Hasis Lion Aronovich

Hasis Lion Aronovich

Biography

Born on June 5, 1966 in the city of Kuibyshev (since 1991 - Samara).

In 1989 he graduated from the Kuibyshev Aviation Institute. Academician S.P. Korolev (since 2016 - Samara National Research University named after Academician S.P. Korolev (Samara University)), aircraft engineering.

In 1995 he graduated from the correspondence department of the Institute for Retraining and Advanced Training of Personnel in Financial and Banking Specialties of the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation (since 2010 - Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation), banking.

In 2001 he graduated from St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (jurisprudence).

Awarded degree: Doctor of Economics. sciences

1988: KuAI

In 1988-1990. worked at the Kuibyshev Aviation Institute as the head of the department of foreign economic activity.

1990: Co-founder of advertising agencies Vekt and InterVolga

In 1990, he became a co-founder of advertising agencies: Vekt and InterVolga.

1991: Head of Samara Trading House

From 1991 to 1993 he led the Samara Trading House.

1993: Branch Director, Vice-President of AvtoVAZBANK

In 1993-1994 was the director of the branch of AvtoVAZBANK in Samara, since 1995 - Vice President of AvtoVAZBANK.

1994: Arbitration Manager, President of Aviakor

In 1994-1995 worked as an arbitration manager, and from 1995 to 1999 as President of OJSC Aviakor.

1997: Alfa-Bank Vice President

In 1997-1998 - Vice President of Alfa Bank.

1999: Member of the Board of Directors of TD Perekrestok

From 1999 to 2002 - Member of the Board of Directors of TD Perekrestok CJSC.

2002: Chairman of the Board of Directors of TD Perekrestok

From 2002 to 2006 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of CJSC TD Perekrestok.

2006: Chief Executive Officer of X5 Retail Group N.V.

In 2006-2011 served as Chief Executive Officer of X5 Retail Group N.V.

2011: Senior Vice President, Wal-Mart Stores Inc

In 2011-2013 - Senior Vice President of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Lev Khasis on career, 2012

2015.

2013: First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank

Since September 2013 - Member of the Management Board, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank. As of January 2021, he oversees and coordinates the work of the International Operations, Technologies, Services and a number of other areas of the bank's activities.

2017: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Evotor

In January 2017, Lev Khasis headed the updated Board of Directors of Evotor.

2018: Curator of the marketing department of Sberbank

Since December 10, 2018, he has become the curator of the Marketing Department (DMIK) of Sberbank, which is responsible for advertising and marketing communications, brand, price policy of the group, research of markets and customers, promotion of products and client services, as well as for external and internal communications of the Sberbank group.

Competition in the digital business will increase, so competencies in the field of digital marketing, business growth through original mechanics,  the creation of new ways to attract and retain customers will become critical for us. These tasks are among the key for DMIC as a unit responsible for the  competitiveness of our Ecosystem.  In addition, we plan  to develop marketing competencies not only as an internal service, but also as a client service - a source of revenue for the Ecosystem.  That is why I decided to combine marketing and divisions for the development of the Sberbank ecosystem under a single curator, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board Lev Khasis, stated German Gref, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank

One of the goals of Strategy 2020 adopted by Sberbank was the implementation of initiatives that will allow competing with global technology companies. This competition unfolds in the plane of creating a better customer experience, and not necessarily financial. To do this, the bank launches various digital initiatives, enters into strategic alliances, searches for startups and tests new market niches for itself. More details here.

2019: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rambler Group

In September 2019, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Lev Khasis was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rambler Group. The decision was made during the first meeting of the members of the Board of Directors of the Rambler Group after the closure of the transaction with Sberbank, in which the bank became a co-owner of a media group with a stake of 46.5%. More details here.

2020: State Duma deputy asks FSB to check Sberbank because of top foreign managers

State Duma deputy from United Russia Alexander Yakubovsky asked the FSB to check whether Sberbank violates the law by appointing persons with foreign citizenship to top managers. The parliamentarian published a scan of the corresponding deputy request to the head of the special services, Alexander Bortnikov, in June in his telegram channel^[1].

FSB Yakubovsky asks to check whether the presence of people with foreign citizenship in high positions in Sberbank poses a threat to Russia's national security.

Questions from Yakubovsky, in particular, arose to the deputy chairman of the board of the credit institution Lev Khasis, who has US citizenship. Khasis is considered almost the most influential manager in the bank after German Gref. The deputy and several other senior employees of Sberbank, who have foreign citizenship, listed. According to him, Yulia Chupina, senior vice president of the bank, is a citizen of Spain, and Denis Rafalovsky, executive vice president of the bank, has US and Israeli citizenship.

2022

Resignation from the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sber. Appointment by the president of an e-commerce holding created by Sber

On February 15, 2022, Sber informed TAdviser about the decision to amend its organizational structure in the interests of implementing Strategy 2023, and also spoke about personnel changes.

The Supervisory Board of Sberbank considered the request of the First Deputy Chairman of the Board Lev Khasis, who decided to complete his work on the Board of Sberbank in order to be able to deal with his own projects. The Supervisory Board agreed to relieve him of his post from June 1, 2022, after which Lev will continue to cooperate with Sber as a consultant, and will also become President, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sber e-commerce holding.

Blocks, divisions and subsidiaries which are supervised by Lev Hasis during the period till June 1, 2022 will be transferred to monitoring to first deputies the Chairman of the board Aleksandra Vedyakhina and to Kirill Tsaryov, other board members or placed under direct authority to the President, the Chairman of the board of Sberbank German Gref. More details here.

Departure to the United States

April 18, 2022 it became known about the departure of Leo Khasis to the United States. The former first deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank was supposed to head a new holding in the field of e-commerce as part of a credit organization.

Khasis left for the States immediately with the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, he has the citizenship of this country - one of the sources in the Russian Internet company told Vedomosti.

This information was confirmed by another source of the newspaper. He added that Khasis left "almost immediately" after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. Another source said Khasis left the country "a couple of days" before these events.

April 18, 2022 it became known about the departure of Leo Khasis to the United States

According to the source of the publication in Sberbank, Lev Khasis left the Russian Federation one of the first among the top managers of the bank, which "simply shocked employees." After him, another senior vice president, technical director of the group David Rafalovsky, who oversaw the technology block, left the key managers, her informant told the newspaper.

According to one of the interlocutors, the departure of Khasis, who developed online retail at the bank, complicated the situation with the Samokat express product delivery service and, among other factors, led to the decision of the management to reduce its work in the region.

Khasis left the post of first deputy chairman of the bank's board and was supposed to head the bank's new holding, which will be created in the e-commerce segment. According to the interlocutor of Vedomosti in the bank (the article was published on April 18, 2022), no one has yet been engaged in the creation of this holding, although electronic commerce is one of the main areas of activity of Sber, in addition to the banking business itself.

Lev Khasis himself, as well as a representative of Sberbank, declined to comment on Vedomosti's requests^[2]

Leo Khasis seeks lifting of sanctions from Britain and Canada

Lev Khasis, who was responsible for the construction and development of the Sberbank ecosystem and planned to head the e-commerce holding created by the bank, is trying to lift the sanctions imposed on him by the authorities of Canada and Britain. This follows from the publication of the Miami Herald based in Miami, USA, citing lawyer Ashley Taborda^[3].

Khasis's lawyer noted that her client was added to Canada's sanctions list "mistakenly," probably believing that he was still working at Sberbank. And Britain followed suit.

We are seeking the correction of this mistake from the Canadian government and advise their international colleagues, such as the UK, to do the same, since this mistake significantly and negatively affects Mr. Khasis and his close family members, the Miami Herald quoted the lawyer as saying.

Unlike his former boss, Sberbank Chairman German Gref, and some other ex-colleagues, Lev Khasis did not fall under US sanctions. According to the Miami Herald, two days before the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, he quit Sberbank. Later, Western countries and their allies imposed sanctions on the bank and some of its top managers. Khasis's lawyer believes that his client did nothing wrong, much less nothing for which American sanctions could be imposed on him.

However, Canada and Britain added the ex-banker to their sanctions lists. This means that he cannot participate in any financial transactions in these countries, as well as in financial transactions with citizens and organizations of these countries around the world.

According to the Miami Herald, after being fired from Sberbank, Lev Khasis "settled" in Miami, in a condo near the place that is unofficially called "Little Moscow" for being loved by wealthy immigrants from Russia. The ex-banker is the owner of an American green card, and his wife, born in Russia, and children have American citizenship, the newspaper reports. He and his family moved to the States in 2011 when he took a leadership position at Wal-Mart. A year later, they bought three condos in Sunny Isles Beach in Miami. And in 2013, he got a job at Sberbank and has since divided his time between the United States and Russia.

Miami Herald notes that in parallel with his work in Russia, Lev Khasis had close financial ties with the United States. Together with other Russian emigrants, he developed a real estate rental business in the United States. He was also the co-founder of the California-based Momentus, which provides infrastructure space services. Among her clients are NASA and Lockheed Martin.

In 2021, Khasis sold a stake in Momentus after the US Department of Defense considered the presence of Russian co-owners in such a company^[4]JUE^[5].

Notes