Altimo
Encyclopedia
Altimo is the telecoms investment arm of Russia's Alfa Group
Consortium, controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman
. Altimo invests in Russia, the CIS
and Turkey, operating in the field of mobile and fixed-line communications. Altimo was launched in London on 1 December 2005. Before then, since 2004, Altimo was known as Alfa Telecom. Altimo is a British Virgin Islands
company. A majority of its shares are owned by CTF Holdings, a Gibraltar
limited liability company, whose sole shareholder is Crown Finance, a Liechtenstein
foundation.
Since its formation it has been involved in numerous conflicts with all its main partners in each of the four companies which form the backbone of its investments. These conflicts have resulted in what Judge Lynch of the United States District Court
, Southern District of New York
described as a "history of collusive and vexatious litigation".
, the largest Turkish mobile phone operator. At that time, the deal was the biggest cross-border purchase by a Russian company. This acquisition was the subject of considerable controversy at the time of execution since there was doubt whether the Turkish Group Cukurova was in violation of a shareholders agreement it had in place with TeliaSonera
, the other major shareholder in Turkcell. Altimo was also engaged in a dispute with TeliaSonera over MegaFon
at the time of this transaction. Other overseas investments have also enjoyed questionable success. Its recent efforts to expand into India met with a rebuff when the home ministry observed that Altimo and its parent company, Alpha, have a "tainted background".
Altimo has a track record of enhancing the performance of the companies in which it invests, such as the performance of VimpelCom, whose operating income before depreciation and amortisation tripled from 2004 to 2007.
The total market capitalization of Altimo's assets reached a high of over $30 billion, although this value had declined to somewhat less than $10 billion by December 2009. Together, Altimo's investee companies have more than 150 million mobile phone subscribers.
Altimo portrays itself as an example of Russia's emerging "new multinationals": more western-focused, open and transparent, with sound corporate governance and effective corporate management. However its actions suggest otherwise, as shown by the 19 November 2008 decision by the United States District Court, Southern District of New York which found them in contempt of court in their dispute with Telenor
over the govnance of Kyivstar
. Today, Altimo is prominent in the telecom markets of Eurasia
, with its investee companies operating in Russia, Ukraine
, Kazakhstan
, Uzbekistan
, Kyrgyzstan
, Tadjikistan, Georgia
and Turkey.
One of Altimo's stated aims is to participate in the globalisation and consolidation of telecom business by partnering with one of major Western telecom operators,however despite a number of public announcements there is little sign of this aim coming to fruition.
Founded in 1992, VimpelCom is now one of the largest wireless telecommunications service companies in Russia. It operates under the "Beeline" family of brand names, which are among the most recognised brands in Russia. In 1996, VimpelCom became the first Russian company to be listed on the NYSE. More than 10 years VimpelCom has the leading positions on Russian market in regard with professionalism and transparency. It was repeatedly recognized as a leader in the field of corporate governance and investor relations. In April 2007 Vimpelcom became one of 3 carriers to develop 3G network in Russia.
The company is expanding into other emerging markets; it is a mobile operator in Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia. The populations of the territories covered by the Vimpelcom's license portfolio is over 240 million.
In late 2007 Vimpelcom acquired the largest alternative fixed-line and broadband operator Golden Telecom. Thus Vimpelcom has become the largest telecommunication company in Russia and the CIS providing full spectrum of telecommunications services in almost all countries of the former USSR.
, which is the third largest provider of wireless telecommunications services in Russia with nearly 32 million subscribers and 20% of market share in Russia. Its license portfolio covers 143 million people, or 100% of the population of Russia. MegaFon also provides its services in Tajikistan, where its daughter TT-Mobile is the fourth-placed mobile operator. Like Vimpelcom Megafon has also become one of 3 carriers which has got national 3G license.
indirectly through Storm Company.
Kyivstar is a provider of wireless telecommunications services in Ukraine with over 22 million subscribers. The company is also licensed to operate city, long-distance, and international phone networks. Additionally, Kyivstar holds licenses to build and maintain its own fixed-line networks and to organise data transmission networks.
, which was the first company to introduce mobile communications in Turkey with its GSM services in 1994. Now it is the leading GSM operator in Turkey with over 32 million customers and a 60% market share.
The company also owns assets in Ukraine. Turkcell is the first Turkish company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE), where its shares have been traded since July 11, 2000 along with trading on the Istanbul Stock Exchange
(IMKB).
As a financial investor, Altimo's stated strategy is not to hold majority stakes in its operators, preferring strong minority positions in those companies that do not have a controlling shareholder.
Altimo focuses on projects in the emerging telecoms markets of both Eurasia and Asia, and is attracted to countries that have large populations, low mobile penetration rates, a high GDP growth rate and low competition.
Altimo has also stated that is looking to establish a strategic partnership with a top tier European GSM operator, in order to participate in the consolidation of the telecoms industry. Altimo hopes that this would create a leading alliance in mobile telephony, benefiting from the operational experience of the European partner and the emerging market investment expertise of Altimo. So far there is little sign of such a partnership reaching fruition.
Alexey Reznikovich is also a director of OAO VimpelCom; Trading House Smirnov, the Russian drinks company; A1 Group, a Russian investment company; Perekriostok Group, a Russian supermarket chain; and Russian Technologies, a venture capital fund concentrating on the development of promising Russian technology.
From December 1998 to 2000, Alexey Reznikovich was a partner at McKinsey & Co. Following this, he founded EMAX, a new business venture to develop internet centres in Russia and was a director of EMAX and of CAFEMAX, an internet cafe chain, from February 2001.
Prior to his time at McKinsey, Alexey Reznikovich worked at Procter & Gamble in Italy and Transworld in the USA.
He graduated from the Economics Faculty of the Moscow State University and received his MBA from Georgetown University in the USA and INSEAD in France.
Previously, Kirill Babaev was Head of Department for the Government of the Murmansk Region of Russia and a Vice President of MDM Group in Moscow.
Kirill Babaev graduated from the Moscow International Relations University in 2000. In 2005, he received his M.A. in Finance from the Academy of the National Economy of the Russian Federation Government, and in 2008, a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the Russian State Humanities University.
Kirill Babaev has authored a number of books in linguistics, media relations and public affairs. He is Managing Editor of the Journal of Language Relationship, a scientific periodical published in Moscow.
In 2005 Teijo Pankko was Deputy Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Financial Corporation Uralsib. Prior to that he worked at Alfa Bank as Deputy Chairman and Chief Financial Officer (2002–2005) and Head of Treasury (1998–2002).
Between 1997 and 1998 Teijo Pankko was Alfa Capital's Chief Financial Officer (1997–1998). Before that, Teijo Pankko was Chief Financial Officer of Lemminkainen Ltd (1995–1997).
Teijo graduated with Masters Degree in Economics from the Business School of Economics (Helsinki) in 1988. In 2002 he received Masters Degree in Finance from the Moscow Government Social University.
Prior to Golden Telecom, Oleg held various managerial positions in Corbina Telecom, a company he founded with his brother Alexander in 1993.
Oleg Malis graduated from the Ergonomics Faculty of the Moscow Aviation Technological Institute in 1993.
The IAB comprises the following international political and business leaders:
Sir Francis Richards, KCMG, CVO, DL, was Her Majesty's Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar from 2003 to 2006. He was previously Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham from 1998 to April 2003.
Douglas Lord Hurd serves as Vice Chairman of Hawkpoint Partners, the international corporate finance firm, and as Deputy Chairman of Coutts & Co. He served as British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1995.
Peter S. Watson is President and CEO of the Dwight Group and a Non Executive Director of the Fluor Corporation. He served as Chairman, President and CEO of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 2001-05. Prior to those appointments, Dr. Watson served as Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and at the White House as Director of Asian Affairs at the National Security Council.
Sir Julian Horn-Smith
retired as Deputy Chief Executive of Vodafone Group plc in August 2006, having served with Vodafone since 1984 and for a decade as a Board director, latterly from 2001-05 as Chief Operating Officer. He is a non executive director of Smiths Group plc and Lloyds TSB plc, and also Chairman of Sage Group plc.
Kurt Hellstroem retired as President and CEO of Ericsson in 2003, having served with the company since 1984. He is a board member of the Swedish Trade Council, European Institute of Japanese Studies, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Kineto Wireless, Sim2Travel, Spirent Communications, Far EasTone Telecommunications, VTI Technologies and Springfellow. His education includes a Master of Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Master of Management from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Jack Rosen
is the Chief Executive of Rosen Partners LLC as well as the Chairman of American Jewish Congress and Chairman of the Council for World Jewry.Mr. Rosen is very active in government and political affairs. He is long time experience of working with former US President Clinton. Under President Clinton, Mr. Rosen was a Presidential appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, as well as a member of the NASA Advisory Council. Mr. Rosen was a U.S. State Department delegate to the Organization of the American States.
The foundation is chaired by Michael Moore, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Director General of the WTO. The Foundation leads social sponsorship and research projects in the fields of culture, science, education, sport, healthcare; and business in the markets where Altimo operates or plans to establish its presence.
A proportion of the Foundation's funds are reserved for ad-hoc purposes including "grants in aid" to provide funding for projects such as emergency relief efforts in the event of natural disasters or smaller project funding in the form of "Chairman's grants" as determined from time to time by the chairman of the Foundation's Board.
Altimo has kindly agreed to absorb all administrative costs of the Foundation including, inter alia, legal and accountancy expenses, the costs of the Executive and Independent Trustees of the Foundation.
In June 2008 the foundation made a donation to the people of the Myanmar coastal province of Burma after the Hurricane Nargis passed through the Irrawaddy delta region.
international tennis and in February 2008 sponsored the fifth Royal Palace Sprint in Stockholm. The Royal Palace Sprint is a cross-country skiing competition, part of the FIS World Cup.
Vietnamese Water Puppetry - In September 2007 Altimo arranged a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppetry show is being that took place in the private gardens of Regent's College where a specially built theatre will held the 60 tonne water tank for the performers.
Mevlana exhibition – In November 2007 Altimo sponsored an exhibition dedicated to the famous medieval poet, Mevlana, whose movement was prominent in Istanbul, Turkey. The exhibition took place at the Pera Museum between November 14, 2007 and March 30, 2008. The exhibition showcased artifacts that traced the 800 year old story of Mevlana and his culture and aimed to tell the story of Mevlana Culture, its effects on people and its importance in history.
Russian ballet in Vietnam - In January 2008 the Altimo Foundation organised a gala concert of Russian ballet dancers from the Bolshoi and Stanislavski companies at the Hanoi Opera House. The performance was the Gala Performance, which consists of the most important 12 scenes of classical ballet history.
The Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project is designed to provide students from Vietnam with an opportunity to increase their level of education and employability through sponsored study. The project sponsors two Vietnamese students to study abroad at the business school INSEAD and 10 to study at the Russian technology university MTUSI in Moscow. This designed to provide successful candidates with the necessary skills to progress into a variety of careers including telecoms.
The first Altimo students started their courses in September 2008.
Altimo states that a steering committee comprising Altimo executives, representative of the Committee on Overseas Training Project of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, and the academic community will be established to oversee and advise upon the development and structure of the Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project.
The Altimo Mobile Development Index evaluates the mobile telecommunications investment opportunities represented by over 50 international markets, grouped in key regions. Results are updated every six months and were first published in April 2007.
It is a composite index designed to estimate the economic conditions of investment attractiveness of mobile telecommunications markets, and to compare most of the emerging economies on this basis. Previously Altimo believed that there was a lack of reliable instruments to measure the attractiveness and profitability of mobile telecommunications markets and to estimate macroeconomic conditions and to analyse the activities of current operators.
The index is prepared by Altimo in collaboration with Professor Alexey Goriaev of the Russian School of Economics in Moscow, and Professors Chris Higson of the London Business School
and Sean Holly
of Cambridge University.
The main objective of the project is to create a universal indicator of market attractiveness for companies and research institutions interested in investment in the emerging markets of mobile telephony.
Alfa Group
Alfa Group Consortium is one of Russia's largest privately owned investment groups, with interests in oil and gas, commercial and investment banking, asset management, insurance, retail trade, telecommunications, water utilities and special situation investments...
Consortium, controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman
Mikhail Fridman
Mikhail Maratovich Fridman is a Jewish Russian businessman. Mr. Fridman graduated from Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys in 1986. In 1988 Fridman started his career in trading and financial services before founding Alfa Group Consortium in 1989...
. Altimo invests in Russia, the CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
and Turkey, operating in the field of mobile and fixed-line communications. Altimo was launched in London on 1 December 2005. Before then, since 2004, Altimo was known as Alfa Telecom. Altimo is a British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
company. A majority of its shares are owned by CTF Holdings, a Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
limited liability company, whose sole shareholder is Crown Finance, a Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
foundation.
Since its formation it has been involved in numerous conflicts with all its main partners in each of the four companies which form the backbone of its investments. These conflicts have resulted in what Judge Lynch of the United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
, Southern District of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
described as a "history of collusive and vexatious litigation".
History
In June 2005, a new management team led by Alexey Reznikovich developed a new strategy and vision for the company. This new vision was to look for investments outside the borders of the former Soviet Union and to become recognised as a leading emerging markets telecoms investor. A first step in this strategy, in November 2005, was the acquisition of a 13.2% stake in TurkcellTurkcell
Turkcell is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. The company has 34.1 million subscribers as of June 30th, 2011.- Company background :...
, the largest Turkish mobile phone operator. At that time, the deal was the biggest cross-border purchase by a Russian company. This acquisition was the subject of considerable controversy at the time of execution since there was doubt whether the Turkish Group Cukurova was in violation of a shareholders agreement it had in place with TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
, the other major shareholder in Turkcell. Altimo was also engaged in a dispute with TeliaSonera over MegaFon
MegaFon
MegaFon ,previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator in Russia. It works in the GSM and UMTS standard. Its main competitors are Bee Line GSM and Mobile TeleSystems ....
at the time of this transaction. Other overseas investments have also enjoyed questionable success. Its recent efforts to expand into India met with a rebuff when the home ministry observed that Altimo and its parent company, Alpha, have a "tainted background".
Altimo has a track record of enhancing the performance of the companies in which it invests, such as the performance of VimpelCom, whose operating income before depreciation and amortisation tripled from 2004 to 2007.
The total market capitalization of Altimo's assets reached a high of over $30 billion, although this value had declined to somewhat less than $10 billion by December 2009. Together, Altimo's investee companies have more than 150 million mobile phone subscribers.
Altimo portrays itself as an example of Russia's emerging "new multinationals": more western-focused, open and transparent, with sound corporate governance and effective corporate management. However its actions suggest otherwise, as shown by the 19 November 2008 decision by the United States District Court, Southern District of New York which found them in contempt of court in their dispute with Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
over the govnance of Kyivstar
Kyivstar
Kyivstar is the largest mobile phone operator in Ukraine, serving 24,944,592 subscribers as of October 2010. Kyivstar's wireless network operates using the GSM standard and provides coverage accessible by approximately 99% of the Ukrainian population....
. Today, Altimo is prominent in the telecom markets of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, with its investee companies operating in Russia, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Tadjikistan, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Turkey.
One of Altimo's stated aims is to participate in the globalisation and consolidation of telecom business by partnering with one of major Western telecom operators,however despite a number of public announcements there is little sign of this aim coming to fruition.
VimpelCom
Altimo holds 34% of VimpelCom's common shares and 6.4 million preferred shares, which give it 44% of voting shares.Founded in 1992, VimpelCom is now one of the largest wireless telecommunications service companies in Russia. It operates under the "Beeline" family of brand names, which are among the most recognised brands in Russia. In 1996, VimpelCom became the first Russian company to be listed on the NYSE. More than 10 years VimpelCom has the leading positions on Russian market in regard with professionalism and transparency. It was repeatedly recognized as a leader in the field of corporate governance and investor relations. In April 2007 Vimpelcom became one of 3 carriers to develop 3G network in Russia.
The company is expanding into other emerging markets; it is a mobile operator in Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia. The populations of the territories covered by the Vimpelcom's license portfolio is over 240 million.
In late 2007 Vimpelcom acquired the largest alternative fixed-line and broadband operator Golden Telecom. Thus Vimpelcom has become the largest telecommunication company in Russia and the CIS providing full spectrum of telecommunications services in almost all countries of the former USSR.
MegaFon
Altimo owns 25.1% of MegaFonMegaFon
MegaFon ,previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator in Russia. It works in the GSM and UMTS standard. Its main competitors are Bee Line GSM and Mobile TeleSystems ....
, which is the third largest provider of wireless telecommunications services in Russia with nearly 32 million subscribers and 20% of market share in Russia. Its license portfolio covers 143 million people, or 100% of the population of Russia. MegaFon also provides its services in Tajikistan, where its daughter TT-Mobile is the fourth-placed mobile operator. Like Vimpelcom Megafon has also become one of 3 carriers which has got national 3G license.
Kyivstar
Altimo owns 43.5% of KyivstarKyivstar
Kyivstar is the largest mobile phone operator in Ukraine, serving 24,944,592 subscribers as of October 2010. Kyivstar's wireless network operates using the GSM standard and provides coverage accessible by approximately 99% of the Ukrainian population....
indirectly through Storm Company.
Kyivstar is a provider of wireless telecommunications services in Ukraine with over 22 million subscribers. The company is also licensed to operate city, long-distance, and international phone networks. Additionally, Kyivstar holds licenses to build and maintain its own fixed-line networks and to organise data transmission networks.
Turkcell
Altimo owns 6.6% of TurkcellTurkcell
Turkcell is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. The company has 34.1 million subscribers as of June 30th, 2011.- Company background :...
, which was the first company to introduce mobile communications in Turkey with its GSM services in 1994. Now it is the leading GSM operator in Turkey with over 32 million customers and a 60% market share.
The company also owns assets in Ukraine. Turkcell is the first Turkish company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
(NYSE), where its shares have been traded since July 11, 2000 along with trading on the Istanbul Stock Exchange
Istanbul Stock Exchange
The Istanbul Stock Exchange is the only corporation in Turkey for securities exchange established to provide trading in equities, bonds and bills, revenue-sharing certificates, private sector bonds, foreign securities and real estate certificates as well as international securities. The ISE was...
(IMKB).
Strategy
Altimo stated strategy is to invest in telecommunications companies that have the potential to become one of the top three providers in their home market.As a financial investor, Altimo's stated strategy is not to hold majority stakes in its operators, preferring strong minority positions in those companies that do not have a controlling shareholder.
Altimo focuses on projects in the emerging telecoms markets of both Eurasia and Asia, and is attracted to countries that have large populations, low mobile penetration rates, a high GDP growth rate and low competition.
Altimo has also stated that is looking to establish a strategic partnership with a top tier European GSM operator, in order to participate in the consolidation of the telecoms industry. Altimo hopes that this would create a leading alliance in mobile telephony, benefiting from the operational experience of the European partner and the emerging market investment expertise of Altimo. So far there is little sign of such a partnership reaching fruition.
Chief Executive Officer
Alexey Reznikovich has been Altimo's CEO since June 2005. He has been a director of Alfa Group since 2002, with overall responsibility for business development and management supervision of Altimo's assets.Alexey Reznikovich is also a director of OAO VimpelCom; Trading House Smirnov, the Russian drinks company; A1 Group, a Russian investment company; Perekriostok Group, a Russian supermarket chain; and Russian Technologies, a venture capital fund concentrating on the development of promising Russian technology.
From December 1998 to 2000, Alexey Reznikovich was a partner at McKinsey & Co. Following this, he founded EMAX, a new business venture to develop internet centres in Russia and was a director of EMAX and of CAFEMAX, an internet cafe chain, from February 2001.
Prior to his time at McKinsey, Alexey Reznikovich worked at Procter & Gamble in Italy and Transworld in the USA.
He graduated from the Economics Faculty of the Moscow State University and received his MBA from Georgetown University in the USA and INSEAD in France.
Senior Vice President
Kirill Babaev joined Alfa Group in 2004. He heads Altimo's international communications strategy and implementation.Previously, Kirill Babaev was Head of Department for the Government of the Murmansk Region of Russia and a Vice President of MDM Group in Moscow.
Kirill Babaev graduated from the Moscow International Relations University in 2000. In 2005, he received his M.A. in Finance from the Academy of the National Economy of the Russian Federation Government, and in 2008, a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the Russian State Humanities University.
Kirill Babaev has authored a number of books in linguistics, media relations and public affairs. He is Managing Editor of the Journal of Language Relationship, a scientific periodical published in Moscow.
Chief Financial Officer
Teijo Pankko joined Altimo in 2006. His responsibilities as Chief Financial Officer cover strategy and planning, finance, management reporting and accounting.In 2005 Teijo Pankko was Deputy Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Financial Corporation Uralsib. Prior to that he worked at Alfa Bank as Deputy Chairman and Chief Financial Officer (2002–2005) and Head of Treasury (1998–2002).
Between 1997 and 1998 Teijo Pankko was Alfa Capital's Chief Financial Officer (1997–1998). Before that, Teijo Pankko was Chief Financial Officer of Lemminkainen Ltd (1995–1997).
Teijo graduated with Masters Degree in Economics from the Business School of Economics (Helsinki) in 1988. In 2002 he received Masters Degree in Finance from the Moscow Government Social University.
Senior Vice-President
Oleg Malis joined Altimo in 2005 as Senior Vice President in charge of Asset Management. Oleg was a Senior Vice-President and Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Golden Telecom since 2000.Prior to Golden Telecom, Oleg held various managerial positions in Corbina Telecom, a company he founded with his brother Alexander in 1993.
Oleg Malis graduated from the Ergonomics Faculty of the Moscow Aviation Technological Institute in 1993.
Others
Altimo's executive team also includes:- Andrei Zemnitsky - Vice President responsible for business development
- Yuri Musatov - Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
- Alexey Khudyakov – Vice President responsible for managing existing investments
- Mustafa Kiral - Vice-president responsible for European M&A
International Advisory Board
Altimo's International Advisory Board (IAB), is a non-executive consultative group which advises the Altimo board and management on the strategic issues of the company's global development.The IAB comprises the following international political and business leaders:
Sir Francis Richards, KCMG, CVO, DL, was Her Majesty's Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar from 2003 to 2006. He was previously Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham from 1998 to April 2003.
Douglas Lord Hurd serves as Vice Chairman of Hawkpoint Partners, the international corporate finance firm, and as Deputy Chairman of Coutts & Co. He served as British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1995.
Peter S. Watson is President and CEO of the Dwight Group and a Non Executive Director of the Fluor Corporation. He served as Chairman, President and CEO of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 2001-05. Prior to those appointments, Dr. Watson served as Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and at the White House as Director of Asian Affairs at the National Security Council.
Sir Julian Horn-Smith
Julian Horn-Smith
Sir Julian Horn-Smith is a British businessman who is a member of the boards of a number of international corporations. He was formally Deputy Chief Executive of Vodafone Group Plc until July 2006....
retired as Deputy Chief Executive of Vodafone Group plc in August 2006, having served with Vodafone since 1984 and for a decade as a Board director, latterly from 2001-05 as Chief Operating Officer. He is a non executive director of Smiths Group plc and Lloyds TSB plc, and also Chairman of Sage Group plc.
Kurt Hellstroem retired as President and CEO of Ericsson in 2003, having served with the company since 1984. He is a board member of the Swedish Trade Council, European Institute of Japanese Studies, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Kineto Wireless, Sim2Travel, Spirent Communications, Far EasTone Telecommunications, VTI Technologies and Springfellow. His education includes a Master of Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Master of Management from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Jack Rosen
Jack Rosen
Jack Rosen is chairman of the American Jewish Congress. He is chief executive of a New York law firm, Rosen Partners.Rosen has advocated for Jewish causes and received appointments by US presidents from both parties...
is the Chief Executive of Rosen Partners LLC as well as the Chairman of American Jewish Congress and Chairman of the Council for World Jewry.Mr. Rosen is very active in government and political affairs. He is long time experience of working with former US President Clinton. Under President Clinton, Mr. Rosen was a Presidential appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, as well as a member of the NASA Advisory Council. Mr. Rosen was a U.S. State Department delegate to the Organization of the American States.
Purpose
The Altimo Foundation is an independent non-profit organisation created to act globally on Altimo's behalf in the fields of science, technology, education, and culture. The mission of the foundation is to promote interaction and communication of values and cultures between the West and the East with a commitment to supporting social cohesion and business expertise within developing economies.The foundation is chaired by Michael Moore, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Director General of the WTO. The Foundation leads social sponsorship and research projects in the fields of culture, science, education, sport, healthcare; and business in the markets where Altimo operates or plans to establish its presence.
Funding
Altimo provides funding of approximately $5 million per year, equivalent to disbursements from a capital fund of $50m+ over the same period. Altimo states that this policy may be subject to change from time to time with the agreement of the Executive and Council members of the Foundation.A proportion of the Foundation's funds are reserved for ad-hoc purposes including "grants in aid" to provide funding for projects such as emergency relief efforts in the event of natural disasters or smaller project funding in the form of "Chairman's grants" as determined from time to time by the chairman of the Foundation's Board.
Altimo has kindly agreed to absorb all administrative costs of the Foundation including, inter alia, legal and accountancy expenses, the costs of the Executive and Independent Trustees of the Foundation.
Charitable donations
In October 2007 the Altimo Foundation made a VND 164,000,000 donation to Vietnam Red Cross to support families affected by Typhoon Lekima in Vietnam's central provinces. Altimo's donation to the Vietnamese Red Cross was used to purchase essential relief supplies to support those affected by the typhoon and help them rebuild their lives.In June 2008 the foundation made a donation to the people of the Myanmar coastal province of Burma after the Hurricane Nargis passed through the Irrawaddy delta region.
Sport
Altimo was an Official Sponsor of the 2007 Stockholm Open2007 Stockholm Open
The 2007 If Stockholm Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the event known that year as the If Stockholm Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden, from...
international tennis and in February 2008 sponsored the fifth Royal Palace Sprint in Stockholm. The Royal Palace Sprint is a cross-country skiing competition, part of the FIS World Cup.
Arts
Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm - In August 2007, Altimo hosted a reception in connection with the opening concert of the fifth annual Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm. Among the guests attending the concert and reception were Swedish business people and representatives of the diplomatic corps.Vietnamese Water Puppetry - In September 2007 Altimo arranged a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppetry show is being that took place in the private gardens of Regent's College where a specially built theatre will held the 60 tonne water tank for the performers.
Mevlana exhibition – In November 2007 Altimo sponsored an exhibition dedicated to the famous medieval poet, Mevlana, whose movement was prominent in Istanbul, Turkey. The exhibition took place at the Pera Museum between November 14, 2007 and March 30, 2008. The exhibition showcased artifacts that traced the 800 year old story of Mevlana and his culture and aimed to tell the story of Mevlana Culture, its effects on people and its importance in history.
Russian ballet in Vietnam - In January 2008 the Altimo Foundation organised a gala concert of Russian ballet dancers from the Bolshoi and Stanislavski companies at the Hanoi Opera House. The performance was the Gala Performance, which consists of the most important 12 scenes of classical ballet history.
Education
The Altimo Vietnam Scholarship ProjectThe Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project is designed to provide students from Vietnam with an opportunity to increase their level of education and employability through sponsored study. The project sponsors two Vietnamese students to study abroad at the business school INSEAD and 10 to study at the Russian technology university MTUSI in Moscow. This designed to provide successful candidates with the necessary skills to progress into a variety of careers including telecoms.
The first Altimo students started their courses in September 2008.
Altimo states that a steering committee comprising Altimo executives, representative of the Committee on Overseas Training Project of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, and the academic community will be established to oversee and advise upon the development and structure of the Altimo Vietnam Scholarship Project.
Altimo Index
Source: altimofoundation.orgThe Altimo Mobile Development Index evaluates the mobile telecommunications investment opportunities represented by over 50 international markets, grouped in key regions. Results are updated every six months and were first published in April 2007.
It is a composite index designed to estimate the economic conditions of investment attractiveness of mobile telecommunications markets, and to compare most of the emerging economies on this basis. Previously Altimo believed that there was a lack of reliable instruments to measure the attractiveness and profitability of mobile telecommunications markets and to estimate macroeconomic conditions and to analyse the activities of current operators.
The index is prepared by Altimo in collaboration with Professor Alexey Goriaev of the Russian School of Economics in Moscow, and Professors Chris Higson of the London Business School
London Business School
London Business School is an international business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located in central London, beside Regent's Park...
and Sean Holly
Sean Holly
Sean Holly is an economist currently working at the University of Cambridge . He previously held a Professorship at the University of Sheffield. He is the Dean of Fitzwilliam College...
of Cambridge University.
The main objective of the project is to create a universal indicator of market attractiveness for companies and research institutions interested in investment in the emerging markets of mobile telephony.