Earlier this week Russia’s online search giant Yandex announced significant changes this month at the senior board level, which will come into effect from September 1.
Alexander Shulgin, currently the group’s Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Yandex’s Russian business. Greg Abovsky will be promoted to Chief Financial Officer to replace Shulgin. Yandex founder Arkady Volozh will remain company CEO, with overall responsibility for the development of Yandex’s products both in Russia and abroad.
Much has been made in Russian media of Volozh’s move away from the day to day running of the company’s Russian business, yet the CEO is adamant this was planned all along.
Speaking to Forbes, Volozh said “It is difficult to simultaneously conduct the administrative work involved in the management of large companies and at the same time to think about the patterns of development and business expansion. I was always looking for and preparing a new generation of managers.”
In spite of local media rumors to the contrary, Volozh is not planning to dimish his role in the Internet giant. “I’m not going anywhere. I will continue to be responsible for Yandex. But I will be more engaged in new markets and new business models. For example, Yandex in Turkey and Big Data,” he says.
On the appointment of Shulgin the Yandex founder is optimistic: “Yandex has seen a strengthening of operational and administrative segments, and it is a natural process. There used to be just the president, but now there is also a prime minister. We had a long discussion internally about Sasha’s [Shulgin’s] candidacy, when the idea matured we went to the Board of Directors for approval.”
However, some see the move as more significant than just an operational shift to increase company efficiency.
Anton Nosik, a prominent Russian blogger, believes Volozh’s influence in Yandex is gradually being downgraded as Russian state apparatus looks to exert greater control over the company. Similar to the way VKontakte.com founder Pavel Durov was pushed out of Russia’s leading social network, Nosik believes a similar fate awaits Volosh. All part of the Russian government’s long-term plan of increasing control of important and strategic Internet assets, Nosik says.
Thus far, Yandex has been given considerable leeway by the Russian state, and there have been few apparent disagreements on the political level.
