(February 17, 2012) — The newly established Russian sovereign wealth fund has appointed two leading North American financial professionals to its board to help provide investment and corporate governance advice.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has appointed Josh Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor at the Harvard Business School, and Laurent Vigier, Director of European and International Affairs at the Caisse des Dépôts Group to its Supervisory Board, it announced this week.
The RDIF was launched in June last year and is to be capitalised with $10 billion in Russian government funds over the next five years. The fund has been charged with making equity investments that generate strong returns, primarily in Russia.
In May last year, senior figures from Goldman Sachs, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, and other funds visited Russia to discuss the country’s newly planned investment vehicle.
Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer of the RDIF, said this week: “This Supervisory Board brings together some of the most respected figures from government, business and academia in Russia and internationally.”
The fund has also appointed several Russian government advisers and banking figures, including Alexei Ulyukaev, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Sergei Ivanov, Chief of Staff to the President of Russia.
CEO Dmitriev said: “The Board will play a key role in guiding the strategic direction of the Fund and ensuring we consistently adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance. Our management and governance structures are now fully in place, we have made our first investment and we have tremendous momentum as we plan further investments and bring long-term direct investment into the Russian economy in the coming months and years.”
Dmitriev has a background in private equity; he worked at Delta Private Equity Partners, a US-government backed investment fund designed to promote capitalism by financing the growth of independent business in Russia, according to reports at the time of the RDIF’s launch.
The Board will meet quarterly and provide strategic direction and guidance to the Fund. Members of RDIF’s International Advisory Board will participate in all Supervisory Board committees, as an additional measure to ensure transparency of the Fund, an announcement said this week.