OREANDA-NEWS. On February 01, 2007 JSC Sistema-Hals (LSE, MICEX: HALS), one of the leading diversified companies operating in the real estate markets of Russia and the CIS, has announced the appointment of Sergey Shmakov as First Vice President for Property Development, reported the press-centre of Sistema.

The former First Vice President for Property Development, Azariy Lapidus, will head the Company Board of Directors' permanent council for operating policy and expert project appraisal.

Felix Evtushenkov, President of JSC Sistema-Hals, said: "Today we are shifting the focus from active forming of the Company's portfolio to systematic implementation of the scaled development programme. Both appointments are aimed at providing more effective management of Sistema-Hals' strategic goals. "

He added "Sergey Shmakov has many years of experience in the area of property development and an expert knowledge of property market processes. This appointment will naturally boost our management team, allowing us to achieve the strategic objective of strengthening our company's market lead. Azariy Lapidus has a great deal of professionalism and experience in construction, particularly in implementing the Company's projects, and will continue to use this expertise in his new role where he will focus on conducting analysis and feasibility assessments of Sistema-Hals' design concepts and solutions."

Sergey Shmakov
Born 1950 in Moscow
Education: PhD, Faculty of Economics, Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Work experience:
From 1972 to 1991 worked in various capacities at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (Soviet Academy of Sciences) under the auspices of the Ministry for External Economic Relations.
1991 - 1994: - head of external economic relations for JSC Russian Commodities and Raw Materials Exchange and JSC City
1994 - 1996: - head of real estate at European Trading Bank
1996 - 2004: - general director of Capital Group
From 2004: - held his proper real estate projects

Azariy Lapidus
Born 1958.
Education: V.V. Kuibishev Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering (MISI)

PhD in technical sciences, professor, designer of merit of the Russian Federation, honorary designer of the Russian Federation, honorary designer of Moscow

Work experience:
1988: - formed construction cooperative Sphere A, specialising in surveying and renovating old buildings in Moscow.
1989: - established CJSC SUIproject, specialising in the construction of major non-conventional properties in Moscow and Moscow Oblast.
1997: - merged CJSC SUIproject with subsidiaries to form CJSC SUIholding
From March 2005: - Vice President of the Board of Directors of Sistema-Hals
From March 2006: - Senior Vice President in charge of Civil Engineering at JSC Sistema-Hals
From October 2007: - Senior Vice President in charge of Property Development at JSC Sistema-Hals