Biography
Mordashov Alexey Aleksandrovich was born on September 26, 1965 in Cherepovets in the Vologda area in workers’ family; Russian. In 1988 he graduated with excellence from the Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institute. During study he got acquainted with Anatoly Chubais.
From 1988 till 1989 - Senior Economist in maintenance and repair shop #1 of the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant (CMP).
In 1989-1991 – Head of Bureau of Economics and Labor of MRS#1 at CMP.
In 1991-1992 - Deputy Director of planning department of CMP.
In 1992-1993 - Deputy Director of Economics and Finance at CMP.
Since 1993 - Financial Director of CMP (now CMP is renamed into Open Joint-Stock Company "Severstal"). Simultaneously the chairman of board of directors of joint-stock company "Severstal-Invest". He was one of creators of the plant privatization program, and transition to active marketing practice in metal trading. Company "Severstal-Invest" was engaged in sale of rolled metal products, motor vehicles and the weapon, cultivation, processing and sale of fish, realtor and security-detective activity.
Since March, 1996 - chairman of board of "Severstal-holding" LLC (Cherepovets).
Since March, 1996 - chairman of board of directors of Joint-Stock Company "Severstal-invest" (Cherepovets).
Since September 1996 till June, 2002 - General Director of "Severstal" OAO.
Since November, 1997 - chairman of board of directors in Metkombank (Cherepovets). He was a councilor of bank "Metallinvest". Then he was trained on courses of managers in England (in the late nineties he completed the MBA program of Newcastle Business school (NBS) in the University of Northumbria (UNN, Great Britain).
Since June, 2000 - the councilor of directors of Joint-Stock Company «Izhora pipe factory», joint venture of «Izhora factories» OAO and "Severstal" OAO. In October, 2000 he was selected as a member of bureau of board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).
Since June, 2001 - coordinator of RSPP Working group.
From April 2001 till April, 2003 - member of the Supervisory board of «Industrial Construction Bank» (ICB).
Since June, 2002 - chairman of the board of directors of "Severstal" OAO.
Since 2002 - General Director of "Severstal group" ZAO.
Since August, 2002 - the chairman of the board of directors of "SSM-Tyazhmash" LLC, subsidiary of "Severstal group" ZAO.
Since December, 2002 - the judicial arbitrator at the Commission on Ethics of RSPP created for settlement of corporate disputes.
In May, 2003 he was included in structure of Business Council at the government of the Russian Federation.
In December, 2003 he became the authorized representative of president Putin on presidential election on March, 14th, 2004.
In 2003 Forbes magazine included Mordashov in the list of 500 richest people in the world (348th place, fortune – 1.2 billion dollars).
In February, 2004 "Severstal" OAO informed that Mordashov supervised 82.75% of stocks of "Severstal".
Since June, 2004 - councilor of directors of bank “Rossiya” (St.-Petersburg).
In February 2006 "Finance" magazine estimated Mordashov’s capital at 6.0 billion dollars (the tenth place in Russia).
In March, 2006 there was a next rating of Forbes Magazine in which Mordashov was on the 64th place in the world (fortune – 7.6 billion dollars).
Member of Board of guardians of RDC «Expert institute» at Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP);
Member of Advisory council on the innovations created by Ministry of Industry and Science of the Russian Federation.
He is awarded with the order «For Merits for Country» of the I and II degrees.
The winner of the All-Russia competition of businessmen "Career-96". In December, 2000 Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs called him the best businessman of the year.
Speaks English and German.
Mordashov is married for the second time. He has three sons - one from the first marriage, two - from the second one.
Takes a great interest in poetry, painting, active winter kinds of sports.
Source: http://www.anticompromat.org/
Dossier:
By 2001 there were no any compromising materials concerning Mordashov on pages of the mass-media. As for unpleasant stories – only divorce with the wife and the ignominious alimony to the son. The only thing that was spoken about him appeared in July, 2001. Mordashov was supposed to be offered a post of the chairman in the Russian government. In reply to that Mordashov declared that even if he had been offered the post he would have had to refuse of it.
Source: www.rb.ru
In 2004 in mass media the materials convicting Mordashov of dishonest engagement of "Severstal" were published. The ex-general director of Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant Yury Lipuhin - who promoted Mordashov on a career ladder - became an information source. When Mordashov was already the director of "Severstal" the plant suffered from an attempt of raid capture. Trans-World Group tried to persuade Mordashov to sell the plant (it was represented by well known businessmen Vladimir Lisin, Mikhail Chernoy, Oleg Deripaska) but he resisted. After those events Mordashov convinced Lipuhin that the plant shares needed to be privatized not to admit strangers to the enterprise. The plant released metal under the low prices to the company “Severstal-Invest” created for that purpose; Mordashov spent millions of gross margin from resale on purchase of vouchers and shares from workers. So he became the owner of 51% of shares of "Severstal" and Lipuhin - 49 %.
In 1998 there was a conflict between two proprietors - Mordashov decided to diversify business and began to buy up industrial actives: stocks of ports in St.Petersburg, Tuapse and East port, coal mines, Kolomna diesel factory, UAZ factory. Lipuhin was against of such diversification of the business. In the beginning of 2001 Mordashov redeemed from Lipuhin 49 % of "Severstal-Guarant" with the big discount; Lipuhin is still offended by Mordashov for that. The latter during had enemies that period - Zavolzhsky motor factory became a subject of his conflict to GAZ owner Oleg Deripaska. Together with the head of "Eurazholding" Alexander Abramov, Mordashov struggled for "Kuzbassugol", the metallurgical market was divided with Iskander Mahmudov.
Source: «Forbes», 4/10/2004
In youth during internship in Austria Mordashov had a conflict with the son of the minister of ferrous metallurgy Serafim Kolpakov Sergey. The minister demanded for Yury Lipuhin dismissed Mordashov, but Lipuhin then defended the young perspective employee.
Source: «Forbes», 4/10/2004
In 2001 the first spouse of Mordashov, Elena declared that Alexey Mordashov did not help their son sufficiently, didn’t let her arrange private life and promoted her dismissal from work. For 2000 Mordashov declared his income at 80 million dollars (Mordashov denied the sum soon after that), his former wife took advantage and sued for alimony and separation of jointly acquired property (he had been paying to the wife 650 dollars monthly for the son). Mordashova demanded a share in business of the husband and developed huge information war. The businessman considered that behind that claim there were competitors of metallurgical holding - the Ural mountain-metallurgical plant and "Sibal", in particular their owner Iskander Mahmudov who was at that time the main contender of Mordashov in the metallurgical market. In August, 2001 the former wife applied to Nikulinsky Office of Public Prosecutor of Moscow with the requirement to force former husband to give 25% of the income for education of the son from first marriage. In her opinion the underpaid alimony of Mordashov made more than semi billion dollars. In maintenance of the claim the Office of Public Prosecutor managed to arrest 32.5 % of stocks of "Severstal". Claims of former spouse Elena Mordashova for a quarter of incomes of the husband were recognized by Moscow court as groundless, and attachment was removed from property. And after that Cherepovets court took Mordashov’s side and decided that he did not owe to the former spouse 40 percent of shares of "Severstal" (Elena Mordashova had declared such requirements in the statement of claim). As a result Elena Mordashova lost both suits.
Source: «Moscow Komsomolets», 8/20/2001, "Vedomosti", 10/30/2002
On presidential election of 2004 Alexey Mordashov was Vladimir Putin's authorized representative. Support of the head of the country helped Mordashov to create the steel-making company the largest in Russia, which possessed the largest actives abroad on the basis of the Cherepovets plant.
Source: www.akado.com/news
In February, 2005 Alexey Mordashov made scandal at airport Vnukovo-3. He left the plane together with two girls accompanying him in the trip. One of his companions unexpectedly found out that she had lost a buckle from the handbag. Mordashov unexpectedly began to behave inadequately: for about a half an hour he loudly shouted at employees of the airport, and demanded to pay him one thousand dollars for the lost buckle.
Source: "Life", 2/9/2005
Alexey Mordashov tried to unite his business with metallurgical group Arcelor being absorbed, but owners of the company refused the offer of Mordashov and group "aggressors" - Mittal Steel became its owner.
Source: Investments № 3(334) 01.02-07.02.2010
In September, 2006 Alexey Mordashov decided to hold again the post of the general director of "Severstal"; in this connection he carried out administrative reform at the enterprise. General Director Anatoly Kruchinin, the hired manager, was removed by Mordashov from the post. Later he was appointed as the General Director of «Severstal. Russian steel» (in April, 2008 management of "Severstal" divided it into three directions: «Severstal. Russian steel», «Severstal. Resources», «Severstal Internationa»). Mordashov’s return on a post of the director of according to his plan should promote success of IPO – Kruchinin was unknown person in business while Mordashov after attempt to become the largest owner of Arcelor received world popularity. In some months Mordashov arranged IPO in London which observers considered to be not successful.
Source: "Vedomosti", 9/21/2006
Due to lack of more interesting actual metallurgical actives for purchase, Mordashov once again tried to diversify business in adjacent spheres. New object of interest of the businessman - the main Russian manufacturer of the equipment for electric power industry, "Power machines". Structures "Severstal" then requested permissions for the transaction in Federal antimonopoly service (FAS). Stocks of "Power machines" were the personal investment of Mordashov which was not connected with mountain-metallurgical company "Severstal". Competitors of Mordashov in struggle for “Power machines" became Victor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska.
Source: www.newsru.com from 6/9/2007
In December, 2003 bank "Rossiya" informed that it would make additional share issue for 30 million rubles face value in advantage of Alexey Mordashov's "Severstal-groups" under the price in 20 times above face value. Thus, the holding should pay 600 million rubles for 9% of shares of bank with own capital of 616 million rubles. The General Director of "Rossiya" Victor Myachin explained the high cost of package with consideration of the «occurrence of the foreign investor» in the capital of bank and dynamics of its development (for a year actives and the capital have trebled). Experts consider such estimation of a minority package as absolutely inadequate. The most probable explanation of such an odd act – rupture of relations with Industrial Construction Bank (ICB) and transfer of money resources to bank "Rossiya". At the same time Mordashov since 90th years kept partner relations with Petersburg banker Vladimir Kogan, ex-founder of ICB - in the beginning of 2001 Mordashov sold a share holding of "Metkombank" to Kogan.
Source: www.mfd.ru News
In the beginning of 2007 in the central mass-media, in particular, in newspapers "Commersant" and "Newspaper" the information began to appear that soon there would be a merge of two largest metallurgical companies - "Eurazholding" and "Severstal". Besides it was written about nationalization of branch and government plans about it. As there were no any concrete facts confirming possibilities of such changes, there were assumptions that this "canard" in respectful newspapers was created by their owners. The owner of "Commersant" - Alisher Usmanov was simultaneously the owner of "Metalloinvest", the largest metallurgical companies; "Newspaper" belonged to other large "metallurgist" Vladimir Lisin, the owner of Novolipetsk metallurgical plant. The purpose: to press on competitors or to force them to buy, for example, business for high price, probably even to frighten and force to cease to put up money in development of the enterprise, to sell to competitor.
Source: «Komsomol truth», 5/30/2007
In August, 2008 at Mordashov’s company "Power machine" shareholders were replaced: 63.1 % of shares of company have appeared concentrated in three offshore now. Among shareholders of OAO there were two offshore, King Rail Trading and Ashington Trading, each owns 16,55 % of his actions. Presumably, these companies are under control of Alexey Mordashov and re-structuring of actives allows him to bypass the requirement about exhibiting of the obligatory offer by minoritaries. If Alexey Mordashov exposed the offer, he should redeem shares from minoritaries with 9 percent award to market quotations. He did not expose it but bought up company shares in the off-exchange market from many sellers. Redistribution of actives gave Mordashov also the joint-stock control over the company.
Source: "Money" № 33 (688), 8/25/2008
The Office of Public Prosecutor accused Alexey Mordashov of legislation infringement – he, having dismissed employees of Kostomuksha mining and concentrating mill, in October, 2009 replaced them with less paid Gastarbeiters. Active workers of the enterprise arranged several meetings in the city, the Office of Public Prosecutor of Karelia began investigation. Trade-union active workers were accused of extremism and Alexey Mordashov was required by the public prosecutor of republic Karelia to exclude infringement of the labor and social rights of citizens and to provide measures on prevention social and political tension in «Karelian pellet OAO. Thereof Mordashev stopped employment of migrants.
Source: Rusmet.ru 24.12.09
Alexey Mordashova's name was mentioned in a context of preparation of amendments by the Ministry of Finance to the article 7 of the Tax code depriving Russian businessmen of possibility to minimize taxes by using the companies in the countries having agreements with Russia on avoidance of the double taxation. It was declared that Alexey Mordashov had supervised "Severstal" through the Cyprian companies, thereby minimized taxes in the federal budget of our country.
Source: www.polit.ru/news, 12/2/2009
The family conflict of Alexey Mordashov with the first wife Elena Novitskaya passed to a new stage – in 2004 she submitted the claim to the Strasbourg court where she accused Russia of partiality of justice. In January, 2010 Novitskaya’s case received a priority. Few years ago the court dismissed Novitskaya’s claim about property separation, as all agreements on property division between spouses had been signed back in 1996, and Novitskaya did not apply for shares and refused them voluntarily. Having lost the court, Elena Novitskaya still owed the state duty of 213 million rubles. In European court Novitskaya demanded from Russia for compensation at amount of 500 million dollars, referring to article 6 of the European convention about human rights. Now Russia should prove that at the moment of divorce Alexey Mordashov did not possess influence on justice.
Source: "Premier", № 3(642) 19-25.01.2010