Chairman of the Management Board and member of the Board of Directors, NOVATEK
Chairman of the Board of Directors, SIBUR

Leonid V. Mikhelson was born on August 11, 1955. In 1977, he graduated from the Samara Institute of Civil Engineering and received his first appointment in the Tyumen Region. Mr. Mikhelson worked for various entities of the Ministry of Oil and Gas Construction for more than 15 years and took part in the construction of major oil and gas pipelines, including the Urengoy-Chelyabinsk and Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipelines.

In 1990, Mr. Mikhelson graduated from the USSR Academy of National Economy.

In 1994, he set up and became head of NOVATEK (Novafininvest before March 2003). Since 2003, Mr. Mikhelson has been a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Board of NOVATEK.

The company has developed to become Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer. It operates primarily in the Arctic areas of Russia’s Far North. NOVATEK, jointly with French and Chinese companies, is implementing a one-of-a-kind project to build an LNG plant inside the Arctic Circle on the northeastern Yamal Peninsula.
Since 2011, Mr. Mikhelson has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO SIBUR Holding, Russia’s biggest integrated gas processing and petrochemical company.

Leonid Mikhelson is a keen enthusiast of contemporary art and is supporting Russian artists and the global promotion of the Russian contemporary culture. He has been contributing to the Russian-French cultural dialogue. Mr. Mikhelson is member of the International Board of Trustees of Tate in London and the Board of Trustees of the New Museum, New York.

Mr. Mikhelson received the Order of the Badge of Honour, the Order of Merit to the Motherland (II degree) and the Honorary Worker of Gas Industry title (the Russian Federation). He was also conferred the distinction of Knight of the Legion of Honour (the French Republic).