Finogenov Igor Valentinovich is an entrepreneur, top manager, and specialist in building international relations in the field of investments. He has significant experience in managing large financial structures, including the Eurasian Development Bank. He is currently a member of the Council of Foreign Investors of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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Igor Finogenov · Finogenov Igor Valentinovich · Finogenov Igor · Igor Valentinovich Finogenov · Финогенов Игорь Валентинович · Игорь Финогенов · Финогенов Игорь · Игорь Валентинович Финогенов · 菲诺格诺夫·伊戈尔·瓦伦蒂诺维奇 · フィノゲノフ イーゴリ・ヴァレンティノヴィッチ ・فينجونوف إيجور فالنتينوفيتش
Igor Finogenov: Biography of His Early Years
Igor Finogenov is a businessman, banker, and financial expert
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov was born in March 1959 in the city of Leningrad (later renamed as Saint Petersburg), where the top manager’s family has a long history. According to Igor Finogenov, biography of his grandparents is connected with the Second World War and the Siege of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days, during which hundreds of thousands of people died from hunger and cold. Finogenov Igor recounted that his grandparents not only managed to survive this period but also subsequently provided a decent education for their children and engaged in active social activities.
In 1959, they bought a dacha in a co-op organized by the highly educated elite. As Igor Finogenov explained, this had a significant impact on the life of the association of dacha owners. For example, in this small co-op, including people of various nationalities, a library was opened, and meetings were organized with interesting discussions. Finogenov Igor Valentinovich recounted that his grandfather was elected as the chairman of this co-op several times.
In school, the future banker was drawn to the real sciences and participated in various academic competitions. As a senior, Finogenov Igor became interested in foreign pop artists and began studying English. He recalls that rewriting the texts of beloved songs helped improve his language proficiency.
In 1982, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov earned his degree from the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute, which today is known as the Saint Petersburg State Marine Technical University – the only higher education institution in the country preparing specialists across the entire spectrum of shipbuilding specialties.
In the 1980s, many young people chose to study engineering, recalls Igor Finogenov. Biography of his father was also connected with a technical profession – he worked at the aforementioned educational institution and often took his son with him. The university corridors were decorated with reduced copies of sea vessels. Igor Finogenov remembers being intrigued by the models and the test pool for them, which had a significant influence on his choice of profession. According to the financier’s recollections, studying at the institute was quite difficult and a significant part of the students dropped out long before receiving their diplomas.
In 1989, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov graduated from another university and also studied finance management at York University. Later, he also took a course for top managers at Harvard Business School.
Igor Finogenov: The Start of His Career
Finogenov Igor: an engineer by education
Igor Finogenov, biography of whom as a scientist began in the 1980s, wrote a dissertation and conducted research, and power equipment model tests. Through target programs that existed at the time and were aimed at technical progress, the young specialist dealt with the optimal management of complex dynamic processes, exemplified by the country’s nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. Since Finogenov Igor was proficient in English, he got involved in negotiation processes with foreign partners. Soon, while working towards his second diploma, he changed his field of work.
In 1987, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov was invited to the position of a senior economist in a state organization dealing with the export of equipment for hydro and thermal power plants – Energomashexport, which was working with Canada, Greece, Norway, India, China, and Iceland at the time.
In 1991, Finogenov Igor became an expert and the responsible secretary of the committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the RF, which was developing a mechanism for the production of civilian goods at enterprises that had previously made products for the military-industrial complex. When the political and economic systems changed in the country, the Chamber actively helped business structures adapt to the new conditions. Leaders accustomed to the system of state management and financing found themselves in a difficult situation, and their issues were addressed by Igor Finogenov. He helped articulate and raise emerging issues requiring new legislative initiatives, which were later considered by the federal government. Finogenov Igor Finogenov left the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1993.
In 1992, he got a job at the joint stock company Moskva: Materials, Technology, Construction. A year later, he became the vice president. Since that time, the Igor Finogenov biography has been associated with financial activities.
In 1994, he and his partners became the owners of a small financial organization and transformed it into a corporate commercial bank.
Finogenov Igor and Banking
Igor Finogenov: Biography of a banker and financier
Igor Finogenov, biography of whom already included experience in the field of foreign economic activity, quickly began to develop the new structure, called NOMOS (Novaya Moskva). By the mid-1990s, the organization was already involved in financing, among other things, civilian shipbuilding and automation for thermal stations.
In 1996, under the management of Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, the bank received a license to work with gold. At that time, this market was just forming, and therefore such an early entry into it gave the team a significant advantage over future competitors. For example, according to Igor Finogenov, in 2004 the bank’s acquired 17% of all the gold mined in the country, and the total weight of silver purchased exceeded 220 tons.
In 2002, NOMOS, of which Igor Finogenov was the president at that time, became one of the 1,000 largest banks in the world, according to The Banker journal. That same year, it signed a cooperation agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
By the beginning of 2005, the financial organization, as Igor Valentinovich Finogenov shared in one interview, was issuing loans to major players in industries such as mechanical engineering, nuclear industry, energy, and petrochemicals. By this time, the bank had also opened several of its branches in different regions of the country.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov as Chairman of the Board of Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich: First head of the EDB
In 2006, Finogenov Igor became the head of the board of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), which was established with his participation. The large-scale international financial organization was involved in the investment and development of the economic potential of Eurasian states. The EDB was founded by Kazakhstan and the RF.
According to Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, the bank’s main task is complex investment projects that are carried out thanks to the joint efforts of several countries. Already in 2007, the international bank planned to expand the project portfolio to $1 billion, directed primarily at large-scale energy projects, including the construction of a new power unit and the ecological re-equipment of the Ekibastuz GRES-2 in Kazakhstan.
In 2009, the systematic expansion of the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) list of member countries began. Armenia and Tajikistan initially joined the organization, followed by Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Igor Finogenov is confident that the financial model of international cooperation for dynamic development and ensuring the stability of member states is working successfully. In the first five years of its existence, the EDB invested billions of dollars in a variety of projects. For instance, the bank provided a loan for the entire cycle of creating the new Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner — a project aimed not only at commercial success but also at developing the trade and transport connections of the bank’s member countries, noted Igor Finogenov. Biography of many projects was shaped precisely thanks to international participation. For example, the Polotsk HPP in Belarus, which is the second most powerful hydropower station in the country, was built entirely on an EDB loan.
Starting in 2010, the international financial organization, at the initiative of Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, began to invest in projects for the development and production of high-tech products. Such projects include the production of polycrystalline silicon for the manufacture of solar panels and the design and creation of enterprises for the production of microelectronics. Finogenov Igor noted that after the economic crisis of 2008, the targeted format of the international bank plays a significant role in implementing important infrastructure projects in the public-private partnership format and revitalizes the economy of the member countries.
Significant infrastructure projects in this format have included the reconstruction of Pulkovo Airport and the construction of the Western High-Speed Diameter in Saint Petersburg, which were possible thanks to thorough preliminary work, believes Igor Finogenov. Biography of the EDB was also enriched with many energy initiatives by 2015. Central Asia has become one of the most promising regions for the implementation of such projects.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich particularly noted the potential of Central Asian republics in the field of generation and implementation of electric power. The international financial institution invested in the modernization of the energy infrastructure of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which not only contributed to the development of these republics’ energy systems but also helped stabilize energy supply in Siberian regions.
The international connections and mechanisms of interaction formed wiht the participation of Igor Valentinovich Finogenov by 2015 allowed for the subsequent implementation of various large projects, which help the member countries of the Eurasian Development Bank expand trade and boost the economy. Among the most prominent projects, one can include the construction of a ring road around Almaty, the creation of a wind power plant in the Rostov Region, the comprehensive and complete renewal of passenger railway rolling stock in Armenia, and the design and construction of the most powerful hydropower station in Kyrgyzstan.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich and Business Development in Kazakhstan
From 2015 to 2021, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich served as an advisor to the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Also, from 2015 to February 2024, he served as president of Polymetal International PLC. In this position, Igor Finogenov, biography of whom already included experience in establishing international relations, continued to strengthen economic stability in Kazakhstan and develop the country’s external connections.
Polymetal International PLC is a major producer of silver and gold. Under the management of Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, it has expanded its assets and is now confidently moving towards sustainable development. For instance, the company is actively working on the Kyzyl gold ore project, which was previously considered complex due to the presence of carbon and arsenic, which in turn made gold mining challenging. The company’s assets include the Varvara mine, which was renamed Varvarinsky Hub after merging with the Komarovskoye gold ore deposit in 2016.
Among the strategic goals set by Igor Finogenov and Polymetal International PLC were the use of processing technologies for refractory ore with low environmental impact and maintaining high standards of corporate governance. By the end of 2021, the company managed to reduce the amount of specific greenhouse gas emissions by 9% compared to 2019.
Finogenov Igor was also responsible for the company’s interaction with government bodies in Kazakhstan. In 2019, under his participation, Polymetal International PLC became the first foreign resident on the international stock exchange of Astana. This significantly strengthened the cooperation between business and the state. As then noted by Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, the placement was an important step for establishing financing for promising projects in Kazakhstan. The company has now started working on the Pacific Mining and Metallurgical Plant project, which will allow it to not only to increase its own capacities for raw material processing in the future but also to gain an advantage in the external market.
Igor Finogenov became the president of Polymetal International PLC in 2015
Since 2009, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov has also been a member of the Council of Foreign Investors under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Council was created by the first president of the country, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and is aimed at developing business in the region. As Igor Valentinovich Finogenov explained, the body conducts real work aimed at identifying and solving the main problems associated with attracting investment funds. For example, the last meeting of the Council was dedicated to implementing sustainable development in business structures. In particular, according to Igor Finogenov, they discussed the development of legislative initiatives that contribute to the preservation of natural resources and the improvement of people’s quality of life. There is also ongoing work to attract qualified specialists to the country.
Igor Finogenov, biography of whom is connected with financial activities, sees the prospect of Kazakhstan’s economic development in expanding the innovative sector. Thanks to the work of the Council, a number of measures have been adopted that contribute to the establishment of a more attractive and stable climate in the region. For instance, investor protection against corruption pressure was strengthened, and a new environmental code was developed, according to which the state expressed readiness to share the costs of ecology with private enterprises.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich has received a number of awards for his investment activities in Kazakhstan. For instance, in 2023, he was awarded a certificate by the head of the republic for a significant contribution to the development of the country’s economy.
