Programme

Nik Gowing has been a main presenter for the BBC’s international 24-hour news channel BBC World News, since 1996. For 18 years he worked at ITN where he was bureau chief in Rome and Warsaw, and Diplomatic Editor for Channel Four News (1988–1996). He has been a member of the councils of Chatham House (1998–2004), the Royal United Services Institute (2005–present), and the Overseas Development Institute (2007 – present), the board of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (1996–2005), and the advisory council at Wilton Park (1998 – present). In 1994 he was a fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Barone Center in the J. F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He is a governor of the Ditchley Foundation and member of the Advisory Board for the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Studies in Security and Diplomacy. He has been a Visiting Fellow in International Relations at Keele University in the UK. He is a member of the steering committee of the British-German Konigswinter committee and the Strategy Committee of the Project on Justice in Times of Transition at Harvard University.

Oleg Deripaska was appointed as RUSAL’s President in November 2014. He oversees new development strategies for the Company. Since January 2009 Oleg Deripaska was Chief Executive Officer of UC RUSAL. In 1997, Mr Deripaska, then Director General of the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter, created Russia’s first vertically integrated company – Siberian Aluminium (in 2001 renamed Basic Element) that later incorporated a number of Russia’s leading aluminium production facilities. In 2000, Siberian Aluminium became one of the world’s top ten aluminium producers.. Between 2000 and 2003, Mr Deripaska was Director General of RUSAL, which was created through the merger of Siberian Aluminium and Sibneft’s aluminium and alumina assets. In 2007, Russia’s RUSAL and SUAL and Swiss Glencore merged to create United Company RUSAL, the world’s largest producer of aluminium. In 2009, the year of global economic recession, Oleg Deripaska once again stepped in to head up RUSAL. Mr Deripaska graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Physics Department of Moscow State University and later received a degree from the Plekhanov Academy of Economics. Oleg Deripaska is Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Russian National Committee and a member of the Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Council which is a Russian Government Agency. He also serves on the Boards of Trustees of the National Science Support Foundation, the Bolshoi Theatre and the Schools of Business Administration of the Moscow and St. Petersburg State Universities. In 2004, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin appointed Oleg Deripaska as Russia’s Representative in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council. In 2007, he was appointed Chairman of the Council’s Branch in Russia. In 1999, Mr Deripaska was awarded with the Order of Friendship. In 1999, 2006 and 2007 he was named «Businessman of the Year» by the Russian leading business daily Vedomosti. He was also named the Industry Ambassador of the Year at 2013 Metal Bulletin Global Aluminium Award for Excellence.

Eckhard Cordes was born in Neumünster/Germany in 1950. After studying business administration and obtaining his PhD in this field, he joined Daimler-Benz AG (today Daimler AG) in 1976. From 1976 until 1996 he held various operative and strategic executive positions within the DaimlerChrysler Group in Germany and abroad. From 1996 until 2005 he was member of the Daimler-Benz/DaimlerChrysler Group Management Board with shifting core responsibilities, inter alia the Commercial Vehicle Division and the Mercedes Benz Car Group. From 2006 until 2009 he held the position as CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH. From February 2006 until October 2007 he was also Chairman of the METRO AG Supervisory Board. From the 1st of November 2007 until the 31st of December 2011 he was Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of METRO AG. Since the 1st of December 2010 Eckhard Cordes is Chairman of The Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. Eckhard Cordes is Partner of EMERAM Capital Partners GmbH since the 1st of May 2012. On November 5th, 2014 Eckhard Cordes was appointed Member of the Supervisory Board at Bilfinger SE. From the 1st of April 2015 Eckhard Cordes is a Member of the Board of AB Volvo.

Bobo Lo is an independent scholar and consultant. His previous positions include Director of the Russia and China Programmes at the Centre for European Reform (CER); Head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House; and Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Moscow. Dr. Lo writes extensively on Russian and Chinese foreign policy. His books include Axis of Convenience: Moscow, Beijing and the New Geopolitics, Vladimir Putin and the Evolution of Russian Foreign Policy, and Russian Foreign Policy in the Post Soviet Era: Reality, Illusion and Mythmaking. Among his recent writings are “Russia: The Eastern Dimension”, “How the Chinese See Russia”; “China’s ‘Permanent Reset’”; “China and the global financial crisis”, “Russia, China and the United States – from strategic triangularism to the post-modern triangle”; “Medvedev and the new European Security Architecture”; “Russia’s crisis – what it means for regime stability and Moscow’s relations with the world” and “Ten things everyone should know about the Sino-Russian relationship”. Bobo Lo is an Alumnus of the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Councils. He has an M.A. from Oxford and a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne.

Professor K.C. Chan was born in 1957. Before assuming the post of Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor Chan was Dean of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Prior to joining the HKUST Business School in 1993, Professor Chan had spent nine years teaching at Ohio State University in the USA. Professor Chan received his bachelor's degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and both his MBA and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Chicago. He is specialised in assets pricing, evaluation of trading strategies and market efficiency and has published numerous articles on these topics. Before joining the Government, Professor Chan held a number of public service positions including Chairman of the Consumer Council; Director of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange; member of the Commission on Strategic Development, Commission on Poverty, the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, the Hang Seng Index Advisory Committee, and the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation. Professor Chan is also former President of the Asian Finance Association and former President of Association of Asia Pacific Business Schools.

Mr. Shiv Khemka was educated at Eton College, received a B.A. from Brown University, an M.B.A. with distinction from The Wharton School and a Master’s in International Studies from The Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania. He was elected a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” (GLT) at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1997 and was invited to join the Forum’s “Foreign Business Leaders’ Council” for Russia. He is a member of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council for Education. As one of the founders and partners, Shiv also sits on the Coordination Board of the Moscow School of Management “SKOLKOVO”. SUN Group is a leading principal investor and private equity fund manager in Russia, India and other emerging and transforming markets. The Group has been active in areas such as Mining, Oil & Gas, Real Estate, Food & Beverage, Infrastructure, HiTech and Renewable Energy. The founding shareholder of SUN is an Indian family group that has been active in India for more than 100 years and has been working in Russia since 1958. SUN is a member of the Russian Prime Minister’s Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC).

Dennis Nally is the Chairman of PwC International. Mr. Nally served as Chairman and Senior Partner of the US Firm of PwC having first been elected to those roles in 2002. Prior to that, from 2000 through 2001, he served as Managing Partner of the US Firm. From 1998 to 2000, he was Audit and Business Advisory Services Leader for the US Firm. Mr. Nally joined the US Firm’s Detroit office in 1974 and became a partner in the US Firm in 1985. From 1985 to 1988, he served in the National Office Accounting Services Group in New York. From 1988 to 1992, he was Partner-in-Charge of the US Firm’s Dayton, Ohio office. From 1992 to 1995, he served as the US Firm’s National Director of Strategic Planning. From 1995 to 1998, he was Vice Chairman with responsibilities for finance and key client service support, and he was a member of the US Firm Policy Committee, US Management Committee, General Council of the Worldwide Organization.

<p> Born in Moscow, Russia on 27 August 1979.Graduated from the State University “Higher School of Economics”, Diploma in Economy and Business Administration.Since 1995 in Healthcare and Pharmaceutics.R-Pharm Founder. President of All-Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” (“Business Russia”), actively participating in the improvement of investment climate in the Russian Federation and the establishment of the regional investment standard.Member of the Economic Council under the President of the Russian Federation.Member of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy.Member of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation. Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Head of Commission on Investment Climate.Representative (public ombudsman) of the Commissioner of the Presidential Council on the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs on issues related to the protection of the rights of foreign investors.Board-member and Co-chairman of Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on pharmaceutical and medical industry.Co-Chairman of the National Rating CommitteeMember of the Public Council under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (pharmaceutical, medical equipment and technologies).Member of the Supervisory Board of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Agency for Strategic Initiatives". </p>

Mikhail Shamolin was born in 1970.Mr. Shamolin was appointed President of Sistema in March 2011 and previously served as President and CEO of MTS Group from May 2008 until March 2011.Mikhail Shamolin previously held the position of Vice President and Head of the "MTS Russia" business unit from August 2006.Mr. Shamolin joined MTS in July 2005 as Vice President for Sales and Customer Service, prior to which he worked at Interpipe Corp. (Ukraine) as Managing Director of the Ferroalloys Division from 2004 to 2005, and at McKinsey & Co from 1998 to 2004.Mikhail Shamolin graduated from the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation in 1993, and completed a Finance & Management course at Wharton Business School in 1997.

Ms. Hu Shuli is Editor-in-Chief of Caixin Media, and the Dean of the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University. Ms. Hu was awarded the 2012 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. Internationally recognized for her achievements in journalism, she was listed among Top 100 Influential People of 2011 by Time magazine. She was twice named one of Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine in 2009 and 2010. The Caixin editorial team under her leadership won the 2011 Shorenstein Journalism Award from Stanford University. Ms. Hu also serves on the board of directors for the International Women’s Media Foundation and is a member of the Reuters Editorial Advisory Board. She is a member of the International Media Council of the World Economic Forum, and a regional advisor for the International Center for Journalists.

<p> Born in Moscow, Russia on 27 August 1979.Graduated from the State University “Higher School of Economics”, Diploma in Economy and Business Administration.Since 1995 in Healthcare and Pharmaceutics.R-Pharm Founder. President of All-Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” (“Business Russia”), actively participating in the improvement of investment climate in the Russian Federation and the establishment of the regional investment standard.Member of the Economic Council under the President of the Russian Federation.Member of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy.Member of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation. Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Head of Commission on Investment Climate.Representative (public ombudsman) of the Commissioner of the Presidential Council on the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs on issues related to the protection of the rights of foreign investors.Board-member and Co-chairman of Committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on pharmaceutical and medical industry.Co-Chairman of the National Rating CommitteeMember of the Public Council under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (pharmaceutical, medical equipment and technologies).Member of the Supervisory Board of the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization "Agency for Strategic Initiatives". </p>