Sauer Derk (Derk Sauer)

Sauer Derk (Derk Sauer)

Biography

1970-80: The correspondent and the editor of media in the Netherlands

Derk Sauer in the 1970-80th worked as the correspondent of Belfast and Title Filme TV companies, including in hot spots – Northern Ireland, Chile, El Salvador, Lebanon. Occupied the post of the editor of the Twingtig and Neiuwe Revu magazines (Netherlands).

1990: Foundation of media for foreigners in the USSR

In 1990 Mr. Sauer based the USSR's first glossy magazine Moscow Magazine and the Moscow Guardian newspaper.

1992: CEO of Independent Media publishing house

Since 1992 Derk Sauer directed Independent Media publishing house (issues The Moscow Times newspapers, Vedomosti, the magazines Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harvard Business Review and so forth), including, from 1992 to 2008 as the CEO, and since 2008 as the chairman of the supervisory board.

2005: Sauer sells Independent Media of the Finnish Sanoma for $142 million

In January, 2005 the Finnish company Sanoma purchased 100% of the Russian Independent Media publishing house. For the company whose revenue in 2004 made about €70 million, and operating profit — €10 million, the Finnish media group paid €142 million^[1].

2012: President of RBC

In November, 2012 JSC RBC announced creation of a position of the president. According to the reached agreements the position of the president of JSC RBC after settlement of necessary formalities and obtaining the corresponding permissions of FMS of Russia was occupied by Derk Sauer. As the president Derk Sauer was responsible for strategic development of the company, determination of priorities regarding acquisition of new assets and development of the relations with the largest international partners of the company. JSC RBC also announced receiving prior consent of Derk Sauer to promotion in board members of RBC at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of the company on December 10, 2012.

As Sauer explained, he sees the task on a post of the head of holding in that "improve life of the middle class at the expense of qualitative information".

"Be it the staff of the global companies or owners of small and medium business, we should give them information from the business point of view, but not only with business as well with personal", - the media manager noticed.

Qualitative business content as notes RBC-TV, will become a priority of the company at Sauere, and methods of dissemination of information will be improved.

In the press release of Sanoma Independent Media it is reported that Sauer at the same time will reserve a position of the chairman of the supervisory board of publishing house and also the chairman of the board of directors of the business newspaper Vedomosti.

2013: CEO of RBC

The RBC holding announced in August, 2013 that Derk Sauyer accepted the offer to head RBC as the new CEO. In this position it replaced Sergey Lavrukhin who made the decision to leave the CEO's post since August 26, 2013, but at the same time continued work as the board member of JSC RBC.

2015

Attempt of gain of oppositional orientation of RBC TV

"Sauer was going to reduce news broadcasting of RBC TV channel sharply — claimed an informed source of Lenta.ru in January, 2016. His idea was in doing one news release of times at three o'clock. Having reduced more than hundred people by RBC, it gathered for the saved means to organize a big oppositional political talk show, as on Channel One, only "on the contrary". For business of news TV channel it was a utopia, but Sauer drew"^[2].

According to the source, Sauer was going to copy model of broadcasting, edition and editorial policy at Rain because considered this TV channel the best in Russia.

"But for RBC channel which only just became profitable it would turn back financial and media crash. The audience at Rain was at that time twenty times less than audience of RBC. To sharply reduce news broadcasting for benefit of a talk show would mean loss of the viewer and advertisers for RBC" — the interlocutor of Lenta.ru says.

However the president and at the same time the chairman of the board of directors of RBC Sauer, allegedly without having an economic case, announced reform of the channel. It provoked scandal. RBC-TV was left by the Chief Editor Andrey Reut supporting preserving of news broadcasting. Soon the owner - Mikhail Prokhorov interfered. The idea to create "Rain-2" was not to the taste to him, tells a source.

Departure from the job of the president of RBC

In August, 2015 it was reported that Derk Sauer passes to a position of the vice president of the Onexim group. In a new position Sauer had to be responsible for strategic development of the media Oneksima direction and also for formation and strategy implementation of Onexim group in new digital-businesses. At the same time Saeur remains in Board of Directors of RBC and will participate in determination of the development strategy of the company.

"I am very glad that shareholders of RBC estimated progress of our command in the field of reforming of business of RBC and suggested to scale my experience already within all Onexim group. The command of RBC shows excellent results of work already now in the last two years. It is confident both in examination, and in the potential of a command of RBC, as well as that they will confirm with joint efforts more than once that RBC is the best business media holding in Russia" — Derk Sauer said.

For December of the 2015th the official site of Oneksim does not list Sauer among key team members of fund, and does not announce the actual appointment it as the vice president.

In December, 2015 it became known that Dmitry Razumov became the chairman of the board of directors of RBC. Razumov's deputy selects Derk Sauyer. Both were members of council till September, 2017.

2016: Criminal case about Panov and Karetsky's deprivation of shares in one of RBC companies

On April 29, 2016 the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow brought criminal case according to Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the fraud committed by organized group or in especially large size, the sanction — imprisonment up to 10 years) according to the statement of the former shareholder of Byte Telecom (managed a data processing center, it was controlled by RBC) Alexander Panov for deprivation it and Yaroslav Karetsky of 25% of stocks of the company. It is said in the notification on criminal case. In the resolution on criminal proceedings it is said that the cost of 25% of stocks of BT was $13.4 million.

According to Panov who is familiar with documents of the investigation, the group of people whom law enforcement agencies will check for participation in crime, includes the CEO of RBC Nikolay Molibog, his first deputy Ekaterina Kruglova, the chief financial officer of RBC Igor Selivanov, the deputy director general of RBC on technologies Alexander Kononenko, the former CEO of BT of Farid Karimov, the head of a security service of RBC Alexander Zhgut, the vice-chairman of Board of Directors of RBC Derk Sauer and the CEO of Rekonn LLC Andrey Gordeev. According to Panov, assets of BT at the time of the beginning of investigation belong to the telecom operator of Rekonn, and the group of people which possible participation will be checked was specified in his statement.

Materials on matter in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were transferred by the State Office of Public Prosecutor, follows from the reply of supervisory authority to Alexander Panov. The State Office of Public Prosecutor established that from 2009 to September, 2014 Panov and Karetsky owned on 12.5% of stocks of BT Ltd, the remained 75% belonged to offshore Karuta Investments. At the disposal of RNS there is a document signed by Molibog according to whom 75% of Byte Telecom as of September 23, 2014 belonged to RBC through offshores Karuta Investments, Gattico Holding, Halvertson Holdings and Pintolexa Holdings. The director of Karuta was Derk Sauer, Panov specified.

On August 29, 2014 Farida Karimova, working allegedly as the only shareholder of BT, signed and reported for registration to the authorities of UFNS of Russia for Moscow decisions on reorganization of BT Ltd in Investproyekt LLC, dismissal of the CEO of BT Igor Selivanov and appointment of to this position and also the transfer act of property from Byte Telecom Ltd to Investproyekt LLC, the document says. Then Investproyekt was attached to Drok LLC registered in the Republic of Tatarstan, "in the place of mass registration of legal entities and not performing the actual activity", the State Office of Public Prosecutor^[3] set^[3].

"With respect thereto the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation as Article 37 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation check materials on the facts of fraudulent activity concerning the property belonging to you (to Panov. — RNS) and to Karetsky Ya. V. and also illegal education (reorganization) of the legal entity are sent to Investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation", the document says.

Panov claims that Karimova liquidated several legal entities who were earlier entering into RBC.

Membership in the organizations

In 2012 Sauer is a board member of WWF of Russia (World Wide Fund for Nature).

Notes