Programme

Michael Wolff is Editorial Director of Adweek, a columnist for Vanity Fair, the founder of Newser.com, a two-time National Magazine Award winner, and Rupert Murdoch’s biographer. He is one of the nation’s most influential writers about media, culture, and politics. His acerbic and controversial columns in Vanity Fair and before that in New York Magazine, have made him what The New Republic called, “The king of New York media.” He is a regular commentator for CNBC, as well as for numerous other national news programs. He has been widely profiled in many publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Magazine and others. Before beginning his career as a columnist, he was an entrepreneur in the publishing and new media business, founding one of the first magazines about the Internet industry, NetGuide, and developing one of the early Internet search engines and portals. In 2007, he launched Newser, now one of the leading web and mobile news aggregators with more than 2 million users. He is the author of five books: The Man Who Owns the News, Autumn of the Moguls, Burn Rate, Where We Stand, and White Kids.

Arkady Volozh is the principal founder of Yandex and has been Chief Executive Officer and a director since 2000. A serial entrepreneur with a background in computer science, Mr. Volozh co-founded several successful IT enterprises, including InfiNet Wireless, a Russian provider of wireless networking technology, and CompTek International, one of the largest distributors of network and telecom equipment in Russia. In 2000, Arkady left his position as CEO at CompTek International to become the CEO of Yandex. Mr. Volozh started working on search in 1989, which led to him establishing Arkadia Company in 1990, a company developing search software. His early achievements include the development of electronic search for use in patents, Russian classical literature and the Bible. Mr. Volozh holds a degree in applied mathematics from the Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas.

Born in 1978, Dmitry Grishin is considered as one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Russia. After graduating with distinction from the Faculty of Robotics and Complex Automation at Moscow State Technical University and working as a software engineer on several projects, Dmitry joined Mail.Ru in 2001. He became CEO of Mail.Ru in April 2003. In 2005, he co-founded the Mail.Ru Group. He then assumed the CEO role of Mail.Ru Group in 2010. In that same year, he helped transition the company as it went public on the London Stock Exchange. Dmitry became elected Chairman of the Mail.Ru Group Board in 2012. Currently, Dmitry also serves as the head of the department of Information Technologies and Programming at St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. His passion for innovation led him to found the Russian Code Cup – the largest competition for programmers in Eastern Europe. Through the Code Cup and other projects, he continues to foster growth in the technology sector worldwide. In 2012 Dmitry has founded Grishin Robotics, a global investment company that is dedicated to supporting personal robotics around the world.

<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>

Yuri started investing in Internet companies in 1999. In 2005, he founded Digital Sky Technologies, (now Mail.ru Group) to focus on Internet investments in the Russian speaking world. Under his leadership, Mail.ru Group built what is now the leading Russian language website in terms of users. Yuri is non-executive Chairman of Mail.ru Group. In mid 2009, Yuri launched DST Global (“DST”) as the primary vehicle for international Internet investments. Under his leadership, DST invested in Facebook, Zynga, Groupon, and most recently in 360buy.com, the largest e-commerce company in China. Yuri serves as a member of the Presidential Commission for Modernisation and Technological Development of Russia’s Economy. Yuri graduated from Moscow State University in 1985 with an advanced degree in theoretical physics and subsequently conducted research at the Institute of Physics in the Russian Academy of Sciences. He attended the Wharton Business School MBA program between 1990 and 1992 and subsequently joined the World Bank where he was involved in the development of the financial sector in Russia.

Jim is chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). As chairman, he is involved in helping guide all aspects of GSAM’s business around the world. Prior to assuming this role in September 2010, Jim was head of Global Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research. Jim is the creator of the acronym BRICs. Together with his colleagues, he has published much research about BRICs, which has become synonymous with the emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China as the growth opportunities of the future. Jim earned a degree in economics from Sheffield University in 1978 and a PhD from the University of Surrey in 1982. He received an honorary doctorate from the Institute of Education, University of London, in 2009 for his educational philanthropy.

<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>