Over the next four weeks, Rusneftegaz is to host a series of events for all of our staff across the globe to mark our 25th anniversary, which is being celebrated for the duration of this calendar year. Although the date commemorating twenty-five years since our incorporation does not occur in July, our management decided that it should be observed during summer to maximize the chance of good weather, thus enabling certain proceedings to be hosted outside. Taking this into account, every member of our workforce was invited to vote for their preferred activity to recognize this significant occasion, and therefore each individual shift has been allocated a fund to hold their own celebration this month. As a result, the type of festivities that are to be held ranges in both scope and size, with some opting to honor our quarter-century with celebratory drinks, whereas other groups have elected to have an evening at a bowling alley. Following this announcement, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, gave this statement:
“I am delighted to be part of our 25th anniversary celebrations. This has been planned for a long time, and it is great that our plans are finally coming to fruition. At the end of the day, this is a very significant milestone for Rusneftegaz, not many companies get to mark twenty-five years in business, especially in an industry like this where mergers and acquisitions are relatively common. Now, I have only been here for the last nine years of that, but we have managed to keep the company on track regardless of what has gone on in the outside world. You have to remember that Rusneftegaz has withstood a lot over this time, be that the financial crisis, a worldwide pandemic, geopolitical instability, you get the idea. It has been a turbulent time without doubt, but we have managed to survive it all and continue to get stronger. Now, we have a lot in our favor, we have staff that have the capacity to go above and beyond expectations, never mind the fact that we continue to innovate and expand where others do not.
Where our competitors have only focused on data and efficiency, we have always seen the bigger picture, and I think that is perhaps our greatest strength of all. I would like to thank all of those that have helped us reach this anniversary, from the staff on the ground, to those right at the very top. We have all, as a collective, made this happen. I, for one, am very proud to be here, and I am very optimistic for the future, and I hope that all my colleagues here are too. I think I say that every time I give one of these statements, but it is always true. I always wonder if this is the greatest era in our history, but I continue to be amazed by how this company continues to grow and expand. Quite frankly, there is no doubt in my mind that Rusneftegaz has an amazing future ahead, and I hope that I can stay here to see it.”
Although our anniversary celebrations will last until the end of this year, we plan to hold a gala dinner in Moscow at the end of this month to mark the occasion and honor the achievements we have recorded since this company was founded in 1999. Attendees are set to include a number of distinguished guests, amongst them our board of directors and key stakeholders, in addition to a selection of managers and executives who have previously worked in notable roles within our organization. We have also invited and paid the expenses for all the staff who been associated with this business from its inception twenty-five years ago, in conjunction with a plethora of other employees who have served Rusneftegaz with distinction during this timeframe. On the night itself, we are set to distribute a variety of awards and commendations to these individuals to thank and reward them for their service to us, whilst also remembering many of their former colleagues who have been unable to attend this event.
To mark this momentous occasion, we can also announce that we have commissioned a number of large celebration cakes in the shape of our new logo, which was updated last month. We intend to apportion as many slices amongst our personnel as possible, together with an assortment of memorabilia produced for our 25th anniversary. We can similarly confirm our intention to compile a compendium of images and videos associated with Rusneftegaz and our business during the past quarter-century, with this compilation to go on display for the first time at the aforementioned gala dinner. To facilitate this, we are requesting that anyone who has ever been affiliated with this enterprise to submit any digital records in their possession to form part of this collection via email. This will ultimately serve as a comprehensive record of our corporate history, and our eventual emergence as a billion-dollar global corporation. Any inquiries in relation to these events, or to offer any photographs to us, should contact our company via the usual channels at the earliest opportunity.
