Ruben Vardanyan

Impact investor and social entrepreneur

Founding Partner and Vice-Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Institute for Emerging Market Studies, and Chairman of the Expert Council of the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre. President of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO in 2006-2011.

Ruben Vardanyan is an impact investor and social entrepreneur. He was born in Armenia, succeeded in Russia, and implements international projects. A recognised expert on the global economy, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and education, he provides strategic consulting through his membership of boards of directors, advisory boards and trusteeships of commercial companies, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, and public and professional bodies. Among them are IFC (a member of the World Bank Group), business schools in Russia and Brazil, a major Armenian bank (Ameriabank) and Russia’s auto major (SOLLERS). Mr. Vardanyan owns a stake in a joint venture with the Otto family in a commercial real estate management business in Russia. A prominent investment banker, he is known both for his financial projects (Troika Dialog Investment Company) as well as his deep reaching philanthropic programmes, such as the first UWC college in Eastern Europe (UWC Dilijan, Armenia) and the Tatev Revival Project, part of which includes the construction of the world’s longest cableway leading to an ancient monastery. Together with the partners, Vardanyan raised more than $500M to finance the first private business school in Russia — a pioneering institution both in terms of scale and in its collaborative nature. They have also invested about $500M of commercial and philanthropic funds in social and entrepreneurial projects in Armenia. In 2015, Mr. Vardanyan and his partners launched the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative global project, including the Aurora Prize international award. The award is given annually on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian genocide as a sign of gratitude to their saviours.

Alexey Anishchenko

Director of the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre

Since 2015, Alexey Anishchenko has been a Managing Director of Phoenix Advisors, a company by Ruben Vardanyan which provides family wealth protection and management services to wealthy customers and help them develop succession plans. Alexey supervises work with key customers and external partners, provides consultations on family offices, and manages mediation between parties in conflict. Before this, Alexey worked for Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend’s Family Foundation, where he was responsible for the strategy, monitoring and coordination aspects of business projects.

From 2012 to 2014, Alexey worked as a consultant for Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he successfully implemented a large number of projects in the financial sector. Alexey started his career in Troika Dialog as part of the Strategy and Change Group, which he joined after graduating with a Masters degree from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Andrey Shpak

PhD in Economics, Head of Research and Consulting at the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre, expert on wealth management and tax strategy with 20 years of experience

Dmitry Ageev

Deputy Director for Development of the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre

From 1998 to 2018, Dmitry held managerial positions at major Western and Russian federal companies, including Johnson & Johnson, ConocoPhillips, Rostelecom, RUSAL, and others. Dmitry helped to formulate these companies’ regional development strategies, develop and introduce key processes and operational models, staff and manage project teams, and identify and develop top management teams. He was also responsible for the interaction between NPOs and CSR departments, corporate partnerships with NPOs, and implementation of CSR strategies while maintaining the companies’ strategic interests within EMEA and the CIS.

Dmitry obtained his diploma in engineering and economics at the Kazakh Institute of Chemical Engineering and studied management and marketing at the University of Kentucky (USA).

Veronica Misuitina

Advisor of SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre, Head of Philanthropic Programs at Executive Education Department at SKOLKOVO Business School

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