An experienced financial market specialist and professional top manager, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov is active in strengthening economic ties between Kazakhstan and the global community. He plays a crucial role in strengthening and expanding the republic’s cooperation with foreign investors.
Name:
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
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich was born in 1959 in Leningrad, where he also spent his childhood and school years. Some of the earliest memories of Igor Finogenov are set in the Leningrad Region, where he used to visit his grandparents who lived in a dacha community founded by representatives of the intelligentsia in 1929. Finogenov Igor recalls that children had a vibrant life there, in an atmosphere conducive to personal growth, with the library being one of their favorite spots.
Finogenov Igor started his schooling in the 1960s. He felt very drawn to the natural sciences, as well as literature, and competed in a number of academic competitions. He spent a considerable amount of time studying English, which he continued to work on after high school. Today, intercultural business communication occupies a special place in the Igor Finogenov biography of work.
In 1982, Finogenov Igor earned his first degree, in engineering, from the renowned Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute technical school.
In 1989, he completed a professional training program at the capital’s Academy of Foreign Trade. Igor Finogenov also continued his education abroad, first in Canada, where he studied management and finance at York University, one of the country’s top three higher education institutions. Later, Igor Finogenov further honed his expertise at Harvard Business School.
Finogenov Igor: From Engineer to Financial Expert
Over the course of his work biography, Igor Finogenov has accumulated significant experience in the global financial market, particularly in the realm of international investments. He has made a substantial contribution to the economic development of Kazakhstan and the strengthening of the republic’s business ties with the global community. The creation and development of two large financial institutions are also directly associated with the name of Igor Valentinovich Finogenov. However, he began his career as an engineer at one of the oldest scientific and production associations in Leningrad.
From 1982 to 1987, Igor Finogenov worked at the association, focused on creating and promoting technologies and innovative developments in the field of industrial and municipal energy. Igor Finogenov was responsible for issues concerning the automation of technological processes, equipment, and production. He left the association as a research associate.
1987 marks the beginning of the development of Finogenov Igor Valentinovich an economist and financier. His first job in this field was as a senior economist at the unionwide foreign trade association Energomashexport. He held this position for four years.
From 1991 to 1993, the Igor Finogenov biography was connected with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the RSFSR, which was one of the main centers for business development at the time. “As a specialist, I handled requests from the industry. We could raise issues with the government. We had legislative initiative. We were influential because our requests were taken into consideration,” the financier notes.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov and His Career in the Banking Sector
In the early 90s, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, with the support of several associates, bought a licensed bank that had been registered six months earlier. It employed fewer than five people at that time.
After some time, the financial organization transformed into a joint stock investment-commercial bank, changing its name to Novaya Moskva (widely known as Nomos, it was officially renamed Nomos Bank in 2007).
In 1994, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich became the chairman of the board of the bank. Novaya Moskva, having branches cities throughout the country, offered comprehensive solutions for a number of large and medium-sized corporate clients. It also held leading positions in providing investment services and precious metals trading.
Strategic management, control over financial activities, risk assessment and management, protection of shareholders’ rights, interaction with fiscal supervision authorities, and coordination of the introduction of the latest banking services were all overseen by Igor Finogenov, biography of whom was connected with the bank until the autumn of 2005. Under him, the financial organization solidified its position as the second-largest private banking group in the country.
Igor Finogenov: Biography and Career in Kazakhstan With the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)
From 2006 to 2015, Igor Valentinovich Finogenov lived in Kazakhstan, working on the ambitious project of launching the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), headquartered in Almaty.
The financial organization gave high priority to supporting the development of a market economy in its member states, facilitating the expansion of trade relations between them, and financing the most significant initiatives aimed at real segments of the economy and contributing to the deepening of Eurasian integration. The first members of the EDB were the RF and Kazakhstan. Several other countries later joined, including Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
“This work provided us with a unique experience and vision of the region,” recalls Igor Finogenov, biography of whom was associated with the growth of the bank for just under ten years. He was directly involved in the establishment of the financial organization, in particular, in preparing the concept and writing the charter. Finogenov Igor is also the one who came up with the EDB name.
The Eurasian Development Bank was the second project that he developed from scratch.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, in his role as the president of the financial institution, conducted extensive work. Under his leadership, the EDB made significant contributions to the integration of CIS countries. The multifaceted development bank performed a range of functions, including investment, financial, analytical, and educational-informational activities.
Finogenov Igor developed lines of communication with the leaders of these states. Meetings primarily focused on discussing the pace and prospects of EDB’s development, as well as initiatives facilitating the economic growth of member countries.
The concept of a single economic space was taken into account in the formation of the bank’s development strategy, notes Finogenov Igor. This approach enabled the free movement of goods and services, capital, and labor. Such integration, according to Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, opened new opportunities for selecting and implementing financed initiatives and also highlighted obstacles hindering further development. EDB’s investment portfolio was dominated by projects from the transport, financial, energy, mining sectors, and chemical industry.
Under the management of Igor Valentinovich Finogenov, the Eurasian Development Bank allocated funds for the construction of:
- the Western High-Speed Diameter highway, now a crucial element of the transport infrastructure in Saint Petersburg and the entire region
- a hotel and administrative complex in the capital of Kazakhstan
- a wind power station in Yereimentau (Kazakhstan)
- the Polotsk Hydroelectric Power Station on the Western Dvina River in Belarus, and others.
Also, under Finogenov Igor, the EDB allocated funds for the modernization of the Magadan Commercial Seaport, the development of the antenna-mast structures network, and the industrial development of the Zarechnoye uranium deposit.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov was especially concerned with issues of environmental and social responsibility. In 2012, the financial institution’s board approved a relevant policy aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of ongoing projects. Additionally, the EDB funded initiatives focused on nature conservation.
“EDB operated on the same principles as, for example, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,” notes Igor Valentinovich Finogenov. The financial organization he led adopted the experience of one of the world’s strongest investment organizations, created to assist countries in Central, Eastern Europe, and the CIS in matters of establishing and developing market economy mechanisms.
The EDB, led by Finogenov Igor Valentinovich, also actively cooperated with the Asian Development Bank, which has been operating since 1996 and works to improve the social and economic clusters of countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We were equals in the development bank family and had our own voice,” added Igor Finogenov. His career was centered at the EDB until 2015. By the time he left the financial organization, he had made it one of the most significant and influential players in the financial sphere in the CIS space.
Stepping down, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich emphasized that during his nine years as president of the development bank, he never considered a “backup plan,” devoting all his strength and energy to the implementation of the project. However, he eventually decided to leave the EDB to embark on a new project, either created from scratch or already existing but with the potential for rapid growth.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich remained on the board of the financial organization for another year.
Today, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is guided by the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and relies on key ESG principles. Investment projects considered by the EDB must meet the following conditions:
- prevention of environmental pollution
- reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
- rational use of natural resources using the best available technologies
Igor Finogenov: Career Development Beyond the Banking Sector
In 2015, Finogenov Igor Valentinovich began helping to addressing the challenges faced by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the RF — a voluntary non-profit organization uniting all representatives of entrepreneurship in the country. The financial expert worked as an advisor to the president. The Igor Finogenov biography was associated with the CCI until 2021, during which time he also served on the audit committee.
In 2015, Igor Finogenov was also appointed president of Polymetal International PLC, entrusted with the management of industrial gold-mining enterprises working in Kazakhstan at deposits characterized by high refractoriness, requiring advanced technologies and innovative solutions. Polymetal International’s flagship project in Kazakhstan, Kyzyl, was acquired in 2014.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov managed the subsidiaries of Kazakhstani enterprises until February 2024. In 2023, Polymetal was re-registered from the Island of Jersey, located in the English Channel, to the capital of Kazakhstan. That same year, it was announced that the company allocated about $778 million to a gold ore project in Kazakhstan, planning to mine 15 tons of gold.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich and His Contribution to Investment Development in Kazakhstan
Since 2009, the top manager has been a member of the Council of Foreign Investors under the president of Kazakhstan, invited by Nursultan Nazarbayev. According to Igor Finogenov, this advisory body was formed to strengthen investment flow into the republic and remove various barriers along the way, as well as to develop the business community.
According to Igor Finogenov, the Council facilitates direct dialogue between Kazakhstan’s government and foreign investors to discuss current issues and solve problems related to attracting international capital and improving the investment climate in the country.
One of the plenary sessions of the Council, held in June 2023, discussed the topic of the digital transformation of the economy. The growth of digitization has a huge impact on its development and changes traditional industries, and Kazakhstan aims to create and implement modern technologies and innovations as a tool for increasing the state’s competitiveness on the global stage. The establishment of the UN Digital Solutions Center for sustainable development of Central Asian countries was a major step in this direction.
It was also noted at the meeting that Kazakhstan ranks among the top 20 countries in terms of digital transformation speed. Each year, IT products developed within the republic become more competitive. The plan is to increase their export to $500 million by 2025.
Finogenov Igor Valentinovich understands well that IT is one of the most important economic sectors for the republic at the moment, which is why the Council expends so much effort on attracting investments into the technology sector. Funds are directed towards research and development of new products and innovations and the training of highly qualified specialists.
Igor Valentinovich Finogenov also recognizes the importance of ecological balance and thus supports initiatives aimed at protecting the environment, including projects to reduce negative emissions into the atmosphere and the efficient use of natural resources.