Moscow, Russia - March 6, 2015, Moscow, Russia - CTC Media, Inc., an independent media company, announced the appointment of Natasha Tsukanova and Kaj Gradevik to the CTC Media board of directors.
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Ms. Tsukanova has also been appointed Co-Chairman of the Board. Ms. Tsukanova is the Founder and Managing Director of Xenon Capital Partners, a financial advisory firm focused on Russia and the CIS. She previously served as Head of Investment Banking Russia/CIS at J.P. Morgan, having joined the Oil and Gas Team with J.P. Morgan in London in 1997.
Ms. Tsukanova has played a leading role in a number of high profile capital markets and M&A transactions in Russia and the CIS, including the IPOs of Rosneft and Eurasia Drilling Company; the restructuring of the Russian electric power industry; the privatization of RAO UES; ONGC's acquisition of a stake in the Sakhalin-1 off-shore development; and the acquisition of a 50% stake in the Etinde oil and gas concession in Cameroon by a consortium of LUKOIL and New Age.
Ms. Tsukanova and Xenon won Finance Monthly’s 2012 Deal Maker of the Year Award for Russia for bringing together an international consortium of private equity investors to acquire a 26.43% stake in Russian power producer OJSC ENEL OGK-5. She is also a member of the Executive Board of Kerogen Capital, an Asia-based oil and gas private equity fund.
Ms. Tsukanova holds Ph.D. and M.A. Degrees in Economics from Moscow State University and an MBA (Honours) from INSEAD, and was a Pew Scholar at Harvard University.
Mr. Gradevik is rejoining the Company’s Board of Directors, having previously served as a Director of the Company from 2002 to 2009. Mr. Gradevik currently manages his own financial advisory and consultancy firm. He previously served as Vice President and Head of M&A for TeliaSonera, Europe’s fifth largest telecommunications company, from 2010 to 2012.
Mr. Gradevik joined Modern Times Group MTG AB (“MTGâ€) in 2001 and served as the Head of Mergers & Acquisitions and Head of Business Development, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions as well as international expansion.
Prior to joining MTG, Mr. Gradevik served as an Investment Banker at Merrill Lynch in London, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, and as a diplomat with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Gradevik has advised on and managed a wide range of corporate transactions, including the sale of Tele2 Norway to TeliaSonera; the sale of Tele2 Russia to VTB Capital; TeliaSonera’s acquisition of 49% of Kcell from Kazakhtelecom; and MTG’s initial investment in CTC Media.
Mr. Gradevik holds a Master’s Degree of Political Science from Uppsala University in Sweden. ■