OREANDA-NEWS. On September 10, 2015 Ilim CEO Franz Marx spoke to students of the world's leading business schools who are taking part in "Doing Business in Russia" exchange program at the Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.

In his speech Mr. Marx elaborated on the current state of the Russian economy, as well as on the key external and internal economic drivers. Ilim Group CEO gave an overview of the development of the pulp and paper industry globally, shared his forecasts regarding sustainable long-term growth of pulp and paper products consumption, and elaborated on Ilim Group's leadership in the Russian pulp and paper industry. Franz Marx specifically focused on Ilim's approach to creating an efficient and effective supply chain in Russia, in line with global best practices and in collaboration with International Paper, and elaborated on Ilim's priorities in terms of occupational and environmental safety.

Furthermore, Franz Marx dwelt upon the expectations that global business has for world class talents, highlighted the specific features of doing business in Russia for large companies while underscoring the importance of this market for the global industry.

At the end of his speech Ilim Group CEO answered the questions raised by the participants.

"It's always a pleasure for me to address such an audience, full of young, energetic, and ambitious people," commented Franz Marx. "You are the people who will soon be working for the benefit of our industry, business community, and economy in general. Talent development is one of our key priorities at Ilim Group, and I'm very happy to make my contribution to the development of young leaders at the very beginning of their career, which I'm sure will be long and successful."

Maria Dorokhina, director of the Career Center of the Graduate School of Management: "Twice a year, our Graduate School of Management has a "Doing business in Russia" modular course for students who are taking part in the exchange program from the world leading business schools, including Tsinghua (China), WU University (Austria), IE (Spain), Mannheim (Germany), Bocconi (Italy), ESC Rennes (France), St. Gallen (Switzerland), and RSM (Netherlands). Lectures, guest visits, and roundtable discussions organized as part of this module give students an insight into the business processes in various sectors of the Russian economy."

Robin Jensen, Advisor For International Relations, Graduate School of Management: "We greatly appreciate the support of our partners, which provides foreign students with an opportunity to get an insight into various aspects of doing business in Russia. In his lecture which was particularly relevant for the young and ambitious audience Ilim CEO provided a deep dive into the specific aspects of the pulp and paper industry development, Ilim's sustainability in a changing environment, and talent development within the Company".