Programme

Andrei Sharonov joined Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO in September 2013 as Dean, having left the position of Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy in Moscow City Government.Born in 1964 in Ufa, Andrei Sharonov graduated as an engineer from Ufa State Aviation Technical University and as a lawyer from Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation; in 1994 obtained his PhD in Social Studies.From 1989 to 1991 a Member of the Soviet Parliament, Congress of People’s deputies of the USSR; till 1996 chaired the Russian Federal Committee (Ministry) on Youth Affairs.In 1996-2007 occupied the positions of Deputy Minister, State Secretary and First Deputy Minister at Economics Development Ministry of Russian Federation.In the period from 2007 till 2010, Managing Director and the Board of Directors’ Chairman for Troika Dialog (Private Investment Company).Board Member for OJSC NOVATEK, ALROSA Group, Bank of Moscow OJSC, OJSC Sovcomflot, MC NefteTransService LLC and JSC Eco-System Management Company.As of December 22, 2010, by appointment of Moscow City Mayor Decree, Andrei Sharonov served at Moscow City Government as Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy in charge of budgeting, industrial and city business development, regional rate regulations as well as competition and public retail and procurement policy, trade and services.Since 2012, Andrei Sharonov is heading Executive Committees of Moscow Urban Forum and Open Innovations Forum.Andrei Sharonov received 2009 “Aristos” Awards as “Independent Director” and “Director of the Year”; the Person of the Year in Business Reputation for 2012.Andrei Sharonov was awarded with the Order of Honour and granted the title of “Honoured Economist of Russian Federation”.

He was born on November 16, 1960. He graduated from Norilsk Industrial Institute with highest honors, majoring in "Industrial and civil construction". In 1984 he started his professional career as a foreman in the Construction and Erection Department of the shaft-sinking trust company of Norilsk Nickel. Then he became deputy head of the Production Department of the Construction and Erection Association "Norilskstroy". In 1995 he was appointed deputy general director of Norilsk Nickel.From 2000 - Norilsk mayor, from 2003 - governor of Taymyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autonomous Region.On October 27, 2009 at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders he was elected Chairman of the Management Board of JSC "FGC UES".In June 2013 he was elected Director General of Joint Stock Company "ROSSETI".He is a member of the Russian Presidential Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security.Vice chairman and senior adviser of World Energy Council (WEC) in charge of regional development.He has a number of national and industrial awards.

Daniel Yergin is a highly respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics. He is Vice Chairman of IHS, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms, and Founder of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Dr. Yergin is the Pulitzer Prize-winner for The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which has been translated into 20 languages. He is the author of the new bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World. In 2014, the Prime Minister of India presented Dr. Yergin with “Lifetime Achievement Award” and the U.S. Department of Energy awarded him the first “James Schlesinger Medal for Energy Security.” In 2015, the University of Pennsylvania presented him with the first Carnot Prize for “distinguished contributions to energy policy.” Dr. Yergin was awarded the United States Energy Award for “lifelong achievements in energy and the promotion of international understanding.” Dr. Yergin is a director of the Council on Foreign Relations and a trustee of the Brookings Institution. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, and on the advisory boards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative and Singapore’s International Energy Advisory Board. He is a “Wise Man” of the International Gas Union and became an Adjunct Professor at the China University of Petroleum in Beijing.

Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Maksim Sokolov. Born in Leningrad on September 29, 1968. Completed his national service in the army in 1987–1989. Graduated from St. Petersburg State University Faculty of Economics in 1991. He also studied at the university’s Faculty of Law from 1989 to 1991. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Sokolov taught at the St. Petersburg State University Faculty of Economics. From 1992–1999, he was General Director of ROSSI Concern. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Sokolov was General Director of Korporatsia C. From 2004 to 2009, he served as Chairman of the Committee for Investment and Strategic Projects of St. Petersburg. In 2009, Mr. Sokolov became a member of the Government of St. Petersburg: Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade. On December 4, 2009, he was named Director of the Department of Industry and Infrastructure of the Government of the Russian Federation. On 21 May, 2012, Mr. Sokolov was appointed Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation by Presidential Executive Order No. 660. Maksim Sokolov has been awarded the Ribbon of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” 2nd class and the Governor of St. Petersburg Badge “For the Humanization of the St. Petersburg school”. He has three sons.

Masayoshi Son founded the current SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) in 1981 under the corporate philosophy and vision “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone”, first operating a PC software distribution business. SoftBank invested in Yahoo, Inc. in 1995, and in the following year established the joint venture Yahoo Japan Corporation. Over the years, Son has expanded SoftBank’s business into telecommunications and other areas. In 2006, SoftBank entered the mobile communications business through the acquisition of Vodafone K.K. In addition to the multifaceted role he has at SoftBank Group companies in Japan—including his positions as chairman of Softbank Corp., the Japan-based telecommunications operator, and director at Yahoo Japan—Son is also a director of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and chairman of the US national carrier Sprint, which became a subsidiary of SoftBank in 2013. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, Son decided to support relief efforts by donating 10 billion yen and his remaining salary as SoftBank Group Representative from 2011 until his retirement. To address the energy crisis that followed in the wake of the disaster, he founded non-governmental organizations, Renewable Energy Council and the current Renewable Energy Initiative. With the establishment of SB Energy in 2011, Son started work on creating sustainable and environmentally-conscious business models in the renewable energy sector.

Academician Vladimir E. Fortov was born on January 23, 1946. In 1968 he was graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology with honors. In 1976 he received a doctoral degree, in 1982 was awarded the title of professor. In 1987 – was elected as corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR with specialization in thermal physics of the Division of physical-technical problems of power engineering. In 1991 he was elected as full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the divisions of Physical and technical problems of power engineering and General and technical chemistry. From 1993 to 1997 V.E.Fortov – Chairman of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research , from 1996 to 1998 – Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – Minister of Science and Technology, from 1996 to 2001 – Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, from 2002 to 2013 – Head of the Department of energy, machinery, mechanics and control processes RAS, from 2013 - President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. From January 2007 academician V.E.Fortov is the Head of Joint Institute for High Temperatures RAS. V.E. Fortov is a well known scientist actively involved in the research fields of power engineering, thermal physics, strong shock and detonation waves, plasma physics and physical mechanics. V.E. Fortov belongs to the group of scientists, whose work determines the modern state of physical and engineering science. Academician Fortov was one of the first people to apply strong shock waves to a generation of intense pulses of electric currents and to also investigate the physical and chemical properties of materials under extreme pressure and temperatures. He was the first to carry out the detailed measurement of the properties of perspective working media for magneto-hydrodynamic and magnetic flux compression electric generators. His has made an unique scientific input in an entirely new field of physics, the physics of dense plasmas. Academician Fortov has made key contributions to the understanding and expanding knowledge of the basic properties of matter under extreme conditions.

Born in Switzerland in 1969, Christoph Frei became WEC’s youngest Secretary General in April 2009. Over the past three years he has lead the further development of the world-renowned London-based organisation through a number of initiatives, including the initiation of WEC’s on-going Global Energy Scenarios and Energy & Climate Policy Assessment flagship projects or, the facilitation of high-level World Energy Leaders’ Summits to enhance the relevance and impact of the 90 years old organisation. Prior to joining WEC, Christoph was a member of the Executive Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its Senior Director in charge of Energy (2001-2009). He is also an Adjunct Professor at EPFL (since 2006) and a member of WEF’s Global Agenda Council on Energy Security (since 2009). Previously he held various positions as Research Fellow and Lecturer at Swiss Federal Technical Institutes in Zurich (ETHZ), Lausanne (EPFL) and Würenlingen (PSI). Christoph received his PhD es sc. from EPFL (1997-2000). He holds a diploma in electrical engineering (ETHZ, 1989-1995) and masters in energy economics & management (EPFL, 1995-1997), econometrics (University of Geneva, 1997-2000), and applied ethics (Ethics Centre, University of Zurich, 2001-2002). During the past 10 years Christoph has initiated projects including EPFL’s Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, the South Africa based Energy Access Partnership, or the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, which in 2008 lead Ethisphere to rank him among the 100 most influential people in business ethics. Christoph’s mother tongue is (Swiss-) German, he speaks fluently French, English, some Italian and Spanish. He is married, father of three kids and when time permits plays the piano and enjoys ski-touring.

Professor Alexander Kuleshov is the President of Skolkovo Insitute of Science and Technology since February, 2016. He is an expert in information technologies and mathematical modeling. From 2006 - 2016 he was a director of the Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems (RAS). Kuleshov also has a chair at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Phystech). He is the author of numerous articles and 4 monographs, and a member of the editorial board at the journal “Problems in theory and practice of management.” Dr. Kuleshov is a member of the coordinating council for innovation and intellectual property of the Russian Academy of Science

Vasily graduated from the Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation with a major in financial management, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (master’s in political science and international relations) and Institut d`Etudes politiques de Paris with a major in international finance. Vasily is a licensed appraiser and a member of the Partnership Council and the Expert Council of the Self-Regulating Interregional Association of Appraisers (SIAA).Prior to joining KPMG in 2006, Vasily spent more than seven years working as head of the appraisal departments of major Russian appraisal companies. In 2011, Vasily was appointed a Partner of the Appraisal Group of the Corporate Finance Department at KPMG in Russia and the CIS. In 2014, Vasily was also put in charge of work with energy and utility companies in Russia and the CIS.Vasily’s main clients are companies working in the fuel and energy sector, oil and gas production enterprises, transportation and logistics companies as well as mining and construction enterprises. Throughout his work at KPMG, Vasily was involved in appraising the business and assets of major Russian and international companies and was also in charge of compiling business plans, financial, economic and technical feasibility studies, the development of financial models and other services to support corporate transactions in different industries.