Uralchem owner and Chairman Dmitry Mazepin has taken over as CEO of Uralchem JSC, effective May 12, the company said in a statement. Former CEO Alexander Prygunkov resigned from the position effective April 26 at his own request (GM April 30, p. 29).
Dmitry Konyaev, who previously held the position of Uralchem’s Deputy Chairman, has been appointed Chairman.
“A fundamentally new stage in the development of Uralkali and Uralchem has begun, which is designed to give synergy to our joint work, reduce operational and organizational costs, and increase the efficiency of the management unit,” said Mazepin, who is also Uralkali’s majority shareholder and the potash company’s Co-Deputy Chairman.
Russian media sources were of the view late last year that in 2021 the management of Uralkali and Uralchem would be merged, amid speculation of merger plans for the two companies (GM Nov. 20, 2020). The merger plans were refuted by Mazepin.