Aven Petr Olegovich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alfa-Bank banking group. Supervisory Board Peter Aven state

President of Alfa Bank

President and co-owner of Alfa Bank since 1994. Member of the supervisory board of directors of the Alfa Group consortium, co-chairman of the board of directors of the STS Media company, chairman of the boards of directors of the Golden Telecom holding company and the AlfaStrakhovanie OJSC company. Previously, he held the positions of General Director of the Peter Aven Finance company (1993-1994), Advisor to the President of LogoVAZ JSC (1992-1993), Minister of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation (1992), Chairman of the Foreign Economic Relations Committee and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation ( 1991-1992). Member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs since 2006, head of the Russian-Latvian Business Council since 2007. Candidate of Economic Sciences, Professor at the State University - Higher School of Economics.

Petr Olegovich Aven was born on March 16, 1955 in Moscow in the family of Oleg Ivanovich Aven, an employee of the Institute of Automation and Telemechanics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, who later became a teacher at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow State University (MSU) and a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Aven’s grandfather was also mentioned in the media - a Latvian shooter who was shot in the 1930s during the repressions, , , , . Among Aven’s childhood friends, Valentin Yumashev was mentioned, in the future - the head of the Russian Presidential Administration and son-in-law of Boris Yeltsin.

In 1972, Aven graduated from Moscow school No. 2, which was mentioned in the media as “a kind of nursery for geniuses at the Physics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University.” It was also noted that he was the president of the school music club and already in those years made numerous acquaintances in the musical environment.

In 1977, Aven graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University. He defended his diploma at the department of mathematical methods of economic analysis under the guidance of the famous economist Stanislav Shatalin. In 1980, Aven graduated from graduate school at Moscow State University (in graduate school he studied with the future “young reformer” Yegor Gaidar) and defended his dissertation, receiving the academic degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences (specialty in econometrics). Information was published in the media about Aven as the president of the Moscow State University Music Club: it was reported that in this role, while still a student, he met his future business partner Mikhail Fridman, who in those years was the head of the informal youth club "Strawberry Glade".

In 1981-1988, Aven was a junior and senior researcher at the All-Russian Research Institute for System Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1989, he went to work under a contract in the Austrian city of Laxenburg, becoming a researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, a position he held until 1991. According to some information, at the same time, Aven was also an adviser to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the fall of 1991, Aven became part of the “government of reforms” headed by Gaidar, taking the posts of chairman of the Committee on Foreign Economic Relations (KFER), and, at the same time, first deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozyrev. Claims were published that during this period of his activity, Aven, “being in control of the situation and possessing classified insider information,” allegedly carried out a number of transactions with the debts of the USSR and “enriched himself enormously.” In 1992, Aven headed the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation, created in the country. At the same time, he also became the representative of Russian President Yeltsin for relations with industrialized countries. Information appeared in the press that, as an official, Aven “did not hesitate to accept commissions and even expensive gifts for assisting foreign companies and Russian enterprises in concluding and implementing foreign trade transactions,” but no official charges of corruption were brought against him. Aven's achievements as head of the ministry were cited as successes in his negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors, which was then headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, when the Russian minister managed to achieve a “significant softening of positions” on the payment of Russian debts. However, in December 1992, Aven, following Gaidar, resigned from his government post, not seeing for himself “an opportunity to work in the government of Viktor Chernomyrdin.” In the same month, he became an adviser to the president of LogoVAZ JSC Boris Berezovsky and held this position until the end of February 1993 (it was noted that in the past the scientific supervisor of Berezovsky’s graduate student was Oleg Aven). Information was published that Aven allegedly played an important role in lobbying a decision beneficial to LogoVAZ to sharply increase customs duties on imported cars , , , , , , , .

In 1993, Aven created and headed the company “Finance of Peter Aven” (“FinPA”). This structure, which provided advice primarily on securities transactions, did not buy anything. “I can give advice, but I have no capital. FinPA is a company without capital,” said Aven. Information was also published that turning to the company’s services was, rather, “a way to legalize yourself in a new capacity and declare yourself.” Aven himself, commenting on his decision to engage in consulting, stated: “I know the mechanisms of decision-making in the government and I do not hide it.”

In the spring of 1993, in his own words, representatives of OJSC AKB Alfa Bank, founded by Fridman, came to Avena. “At first I advised them, they bought and paid me money for consultations. Then, gradually, I began to work closely with them,” said Aven in 1994. In December 1993, he was elected to the State Duma on the list of the "Gaidar" bloc "Russia's Choice". However, even before the start of parliament, Aven refused his deputy mandate, not wanting to leave the post of general director of FinPA.

In 1994, Aven transferred 50 percent of the shares of FinPA to Alfa Bank, receiving in return 10 percent of the bank's shares. In the same year, he took the post of president of Alfa Bank (the media wrote that this position was created “especially for Avena”), while Friedman remained chairman of the bank’s board of directors. According to some experts, Aven soon proved that “he is the one who deserves to determine the bank’s strategy” , , , , , , .

After Aven joined Alfa Group, the holding significantly strengthened its position. According to analysts, he succeeded, first of all, thanks to the successful overcoming of the August 1998 crisis. In particular, it was noted that Alfa Bank turned out to be “almost the only bank at the height of the crisis that continued to pay off its obligations and pay money to private depositors.”

In May 1998, Aven became a member of the board of directors of Aviakor OJSC. In June of the same year, he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the television holding CJSC Alfa-TV, and in November he took the post of chairman of the board of directors of CJSC Network of Television Stations (STS). After Alfa Group acquired 43.6 percent of the shares of the Golden Telecom holding in May 2001, Aven was elected chairman of its board of directors. In July 2002, the banker joined the board of directors of STS Media, and in December 2003 he became co-chairman of its board of directors (as of 2009, Alfa Group owned 26.1 percent of the shares of the media company). Aven did not lose his post even after Alfa Group sold its stake in the STS Media holding in June 2011. At the same time, the banker personally became a shareholder of the company, purchasing 150.6 thousand shares for $3 million. In November 2011, Aven acquired another 163.8 thousand shares of STS Media for $1.6 million, as a result of which his share in the holding approached two-tenths of a percent, , , .

In October 2004, Institutional Investor magazine named Aven the best manager in the financial services sector in Russia, and in April 2005, for his labor successes and many years of diligent work, Aven was awarded the Order of Honor by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. In April 2006, the banker joined the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. According to the RSPP website, he remained a member of the board in 2009, serving as chairman of the board of directors of AlfaStrakhovanie OJSC (Aven was delegated to the board of directors of the insurance company in 2007).

In 2006, Aven identified himself as the owner of 14 percent of Alfa Bank shares. He was mentioned in the media as the fourth most important member of the supervisory board of directors of the Alfa Group consortium after Friedman, chairman of the board of directors of the Alfa-Eco group Alexey Kuzmichev, as well as executive director and member of the board of TNK-BP Management OJSC German Khan. . In 2009, talking about the business structure of Alfa Group, Vedomosti reported that 100 percent of the shares of Russian and Ukrainian Alfa Banks belong to the ABH Holdings Corp. holding. .

Aven, by his own admission “half Latvian,” has been a member of the board of directors of Latvijas Balzams (the largest Latvian producer of alcoholic beverages) since July 2002, and since 2007 he has headed the Russian-Latvian Business Council (council of entrepreneurs). He did not hide the fact that he had certain financial interests in Latvia, , , . In February 2009, the press published the words of Alexander Gafin, adviser to the chairman of the board of Alfa Bank, about Aven’s readiness to head the Latvian government if such a proposal was received by the banker. Aven denied Gafin’s report, calling his statement a bad joke. It was noted that what happened served as the basis for Gafin’s dismissal from Alfa Bank.

Aven is one of the richest inhabitants of the planet. In the Forbes magazine ranking published in March 2008, he was ranked 178th, and his fortune was estimated at $5.5 billion.

Aven was mentioned in the press as the author of numerous articles, books on econometrics and problems of reforming Russian agriculture. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Russian School of Economics, and a professor at the State University - Higher School of Economics, where he conducts the seminar "Features of interaction between business and government in Russia."

Aven is known as an art connoisseur and philanthropist. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Bolshoi Theater, a famous collector - a collector of paintings by artists of the "Silver Age". The banker, according to media reports, is a good skier and tennis player, loves to hunt and attends the Moscow English Club. “He is a little ashamed to show his wealth in a poor country and deliberately limits himself,” the magazine “Faces” wrote about him in 2003.

Aven is fluent in English, reads and can communicate in Spanish. Aven and his wife Elena, a historian by profession, have twin children - daughter Daria and son Denis.

Peter Aven was born into a family that belonged to the scientific nomenklatura elite. Thus, his father was a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences and a teacher at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, and his mother was also a university teacher. Aven also had Latvian roots. His grandfather was a Latvian rifleman during the revolution, and in the 1930s he fell victim to repression.

Petr Aven studied at one of the strongest mathematical secondary educational institutions of the Union - school No. 2. Some compared the graduates of this “thieves” school to the “Tsarskoye Selo Brotherhood”, and others to the Masonic lodge. This educational institution had close ties with the Physics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. When Peter Aven became an applicant, he chose the first university.

True, unlike his classmates, Petr Aven did not enter the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, but the Faculty of Economics. The young man was helped to make this decision by his father, who during these years not only taught at Moscow State University, but also headed a department at the Institute of Management Problems, where he worked on industrial electronics and computer technology. He was sure that this direction was the future, which is why he advised his son to take up mathematical methods of economic analysis.

Peter Aven and dating

During his student years, Petr Aven led a music club, where he made acquaintances with the creative part of Soviet youth, including future stars Stas Namin and Alexander Gradsky. This environment was very specific and free-thinking. Moreover, it was there that the consumer drug market was formed. Therefore, during these years, Peter Aven came to the attention of not only law enforcement agencies, but also criminal elements. At the same time, he met his future business partner, who in those years headed another informal youth club called “Strawberry Glade”. Friedman’s activities could also be called very dubious; it was rumored that it was associated with “farming” and speculation.

Peter Aven also had other acquaintances, which later turned out to be fateful. The student communicated with the future head of the Presidential Administration and son-in-law of the first President of the Russian Federation, Valentin Yumashev, who was studying at a parallel course at the Faculty of Journalism. After graduating from university, Pyotr Olegovich Aven studied in graduate school together with the future “young reformer” Yegor Gaidar.

Petr Aven defended his dissertation at the department of academician Stanislav Shatalin. Then, together with the same Gaidar, he worked at the All-Russian Research Institute of System Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences. With him, he also participated in the famous economic seminar in the Leningrad region, which took place in a place with the telling name Snake Hill. Here he had the honor of meeting other future arbiters of the country's destiny.

In the late 1980s, Pyotr Olegovich Aven, having become a research fellow at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, worked in Austria, where at that time many economists from the Snake Hill were undergoing internships under the US State Department program. Petr Aven communicated closely with his colleagues, in particular, he established a close relationship with Sergei Glazyev.

Career of Peter Aven

In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, his friends, led by Yegor Gaidar, took important positions in the government, and Pyotr Olegovich Aven was offered the post of chairman of the Committee for Foreign Economic Relations, which he did not refuse. Soon the Committee was transformed into the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations (MFER).

Peter Aven worked in this position for about a year. In such a short period of time, he managed to stand out only through successful negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors, achieving a softening of the conditions for paying off debts. Versions about the reasons for his departure vary. He himself claims that he did not accept Gaidar’s resignation, and was categorically against working under the leadership of Viktor Chernomyrdin.

However, it was rumored that Petr Aven, heading KVES and using insider information, carried out a number of transactions that enriched him. It was also alleged that while in the ministerial chair, Pyotr Olegovich Aven took “commissions” and even “expensive gifts” for assistance in foreign trade transactions, in particular for organizing the supply of meat, sugar and other food products to Russia. At the same time, he allegedly, through Russian emigrant Sergei Mazharov, who lived in France, organized an entire business, the profits from which went to accounts in the Cayman Islands. After Peter Aven left the Government, Mazharov was killed in Paris. Another entrepreneur who was assisted by Pyotr Olegovich was Mikhail Fridman, who, thanks to his acquaintance with the minister, purchased goods in India at the expense of government debts.

It was also alleged that Russian intelligence services became interested in Peter Aven in connection with thefts in the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, his connections with Israeli intelligence, as well as the organization of drug transit from Southeast Asia to Europe. In addition, there was information that he, together with another minister Alexander Shokhin, was being developed by the American intelligence services for fraud with the Tanzanian debt to the USSR. Allegedly, all this information was reported to the then President Boris Yeltsin, who dismissed Pyotr Olegovich Aven. True, the ex-minister himself successfully challenged this information in court.

Finances of Peter Aven

One of Peter Aven’s largest clients in those years became. Boris Abramovich once worked together with Aven Sr. at one of the institutes of the Academy of Sciences, but now Pyotr Olegovich Aven not only advised the oligarch, but became his personal adviser. His tasks included lobbying the interests of Berezovsky’s enterprise “” in the Government. Thanks to his efforts, customs duties on imported cars were increased, which was beneficial to the “distributors” of the VAZ concern.

The company’s business was so successful that it even had enough money to take part in financing Gaidar’s election bloc “Choice of Russia.” On December 12, 1993, Peter Aven himself was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the list of the Gaidar bloc. However, before the start of the Duma’s work, he refused the mandate, not wanting to leave the post of General Director of the FinPA.

Peter Aven and Mikhail Fridman

In the end, the enterprising Mikhail Fridman decided to get a “valuable personnel” with a powerful administrative resource at his complete disposal. In order to attract Peter Aven to Alfa-Bank, Fridman even created the position of president, which he offered to his business partner. Pyotr Olegovich Aven agreed, and both entrepreneurs exchanged their assets. Petr Aven transferred 50% of FinPA to Fridman, and he, in turn, gave him 10% of Alfa-Bank.

Since then, Petr Aven has also joined the board of directors of Aviakor OJSC and headed the board of directors of the television holding company Alfa-TV CJSC. Mikhail Maratovich was right with the shot - soon his companion received insider information about the impending collapse of the ruble, which allowed Alfa to make good money on Black Tuesday.

In the second half of the 1990s, Petr Aven, together with Fridman, began to develop the oil market. Having set his sights on the state-owned stake in the Yukos oil company put up for auction, Pyotr Olegovich Aven, as usual, relied on his useful contacts, but was faced with more powerful lobbying activities conducted by Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Menatep company. Menatep, in particular, became the authorized bank of the State Property Committee of the Russian Federation to conduct an investment competition. Alfa-Bank, in turn, expressed its fears that the results of the competition were already predetermined, and in order to somehow resist Menatep, it formed a consortium with Inkombank and Russian Credit. But Menatep simply rejected the consortium's application. Menatep won the fight for Yukos assets, after which Pyotr Aven developed very strained relations with Khodorkovsky.

Peter Aven and oil

From YUKOS, business partners switched to the Tyumen Oil Company (TNK). They began buying shares of the company in 1997 through the New Holding company, which represented the interests of the Alfa Bank CIB. Petr Aven contacted the chairman of the State Property Committee, Alfred Koch, who helped New Holding win the competition, and the price of the shares was significantly underestimated - a 40% stake was sold for only $25 million, which was significantly lower than market prices. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of TNK and the General Director of the largest producing enterprise of TNK Nizhnevartovskneftegaz, Viktor Paliy, signaled this to the President. At the same time, he argued that with the arrival of new owners, multi-billion dollar profits from oil production would go abroad.

Koch again came to the aid of Alpha with another old acquaintance, then First Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais, who helped ensure that the board of directors did not vote for the appointment of Paliya to the post of general director of TNK. Otherwise, government officials threatened to bankrupt the company.

Despite everything, Tyumen oil workers began to send new signals to the government that after the arrival of new owners, Nizhnevartovskneftegaz suffered damage in the amount of $1.4 million and more than 56 billion rubles in just one month. The letter was accompanied by documents confirming the information, and even a letter from the Prosecutor General. The Prime Minister did not react to this information in any way.

But Aven managed, through another first deputy prime minister, Boris Nemtsov, to influence the Ministry of Fuel and Energy, which actually transferred Nizhnevartovskneftegaz to Alpha. After this, a decision was made at the general meetings of TNK on the early termination of the duties of all members of the board of directors of Nizhnevartovskneftegaz. Tyumen oil workers filed a lawsuit against this decision and even won it, but the management of Alfa Group presented a fictitious decision of the court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, canceling the first decision.

Peter Aven and Tolstoy's dacha

Around the same time, Koch also provided a personal service to Pyotr Olegovich Aven, helping him with the purchase of the famous dacha of the writer Alexei Tolstoy in Barvikha. For this purchase, the businessman paid a little more than 200 thousand dollars, while the land alone in the presidential Barvikha area cost at least 15 thousand dollars per 100 square meters. m. Thus, the Presidential Administration earned 200 thousand dollars per year just by renting out mansions in Barvikha.

True, Peter Aven himself claimed that he paid 800 thousand dollars. But when the tax service began to check this information, it turned out that the transaction was formalized as an investment contribution, and all payments were carried out through Alfa-Bank. In a word, it was about transferring money from one pocket to another.

It should be noted that the publication “Top Secret” wrote about Alexei Tolstoy’s dacha. In those years, the newspaper often criticized Peter Aven. After one of these articles, the businessman won almost a million dollars in a lawsuit against the publication, but took pity and cooperated with Borovik’s widow (the editor himself had already died by this time), after which Sovershenno Sekretno began to publish only laudatory articles about Pyotr Olegovich Aven .

Peter Aven and change of Government

With the advent of the 2000s, political reality began to change in Russia. Initially, Petr Aven believed that his lobbying capabilities would not weaken, since Vladimir Putin, whom he knew, with whom he interacted when he was Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, became President. In addition, the former representative of Alfa Group, Vladislav Surkov, strengthened his position in the Kremlin. The politicians of the nineties were in no hurry to leave their homes, although many had to significantly give up their positions. However, not only new influential players appeared in business and in power, but also different rules of the game. In this regard, Pyotr Olegovich Aven could no longer kick open the doors to government offices, but was forced to knock on them, and not always successfully.

But this kind of change did not mean at all that Alfa Group began to have problems with business. The holding continued to have serious patrons and expanded its business, and, as stated, it did so at the expense of. In particular, Alfa Group allegedly absorbed through bankruptcy such enterprises as the West Siberian Metallurgical Plant, the Smirnov Trading House, the Volga and Kama pulp and paper mills, the SUN Interbrew beer company and even the mobile operator " Megaphone".

In 2006, the IPOC Foundation filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against the structures of Alfa Group, including Peter Aven. Representatives of the fund stated that they acquired 100% of the shares of the Bahamian company Transcontinental Mobile Investment, which, through CT-Mobile, owned 25.1% of Megafon, but despite this, control over the assets was established by the structures of Friedman and Aven. There was also information that Alfa Group had seized the Achinsk Alumina Refinery, which was facilitated by then-Senator Gleb Fetisov.

The affairs of Pyotr Olegovich Aven himself also moved forward. He was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Golden Telecom holding, 43.6% of whose shares were acquired by Alfa Group. He was also co-chairman of the board of directors of STS Media.

In 2004, Institutional Investor magazine named Aven the best manager in the financial services sector in Russia, and in 2006 he joined the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. In addition, in 2009, being half Latvian, he joined the board of directors of Latvijas Balzams. At the same time, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Alfa Bank, Alexander Gafin, announced Peter Aven’s readiness to head the government of Latvia, which the businessman himself called an unfortunate joke.

In general, Pyotr Olegovich Aven appeared less and less in the press. A rare case when the media circulated his name at the end of the 2000s was associated with Alfa Bank’s refusal to grant Oleg Deripaska’s company a deferred payment and an attempt to recover $800 million through the court. It was Peter Aven who then publicly declared his intention to seize the assets and accounts of Rusal and facilitate the bankruptcy procedure.

Another reason for mentioning the banker affected the wider public. Petr Aven unexpectedly decided to publish a devastating article on the novel “Sanka” by writer Zakhar Prilepin, which caused a heated public debate. But if in his review Pyotr Aven accused Prilepin of calling the people to revolution, then already in 2013, together with Alfred Koch, he published a collection of interviews with Russian political figures about the “Gaidar revolution.”

In the 2010s, Petr Aven also preferred to “keep a low profile.” His name was mentioned in connection with the fact that the American Internet publication BuzzFeed published articles alleging that Alfa Bank bankers were part of a Russian scheme associated with influencing the 2016 US presidential election. Peter Aven and his colleagues even denied this information in an American court. In addition, the banker was mentioned in connection with the fact that he tried to purchase shares of the Spartak Moscow football club from Leonid Fedun. But the owner of the red and white refused to share powers to manage the club, after which Pyotr Olegovich Aven lost interest in the club’s assets.

In his youth, Petr Aven became part of the circle of young economists who, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, led Russian reforms. Despite the fact that Peter Aven was on the powerful Olympus for a relatively short time, his ability to influence the country’s economic policy and obtain insider information remained for many years. At the same time, he knew how to wisely manage these opportunities. That is why the owner of Alfa Group, Mikhail Fridman, made him one of his closest associates. A couple of business partners broke the law more than once in order to increase their business empire. Today, Petr Aven tries to keep a low profile, occasionally reminding him that he and his friends are the “founding fathers” of the modern Russian economy.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alfa-Bank Banking Group, Pyotr Olegovich Aven, was born on March 16, 1955 in Moscow.

His grandfather was a Latvian rifleman, his father, Oleg Ivanovich, is a computer specialist, a teacher at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow State University (MSU). M.V. Lomonosov, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Petr Aven graduated from the Physics and Mathematics Special School No. 2 in Moscow in 1972, the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University (MSU). M.V. Lomonosov in 1977, graduate school at Moscow State University in 1980.

In 1980 he received the academic degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences.

In 1981-1988, Aven worked as a junior, then a senior researcher at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for System Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences (VNIISI AS USSR).

From 1989 to 1991 he was an adviser to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs; at the same time - an employee of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Laxenburg, Austria).

In the fall of 1991, Petr Aven joined the “government of reforms” as Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Economic Relations (KFER) - First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR.

In January-December 1992, Aven headed the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation, at the same time being the representative of the President of the Russian Federation for relations with industrialized countries (the G7).

In July-December 1992 - Deputy Chairman of the Monetary and Economic Commission of the Government of the Russian Federation.

From May to December 1992, he was Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

From December 1992 to February 1993 - Advisor to the President of LogoVAZ JSC.

In the spring of 1993, Peter Aven created and headed the financial consulting company "FinPA" ("Finance of Peter Aven"), specializing in consultations on working with various types of securities. In the spring of 1993, Aven first began to consult and then collaborate with representatives of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank (JSCB) Alfa-Bank.

On December 12, 1993, Aven was elected as a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the list of the electoral association “Choice of Russia”. On January 4, 1994, he refused his deputy mandate, motivating his decision by his reluctance to leave the post of general director of the FinPA company.

From 1994 to June 2011, Petr Aven served as President of Alfa-Bank. Responsible for the overall development strategy of the Bank and for maintaining relations with business and government circles in Russia and abroad.

Since June 2011 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alfa-Bank Banking Group.

Petr Aven is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AlfaStrakhovanie OJSC, co-chairman of the Board of Directors of STS Media.

He is a member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, a member of the presidium of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), and a member of the council of the National Organization for Financial Reporting Standards.

He is a trustee of the Russian School of Economics and the Center for Economic Policy (CEPR, UK); member of the Board of Trustees of the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A. S. Pushkin.

In 2007, he was elected head of the Russian-Latvian Business Council.

Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

The Russian version of Forbes magazine estimated Peter Aven's personal fortune in 2011 at $4.5 billion. According to this indicator, he took 28th place in the list of the richest businessmen in Russia and 235th place in the world ranking.

In April 2005, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was awarded the Order of Honor for his labor successes and many years of conscientious work.

Speaks English and Spanish.

Peter Aven is married and has two twin children - son Denis and daughter Daria (born in 1993). His wife Elena is a historian by profession.

In 2008, the Peter Aven “Generation” Charitable Foundation was opened in Latvia, the priority areas of which were support for children's healthcare, projects in the field of “cultural exchange” between Russia and Latvia, scholarships and grants in the field of science. Its founders were Peter and Elena Aven.

Petr Aven actively supports art and theater in Russia, and is the largest collector of works of Russian art of the early 20th century.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Aven Petr Olegovich is included in the list of the hundred richest people in Russia. His working career began as a junior researcher, and today he heads the largest Russian holding company, Alfa Group. Having entered the Alfa Group family in the late 90s, Petr Aven was able not only to keep this ship afloat during the crisis years. He managed to raise the holding to new heights.

Dossier:

Date of Birth: 16.03.1955
Education: Economics Faculty of Moscow State University
Date of start of business activity/age: 1993, 38 years old
Type of activity at start: financial consulting services
Current activity: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Group
Current state: $4,600 million (Forbes)

The success stories of the richest Russian entrepreneurs are a wonderful motivation to repeat. Aven Pyotr Olegovich - even more so, because this story is about how, using talent and knowledge, not to miss the opportunity to rise to the top.

Luck since childhood

How else can we call it that the boy was born into the professor’s family on March 16, 1955 in Moscow. The long-awaited heir became a carrier of genes of many nationalities - Jews, Latvians, and Russians. The family included both a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the SSR (father Oleg Ivanovich) and an opponent of Soviet power who was executed in the 1930s - a grandfather - a Latvian rifleman.

In any case, the “golden spoon in his mouth” contributed to the fact that the boy was sent to study at the famous metropolitan school No. 2 with a physics and mathematics focus, where future Moscow State University students were trained from the elementary grades. However, Petya did not attach too much importance to his studies - he was an “average student,” but a jokester and the life of the party.

It is interesting that it was at school that he met the grandson of Arkady Gaidar, Yegor, who in the future opened the doors for him to the political elite of the country.

But while schoolboy Aven didn’t even think that he was making any useful acquaintances - he was simply enjoying life. Peter became very interested in music and even became the head of the school music club. By the way, later he had many good friends among famous singers, composers and performers.

The ability to find the “right people” served our hero in his student years - he received his higher education at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University, where he met his future business partner -. The guys first became friends based on the same musical interests, and then became business partners. This will happen in the future, but for now Aven successfully graduates from the university, defends his dissertation and receives a Ph.D.

Working career: beginning

After receiving a university diploma, the biography of Aven Petr Olegovich leads us to the All-Union Research Institute for System Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Here he spends the period 1981-1988. and rises to the rank of senior researcher.

The next step was the position of adviser to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989. However, Pyotr Olegovich does not give up his scientific work - in parallel, he works under a contract at the Austrian-Viennese International Scientific Institute.

Returning from abroad coincided with the collapse of the Soviet empire. During this difficult time, there was a turn in the work biography of Pyotr Aven: he became part of the “reform government” of his friend Yegor Gaidar as head of foreign economic relations. In fact, this position meant the first deputy minister of foreign affairs of the RSFSR.

Then the short political biography of Peter Aven only gained momentum - since 1992, our hero headed the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, already created in the Russian Federation. And a little later he became a member of the commission under the Russian government dealing with monetary and economic issues.

In 1992, the government was headed by Viktor Chernomyrdin. Pyotr Olegovich decides to resign. Until 1993, he worked as an adviser to the president of LogoVAZ JSC Boris Berezovsky.

Rice. 1. Aven had a good relationship with Boris Berezovsky.
Source: website i.obozrevatel.com

Aven maintained partnerships with oligarch Berezovsky for a long time. It was Aven and Friedman who introduced Berezovsky and Abramovich during the New Year celebrations in 1995. Pyotr Olegovich made the following statement: “The scale of personal hostility among the oligarchs is greatly exaggerated - many of us know each other, go to visit and relax together.” (Business People, 1997).

Personal cash

In 1993, Aven decided to open his own business - it became a consulting company. Finance Peter Aven (abbreviated as FinPA) did not have its own assets, although the organization was a commercial financial structure.

Rice. 2. Many of Aven’s financial theories were perfectly translated into practice.
Source: cdn.bfm.ru

Essentially, the company was in the business of liquid debt. To be more precise, they advised those wishing to buy government debt on all aspects of the transaction, but did not touch upon the price. The deals included both India and Ghana.

Entrepreneur Aven later shared his memories: “We occupied an empty market niche. Our company bought up its debts from the state, which it could not pay off. Then, when it can, the state returns the money to us.”

Hello, Alfa Group!

The services of the organization were used by OJSC AKB Alfa Bank, which was founded by Friedman’s student friend. It is not difficult to imagine why Aven became a co-owner of this organization (for this he transferred half of his company to Friedman).

In the same year, Pyotr Olegovich returns to politics: he becomes a State Duma deputy, but our hero refuses the mandate. He wants to do his own business, especially since in 1994, after receiving a 10% stake, he became president of the bank. But still, he does not refuse the position of member of the coordinating council of the Russian Business Round Table.

Alfa Group can only benefit from the arrival of a talented economist-strategist. With the help of Aven, it was possible to continue various payments even during the 1998 crisis. The hero’s career is going uphill: in 1998 alone, Aven first joined the board of directors of Aviakor OJSC, then joined the same structure at Alfa TV, and then CJSC Network of Television Stations.

Rice. 3. Aven’s arrival at Alpha definitely benefited both of them.
Source: kvnews.ru

Since 2001, Aven has held senior positions in the holding, and since 2011 he has also been a direct shareholder of the organization. Today he heads this consortium.

But at the same time, our hero does not believe in online banking, as he states:

During this time, he received a variety of awards many times. For example, in 2004, a businessman was named the best financial manager. In 2005, he received the Order of Honor from V. Putin, and in 2015, the Woodrow Wilson Prize in Washington for his contribution to the development of relations between the two countries.

More about the holding

It will be interesting to learn a little more about the ship that Aven controls. Founded in 1989, today it is provided in many countries of the world - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Great Britain and Luxembourg.

Alfa Group is one of the

The consortium’s interests include the following priorities:

telecommunications;
production of alcoholic beverages (Aven is on the board of directors of Latvijas Balzams in Riga);
joint control with Renovo of OJSC TNK, the controller that produces oil and petroleum products;
consumer, retail business (sugar and grain);
food sector (Perekrestok share package);
financial activities (banking and insurance services).

The holding is also involved in other non-business projects. Particularly prominent among them are charitable and social ones, support for children and youth, and the preservation of cultural values. Financial assistance is also obligatory, which is mainly provided to seriously ill children (Alfa Group is partners of the Life Line fund for seriously ill children, to which $10.7 million has already been transferred). Participation in good deeds of other organizations was also noted (for example, the “Basket of Kindness” from, together with which they collected 20,000 kg of food for 3,000 socially disadvantaged families).

In addition to other good deeds, there is support for children's healthcare (there are plans to invest 100 million US dollars for a children's endocrinology program). The environment has not been forgotten: the bank branch helps WWF Russia in protecting the environment. The foundation also supports various innovative projects of young scientists.

Competition wars and other scandals

Every barrel of honey has its own fly in the ointment. Many economic experts consider Aven (like Khan and Friedman) to be just a “public” owner who owns a symbolic share of ownership of the holding. Allegedly, the organization has a rather unstable foundation due to the fact that it was created on “offshore whales”. The assumptions are based on the fact that many large borrowers and founders of the organization have not recently conducted any significant financial activities.

The first and main competitor is the MDM group, with which there has been a struggle for Conversbank for a very long time. The competitor still emerged victorious, but many partners did not like the fact that Aven specifically used his connections in political circles to achieve what he wanted. At the same time, he allegedly hid behind the interests of Alfa Bank, which he brought into this competition. But they prefer not to argue with Pyotr Olegovich - his lobby in political circles is too strong.

It would be surprising when a person who initially had strong support remained in the shadows and did not achieve a high position in society. However, in the biography of Peter Aven, the main role was not played by cronyism. His extraordinary internal potential, supported by hard work and carefully thought-out actions, provided him with a rapid career, allowed him to stand out in politics and business, and gave him the opportunity to take a strong position among the richest people in Russia.

The first date in the biography of the current oligarch is March 16, 1955. Petya was born in the capital of the Soviet Union into a family associated with scientific and teaching activities. At that time, his father worked at one of the research institutes, where he headed a laboratory specializing in computer technology and telemechanics. Later, Oleg Ivanovich Aven defended his doctoral dissertation and received a professorship. Having become a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he began teaching computer science at Moscow State University. Peter Aven's mother was also a university teacher. Her specialty was Russian. In addition to his parents, his grandmother, who survived repression and many years of imprisonment in the late 1930s, took an active part in raising the boy. The reason for this was her executed husband, who had previously been a member of the notorious Latvian Riflemen.

Education

Thanks to his abilities and the position of his parents, after five years of study in an ordinary school, Petya was transferred to the second physics and mathematics school, known in the capital as the “nursery of geniuses at Moscow State University.” This educational institution was famous for its teaching staff and was proud of its graduates. One of Aven's hobbies was music. In parallel with his studies, the young man was the head of the school music club.

Petr Olegovich Aven

Upon completion of his studies, the young man had a solid stock of knowledge and without any problems entered the university where his father worked. Receiving a diploma in economics in 1977 did not dampen the young man’s interest in knowledge. Remaining at Moscow State University, Peter continued his studies in graduate school and after 3 years was listed as a candidate of economic sciences. The educational process brought Aven his first valuable connections and contacts. Among his acquaintances were Yegor Gaidar and Mikhail Fridman.

Career and business of Peter Aven

From 1981 to 1988, a young, promising specialist worked at the Institute for Systems Research. Here he goes through the ranks from junior to senior researcher. All these years, his colleague has been Yegor Gaidar, who later played a significant role in the political life of the country. This acquaintance allows Peter Aven to also get closer to politics. Having become an adviser to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989, he undergoes an internship in the Austrian capital and for the next two years his place of work becomes the Vienna International Institute for Systems Analysis.

After returning home, Aven heads the Committee for Foreign Economic Relations of the RSFSR and is Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. His position is equivalent to a ministerial chair. In 1992, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations was formed and Pyotr Olegovich became its head. His work with Yeltsin is highly regarded in political circles.

The resignation of Gaidar in the winter of 1992 and the advent of the Chernomyrdin government forced Pyotr Olegovich to move away from politics and pursue a career in business.

His next boss is Berezovsky, the president of LogoVAZ, with whom Aven receives the position of adviser.

In 1993, fate brought Aven and Friedman together again. This time not as colleagues, but as partners. Having acquired his own advisory company “FinPA” and exchanging its assets for shares of Alfa Bank, Pyotr Olegovich acquires the post of president of this organization. His work strengthens the position of Alfa Group and allows it to overcome the economic crisis without losses.

In 1998, Aven's responsibilities in the holding expanded. Now he is on the boards of Aviakor, Alfa TV and STS. After 3 years, the businessman acquires a 43.6% stake in Golden Telecom and secures leadership of this company. A year later, Aven is a member of the management of STS Media and Latvijas Balzams.

Aven’s effective work and his reformist character do not go unnoticed by the authorities, and Pyotr Olegovich is again accepted into the Kremlin. In 2004, his photograph appeared in a prestigious financial publication, where Aven was announced as the best manager in the Russian Federation. The following year, the oligarch becomes a Knight of the Order of Honor. In 2006, Peta Aven began to lead the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and in 2007 he was a delegate and head of the Russian-Latvian Business Council.

Since 2011, Petra Aven has held a high position in the Presidium of the Russian International Affairs Council.

Now Petr Aven occupies fourth place in terms of influence and importance in the Alfa Group holding and continues to increase his share in this organization. The businessman combines his economic activities with writing many scientific and journalistic works, in which he sets out his vision of the past and future of Russia.

Net worth of Peter Aven

As of 2018, Petr Aven is in 22nd position among the two hundred richest people in the Russian Federation. Its main assets are located in the international investment holding LetterOne. The businessman controls the telecommunications company VEON, owns more than half the shares of the German oil company DEA and has significant investments in Turkcell and Vimpelcom. Aven's share in Alfa Bank exceeds 12%.

By studying the information provided by Forbes magazine, you can trace the dynamics of Aven’s enrichment by year (year - $, billion/place in Russia):

2011 – 4,5/28;
2012 – 4,3/27;
2013 – 5,4/25;
2014 – 6,1/22;
2015 – 5,1/20;
2016 – 4,6/19;
2017 – 4,6/24.

Entry into Alfa Group and closeness with the highest echelons of power in the Russian Federation in 2018 resulted in financial losses for Peter Aven caused by the April sanctions against Russian businessmen.

Petr Aven is the owner of the largest private collection of paintings and art objects in Russia from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. According to the oligarch, he does not have expensive yachts, planes or foreign real estate. However, some media have repeatedly mentioned the British ownership of Aven. The billionaire's estate occupies 29 thousand m² in Surrey.

Being a passionate fan of the capital's FC Spartak, Petra Aven tried to buy the club from Fedun, but the latter rejected the offer.

Private life of Peter Aven

In 1985, the businessman started a family. Elena became his chosen one. This woman was the oligarch’s faithful companion for 30 years. Aven's personal life was overshadowed in 2015. The illness of his wife and her sudden death made Pyotr Olegovich a widower. From the marriage, the billionaire left two twin children: son Denis and daughter Daria. In an effort to provide them with a worthy fate for their descendants, the oligarch sent them to study at the prestigious Yale University.

One of the undeniable advantages in the biography of a billionaire is charity. In 2008, he and his wife created the Generation Foundation. This charitable organization finances children's healthcare, promotes the development of cultural Russian-Latvian relations and allocates funds for bonuses for people who have distinguished themselves in science, mainly students. The foundation introduces Latvians to Russian art and allows Russians to get to know Latvian culture better.

Among the most significant acts of the foundation is the gift made to Raymond Pauls. In 2011, the maestro became the owner of a Steinway & Sons grand piano, the cost of which at that time reached €120 thousand.

The Latvian Madona Hospital is under the jurisdiction of the organization created by Aven. Thanks to "Generation" this children's medical institution is constantly supplied with the most modern and expensive equipment.

The oligarch is in charge of the Russian Higher Economic School, the Olympic Movement Support Fund, and the English Center for Economic Policy.

Elena Aven

Peter Aven does not forget his Jewish roots. Together with other well-known oligarchs, he participates in the financing of the Jewish Museum and constantly contributes funds to the Jewish community.

After his love of art, the most significant hobby for the billionaire is hunting. Petr Olegovich enjoys skiing and tennis, writes books and loves to read.

Peter Aven today

Currently, Peter Aven remains devoted to his endeavors and ideals. He has significant influence in the financial sector of the Russian Federation and actively participates in the public life of Russia and Latvia. The billionaire continues to reform the Russian banking system, and is constantly involved in consultations on economic issues.

At the end of 2017, Pyotr Olegovich published his book “The Time of Berezovsky,” which contains interesting facts and interviews from the life of the famous and scandalous oligarch. According to the author, the hero of his next literary work should be Boris Yeltsin.

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