OREANDA-NEWS. March 15, 2010. DTEK, Ukraine’s leading fuel and energy company, announces two executive board appointments. Yuriy Ryzhenkov, DTEK’s Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect. Vsevolod Starukhin has been appointed as Finance Director in his place.

The position of Chief Operating Officer was introduced to the Company in March 2010 and reflects DTEK’s strategy of closer interaction between, and oversight of, its operating companies from mining and production through to generation and distribution. As COO, Mr Ryzhenkov will continue to report to DTEK’s CEO Maxim Timchenko and will manage the Company’s operational divisions and core business functions, including: coal mining and enrichment, electricity generation and sales; Health, Safety and Environmental issues; IT development; internal control and risk management; and integration of new production companies.

Mr Ryzhenkov joined DTEK in September 2007 as Chief Financial Officer and since then has been responsible for the Company’s financial reporting, management and oversight. Between 2002 and 2007, he was Deputy Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Financial Officer of International Steel and Tube Industries Limited (ISTIL) (Donetsk and London). Prior to this, he worked in the financial division of CJSC Mini-Steel Mill ISTIL (Ukraine) and Donetsk Iron and Steel Works.

In 2000, Mr Ryzhenkov graduated from King’s College London (UK) and from Donetsk State Technical University (Ukraine). He also has an MBA from London Business School.

Mr Starukhin, 39, joins DTEK from Shlumberger a global leader in technology for the oil and gas industry, where he was CFO its Russian division. In his four years with Schlumberger, he held several financial management positions, including at its Paris headquarters.

Mr Starukhin brings to DTEK considerable financial management experience, which he gained while working for several major multinational companies. This experience includes global confectioner Mars, where for 10 years he headed finance teams across several of its emerging markets bases, including in Russia, Hungary and Brazil, and Kraft Jacobs Suchard, where he was a credit controller and financial operations manager.

Mr Starukhin has a degree in International Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics and a PhD in Economics from the Moscow Academy of Labor and Social Relations.

Commenting on the appointments, Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, said:

“Yuriy Ryzhenkov has built a track record of prudent, but progressive fiscal management and his disciplined approach has enabled DTEK to maintain and protect its competitive position through some of the most challenging economic conditions we have ever experienced.

“His knowledge of our business and the wider economic issues facing Ukraine and Europe make him the obvious candidate for the role of COO and I look forward very much to working with him in his new role as we move forward. It is also particularly pleasing that we are able to make such appointments from within DTEK, illustrating further the breadth and depth of the skills and talent we have within the business.

“In addition, we are very pleased to be welcoming Vsevolod Starukhin to DTEK. He brings a wealth of experience and financial expertise to the company, which will be of considerable value as we move forward with our strategy of growth and expansion. We look forward to working with him.”

Yuriy Ryzhenkov added:

“I am very excited to be embarking on a role at DTEK and appreciate the trust and confidence placed in me by our management and stakeholders. I have gained a huge amount of knowledge during my time as DTEK’s CFO, which I am confident will enable me to continue to play my part in enhancing our operating companies and the synergies that exist between them. We have an extremely strong team at DTEK and I look forward to taking our Company forward and to our future success.”

Vsevolod Starukhin said:

“Joining such a high profile company as DTEK is a very exciting step for me and my career. Since its foundation, DTEK’s financial directorate has established strong and stable platform for the company’s ongoing development and growth, which is even more notable given the economic conditions. I am looking forward very much to my new role and aim to identify the best methods for maintaining DTEK’s growth strategy, continuing to improve DTEK’s financial and business reporting and processes, effectively managing liquidity and building our financial team further, in line with best international practice.”