineering, well performance modeling, economics of oil producing projects
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/earth-science/

2021 Association of Energy Engineers AEE / Certified Energy Measurement and Verification Engineer
https://www.aeecenter.org/

Since 2009, I have been teaching the course Practice of Company Valuation in Mergers and Acquisitions at ICEF-HSE, which has already been attended by more than 400 students. The course has been repeatedly chosen by students as the best subject at ICEF-HSE.
https://www.icef.hse.ru/

In my professional career, I held the positions of CEO of Metalion JSC — a Russian startup of electrochemical energy storage, CFO of Rusatom Overseas, a division of the Rosatom State Corporation, responsible for the financing and development of large international nuclear power plants. Organized financing and project management in various contract models (CfD, Mankala, RAB, BOO).

Worked as the head of strategy and investments at Uralsib Asset Management,, held positions on several boards of directors of Uralsib group companies. Responsible for the development of international business at Gazprom-Neft, oil production projects in Iran, Iraq, Algeria and a number of other countries; held the positions of CEO, member of the board of directors, vice president of Urals Energy. The total number of successfully completed transactions exceeds $ 25 billion.
Worked in Russia, Finland, Germany, Turkey, USA, Hungary, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, Jordan, Indonesia, UAE and Bahrain. Managed large teams, successfully negotiating and concluding industrial agreements in various project models: joint ventures, production sharing, service agreements, Mankala, RAB and BOO.

My key skills include strategic investment thinking, organizing effective processes, attracting cheap financing, developing and analyzing financial models. improving operating efficiency.

2022 — 2024

Industry: Russian manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries,, storage facilities, transportation solutions, key materials and components.
https://www.metalion.ru

Position: CEO I liked the overall energy of the team, the ambitiousness of the task, the opportunity to bring a significant impetus to the development of Russian science and technology. We started the project practically from scratch and my main challenge was to turn it from a cool idea into a working investment project.

Key objectives of the project: starting from 0, to assemble a key team of about 30 key dedicated professionals, coordinate teams of 300+ project participants working in the leading research institutes across the country, build a digital production model, select the optimal composition of equipment. In addition to developing and implementing the technology, we had to develop the product itself: step in the shoes of the management of Moscow public electrical transportation fleet or the owner of a personal EV, engineer a stationary storage device for a major grid economy, combine the storage device with various renewable generators.

The total project budget is ₽26.5 billion

Challenges included:

• Development of the concept and project management program for the plant construction.
• Development of an investment strategy.
• Obtaining support from the Government of the Russian Federation.
• Interaction with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the National technological initiative fund, multiple government agencies on the project roadmap.
• Development of a financing program, a digital production model, agreements.
• Establishing international relations with consultants and equipment manufacturers.
• Hiring personnel, forming a corporate culture and efficient team spirit.
• Monitoring and analyzing the latest technological developments, market trends and products, participation in conferences.
• Building of a digital twin of the project, development of safe and sustainable production practices.

Thanks to effective interaction with the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education and Science and the NTI Fund, state investment financing in the amount of 12.5 billion rubles was secured (first tranches of 6 billion rubles were received in 2023−24).

2020 — present

Financial consulting, management and strategic advisory

At some point, my wife Ekaterina and I came up with the idea of ​​creating our own consulting business where we could apply our broad experience. We do not plan to grow to the size of the Big Four, but we do very high-quality focused projects, effectively assembling specialized teams for specific project needs.

₽3 billion in completed transactions, clients: Zarubezhneft, Eko-Niva, telecom companies, energy industry, private funds, entrepreneurs, large companies.

What we do for our clients:

• Preparation of independent valuations of businesses, companies, shares, financial instruments, projects, assets and special situations;
• Valuation of the international cost of capital in cross-border projects and transactions, multi-currency valuations;
• Valuation of energy projects, carbon footprint of businesses;
• Consulting in operational and financial management projects, mergers and acquisitions, attracting corporate financing.
• Attracting financing, negotiating and developing partnership and co-investment agreements.
• Evaluation and implementation of modern technologies and innovative solutions, active use of digital platforms and analytics.
• Damages valuation, lost revenues and profits, direct and consequential costs, lost opportunities, reputational damage to the brand;
• Cooperation with legal consultants in dispute litigation;
• Preparation and prioritization of heads of claims;
• Assistance in the preparation of shareholder agreements, joint ventures, and
• Evaluation of intellectual property and rights.

2018 — 2022

Development of a startup in implementation and automation of energy preservation solutions. The goal of the project is to reduce electricity costs and reduce the carbon footprint for the managed customer sites.

CEO, co-founder.
I have long been haunted by the thought of the gigantic gap between the common media perception on the development of renewable energy and what can or should be done to make a real impact to the planet. In lectures, I like to give students a case on comparing the impact of installing some wind mill turbine with the exercise "turn off the lights". Only with real numbers on available technologies.

This idea formed the basis for the creation of the Eco-Management technology of our company Independent Energy, in which I was lucky enough to be one of the founders.

What we did:

• Created an energy saving product from scratch, hired a team of 20 engineers and IT specialists, implemented a control system based on artificial intelligence, which allowed us to achieve MVP in 12 months and prove the product concept.
• Studied the best world experience in the use of artificial intelligence systems in energy saving tasks. Developed our own hardware and software system, implemented international savings verification protocols.
• Received a state patent of the Russian Federation for an innovative solution in the field of energy saving.
• The system has been installed at dozens of facilities, has proven its performance, saving an average of 15−30% of energy consumption and reducing the carbon footprint.

2013 — 2017

A very interesting and invaluable experience in the development and construction of large international nuclear power plants of Russian design.

Position: Chief financial officer.

I knew Rosatom well from past experience and understood perfectly well how difficult it was to "sell" and then build a nuclear power plant for a 3rd country customer. In Rusatom Overseas, I was inspired by the idea of ​​​​the possibility of stepping outside of the typical competitive environment and developing a fundamentally new format of projects — BOO — build own operate. It seems that we have done quite well: in several years, projects worth more than 50 billion dollars have been signed: Akkuyu in Turkey, Fennovoima in Finland, Paks in Hungary, Al Dabaa in Egypt, not include the large number of negotiated leads for the future.

Among other things, I was directly involved in the preparation and signing:

• Agreements for Rosatom’s entry in the Fennovoima project, Finland signed — a shareholder agreement, an EPC contract (EUR 6.5 billion).
• A subordinated loan agreement (EUR 2.4 billion).
• An intergovernmental agreement on the construction and financing of 2 power units in Hungary (EUR 12 billion).
• Export finance guarantees for the project of EUR 4 billion were delivered from VEB, EXIAR
• Equity financing of Akkuyu NPP for USD 3.5 billion, contracting of the construction was ensured
• Budgeting of the NPP construction process was implemented, agreements with co-investors reached.

What we did:

• Strategy, management of the financial unit, hiring employees, building the structure and functionality.
• Negotiations with international customers, development, drafting of a large number of agreements in various contract models
• Corporate finance, operational and investment management in several dozen projects, reporting systems. Data consolidation in the ERP system.
• Development of tender methodology, negotiations and conclusion of contracts for the supply of large equipment from GE — Alstom, Siemens, Toshiba, with the involvement of ECA financing from EXIAR, COFACE Natixis, SoGen, other banks and agencies.
• Development of a business model for a small modular NPP project in Canada, negotiations with the regulator.

URALSIB (to be precise Nikoil — Brokinvest at the time) marked the start of my business career in the 90s. I happened to become its founder at the very beginning and it’s like my family home, I love absolutely everything there, good and bad. I always had lots of friends and ideas for applying my own efforts there.

URALSIB Group has experienced different moments in its development, rising or falling in the ratings. I am sure that its great future still lays ahead and we will see a lot of interesting things.

In 2011−2013, the shareholders and management of the bank invited me to participate in the development of non-banking assets and strategic management.

Industry: a top-20 bank, a large specialized asset management company — mutual investment funds.

What we did:

• Led corporate finance and consultancy business, closing multimillion transactions.
• Management of the direct investment business of URALSIB Group, Uralsib Asset
• Management, personal and institutional investments of shareholders.
• Participation in the Boards of Directors of several companies (Imperial Porcelain Factory, ZNAK Corporation, Organic, Palisad, etc.).
• Management of the negotiation process and preparation of agreements on the creation of a joint venture in the field of construction.
• Management of land development.

2010

Exploration and production of oil and gas, oil refining, production and marketing of petroleum products. One of the three Russian leaders in terms of oil production and refining.

Position: Head of International Business Department

What we did:

• Negotiation of agreements for off-shore exploration in Equatorial Guinea, development of production sharing agreement of a field in Iraq.
• Negotiations of agreements and economic models for fields in Iran, Cuba, Algeria, Libya, and joint ventures in Eastern Siberia.
• Evaluation and negotiations in oil production and refining projects in Russia and abroad (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea) Acquisitions, service contracts, PSA, expansion of the company’s international contacts in the industry.
• Analysis and monitoring of political and economic stability in the countries of presence, expansion of international contacts, participation in conferences and intergovernmental commissions.

2005 — 2010

An independent oil company in exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Russia.

One of my most exciting projects. I came to the company to help make a couple of deals, and ended up personally participating in a successful IPO, conducting two secondary placements, a whole set of dizzying deals, and personally managing oil production facilities. And I learned a lot more, both from my own and from others' mistakes.

What we did:

• Successful IPO at the London Stock Exchange with a capitalization of $ 1.2 billion — one of the success stories of Russian investments in the stock market.
• Evaluation of 30+ promising projects was conducted, management of 6 mergers and acquisitions of oil producing assets was provided.
• Financing of $ 130 million in form of RBL reserve based lending format — an innovative product for the Russian Federation.
• Transactions were completed to acquire 8 and sell 4 oil producing assets. Shareholder agreements were concluded for joint ownership of assets.

For over 12 years, I have been teaching the course Corporate Valuations Cases in Mergers and Acquisitions for the Master’s degree program of the International College of Economics and Finance, a joint project of HSE and LSE, and have been repeatedly elected as the best teacher.

The course consists of practical cases, mainly based on transactions from my personal practice and real companies around, and is aimed at teaching students actual transactions. Students evaluate oil companies, energy assets, real estate, participate in IPO transactions, negotiate and conclude deals with each other.

I have also taught at the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University, as well as at Moscow State University and a number of corporate projects.