OREANDA-NEWS  Vnesheconombank has completed the selection and evaluation of candidates for certified manager positions in 23 pilot constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The winners include 33 candidates who will enter into a cooperation agreement with Vnesheconombank and set about to look for promising investment projects in their respective regions.

Candidates from these regions submitted their applications via the Agency for Strategic Initiatives LEADER-ID platform from 13 April to 26 May as part of the VEB new regional model. The task of highly-skilled professionals will be to find investment projects for the Bank’s loan portfolio.

In the Udmurt Republic, and the Samara and Ulyanovsk Regions, the teams have been put together with three managers approved for each of the regions, which is the maximum number allowed by the selection conditions.

“VEB is taking a new approach to building its federal representative network. The successful candidates have shown a comprehensive knowledge of the economy and investment potential of their regions,” said Vnesheconombank Deputy Chairman – Member of the Management Board Alexey Ivanchenko. “Undoubtedly, Vnesheconombank investments in local strategic projects will contribute to the economy and infrastructure of Russia’s regions.”

VEB received 184 applications from candidates in 23 regions that were first to take part in the selection. During June and July, the Bank conducted a closed review of the application forms followed by the interviews with candidates. Afterwards, the candidates took part in remote testing that comprised the assessment of skills such as business thinking, entrepreneurship, project and task administration, relationship building and influence, open-mindedness and leadership. Following the results, the expert commission identified 33 winners representing 19 regions.

“The best results were demonstrated by the candidates from the Novgorod, Vladimir, Samara and Voronezh Regions, as well as the Udmurt Republic. The selection was conducted in a highly competitive environment. However, not all regions were represented by strong candidates meeting Vnesheconombank’s strict requirements: in 4 regions, we failed to select any candidates. Nevertheless, we believe that we can find efficient managers in these regions, so the selection process will continue,” added Alexey Ivanchenko.

An average successful candidate is a 37-year old senior official in a regional development institution with a college degree. The majority of winners represented development institutions (64%), although initially they accounted for only 26% of the applications.

“Applications were submitted via the Agency for Strategic Initiatives LEADER-ID platform. The top grade was received by Alla Zavodina, Deputy Director for Investments at the Agency for Development of the Novgorod Region,” said Svetlana Chupsheva, Director General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

In the near future, the winners will undertake online training to acquire necessary knowledge and skills to search for investment projects compliant with VEB requirements.

In September, Moscow will host a meeting of certified managers where they will be awarded the certificates to validate their status.

The Bank will continue to evaluate candidates representing the ‘second wave’ regions, i.e. 318 applications from other Russian regions. The selection of candidates from these regions is to be completed before the year is out.

State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)” is Russia’s national development bank and major financial institution. Established in 1924, it has been operating in compliance with the special Federal Law on the Bank for Development since 2007.