Kovalchuk Yury Valentinovich

Kovalchuk Yury Valentinovich

Kovalchuk Yuri Valentinovich is the largest co-owner and chairman of the board of directors of Rossiya Bank. Chairman of the Board of the North-West Center for Strategic Research.

Assets

The main assets of Yuri Kovalchuk are concentrated:

• finance (Rossiya Bank - 28.57% of the shares in direct ownership^[1]

Through the bank "Russia" owns shares in the insurance company "Sogaz," Gazprombank, "National Media Group" (NMG)^[2].

Biography

Born July 25, 1951 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

His father V. M. Kovalchuk was a famous Soviet scientist, historian, who studied the blockade of Leningrad. Mother - Miryam Abramovna, was also a historian and worked at the history department of Leningrad State University

In childhood, Yuri showed mathematical abilities, and after graduation, he entered the Physics Department of Leningrad State University.

1974 - graduated from the Physics Department of Leningrad State University. After receiving a diploma, he began to study at graduate school, and then defended first his Ph.D. and then his doctoral dissertation.

1985 - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Specialist in solid state physics and semiconductor technology.

In 1987, he was appointed First Deputy Zhores Alferov, Director of the Ioffe Institute. Then he was only 36 years old.

1987-1991 - First Deputy Director of the Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology of the USSR Academy of Sciences. During his years at the institute, he wrote more than 100 scientific papers and various inventions, for which in 1988 he received a state prize in the field of science and technology.

1991 - Deputy Chairman of the Board (Vice President) of the Association of Joint Ventures of St. Petersburg.

1991 - President of the Center for Advanced Technologies and Developments. Once the young zamas of Zhores Ivanovich - Yuri Kovalchuk and Andrei Fursenko - made an innovative proposal: to divide their institute into two parts. In the first life will go as always, but the second will be engaged in patenting and selling innovative ideas. At the same time, Yuri Valentinovich claimed the post of head of the commercial department. However, Alferov did not want to change anything at his institute, and then both deputies decided to go on a free voyage. After that, Kovalchuk headed the Center for Advanced Development and Technology. During this period, he met the future President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, and friendship ensued between them.

1996 - the co-founder of the Lake country cooperative near Priozersk^[3]. Gradually, his capital grew, and he became more and more distant from science, plunging into business.

1996 - Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Thailand in St. Petersburg^[4].

2000 - Chairman of the Board of the St. Petersburg Public Fund "Center for Strategic Research" North-West. "

2005 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rossiya Bank.

2008 - co-founder of the National Media Group (includes REN TV, Channel One, Channel Five, Izvestia, etc.).

In 2008, Forbes magazine first included Kovalchuk among Russian billionaires, and his fortune was estimated at $1.9 billion.

In 2009, Yuri Valentinovich became a member of the Presidential Commission on "modernization and development of technologies in order to grow the economy."

2011 - acquired from the structures of Roman Abramovich a 25% stake in Channel One OJSC^[5].

He took 65th place in the ranking of the Russian-language version of Forbes "The richest businessmen of Russia - 2011." Yuri Kovalchuk's fortune was estimated at $1.5 billion^[6].

2012 - Gazprom's financial assets - Sogaz, Gazfond, Gazprombank came under the control of Yuri Kovalchuk and Rossiya Bank^[7].

2012 - left the post of chairman of the board of directors of Rossiya Bank, which he has continuously held for the past seven years. Kovalchuk headed the advisory board of shareholders of this company, created by the main owners to monitor the observance of their interests^[8].

It ranks 75th in the ranking of the Russian-language version of Forbes "Richest Businessmen Russia - 2012." The fortune of Yuri Kovalchuk is estimated at 1.2 billion dollars^[9]

In 2012, Yuri Kovalchuk, learning about the upcoming bankruptcy of the oldest Russian bookstore in Paris - Librairie Du Globe - allocated a round sum to help him and saved him from actual death. As a result, Euromag magazine called him "Man of the Month." By the way, the owner of the store had previously turned to various cultural and public organizations, and only the president of Rossiya Bank responded to this call for help.

March 20, 2014 Yuri Kovalchuk falls under visa and financial sanctions of the United States against citizens of the Russian Federation who were involved in the Crimean crisis. As an argument, the US Treasury cited the fact that the businessman is among the "close" of the Russian president and is Putin's "personal cashier." Bank Russia also fell under these sanctions.

Social and political activity

1996 - Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Thailand in St. Petersburg^[4].

Vice President of the Association of Joint Ventures of St. Petersburg.

Member of the Boards of Directors of the Foundation for Scientific and Technical Development of St. Petersburg and the Fund for Regional Development of St. Petersburg.

Awards

He was awarded the Order of Friendship, the Order of the Crown (Thailand).

Family

The wife of Kovalchuk Yuri Valentinovich is a philologist. They married in 1976, and a year later they had a son - Boris Kovalchuk, who eventually became a major businessman^[10].

The elder brother is a physicist, Kovalchuk Mikhail Valentinovich. Father - Cyril Kovalchuk.

Hobby

Hobby - collecting rare cars. His other passion is ping-pong. He can play table tennis for hours.

Notes