After a comprehensive review of our internal corporate structure, Rusneftegaz can today report that our leadership has collectively endorsed a proposition from one of our independent directors, Sergei Kolesnikov, to expand our management board. This has been enabled with a late motion being filed at our upcoming annual general meeting, which is set to be held in less than six weeks. Prior to this announcement, all propositions at the yearly conference were expected to be routine submissions, including to reappoint our auditor and authorize our remuneration policy. However, if it is passed, this new proposal will result in the creation of the role of Vice Chairman, who would bear similar responsibilities to that of his immediate superior and assume control in an official capacity if the head of the body were to be incapacitated. Whilst this may be the second enlargement of the committee within the past twenty-four months, having previously added two non-executives back in 2017, there is an erstwhile belief that such a course of action is critical to facilitate our expansion in the years ahead. Therefore, this should not be construed as an attempt to increase oversight or scrutiny of the current administration, but instead as a means of reducing both the burden and strain on those who presently serve in these challenging positions. In response to this news, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, gave the following remarks:
“I am very pleased that I can endorse this proposal. Since I joined Rusneftegaz in 2015, the board and I have been looking for as many ways as possible to ensure that this company does not go through hard times as it did in the few years before I joined. To be honest, the only reason I was appointed here was to fix the mess that had been made, and now it is vital that we ensure that it never happens again. I would like to place on record my thanks to Sergei for the massive contribution he has made since he joined us a couple of years ago, including coming up with the idea to add another member to the board. His work looking at our governance standards has been superb, suggesting ideas to make sure that we don’t make the same mistakes that this company did before. I would also like to thank our shareholders, who have been very supportive of this idea since it was first conceived. I think that by adding someone new, we can help ensure that this company isn’t led by a small cabal of managers who have absolute control over everything that is done here. We can make sure that Rusneftegaz remains free of corruption and does things properly. Fortunately, the candidate we have chosen for Vice Chairman is amazing, and I look forward to working with him long into the future.”
Consequently, we can confirm that Roman Odintsov has been nominated for the position of Vice Chairman, with his potential appointment subject to the approval of shareholders in Moscow at the beginning of April. To date, he has led a highly distinguished career, with our executive leadership viewing him as an exceptionally qualified candidate for the role following a long and exhaustive recruitment process. Since graduating from university in Saint Petersburg with qualifications in English and French, Odintsov has held various roles in both the public and private sector, including in the Ministry of Energy, where he specialized in oil production. We can also disclose that preceding this announcement, he met with a selection of our key stakeholders to discuss his nomination. Thus, as a result, the outcome of the vote is now internally considered a formality. If his candidacy be approved as expected, Odintsov would start in his new post immediately, and it should be noted that any further expansion to the current composition of our board of directors is anticipated in the imminent future. Any queries regarding this matter, or otherwise pertaining to our impending annual general meeting, must be submitted via the conventional channels in due course. We require your cooperation and understanding with regard to this topic.