Alexei Miller
Chief executive, Gazprom
Shy and slightly diffident, Alexei Miller does not fit the stereotype of the swaggering energy company boss. But the longtime confidant of President Vladimir Putin – the two worked together in the St Petersburg city administration – was in 2001 given the job of ending corruption and improving efficiency at Gazprom, the giant gas monopoly. Now he faces the task of building the group into a world-class operator, with ambitions to reach a $1,000bn market value.
His initial efforts were successful. Helped by removal of the “ring fence” restricting foreign ownership of shares, Gazprom’s market value has jumped from $15bn to about $250bn. But some investors question whether Mr Miller is the right man to lead Gazprom into the next phase. The fact his former chairman, Dmitry Medevedev, will be president, and longtime patron, Mr Putin, will be prime minister, may strengthen his chances of staying put.
