Business programme

The Arctic Economic Council (AEC) is an independent organization that facilitates Arctic business-to-business activities. AEC works to expedite responsible business and economic development of the Arctic and its communities, as well as to share and advocate for best practices, technological solutions, and standards. AEC was created in September 2014 by the independent association of large corporations from the Arctic Council countries (Russia, Sweden, USA, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway). It aims to resolve problems that stand in the way of increased economic cooperation in the Arctic. Russian Federation picks up the chairmanship in the AEC from May 2021 to May 2023. During the meeting, the Russian Federation will cover its priorities, as well outline main areas of cooperation for the period of the Russian chairmanship.

Moderator
Elena Lazko, Partner, Head of Strategy & Operations, KPMG in the CIS

Elena Lazko

Partner, Head of Strategy & Operations, KPMG in the CIS

Elena has more than twenty years of experience in industry, corporate, regional and functional strategies, industry analytics, performance improvement, org design and talent management.
Elena works with companies and government bodies on executive level across industries providing support for strategic and management decisions.

Panellists
Evgeniy Ambrosov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Director of Marine Operations, Shipping and Logistics, PAO NOVATEK
Heidar Gudjonsson, Chief Executive Officer, Sýn hf. (Vodafone) / Ursus Investments (online)
Kirill Komarov, First Deputy General Director, Director of the Development and International Business Unit, ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation
Aleksandr Sobolev, Director for Strategy and Business Development, MegaFon
Mads Frederiksen, Director, Arctic Economic Council
Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic

Evgeniy Ambrosov

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Director for Marine Operations, Shipping and Logistics, NOVATEK

Born on 23 July, 1957 in Vladivostok in the FESCO Captain’s family.
Education:
Admiral Nevelskoy Maritime State University, specialising in Maritime Navigation;
Career:
1979 - 1997: Cargo Officer on board the liner vessels of the Far-Eastern Shipping Company. At the Company head office he started as Manager at Chartering Department and later was upgraded to the Head of Fleet Operation Department;
1997 - 2000: Vice-President, Head of Fleet Operation Department, OAO Far-Eastern Shipping Company;
2000 - 2002: Senior Vice-President, OAO Sovcomflot;
2002 - 2007: President, OAO Far-Eastern Shipping Company;
2008 - 2009: President and CEO, FESCO Transportation Group;
Since 2009: Senior Executive Vice-President, PAO Sovcomflot.
Member of the Expert Council affiliated to the government of Russian Federation, working group "Development of Arctic and Northern Sea Route" (Экспертный совет при Правительстве РФ, рабочая группа "Развитие Арктики и Северного морского пути").
Arctic Economic Council – Vice Chairman, Member of the Executive Committee.

Heidar Gudjonsson

Chief Executive Officer, Sýn hf. (Vodafone) / Ursus Investments

Kirill Komarov

First Deputy General Director, Director of the Development and International Business Unit, ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation

Kirill Komarov is First Deputy Director General for Corporate Development and International Business of ROSATOM. He entered this role in 2011 and has since been responsible for the oversight of the state corporation’s foreign business activities, international orders portfolio growth and ROSATOM’s global standing. Mr. Komarov joined ROSATOM in 2006, where he has been in a variety of leadership positions, including CEO of Atomenergoprom – a holding company unifying Russian civilian nuclear assets. He continues to also maintain this function in his current capacity.
Prior to joining ROSATOM, Mr. Komarov was Deputy Director of the Federal Water Resources Agency. He began his career at a Russian consulting company, followed by an investment conglomerate.
Mr. Komarov graduated from the Urals State Law Academy in Yekaterinburg, Russia. After completing a postgraduate course, he received an advanced law degree from the institution.

Aleksandr Sobolev

Director for Strategy and Business Development, MegaFon

Alexander joined the MegaFon team in November 2012 as Head of Strategic Partnerships and Projects. Before that, he had provided strategic consulting services at Boston Consulting Group, a leading international consulting firm, and Strategy Partners Group, a major Russian company. He has also co-founded several tech startups.
Alexander graduated from Moscow State University (MSU) with a degree in Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics and a diploma from MSU’s Innovation Business & Entrepreneurship Lab.

Alexey Chekunkov

Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic

Alexey Chekunkov has been the head of the Far East Development Fund since October, 2014.In 2013-2014 Alexey managed his own investment company PAMIR Capital before appointment to the position of the Far East Development Fund Chief Executive Officer. In 2011-2013 he worked as a Director, Member of the Management Board and Investment Committee in the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Mr. Chekunkov was responsible for investments in healthcare, energy saving, raw materials sector as well as for establishing of the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund with 2 billion dollars capital. In 2009-2011 Alexey managed his own investment company New Nations Capital (venture capital investments, investment banking). In 2006-2009 he worked in the position of Managing Director in the investment company United Gold Company (UGC), being a part of Alfa-Group consortium.In 2003-2006 he was Vice-President in Delta Private Equity, one of the leading private equity companies in Russia, managing over 500 million dollars capital. He participated in a number of landmark deals including sale of Delta Bank, of TV channels STS and TV-3, of the National Cable Networks holding, of the company Compulink. In 2002-2003 Mr. Chekunkov took part in consolidation of gold-mining assets in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) as the Projects Director in the Investment Group Alrosa. On November 10, 2020, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.

Front row participants
Nikolay Korchunov, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, Ambassador-atLarge for Arctic Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Grigory Ledkov, Member of the Committee of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Self-Government and Northern Affairs
Aleksey Malyutin, Head of Prospective Development Department of the Exploration and Production Unit, PJSC Gazprom Neft
Alexey Ostapenko, Deputy General Director, Administrative Director, Sovcomflot (online)
Alexey Rakhmanov, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, United Shipbuilding Corporation
Vitaly Symonenko, Vice President, Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (online)
Olga Smirnova, Advisor to the Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic
German Shirokov, Chair of the St. Petersburg Committee on Arctic Affairs

Nikolay Korchunov

Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Grigory Ledkov

Member of the Committee of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Self-Government and Northern Affairs

Aleksey Malyutin

Head of Prospective Development Department of the Exploration and Production Unit, PJSC Gazprom Neft

Alexey Rakhmanov

Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, United Shipbuilding Corporation

Alexey Rakhmanov was born on July 18, 1964. In 1986 he graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod Polytechnic Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 2003 he graduated from the School of Business at the University of Chicago with a degree of Master of Business Administration. In the early stages of his career, he held various positions in the public and private entities. In 1996 he joined international auditing and consulting firm Ernst & Young where he worked until 2002. Between 2002 and 2008 he served as Director for Strategy and Business Development at JSC Severstal-Auto. In July 2008 he was appointed Director of the Department of Automotive Industry and Agricultural Machinery at Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, and in March 2012 – Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade. Since June 2014 he has been President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
Alexey Rakhmanov is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University (SPbSMTU), Chairman of the Shipbuilding Industry and Marine Equipment Committee of the Russian Engineering Union, Member of the Russian Engineering Union Management Board.