Simon G. Kukes

Simon G. Kukes (1947- ) a Russian-born American, "has been named to replace Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky to head Russia's largest oil company, Yukos (YukosSibneft Oil Company), the company said in a statement posted on its website. 4 November 2003

Kukes "has been nominated to head the board of directors, the statement said. ... Kukes, a member of Yukos' board of directors, emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in the 1970s but has since returned to Russia. He once worked for Russian oil company TNK."

Biographical Profile
July 31, 2001:

"Kukes, a chemical engineer who holds more than 100 U.S. and Russian patents, has been president and CEO of Tyumen Oil since 1998. He has overseen a dramatic corporate restructuring that has attracted Western technology and investment. From 1979 until he joined Tyumen Oil, he held positions at Yukos, Amoco Oil, and Phillips Petroleum. In the late 1970s, Kukes conducted scientific research and taught at Rice University in Houston. Earlier this year, Kukes became the first Russian member of the board of directors of the Washington-based U.S.-Russia Business Council, the preeminent U.S. organization promoting trade between the two countries. He also serves on the boards of Parker Drilling Company and the Foreign Policy Association. Kukes graduated from Moscow's Chemical Technology Institute in 1969 with high distinction and from the USSR Academy of Science in 1973 with a PhD. He has been a U.S. citizen since 1982."

Affiliations

 * President, TNK and Chairman, Board of Directors, YUKOS (as of June 18, 2003).
 * Former Member of the Board of Directors, OAO Sidanco.
 * 2000 - Former Member of the Board of Directors, OAO ONAKO.
 * 1998 - Member of the Board of Directors; member of the Management Board, President, OAO TNK.
 * 1996-1998 First Vice President, Member of the Management Board, YUKOS.
 * 1986-1996 Technical Director; Director of the International Department of Oil Refining, Marketing and Transportation, Amoco Oil Company, Moscow.
 * 1979-1986 Technical Director, Philips Petroleum Company (ConocoPhillips), Oklahoma.
 * 1973 Received a Ph.D. from the Scientific Institute of the USSR, Academy of Sciences.
 * 1969 Graduated from the Mendeleev Moscow Chemical Technologies Institute with a specialization in the Technology of Vacuum Processes.

Note : OAO Sidanco and OAO TNK (TYUMEN Oil Co.) now link to THK-BP/TNK-BP web site.

Corporate Profile
"Considered one of Russia's most respected senior executives, Simon G. Kukes is chairman of the board of YUKOS, Russia's largest vertically integrated oil company, with $11.4 billion in revenues and 69.5 million tons of oil production in 2002.

"His appointment as chairman followed a distinguished five year tenure as president and CEO of Tyumen Oil Co.(TNK), Russia's third largest vertically integrated oil company. The culmination of Mr. Kukes' career at TNK was that company's successful merger with BP Russia in 2003.

"Mr. Kukes began his career in the United States in 1979. In the 1980s he worked as a technical director for Phillips Petroleum and Amoco. From 1993 to 1996, as a Vice President of Amoco he was responsible for downstream Business Development in CIS countries. In 1996, Mr. Kukes joined YUKOS as senior vice president of strategic planning and corporate development. That same year, he played an active role in restructuring the company's business. In January 1997, Mr. Kukes was appointed to the board of directors and named first vice president of YUKOS in charge of sales and marketing. In 1998, Mr. Kukes became president and CEO of TNK. In 2003, he played an active role in the TNK BP merger process.

"During his tenure at TNK, Mr. Kukes and the company he headed received several awards. In 1999, The Wall Street Journal named Simon Kukes one of Central Europe's top managers. In 2000, he was named best manager in Russia by the journal Kompaniya. During the same year, the influential British publication, Financial Times Energy, ranked TNK, headed by Mr. Kukes, as the best international oil company. In 2002, US based Oil& Gas Investor journal presented TNK with the 'Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Governance' award.

"In June 2003, after being chairman of the YUKOS board of directors, Mr. Kukes stepped down as TNK's president. Mr. Kukes is co chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Open World Leadership Center under the auspices of the US Library of Congress, an honorary member of the US Foreign Policy Association and a member of the board of directors of Parker Drilling Company, Inc., the U.S.-Russia Business Council and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Mr. Kukes holds a bachelor's degree in science with honors from the Moscow Institute for Chemical Technology and a Ph.D. from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He completed his post doctoral studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Mr. Kukes holds 130 US patents and has authored over 60 publications."

Yukos Oil Brochure.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * oil industry