Changes in the Board of Rosneft

The Government plans new changes in the State controlled companies. The President of VTB, A. Kostin, will quit the Board of Rosneft. He will be replaced by the Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, N. Laverov, who unlike A. Kostin won’t contradict the approval of the company’s management structure. Simultaneously the chairmen are leaving the state companies – the deputy Minister of Energy, S. Kudryashov, will quit the Board of Rosneftegas, that holds the major package of Rosneft. He will be replaced by the major shareholder of Itera, O. Makarov.
The Ministry of Energy has prepared the list of the suggested candidates to the Board of Directors of the controlled by the Government oil and gas companies for the election at the annual meetings of shareholders. It is said in the letter of the deputy Minister, D. Beletsky to the deputy Minister of the Economy, A. Levitskaya. In particular, it is suggested appointing the Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Science, A. Laverov instead of the President of VTB, A. Kistin, to the Board of Rosneft, in the Board of Transneft the President of United Capital Partners will replace the head of MDM Bank, O. Viugin, in Rosneftegas – the major shareholder of Itera will replace the deputy Minister of Energy, S. Kidryashov, sources close to the Ministry told Kommersant. The candidates are to be approved by the end of January with the Ministry of Economy, the final variants of the lists will be approved by the Prime minister.
A. Kostin entered the Board of Rosneft in 2006. Within the last 5 years he had 0.0008% of the company’s shares as a reward. Recently A. Kostin has been heading the Committee for personnel and rewards of the Board. His activity in this post, according to the sources of Kommersant close to Rosneft, has become the reason of his leaving. A. Kostin at the meetings of the Committee rejected the new structure of the company’s management, a source of Kommersant explains.
The work on the new structure of management in Rosneft started more than 2 years ago, at the times of the former President, S. Bogdanchikov. According to one of the latest variants, about 20 new Vice-Presidents are to appear in the company, the functions of some departments have been reconsidered. However, the head of the committee for personnel thinks that the structure is very large, the functions of many top-managers raise questions, one of the interlocutors of Kommersant says. So the issue is not considered by the Board. The management of Rosneft and the Vice-Premier, I. Sechin, who had been heading the Board for many years, are not satisfied with it, sources of Kommersant say.
The partner of the personnel agency Top Contact, A. Shamilov, agrees that a good number of Vice-Presidents will hardly positively influence on the company’s activity: the expenses for the administrative and management personnel will be very high and it will take too long to approve and make decisions. But it is convenient to control the company’s activity by means of new top-managers, the expert adds. A. Kostin has a good experience of the corporate management and work with foreign investors so he realizes the risks of such a management structure, A. Shamilov adds.
81 years old N. Laverov, who might replace Mr. Kostin, will hardly be that uncompromising, sources of Kommersant think. His colleagues characterize him as the “outstanding scientist – geologist with huge experience, including in the organization and management work”. In 1989-1991 N. Laverov was the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Now the Board of Rosneft is headed by another Vice-President of RAS – A. Nekipelov. No other changes in the Board of Rosneft are planned, a source of Kommersant close to the Ministry of Energy says.
However, a source of Kommersant close to VTB says that A. Kostin is not in a real conflict with I. Sechin. VTB in the name of the chief Vice-President S. Shishin will save a seat in the Board of Directors of Rosneft. This decision of the Government was approved by the President of VTB, A. Kostin, the press service of the bank said. Gradually he left 3 Boards to focus on the work in VTB. It is about the Boards of Sovkomflot, RZD OAO and the United aviation manufacturing corporation.
In the Board of Rosneftegas, that holds the shares of Rosneft and Gazprom, the deputy Minister of Energy, S. Kudryashov, will be replaced by the major shareholder of the independent gas company Itera, I. Makarov. Sources of Kommersant, close to the Ministry, explain it by the intention of the Government to take out the chairmen off the Boards. The respective order was given in the spring by the President Medvedev, but it concerned only the profile Vice-Premiers and ministers. As a result I. Sechin left the Boards of Rosneftegas, Rosneft, Inter RAO and the United Shipbuilding Corporation, and S. Shmatko – Transneft, Zarubeshneft, Gazprom, RusGydro. But there is still a deputy head of Rosimushcestvo, G. Nikitin, in the Board of Rosneftegas. And the Board is headed now by the President of Gazprombank, A. Akimov, who replaced I. Sechin. The company doesn’t explain the reason of replacing in Transneft – it submitted the lists with the former candidates as they are satisfied with everything.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1839366
Translated by Galiya Musabekova