OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2011. Uralkali’s representatives have participated in the awarding ceremony of the "Director of the Year" National Award. Paul James Ostling, one of Uralkali’s (LSE: URKA) independent directors, has won the "Independent Director of the Year" award at the "Director of the Year" National Awards in Moscow.

Paul James Ostling has been an independent director of Uralkali since June 2011. He is also Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Uralkali. Moreover, Mr Ostling has been serving on the Board of Directors of MTS OJSC, the leading telecommunications group in Russia, since 2007.

The "Director of the Year" National Award was founded by the Association of Independent Directors with the support of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and has been held on an annual basis since 2006. Since 2009 the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has been a partner of the Award. The award is given in recognition of the individual contribution of independent directors towards the development of corporate governance standards. The award aims to encourage and support the introduction and development of high standards of corporate governance in Russian companies.

Paul James Ostling, Uralkali’s independent director:

"I am very committed to improving corporate governance in Russia. I have been lucky to have been involved with several companies that are recognized for good corporate governance. Uralkali is a particularly interesting opportunity for me because as a Chairman of the Audit Committee I’m helping to complete the integration following the merger with Silvinit. The management is doing a professional job of merging two companies with great history and making one large and successful company. To participate in such an important process is always exciting".