 There's
no denying that BGS lifetime members are very talented people.
Just earning invitation into the Society places members within
a select group. Beyond their commonality as the "Best
in Business," lifetime members are extremely diverse
with a wide array of talents, backgrounds and expertise.
From January 23--27, 2013, hundreds of
diverse and powerful global leaders will meet together in
Davos, Switzerland for the annual meeting of the World Economic
Forum. Yan E. Yanovskiy, BGS member from Russia, is quite
familiar with the meeting; he has attended several times himself.
In fact, his energy company won him a special title at the
meeting a few years ago. You don’t want to miss reading
about this member!
BGS
Member Profiles
Yan E. Yanovskiy
President and Board Member, Bioenco Bioenergy
Corporation
 At
the January 2012 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum,
Yan E. Yanovskiy, President and Board Member of Bioenco Bioenergy
Corporation, discussed transforming the world by shaping new
models. Yanovskiy’s effort to shape a new system for
energy production in Russia makes him something of a model
himself.
In late 2010, Yanovskiy and three partners
created Bioenco Bioenergy Corporation to improve the state
of Russia, a country constantly struggling to find new energy
sources and ravaged by peat bog fires over the past decade.
Bioenco, of which Yanovskiy is President, currently employs
400 people and is one of the country’s largest producers
of peat, a highly organic material found in marshes and commonly
used for fertilizer or fuel. The company sees the production
cycle through from beginning to end.
“We are the pioneers of the new industry
in Russia,” Yanovskiy said. “We’re trying
really hard to go through the research that has been done
in R&D on production of peat, and we’re looking
at every possible commercial application. We are not going
mainstream.”
The company operates through a system of
clusters. “In each of the clusters, we extract peat,”
Yanovskiy said. “We have production facilities to make
brickets and our own energy-generating, heat-generating facilities.
We use our own peat there.”
Local administrators’ reactions to
the efforts have been quite positive. The clusters make energy
local and more transportable, decreasing additional fuel emissions.
The final product heats schools, universities, private housing
and prisons. “At the end of the day, we actually sell
energy,” Yanovskiy said.
The peat that Bioenco sells supersedes just
another source of energy. Smog and wildfires often create
smoke that blanket Moscow and other parts of the country,
creating hazardous health environments for the Russian population.
Bioenco seeks to address these issues.
“One of the company’s ideas was
to stop those fires,” Yanovskiy said. “We are
trying to educate people about a natural product that can
be used and also establish new employment opportunities.”
It was Bioenco that put Yanovskiy on the
international stage as a Young Global Leader during the 2011
World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
He and about 150 other passionate young leaders were recognized
for their commitment to global advancement in government,
business, or the arts. Yanovsky took great pride in the recognition,
but noted that it added to his sense of responibility.
“It gets you, honestly,” Yanovskiy
said. “It forces you to evaluate every action you make
because you feel a certain obligation to act with a sense
that your personal wealth is important, but what’s more
important is the state of the world in general.”
This global-oriented attitude developed early
in Yanovskiy’s life. A world citizen himself, Yanovskiy
was born in Moscow, attended school in Russia, lived briefly
in France and then completed a dual degree program at institutions
on both sides of the continental United States. He also spent
a semester in Switzerland during his Masters studies.
Yanovskiy earned his bachelors in economics
at Fordham University in 2000, graduating summa cum laude
with departmental honors. In 2002, Yanovskiy simultaneously
completed an MBA from Fordham University in New York and a
Masters in Global Management from Thunderbird University in
Arizona.
“At Thunderbird, the international aspect
fascinated me,” Yanovskiy said, mentioning a course
on global development and policy. “It’s really
an unbelievable melting pot of people from so many cultures,
backgrounds and industries.”
Yanovskiy accomplished something rarely done
at Thunderbird: he finished with a 4.0 GPA. Upon graduation,
the offers poured in.
Yanovskiy joined as an associate at a small
corporate finance company named Central Europe Trust, advancing
to head of corporate finance several months later. Two years
later, Yanovskiy became senior manager at Rosbank, the largest
private bank in Russia at the time, and later became CEO.
In 2007, news that Rosbank was to be sold
prompted Yanovskiy’s move to OPK, a large industrial
holdings company. Over his three years at OPK, he facilitated
the company’s purchase of Financière Hédiard
(of which he became President) and France Soir, an evening
newspaper in Paris.
In 2010, Yanovskiy opened his own firm called
First Nation Société, a small investment boutique
that still operates today.
“We work with wealthy individuals all
over the world, advising them on their asset allocation, on
their sale of assets, their position of assets, and on their
lifestyle management,” he said.
Yanovskiy’s activities continue to intersect
with other Young Global Leaders. He is Russia’s chairperson
for a nonprofit called Global Dignity, a movement started
by the crown prince of Norway and a few other WEF Young Global
Leaders.
“Around the world in October, people
who feel that the meaning of the word ‘dignity’
is crucial go to schools and universities to talk to students
about their dignity. Every aspect of your life comes down
to dignity,” Yanovskiy said.
Yanovskiy is vice-chairman for the Future
of Mining and Metals Global Agenda Council, a committee under
the WEF umbrella, and founding curator in Russia for the young
global shapers community begun by Karl Schwab. The group brings
together influential economic leaders from 125 cities around
the world.
“You go to Davos (Switzerland) to understand
the dynamic and the vector and where the economy is heading,”
Yanovskiy said. “And you go to talk to people.”
Yanovskiy continues to give credit to his
well-reputed peers for the way they shape him, referring especially
to the influential figures he has met, including Indra Nooyi,
Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Klaus Schwab.
“I believe that every person you meet
in your life has an impact on you. It’s negative or
positive, but every person does. That’s why societies
where you operate in social circles really affect you as a
person, and they shape you,” he said.
“I’m a huge supporter of [the
World Economic Forum] in general,” Yanovskiy said. “Klaus
Schwab and what he is doing in the world is just breathtaking.”
The community that played a critical role
in supporting Yanovskiy’s switch from banking to bioenergy
puts him in good company with other movers and shakers of
the 21st century. Yanovskiy’s commitment to a better
and more energy-sustainable Russia keeps him there.
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