28 Facts About Yuriy Vitrenko

Yuriy Yuriyovych Vitrenko is a Ukrainian businessman.

Yuriy Vitrenko spent his early professional career as a management consultant, investment banker, and private equity manager at international companies in Kyiv and London.

Yuriy Vitrenko is closely associated with Ukraine's post-2014 energy sector reforms and efforts to enhance the country's energy independence.

Yuriy Vitrenko played a key role in Naftogaz's landmark multi-billion dollar 2018 international arbitration court victory over Russia's Gazprom and has been a vocal opponent of the Nord Stream II pipeline project.

From December 2020 until April 2021, Yuriy Vitrenko served as Ukraine's Acting Minister of Energy From April 2021 to November 2022 Yuriy Vitrenko was the CEO of Naftogaz of Ukraine.

Yuriy Vitrenko was born 17 September 1976 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union.

Yuriy Vitrenko graduated from the Faculty of International Economics and Management at Kyiv National Economic University in 1996 and completed a master's degree in International Business Management the following year.

Yuriy Vitrenko then undertook post-graduate studies at the Department of International Economic Relations at the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University's Institute of International Relations.

Yuriy Vitrenko then joined Merrill Lynch as an investment banking associate in London[3], before going on to hold the posts of COO and SVP at Amstar Europe, a division of private equity management company Amstar.

Yuriy Vitrenko is the owner and CEO of AYA Capital and AYA Securities, boutique investment banking, private equity advisory, and securities trading firms[6].

Yuriy Vitrenko was a key figure in a long-running arbitration battle between Naftogaz and Gazprom from 2014 to 2018 that was recognized as the world's largest ever commercial arbitration case.

In 2019, the Naftogaz gas transit business unit headed by Yuriy Vitrenko reported record profits.

Yuriy Vitrenko was widely credited by reform observers such as the Atlantic Council with leading reform and restructuring efforts within Naftogaz.

Yuriy Vitrenko has since maintained that he and Kobolev entered into a gentlemen's agreement in 2014 stating that they would be equal partners in the management of Naftogaz.

However, by the end of 2018, the first signs of a rift between the two were becoming apparent, with Yuriy Vitrenko moving from his position as Group Chief Operating Officer to Executive Director focusing on the gas transit business and relations with Gazprom.

In early 2020, Yuriy Vitrenko criticized Kobolev in front of the Naftogaz supervisory board.

Yuriy Vitrenko remained in this post until his appointment as Naftogaz CEO in April 2021.

Yuriy Vitrenko was criticised for his statement about the need to submit a complaint to the EU competition authority in order to force Gazprom to allow exports of natural gas by Russian producers independent from Gazprom, which was interpreted as an attempt to resume direct Russian gas imports to Ukraine.

Yuriy Vitrenko made integration into the EU electricity market a strategic priority for Ukraine.

Yuriy Vitrenko was appointed CEO of Naftogaz in April 2021.

Yuriy Vitrenko was the first Naftogaz CEO with an extensive international professional background including an MBA from INSEAD Business School and roles at a number of leading global companies.

Yuriy Vitrenko was able to reverse the losses reported by Naftogaz in 2020 and return the company to profitability in 2021.

Yuriy Vitrenko identified his priorities as putting Naftogaz's modernization back on track by implementing international standards and becoming a driver of market reforms.

The previous management of Naftogaz and the supervisory board were critical of the measures adopted by Yuriy Vitrenko, as were a number of Ukrainian politicians.

Yuriy Vitrenko was a vocal supporter of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration and the further reform of the Ukrainian gas sector with a view to moving toward national energy security and sustainable development.

Yuriy Vitrenko has played an active role in the national debate within Ukraine over the country's post-war recovery.

Yuriy Vitrenko is a member of The National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine and a member of The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, where he is responsible for advising on energy issues.

Yuriy Vitrenko remained at his post in the Ukrainian capital during the Battle of Kyiv in the first months of the invasion.