New challenges require company board members to have the ability to think strategically and systematically, collaborate, be change leaders, and be confident in situations of uncertainty. XII. Speaking at the All-Russian Corporate Governance Forum, this opinion was expressed by Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, a member of the Supervisory Board of Sberbank.
At the session “Leadership in Uncertainty: A Paradigm Shift, New Trends and Management Practices”, Alexander Vedyakhin said that last year Sber, like many other large Russian companies, faced a number of corporate governance problems.
The speaker said that after all non-residents left the bank’s supervisory board, they were replaced by qualified Russian executives.
“The composition of the board of directors was kept in the same proportions, including by gender: 14 members of the Supervisory Board currently consist of seven independent directors, two of which are executive, five non-executive and two are women,” said Vedyakhin.
Also, a company representative noted that in the face of technological constraints, Sber Supervisory Board members had to “dive even deeper into technology issues”.
Vedyakhin added that the company needs to restructure its work in the international direction: “To solve complex problems in the jurisdictions from which Sberbank was forced to leave, to establish relations in new markets.”
He cited the need for Supervisory Board members to get to know new team members and make operational staffing decisions as another challenge.
Also, Vedyakhin noted the need for short-term challenges to “maintain a strategic point of view, maintain long-term directions and horizons.”
Finally, according to him, the company is facing increased attention from board members’ so-called soft (soft skills) and ESG skills.
“We are sincerely pleased that our Supervisory Board consists of people with problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork skills,” said Sberbank’s first vice chairman of the board.
He also emphasized that Sberbank has its own social skills course and that the company is ready to share its experience with the Professional Managers Association.