Programme

Agriculture is one of the few sectors in the Russian economy experiencing rapid expansion, generating strong returns while contributing to global and regional food security and spurring exports. Recent investments have led to a rise in quality and reduced losses during storage and transportation, while margins have been maintained. But more work remains to be done. What areas of Russian agro-industry are a priority for investment and development? How might expanded participation by foreign firms and shifts in global demand structure impact the sector over the next decade? What steps should be taken to further promote and stimulate domestic production and what is the right balance of import substitution and exports? What do businesses and the state need to do to support economic and social stability in the agricultural sector while establishing an environment in which innovation can be introduced to the industry?

Moderator:
Vladimir Gerasimov , First Deputy General Director, Executive Director, Interfax Information Services Group

Vladimir Gerasimov

First Deputy General Director, Executive Director, Interfax Information Services Group

Responsible at Interfax for financial and business information and services for business, and for the operations of the Group's international partnerships. Graduated from Moscow State University's Faculty of Journalism and worked in Foreign Broadcasting before joining Interfax in 1991, where he created the news agency's first business and finance products. Head of business and finance information at Interfax, and, from 1998, became the agency's deputy head, then first deputy head. His projects include SPARK, Russia's leading risk assessment system, and the disclosure site, www.e-disclosure.ru. Oversaw the creation of SPARK Marketing procurement analysis system, and of X-Compliance, Russia's first system for ensuring fulfillment of legislation on the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Helped set up the United Credit Bureau, a Russian market leader in credit information, and oversees the operations of the joint venture that Interfax set up with Dun & Bradstreet, a market leader for information on foreign companies. Plays an active role in the Open Government, and is a member of the Open Data Council and has served on the public councils of the Federal Tax Service and Federal State Statistics Service in recent years. He is one of the leading media industry managers, according to the Russian Managers Association TOP 1000 ranking.

Panellists
Pekka Viljakainen , Advisor to the President, Skolkovo Foundation; Chairman, Aii Capital
Oleg Goshchansky , Chairman and Managing Partner, KPMG in Russia and the CIS
Vadim Moshkovich , Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rusagro
Aleksandr Nikitin , Head of Administration of Tambov Region
Christopher Pissarides , Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Laureate; Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Vladimir Rakhmanin , Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Alexander Tkachev , Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
Erik Fyrwald , Chief Executive Officer, Syngenta
Andrei Fursenko , Aide to the President of the Russian Federation
Michel Charouk , Vice President, Global Operations and Transformation, IBM Global Markets

Pekka Viljakainen

Advisor to the President, Skolkovo Foundation; Chairman, Aii Capital

Mr. Pekka A. Viljakainen was born in Finland 1972. He studied engineering at the University of Technology in Lappeenranta. Thanks to his technical background, Mr. Viljakainen has for 25 years worked as an ambassador between business executives and technology teams. He started as an entrepreneur in 1986, by establishing Oy Visual Systems Ltd. (1986-2004). His company was merged with TietoEnator in 2000. Mr. Viljakainen is widely known by his nickname, Bulldozer. The nickname was earned by his reputation and track record for handling very complex governance and political topics inside large international organizations. During his corporate carrier he acted as trusted advisor for CEO’s and chairman’s specializing for the transformation related to enterprise digitalization and HR. After 26 years of his active Visual Systems-Tieto carrier, he left from operative roles on 2011 and focused to his non-profit leadership education project called www.nofear-community.com . Because of this he has been visiting speaker and advisor for several international corporations and faculties (like IMD Business School). In 2012 Mr Viljakainen was invited to act as senior advisor for the president of Skolkovo Foundation. Since that he has been acted as a founder and advisor for several nationwide entrepreneurship programs in Russian Federation. Russian StartupTour 2013-2014 (16 + 28 Russian cities) and StartupVillage concepts has key elements of those actions. During those programs he has build a strong network of entrepreneurs, local governmental institutions as well as universities across Russia and abroad. Mr Viljakainen is the member of Strategic Board of the Russian Postal Service and Board of Directors of Soprano Communications. Mr Viljakainen is also known as investor, business angel and advisor for several high-tech companies. Those activities are handled thru his family investment office called www.Aii.fi He is also well known supporter and philanthropic for several areas related to education, classical music as well as several social projects. His hobbies are helicopter flying PPL(H), cross country skiing, weight lifting and triathlon.

Oleg Goshchansky

Chairman and Managing Partner, KPMG in Russia and the CIS

Chairman and Managing Partner, KPMG in Russia and the CIS, Member of the KPMG Global Board and the Board of KPMG in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Oleg joined KPMG in Moscow in 1997. Since 1 October 2012, Oleg acts as Chairman and Managing Partner of KPMG in Russia and the CIS. Prior to this appointment, Oleg was CIS Head of Audit. Under Oleg KPMG's Audit practice became the biggest in the Russian market. Oleg is as a member of KPMG's Global Board and Global Council, as well as of the Board of KPMG in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Oleg has extensive experience with companies in various sectors of the economy. He has actively assisted in a number of IPOs by large Russian groups on international and Russian stock exchanges, in major mergers and acquisitions, as well as complex restructuring cases. Oleg is a member of the Board of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), of the U.S.-Russia Business Council Board and as well as a Supervisory Board Member of The National Coordination Council for Development of Economic Relations with the Asia-Pacific Region.

Vadim Moshkovich

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rusagro

Aleksandr Nikitin

Head of Administration of Tambov Region

Graduated from Michurinsk State Agrarian University (MSAU). Started his career as a consultant on financial and economic issues of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development support Fund. Since 2009 - Head of MSAU. Since 2011 - Chairman of the Tambov Regional Duma and member of the Board of public organization “Russian public Association of agricultural economists”. Member of the Commission on agrarian-food policy, environment and ecology of the Legislators Council of the Russian Federation. Included in the management personnel pool under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation. Awarded the badge of the trade Union of agro-industrial complex workers of the Russian Federation, medal named after T. Maltseva for the great contribution to the development of scientific and methodological support of farms effective activities in Russia on insurance, accounting and taxation. Awarded Honorary diplomas of Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation and the medal "For contribution to science".

Christopher Pissarides

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Laureate; Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Sir Christopher Pissarides is the Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics (the first and only Regius Professor of Economics in the UK) and the Professor of European Studies at the University of Cyprus. He also holds the position of Chairman of the Council of National Economy of the Republic of Cyprus on a voluntary basis. He was educated at the University of Essex and the London School of Economics (LSE), and he spent the bulk of his career at the LSE. Sir Christopher specialises in the economics of labour markets, monetary and fiscal policy, economic growth and structural change. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics, jointly with Dale Mortensen of Northwestern University and Peter Diamond of MIT, for his work on markets with frictions. The emphasis of his work has been the labour market and the theory and policy related to unemployment. Prior to that, in 2005, he became the first European economist to win the IZA Prize in Labor Economics, sharing it again with his collaborator Dale Mortensen. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Athens, the Academia Europaea and several other learned societies, and he is a Lifetime Honorary Member of the American Economic Association.In 2011 he served as the President of the European Economic Association. Between 2000 and 2007 he was the external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Cyprus, which brought the euro to Cyprus.

Vladimir Rakhmanin

Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, took office on 1 January 2014 at the Organization’s Regional Office in Budapest. Rakhmanin, a national of Russia, holds an M.Sc. in International Relations from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. His diplomatic and professional career has included assignments in Beijing (1982-1983) and Washington D.C. (1983-1986 and 1992-1996). He served in the late 1990s as spokesperson for the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and as Director of the Information and Press Department. From 2000 to 2002 he was Chief of Protocol for the President of the Russian Federation, and from 2002 to 2006 served as Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Dublin, Ireland. From 2008 until joining FAO, he was Deputy Secretary General of the Energy Charter Secretariat in Brussels. Throughout his career, Rakhmanin has dealt with policy issues involving global and regional developments.

Alexander Tkachev

Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation

Born: December 23, 1960 in the village of Vyselki, Krasnodar Krai.Graduated from the Krasnodar Polytechnical Institute as a mechanical engineer.His career began in 1983 as a heating engineer for the Vyselki Inter-Farm Combined Feed Plant. 1990: elected Director of the combined feed plant.1993: on his initiative, the plant was reorganised as JSC Agrokomplex, of which Tkachev was elected General Director.1994: elected Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Krasnodar Krai and in 1995 and 1999 as Deputy of the State Duma of the second and third convocations.December 3, 2000: won a convincing victory in the elections for head of administration (Governor) of the Krasnodar Krai.April 23, 2007, as proposed by President Putin, at the session of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Krai, Tkachev was appointed head of administration of the Krasnodar Krai for a fifth term.March 21, 2012, as proposed by President Medvedev, authorised as head of administration of the Krasnodar Krai.22 April 2015, by Order of Russian President Putin, Tkachev was appointed Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.2000: defended his Candidate of Sciences (Econ.) thesis and, in 2004, his DSc dissertation, also in economics.Awarded the Order “For Services to the Homeland”, 4th degree, “For Services to the Homeland”, 3rd degree, and “For Services to the Homeland”, 2nd degree.

Erik Fyrwald

Chief Executive Officer, Syngenta

Mr. Fyrwald attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 1998 and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1981. Mr. J. Erik Fyrwald has been Chief Executive Officer at Syngenta AG since June 01, 2016. Mr. Fyrwald spent 27 years at DuPont where he held positions of increasing responsibility in technology, manufacturing, sales and marketing, strategic planning and regional and global business unit leadership, including four years in Asia. In 2003, Mr. Fyrwald was named Group Vice President of DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition, which included the Pioneer Seed, DuPont Crop Protection Products and Solae Food Ingredients businesses. Mr. Fyrwald also served as Chairman of Crop Life International for two years during this period. In 2008, Mr. Fyrwald was named Chairman, President and CEO of Nalco, a leading global provider of Water Treatment and Oil & Gas products and services. In December 2011, Nalco was acquired by EcoLab. Mr. Fyrwald was President of EcoLab until May 2012, when he was appointed CEO of Univar, a leading global distributor of chemical products and provider of related services, including agricultural inputs. Mr. Fyrwald serves on the boards of Eli Lilly and Company (including their Science and Technology Committee) and the Society of Chemical Industry.

Andrei Fursenko

Aide to the President of the Russian Federation

Born on July 17, 1949, in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). 1971 – graduated from Zhdanov Leningrad State University; Doctor of Physics and Mathematics. 1971-1991 – junior researcher, laboratory head, deputy director for research, leading researcher at the Ioffe Physical Technical Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Leningrad. 1991-1993 – Vice President of Advanced Technology Centre, St Petersburg. 1994-2001 – Director of Regional Foundation for Scientific and Technological Development, St Petersburg. From 2000 – Chairman of the Academic Council of the Centre for Strategic Research North-West Foundation. 2001-2002 – Deputy Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. From June 2002 – First Deputy Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. From December 2003 – Acting Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. March 9, 2004 – appointed Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Since May 21, 2012 – Aide to the President of the Russian Federation. State award – Honorary Diploma of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Michel Charouk

Vice President, Global Operations and Transformation, IBM Global Markets

Michel began his IBM career in 1976 as financial analyst and since then has held numerous leadership roles across Growth Markets, Europe, United States and Africa. Most recently, he was based in New York leading IBM’s Sales and Distribution Operations globally. Previously, he was leading IBM Operations for Growth Markets, IBM’s Geographic Expansion globally and he has also experience as General Manager for IBM in Turkey. Prior to that, Michel held a variety of executive, managerial and professional roles within IBM Internal Audit, Customer Fulfillment, Treasury, Finance and Planning Organizations, both in Europe and the United States. Michel graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1976 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He is married with two children who attend college in the USA. He and his are currently based in New York. Michel holds dual nationality (French + Lebanese) and is fluent in English, French and Arabic.

Mikhail Kotyukov , Head, Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations
Yves Picquet , Head of CropScience Division for Russia, Belorussia and Kazakhstan, Bayer
Sergey Sidorsky , Member of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board (Minister) in Charge of Industry and Agriculture; Doctor of Technical Sciences, Honourary Professor, Belarusian State University of Transport
Dmitry Snesar , Senior Vice President, Head of Client Coverage, VTB

Mikhail Kotyukov

Head, Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations

Born December 21, 1976 in Krasnoyarsk. Graduated from Krasnoyarsk State University majoring in "Finance and credit". In 2003 he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Main Finance Department of the Krasnoyarsk region administration, in 2005 – the first Deputy Head of the Finance Department of the Krasnoyarsk region administration. From 2007 to 2008 – Deputy Governor – Head of the Department of Finance. Since July 2008 – Minister of Finance of Krasnoyarsk region. From December 2008 to April 2010 - the Deputy Prime Minister of the Krasnoyarsk region government – Minister of Finance. 2010 – 2012 – Director of Department of budget policy in social sphere and science of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, since May 2010 – member of the Board of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. In June 2012 appointed Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation. 24 October 2013 – appointed Head of the Federal Agency of Scientific Organizations. Married with two children.

Yves Picquet

Head of CropScience Division for Russia, Belorussia and Kazakhstan, Bayer

Yves Picquet was born in Brussels and graduated from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, where he received a degree in agriculture, and another in production management. Mr. Picquet started his agriculture career in a distribution company, where he was responsible for one of the regions of Belgium. From 1996 to 1998, he worked at DuPont, where he managed marketing and sales functions in the French-speaking part of Belgium. In 1998 he joined Rhone-Poulenc as a sales director. Two years later, a merger led to the creation of a new company, Aventis CropScience, where Yves Picquet became head of the same department. In 2002 Yves Picquet joined Bayer as a sales manager, and later also became a manager of the logistics department. From 2009 to 2012 he was a head of the Bayer CropScience in Romania. In 2012 he was assigned as the director of Crop Science in the CIS countries: Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2017, Yves Picquet has been responsible for the development of the Crop Science division in Russia and the CIS.

Sergey Sidorsky

Member of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board (Minister) in Charge of Industry and Agriculture; Doctor of Technical Sciences, Honourary Professor, Belarusian State University of Transport

Born on March 13, 1954. Doctor of Technical Science.In 1976 graduated from Belarusian Institute of Railway Transport Engineers.2001 – 2002 – Deputy Prime Minster of the Republic of Belarus.2002 – 2003 – First deputy Prime-Minister of the Republic of Belarus, acting prime Minister.2003 – 2010 – Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus.On February 1, 2012 was appointed as a Member of the Eurasian.Economic Commission Board (Minister) in charge of Industry and Agriculture.