OREANDA-NEWS  On 16 December Saint Petersburg based hypermarket retailer Lenta announced the appointment of Stephen Ogden as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The appointment was made by major shareholder Oleg Jerebtsov, and unanimously supported by the whole shareholder group at a November 13, 2008 shareholder meeting.

In the words of Stephen: ‘’I am honoured to be appointed the Chairman of Lenta, one of Russia’s leading retail chains. It will be a great experience to work closely with Lenta founder Oleg Jerebtsov. I have known Oleg as a friend and colleague for many years. He is a pioneer of the Russian retail sector.’’

Stephen is a former CFO (Financial Director) of Bochkarev (1997-2002). He has also served as a Non-Executive Director of Heineken Russia (2002-2003), United Confectioneries BV (SladCo, 1999-2005), Lenta (2002-2005) and Volga Gas plc (2007-present). Stephen was also Chairman of MDM-Print, one of Russia’s leading printing companies, from 2007-2008.

Stephen was born in Lancaster, England and is married to Marina, from Saint Petersburg. He formerly worked for KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the investment bank CS First Boston, and is a keen supporter of both Zenit Saint Petersburg and Bolton Wanderers!

Lenta is the 5th largest food retailer in Russia, with 34 hypermarkets in Saint Petersburg (14 stores) and the Russian regions. Its largest shareholders are August Meyer (36%), Oleg Jerebtsov (35%) and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (11%). Sales in 2008 are projected to be around USD 2billion.

In the words of Stephen Ogden: ‘’Lenta is one of the most exciting companies in Russia, with incredible growth prospects and a great management team. Lenta has grown into one of Russia’s most successful retailers by sticking to the principles established by Oleg Jerebtsov: offering a good range of products in a nice retail environment at everyday low prices.’’

“2009 will be a difficult year for Russia and for retailers. However, Lenta will pick up market share from more expensive and weaker competitors. Lenta has huge purchasing power with suppliers, and can offer excellent prices to the Russian consumer.”