Sibir Energy has appointed to the Company's board of Messrs Vadim Yakovlev and Igor Tsibelman, both representatives of Gazprom Neft. Mr Tsibelman has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Company, replacing Stuard Detmer, and Mr Yakovlev will assume a role as non-executive director, both with immediate effect. Mr Detmer will remain on the Board as a non-executive director.

Mr Vadim Vladislavovich Yakovlev, aged 38, is Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer of Gazprom Neft. Prior to working with Gazprom Neft, Mr Yakovlev held various management positions in finance and audit including Audit Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deputy Head of the Financial and Economic Department at CJSC YUKOS EP, Chief Financial Officer at JSC YuganskNeft'egaz (NK Yukos) and Chief Financial Officer of LLC SIBUR-Russian Tyres. Mr Yakovlev holds an MSc in Applied Nuclear Physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and an MSc in Finance from the International University in Moscow. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a Diploma and Certified Director by the In stitute of Directors (IOD).

Prior to his appointment as CEO of Sibir, Mr Tsibelman, aged 41, was the Head of International Legal Affairs at Gazprom Neft in Moscow. Prior to joining Gazprom Neft, Mr Tsibelman worked as an attorney for White & Case LLP and Arent Fox PLLC in New York. Before becoming an attorney, Mr Tsibelman held a number of managerial positions and worked on a variety of commercial matters, including privatisation, corporate restructuring, construction and real estate development and international trade. Mr Tsibelman holds a BA/MA from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO) and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is a member of the New York and Connecticut bars.

Open Joint Stock Company "Gazprom Neft" is currently interested in approximately 34 per cent. of the Company's entire issued share capital.

Stuard Detmer, Member of the Board and outgoing CEO of Sibir, said, "The appointment of Messrs Yakovlev and Tsibelman is an important step in re-building the Sibir Board and establishing a high standard of corporate governance for the Company. As representatives of Gazprom Neft, Vadim and Igor not only bring their own extensive expertise in legal and financial matters, but also access to the industry expertise of the Gazprom Neft oil and gas organisation and the political support of a company owned by JSC Gazprom, one of the largest companies in the world. The Board of Sibir has worked closely with Vadim and Igor on the recent offer to Sibir's minority shareholders by Gazprom Neft and has found them to be executives of great professionalism and integrity. The Board is confident that they, and Gazprom Neft, wi ll make significant and enduring contributions to the future success of Sibir."

Tags: Sibir Energy