The New Russian Business Leaders

As a study of Russian business leadership, the depth of research and cogency of argument in the book is well ahead of anything else seen to date and to that end it deserves to be highly regarded. The Delta Intercultural Academy This book is obligatory reading for those planning to do business in Russia or wishing to understand how business is conducted. The New Russian Business Leaders is written by a distinguished group of international management specialists, including two Russians. Using models and case studies of leading Russian companies and entrepreneurs, the authors draw conclusions about Russia s evolving business climate, the requirements for entrepreneurial success, and the value of international business education for Russia s business leaders. Paul Gregory, Slavonic and East European Review This highly talented multinational team has produced a rich and meaningful contribution to the literature on Russian business. These authors know the very essence of Russia from their extensive academic and practitioner experience. They deliver fascinating, original in-depth case studies of the pioneering men and women business leaders of modern Russia s first capitalist decade. They also interpret the cases in the context of Russia s history and culture, and offer a comprehensive framework for how Russian business and leadership could evolve to build the country s economy. The New Russian Business Leaders will surely serve for years to come as an authoritative source for academics and practitioners seeking to understand the underlying dynamics of Russian business and its leaders. Sheila M. Puffer, Northeastern University, Boston, US In order to work effectively with Russian organizations, it is essential for potential Western partners and shareholders to fully understand their leadership style, organizational practices and business expectations. Based on extensive interviews with the pioneers of Russian business and the authors own experiences, this perceptive new book attempts to decipher the enigma of Russia s new generation of business leaders. The authors present six in-depth case studies focusing on companies of vastly differing sizes, ranging from a newly-privatized operation, and the creation and organization of an oligarch s empire, to several entrepreneurial start-ups in different service industries. The case studies document the changes and developments that have occurred in Russia since the privatization era of the 1990s, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the emerging business leadership orientations. Grounded in Russian culture and history, the book takes a balanced view of the rapid development and transformation of the country s business leadership over the past ten years. The authors also offer perceptive conclusions and practical advice that will not only contribute to the success of Western businesses operating in Russia and other former communist countries in Eastern Europe but also help business people in Eastern Europe create high performance organizations. As we move towards a globalized economy, the need to recognise executive behaviour in Russia is becoming increasingly important. This book will provide a great source of information for academics and researchers of entrepreneurship, leadership studies and international business. Although the focus is on Russian entrepreneurs, the lessons in the book are equally as relevant for other cultures and leadership styles.

The mainstream perception of Russian business today is framed by images of wild capitalism and a Dutch-diseased resource-dependent economy with poorly functioning rules and institutions. Despite the continued relevance of these issues in the current environment, readers of this book will discover that business in Russia has undergone a remarkable transformation. Important characteristics of the contemporary Russian business climate include the rise of a new generation of Russian business leaders and entrepreneurs, a variety of innovative and adaptive business strategies developed to respond to the increasingly VUCA world, a confident middle class with significant purchasing power, as well as a surprising level of integration in the world economy, including increasingly with China and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). These evolving developments have received little attention from researchers and practitioners. This book has been written by Russian experts and thought leaders to address this knowledge gap. The five sections provide a diverse but integrated set of opinion pieces, analyses and cases about Russian business covering markets and macro perspectives, strategy and governance, innovation and entrepreneurship, internationalization and leadership. The aim is to overcome preconceptions by illustrating the underreported and multifaceted nature of the life of Russian business and take the reader closer to what is really happening on the ground. The book contains more than 50 contributions from 54 authors representing opinion leaders in Russia and abroad including prominent academics and businessmen. The Life of Russian Business is aimed at practitioners, policy-makers and educators, as well as those generally interested in Russia. By disseminating state-of-the-art insights on Russian decision-makers and institutions, the book ultimately delivers a well informed and balanced guide for those wishing to participate in Russia’s economy. Endorsements "This book, with its 50 contributions from scholars, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders opens a door to Russia’s institutions, management practices and economic potential. The book fills an important gap in the literature and is a must for practitioners of trade and investment along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese and Asian readers will enjoy the fresh and dynamic stories, the rich detail, and the privileged insights into the present and future of Russia." — Professor Tony Chan, President, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) "In the Russian Federation, the shelf life of inquiries into the country’s business practices and institutions has always been short. This is all the more true for the past 3–5 years, which have seen a series of important changes in Russia’s economic context and structure. This book, which brings together a wide range of expertise and voices, will be useful to readers both in Switzerland and beyond by providing them with up to-date insight into 'the life of Russian business,' covering both the challenges and opportunities." — Yves Rossier, Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Embassy of Switzerland, Moscow

Jonathan A. Grant has written a highly original study of the Putilov works—the most famous industrial conglomerate in the Russian Empire during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With the emergence of a capitalist system in the Russian federation in the 1990s, scholarly debate over the nature of Russian capitalism has been revived, and with this study, Grant issues a major challenge to the conventional wisdom on the nature of the Russian economy in the years before the Bolshevik revolution. Grant argues that the Putilov Company, which manufactured arms for the Russian state and a wide range of heavy industrial equipment for civilian use, adopted business practices that resembled the experiences of large machinery and armaments manufacturers in Britain, France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Germany. This interpretation runs directly counter to the traditional and widely held view that Russian capitalism was shaped by the tsarist state's orders and subsidies and that the tsarist system was incompatible with the development of modern capitalism. Grant makes direct comparisons between Putilov and the famous western firm of Krupp and Vickers, illustrating similar business decisions made by both companies in terms of diversification of the product line and a penchant for private (as opposed to state) markets for primary income. Grant has gone beyond Soviet works on the Putilov plant, examining archival documents of the company and offering critical comments on both Soviet and Western scholarship on Russian economic and social history from the perspective of this important industrial enterprise. Grant not only repeatedly demonstrates that the Putilov firm responded effectively to the changing market for its wide range of industrial products but also shows that the tsarist regime provided far more of the "systemic regularity" needed for capitalist development than generally believed. Grant's work is a significant contribution to this ongoing debate, offering a much-needed case study of Russian business history and a comparative study that extends across national boundaries. Big Business in Russia is essential reading for graduate students in Russian and European history and will also appeal to American and European business leaders eager to understand the historical background of the current economic challenges facing Russia.

Includes a directory of prime Russian business contacts, guidance and insider tips on everything from the national mind-all to ever-changing bureaucracies. Projections from top economists and business-leaders of Russia's hottest industries, markets and regions. Candid advice on Russian culture and etiquette.

Based on interviews with Russian and Western managers and empirical data collected over five years, Puffer (business administration, Northeastern U., Boston) describes the mindset of Russian business managers and its historical development, managing private and state-owned enterprises through the transition, and aspects of western collaboration such as business ethics and motivating employees. For western managers eager to reap the spoils of the capitalist triumph. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book addresses how the progress of the Russian aluminium industry, which has developed into an important global actor, has been influenced by the interaction of global market forces and the evolution of the Russian political system. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian aluminium producers needed to adapt to changing framework conditions, both with regards to the global aluminium market and in Russia. Examining the most important changes in the organization of the global aluminium trade – the reorganization and consolidation of Russian aluminium industry and its ‘oligarchization’ – Godzimirski charts the evolution of the relationship between political and economic power in Russia, and the impact that this development has had on survival and adaptation strategies of key aluminium players in the country.

Leadership Across the Globe aims to serve a growing interest in how to lead in a global or cross-cultural environment. This book focuses on the corporate setting, with illustrations, theories, and evidence from various regions around the world. The book includes coverage of culture and diversity issues in leadership, as well as a comprehensive, detailed exploration of the comparative aspects of leadership. Generously illustrated with cases, boxed profiles, figures, and examples from a wide range of organizations, this is a relevant resource for anyone seeking a leadership career on a global scale, in multinational enterprises, or in a multi-cultural context.

‘Athletic CEOs: Leadership in Turbulent Times’ is about CEOs who do not lead by the book: people who score low on emotional intelligence, do not praise their subordinates and rarely provide constructive feedback or celebrate small wins. Yet it is also a book about high-performing transformational leaders: Alexander Dyukov (Gazprom Neft), German Gref (Sberbank), Eugene Kaspersky (Kaspersky Lab), and Vitaly Saveliev (Aeroflot). Each of these leaders have created formidable enterprises that deliver sustainable growth in profits and shareholder value; set new standards for the industry; leave a positive impact on their employees and on the country and the regions they operate in; and – most remarkably – continue to reinvent themselves. Having studied the work of these leaders for a decade, Stanislav Shekshnia, Alexey Ulanovsky and Veronika Zagieva’s model of Athletic Leadership summarizes the unique characteristics of these leaders and their leadership.