Business programme

Continuously falling energy prices are inevitably accelerating Russia’s economic diversification. Taking into account the geographical location of the Russian Federation, its enormous land reserves, and diverse range of climate zones appropriate for agriculture and animal husbandry, agribusiness is set to facilitate the explosive growth of the country’s economy. Over the last 20 years, Russia has successfully addressed the import substitution of agricultural products and ensured the food security of the country. However, genetics and selective breeding have essentially been forgotten. Updated support measures for agribusinesses were successfully implemented in a timely manner, which eventually granted the impetus to the development of enterprises and rural regions. The out-migration of people living in rural regions to large cities has been slowed, though we are now reaching a point where the domestic market is saturated with inexpensive, high-quality products. What new consumer support measures should be developed to increase public demand for healthy food?

Moderator
Sergey Yushin, Head, National Meat Association

Sergey Yushin

Head, National Meat Association

Panellists
Ksenia Bolomatova, Deputy Director General, United Grain Company
Stefan Duerr, General Director, EkoNiva-APK Holding
Conrad Lyford, Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University (online)
Sergey Levin, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
Sergey Mikhailov, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Management Board, Cherkizovo Group
Vadim Moshkovich, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rusagro
Rafael Fuertes Quintanilla, Chairman, Grupo Corporativo Fuertes, S.L.

Ksenia Bolomatova

Deputy Director General, United Grain Company

Stefan Duerr

General Director, EkoNiva-APK Holding

Conrad Lyford

Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University

Sergey Levin

Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation

Born: August 6, 1965 in St. Petersburg
Graduated from the Leningrad order of Lenin Polytechnic Institute in 1988 as with a degree in engineering physics, from North-West Academy of Public Administration in 2000 with a degree in lawer.
PhD in Sociology
1988-1996: engaged in scientific work.
1996-2003: substituted for positions in commercial organizations.
2003-2009: substituted for positions in the Federal Agency for State Reserves.
2009: General Director of JSC "United Grain Company" (CEO).
2012: Referent of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev.
2015: Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
December 31, 2017: by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation appointed State Secretary-Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
Has a class rank "Actual State Counselor of the Russian Federation of the second class".
Awarded with the Certificate of Honor of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Sergey Mikhailov

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Management Board, Cherkizovo Group

Sergey Mikhailov has been Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Cherkizovo Group since 2006. Mr. Mikhailov led Cherkizovo Group during its successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2006, making the Group the first Russian agricultural company listed on the LSE. Since 2006, Cherkizovo has been expanding rapidly and developing its business in Russia and it is now the country’s largest vertically integrated agricultural company and meat producer. In 2001, Mr. Mikhailov was Marketing Director of Cherkizovo Meat Processing Plant. He was promoted to Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the plant in 2002 and, a year later, he became its Chief Executive Officer.In 1998, he founded the telecommunications company, aTelo, Inc., in the United States and was its CEO until 2001. In 1998, he trained as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs before moving to Morgan Stanley in 1999. He graduated from Georgetown University (Washington DC) in 2000 with a degree in Finance and Economics.

Vadim Moshkovich

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rusagro

Education
1992 - Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation (MIREA).
Professional experience
In 1992, started his career in agribusiness.
In 2004, Rusagro company was founded. It became one of the largest vertically integrated agriculture industry holding companies in Russia.
In 2011, Rosagro Plc. (the parent company of the Rusagro Group holding) undertook an IPO on the London Stock Exchange which attracted around $300 million for their projects.
In 2016, it made a SPO. Currently Vadim Moshkovich controls 75% of company shares.
From 2006 to 2014, he was a member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation representing the Belgorod Oblast Duma and was a member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy.
He was the owner of Masshtab company, one of the major developers of the New Moscow (territories that became part of Moscow in July 2012). The company owns over 2,580 hectares in the New Moscow. In 2015 the company was sold.
Since 2014 he has been the President and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rusagro Group (Moscow).
He has the following state awards:
Medal of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation;
Medal 'In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg'
Medal 'Merit for the Land of Belgorod', I degree.
About the Company
Rusagro Group is the largest vertically integrated agriculture industry holding company in Russia. At the present time it occupies the leading positions in sugar, pork, crop, oil and fats production. Land bank of the Group consists of more than 600 thousand hectares. In 2015 a number of investment banks named Rusagro Group one of the most profitable and fastest growing consumer segment companies in the CIS. Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and on the Moscow Stock Exchange.
The main assets of Rusagro Group are located in Belgorod oblast, Tambov oblast, Sverdlovsk oblast, Voronezh oblast, Samara oblast, Kursk oblast and Orlov oblast, as well as in Primorskiy krai, which allows to diversify business regionally. Headquarters of the holding is located in Moscow.
Modern world technologies are integrated in all business divisions of the Group in terms of equipment as well as in terms of management practices.
Geography of Rusagro sales is constantly growing. Currently the Company sells products in over 80 regions of Russia and over 15 countries.
Charity projects
He sponsors creation of a school for gifted children in Kommunarka (New Moscow). The school plans to attract best teachers and will be able to provide comprehensive education and development for gifted children. The school will open its doors in September 2018.
He is a donor and a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow and the Belgorod National Research University, the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre in Moscow.

Rafael Fuertes Quintanilla

Chairman, Grupo Corporativo Fuertes, S.L.

Mr. Fuertes has extensive experience in the agricultural industry, primarily in animal breeding, meat processing and crop farming. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Fuertes, a leading Spanish agricultural holding company, which is a minority shareholder of Cherkizovo Group, owning 8% shares, and partner in the “Tambov Turkey” joint venture. Mr. Fuertes graduated from University of Murcia, Spain and MBA from University of Berkeley, California.