Marriage between Timchenko and Frank. Frank Gleb Sergeevich
Early years. Education
The birthplace of the future entrepreneur was the distant city of Vladivostok, where he was born in 1982. His father, Sergei Ottovich Frank, a naval engineer by profession, later became the Minister of Transport, holding this post from 1998 to 2004. 
In 1995, the family moved to Moscow in connection with the appointment of Sergei Ottovich as deputy director of the Department of Maritime Transport under the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. In 1999, Gleb Frank graduated from the capital’s school with in-depth study of English and entered the Faculty of International Law at MGIMO.
Having received a diploma in international law from one of the most prestigious universities in the country in 2004, he continued his education in Europe. He received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the French business school INSEAD (2010). He took the High Performance Boards and Leading Family Office courses at the Swiss International Institute for Management Development (in 2011 and 2015, respectively).
Business career
In parallel with his studies, Gleb Sergeevich worked and developed a fishing business. Having secured the support of investors, in 2011 he created and joined the board of directors of the Russian Fishery Company, an enterprise for the production of Far Eastern varieties of fish. The organization, which united regional specialized enterprises, became the largest fishing enterprise in the country.In 2014, Gleb Frank became involved in issues of the oil and gas industry, heading the board of directors of ZAO Stroytransgaz, a holding company engaged in servicing large projects, supplying and setting up specialized equipment.
In 2016, the entrepreneur became a shareholder of the Nord company. This enterprise owns an offshore transshipment complex - a first-category oil storage tanker "Umba" with a cargo capacity of 300 tons.
Expanding his business, Frank acquired part of the Infotek-Baltika enterprise, specializing in the transportation and support of goods sent by sea. The company charters ships, hires a crew and handles all the necessary paperwork, and also provides services for the delivery of goods by land. The company has representative offices in the largest ports of the Russian Federation: St. Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Primorsk, Arkhangelsk, Vysotsk, Murmansk, etc.
Family
In 2010, Gleb Frank married the daughter of a famous entrepreneurFrank Ksenia Gennadievna was born in 1985 in Leningrad. Father - Gennady Nikolaevich, a famous businessman and billionaire, head of the investment group Volga Group. Mother - Elena Petrovna, together with her husband, is a co-founder of a charitable foundation.
Education
In 2009, she graduated with honors from the University of Edinburgh with a major in philosophy and French.
Labor activity
Member of the board of directors of Transoil since 2011.
Through the company Cordeks, she owned a stake in SOGAZ; in February 2019, it became known that she sold her 12.5% stake in the insurer.
She participates in the management of two charitable foundations founded by her parents - she is the chairman of the supervisory board of the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation and a member of the supervisory board of the Neva Charitable Foundation.
Awards
She was awarded the Order of Friendship for her contribution to culture and charity.
She has repeatedly been included in the ranking of the richest heirs of Russian billionaires. Thus, in the list released by Forbes magazine in 2019, she, as the daughter of one of the richest businessmen, took fifth place among the richest heirs. Its share is estimated at $6.8 billion.
Family status
Lives in Switzerland with two children and her husband Gleb Frank, the son of the former Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation and a shareholder of the Russian Fishery Company.
Over the past six months, not a single news from the fishing industry is complete without the name of Gleb Frank. The son of the former Minister of Transport not long ago became the almost absolute owner of the Russian Fishing Company and is preparing to take over the entire industry.
The government renewal that took place the other day caused a noticeable revival in the whirlwind of bureaucratic everyday life. It is unlikely that any of the heads of ministries and departments are afraid of being left out of work - among the new appointments there are painfully familiar faces to everyone. But the prefix “acting,” which officials of the “old” government wore for a short time, gave extraordinary scope for fantasy: all unpopular decisions would go to the new cabinet of ministers, and you never know what could be attributed to interdepartmental confusion at the time of new appointments.
Those willing to take advantage of the cabinet turmoil were found immediately. Despite the series of May holidays, serious work was in full swing in the government. The Internet was filled with news about the upcoming closed meeting on May 15 with presidential aide Andrei Belousov. Its theme was supposed to be fishing, albeit on an industrial scale and on a national scale. In a confidential atmosphere among “his own,” Belousov planned to abolish the historical principle of distributing quotas for crab fishing. By the way, the officials of Rosrybolovstvo, headed by presidential aide Belousov, intended to close their doors not so much from the press as from the fishing industry themselves.
On the appointed day and hour, Andrei Belousov did not show up for the meeting with his colleagues. Instead, the meeting was chaired by Deputy Head of Rosrybolovstvo Petr Savchuk. The status of the event fell somewhat in the eyes of those gathered, and it is unlikely that such fateful decisions as the abolition of the historical principle were made at it. The indecisiveness of Rosrybolovstvo is quite understandable. The prospect of a return to auction trading in the fishing industry frightens many: ordinary fishermen, oligarchs who made their fortunes in fishing, governors who have become close to them, and even individual former members of the outgoing government. This motley group has one thing in common: they all remember how those same auctions took place.
The historical principle means that a person who has previously fished in a particular area has an advantage in obtaining a quota. This approach provides the necessary economic sustainability for the development of the fishing business and the industry as a whole. The historical principle of quota distribution is used in most developed countries of the world. Introduced in Russia in 2004.
Until 2004, fishing quotas in our country were sold at auctions. They were purchased by those who had the necessary amounts, that is, mainly people from the financial sector. Not inclined to commit themselves to the fishing industry for long, they quickly sold fish and seafood for export, also quickly making tangible profits. Fish canning factories stood idle, unemployment in Kamchatka, Sakhalin and other fishing territories broke all records.
Like any area with high easy income, fishing was rapidly criminalized. The culmination of chaos in the industry was the execution of the governor of the Magadan region, Valentin Tsvetkov, in the center of Moscow. One of the versions of Tsvetkov’s murder was the showdown between the governor and some businessmen over crab fishing quotas. The profitability of crab is several times higher than that of even the most expensive sea fish. It was from the export of crab at the dawn of the 2000s that businessmen made instant huge profits.
Tsvetkov's high-profile murder forced federal officials to reform the industry.
At first, quotas were issued for five years. The results were not long in coming: poaching subsided, shipbuilding and fish processing began to revive. Soon the quotas were extended to 10 years, and in 2016 this period was increased to 15 years. Over the past years, many billionaires have grown up on the historical principle of quotas. Among them are ex-senator from the Sakhalin region Alexander Verkhovsky, the family of the current governor of the region Oleg Kozhemyako, senators from Kamchatka Valery Ponomarev and Boris Nevzorov, as well as a number of other people who invariably occupy high government positions. What could make Rosrybolovstvo go against such a powerful lobby and who suddenly needed old, but completely unkind auctions?
Gleb Frank and Maxim Vorobyov
The answer to the second part of the question is quite obvious - auctions are needed by a new ambitious player who did not have time for the big division of the fishing industry in the 2000s. The newcomer’s readiness for auctions indicates that he has significant funds. Exactly one year ago, the crab market welcomed a new entrant who fits this description perfectly. It became the Russian Fishery Company (RRPC) of Maxim Vorobyov (until April 2018) and Gleb Frank.
The Turnif company, controlled by the RRPK, won six lots for crab fishing with a total volume of 2.4 thousand tons. The victory cost Vorobyov and Frank 10.3 billion rubles. Let us separately make a reservation that over the past year, Turnif did not catch even a third of the permitted volume, but managed to “check in” with the gray schemes for resale of quotas. They are forced to confuse the traces of the RRPK structure for one simple reason: the coastal snow crab included in the RRPK quotas, according to Russian legislation, had to be processed exclusively in Russia. However, there is no longer any need to resort to tricks. As soon as the RRPK started crab fishing, that same snow crab lost all value in the eyes of the government and was confidently excluded from the number of fisheries subject to mandatory processing in Russia.
Few people will be surprised by such coincidences, knowing the rich background of the Russian Fishing Company in every sense. Its main owners, Maxim Vorobyov and Gleb Frank, are literally connected to the government by blood ties. Maxim Vorobyov is the brother of the governor of the Moscow region. Gleb Frank is not only the son of ex-Minister of Transport Sergei Frank, but also the son-in-law of Gennady Timchenko. Largely thanks to the family ties between Vorobyov and Frank, RRPK became the second largest fishing company in the country. Therefore, Turnif’s purchase of crab fishing quotas forced RRPK’s competitors to tense up. And, I must say, not in vain.
Already in the fall of 2017, it became clear that RRPK was no longer satisfied with being number two in the ranking of the largest fishing companies. The report of an anonymous letter to President Vladimir Putin with a request to reform the fishing industry became a danger signal for all the country's fishing industry. The authors of the message remained unknown, but behind their poorly hidden intentions, their names and faces are easily guessed. Anonymous people ask the head of state to abandon the historical principle of distributing quotas for crabs. Instead, the authors want to return to the auction system of the early 2000s. And in order not to stain the paper twice, they propose to abandon investment quotas (quotas allocated under the condition of building a crab fishing vessel on the territory of the Russian Federation). Presidential aide Andrei Belousov was assigned to review the proposed initiatives.
Letter from the Russian Fishery Company
A real storm has arisen in the industry. Protest against the sale of quotas at auction was expressed by the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises and Exporters (VARPE), the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), as well as the Deputy Prime Minister, who called the idea of auctions “delusional.” Trying to smooth over the awkwardness of the anonymous message and the growing industry protest, the authors of the note even named the FSB, which took the fishing industry on bail. Did not help.
The issue, to the surprise of the unnamed authors, was not resolved in any way. And the second letter appeared in front of the president. Its authors did not hide themselves, and on the first page of the letter we see the logo of the Russian Fishing Company. The same requests follow: the abolition of the historical principle and investment quotas, supported this time by the promise to build a “modern trawler”. In a single, it must be understood, copy.
The second letter leaves no doubt that this romance in the letters was originally started by the RRPK. However, according to market participants, Frank and Vorobiev had different views on this matter. Maxim Vorobiev did not agree with the aggressive takeover of the market, which was increasingly looking like .
The reason for Vorobyov’s exit from the RRPK could have been those same “crab” letters sent to the president without his consent.
Gleb Frank was clearly not upset by his partner’s exit from the business. He became the owner of 89.95% of the RRPK and confidently continues to undermine the fishing industry.
Despite this, auctions will drive the entire industry into crisis; Rosrybolovstvo is actively working on mechanisms to return to the past. After all, the head of the department, Ilya Shestakov, is an old friend of Frank’s family. Shestakov’s deputy, Petr Savchuk, also knows Frank Jr. well, because he once headed the Far Eastern branch of the RRPK. This combination of friends and partners leaves no hope: there will be auctions. Everyone knows what will happen to the giant industry as a result.
1995 - moved to Moscow. Studying in a specialized school with in-depth knowledge of English.
1999-2004 - obtaining higher education at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations MGIMO with a degree in international law (Faculty of International Law). After receiving a diploma from a domestic educational institution, Gleb Frank continued his studies in economics in Europe.
Education and career after the first diploma
2010 - received an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from INSEAD in France.
2011 - training under the High performance boards IMD program in Switzerland. Gleb Frank becomes a member of the board of directors of Russian Aquaculture companies. The company is one of the three leaders of the Russian market in the fishing industry. The main areas of work of Russian Aquaculture are the breeding of Atlantic salmon and trout, the wholesale sale of frozen and chilled fish.
Career
2011 - Gleb Frank holds the position of member of the board of directors of the Russian Fishery Company. The company actively produces fish in the Far East. The company includes such large organizations as OJSC Turnif, CJSC Intraros, LLC Vostokrybprom, LLC Sovgavanryba, LLC Imlan, LLC Pelagial. The geography of fishing is the waters of the Far East. Today, the Russian Fishery Company is the most influential organization in Russia and the world for catching various types of fish (pollock, Pacific herring).
2014 - appointment to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of CJSC Stroytransgaz. The company occupies a leading position in the field of construction. It is actively developing through the provision of a variety of general contracting services (design support, technical consultations, supplies) and combining construction with subsequent maintenance of projects in the oil and gas industry.
2015 - training in the Leading Family Office program in Switzerland.
2016 - Gleb Frank became one of the main owners of the RPK Nord company (owner of the transshipment complex based on the Umba floating oil storage facility). In addition, Frank Gleb Sergeevich owns part of the transport company Infotek-Baltika. The organization is engaged in complex sea transportation of various cargoes. Its branches are located in most major ports of Russia (from St. Petersburg to Murmansk).
Today's day
2018 - Gleb Frank became the main owner of the Russian Fishery Company, the main producer of pollock on the Russian market. Today he is the main shareholder of the organization with a share of 89.95%. In 2017, the company produced 320 thousand tons of fish and other seafood. The company was allocated a quota for catching 226,300 tons of pollock (about 14% of the total Russian volume).
Gleb Frank enjoys active recreation.
The son-in-law of Gennady Timchenko and the son of the owner of Sovcomflot, Gleb Frank, wants to catch more than just herring in the sea.
The owner of the Russian Fishing Company, son-in-law of Gennady Timchenko, Gleb Frank, bought 9 new vessels, as serious passions continue to rage around crab quotas.
On the eve of this loud announcement, the North-Western Fishing Consortium, on the contrary, announced that it might refuse to purchase new vessels due to the new distribution of quotas. Is Frank making it clear that he will be able to recoup the losses? The correspondent understood the situation.
Let us recall that not long ago Frank’s company purchased quotas for catching 2,414 tons of crab at an auction for 10 billion rubles. Before this, Gleb Frank's scows caught only herring and pollock. I had to fight for the crab catch, despite high patrons, not everything went (and is going) smoothly. In 2017, the Russian Fishing Company, according to the Association of Far East Crab Miners, used only 542 tons of quotas (about 22% of what was given).
And in order to maintain the right to catch, it is necessary to master at least half of the quotas for 2 years in a row. But Frank’s company did not have enough ships to cover these quotas. Apparently, after the purchase of new ships, the situation will change. And the Russian fishing company of Gleb Frank will produce many, many crabs. How many fishing companies will go bankrupt?
With a platinum spoon in my mouth
Gleb Frank was born with a platinum spoon in his mouth: he had a happy childhood, adolescence, and no less happy youth. And entering big business immediately after graduating from a prestigious educational institution.
He doesn’t know what calluses are, because Gleb Frank is the son of the former Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, General Director of PJSC Sovcomflot Sergei Frank. Gleb Frank is happily married to the youngest daughter of businessman Gennady Timchenko, Ksenia. Today, Ksenia Frank ranks 14th in the 2017 Forbes ranking of the richest women in Russia with a net worth of $200 million.
The youngest daughter of billionaire Timchenko Ksenia Frank
The fishing business is Frank Jr.'s main business. In addition to the Russian Fishing Company, the son of Sergei Frank owns 100% of Info-Nord Holding LLC (investments in securities) and 100% of Rockwell Capital LLC (consulting on commercial activities). Frank Jr.'s former main partner is Maxim Vorobyov, brother of the Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov. They recently broke up.
Maxim Vorobyov is the owner of 47.8% of the shares of the largest producer of aquaculture trout and salmon, Russian Aquaculture. He is a co-owner of the development company Samolet LO and TD Nadeko LLC (wholesale trade of ferrous metals).
Maxim Vorobyov and Gleb Frank created the Russian Fishing Company together, but Frank catches crabs alone
But it was the fishing business that united Gleb Frank and Maxim Vorobyov. Frank recently bought out Vorobyov’s share. And now he rules the company single-handedly.
In 2011, the partners founded the Russian Sea - Production company for fishing in the Far East. They began to vigorously consolidate fishing assets. The most important acquisitions were made in 2013. The structure included fishing companies Sovgavanryba LLC, Turnif OJSC, Intraros CJSC, Vostokrybprom LLC.
In November 2014, Russian Sea - Production acquired two more companies: Imlan LLC and Pelagial LLC. And soon after this acquisition, the Russian Sea-production suddenly changed its name. And it turned into the Russian Fishing Industry Company. Today it is one of the three largest fishing companies in the Russian Federation.
At the end of 2017, the company caught more than 303 thousand tons of fish: 226.3 thousand tons of pollock and 65.5 thousand tons of herring. Revenue for 2017 is more than 360 million dollars.
Owners of fishing companies continue to sharply oppose Timchenko’s son-in-law’s aggressive business practices. This is reported by Vesmatuday. According to one of the largest fishing industry in Kolyma, deputy of the Magadan Regional Duma Mikhail Kotov, if the new rules for crab fishing come into force, the companies will curtail all social projects (30 million rubles per year), and 600 people employed in crab fishing may end up unemployed.
The North-Western Fishing Consortium (NWRC), one of the main beneficiaries, Gennady Mirgorodsky, after all the quota battles, may refuse the order for the construction of 10 crab fishing vessels. And then the Vyborg Shipyard will find itself in a difficult economic situation. The reason is precisely the new procedure for distributing quotas for crab fishing, which should come into force in 2019 at the suggestion of Timchenko’s son-in-law.
Sergey Frank, General Director of PAO Sovcomflot
Before the purchase of new ships, Frank Jr.'s fleet consisted of 12 trawlers and 2 transport ships. The average age of trawlers is 28 years. Eight of the 12 trawlers have undergone modernization. And now these old vessels will be able to fish for another 5-6 years.
Low temps
The fuss over crab quotas led to the fact that the general director of the Russian Fisheries Company, Andrei Teterkin, recently left his post. He worked for the company for 6 years. The reason, most likely, lies in the dissatisfaction of the company's owner, Gleb Frank, with the low rate of development of crab fishing quotas.
Before joining Frank’s company, Andrey Teterin worked in senior positions in SIBUR structures. It was under Teterin that the entire structure of the Russian Fishing Industry Company was formed. Today there are 6 vessels fishing for crab. Recently Gleb Frank announced that he was going to build 10 more ships. And already in the fall of 2017, the company signed a contract with the Admiralty Shipyards for the construction of 6 trawlers worth more than 38 billion rubles. The company also plans to build 2 processing plants in Murmansk and Primorye with a total cost of 2.2 billion rubles. Until recently, Andrei Teterin was involved in all these projects. But he had to leave Frank's company. He never stated the real reason for leaving.
By the way, about the “division” of business with Vorobyov. There were reports in the media that the reason for Frank-Vorobiev’s “divorce” could be a “crab letter” to Vladimir Putin. According to another version, Frank simply “survived” his companion - he forced him to leave. As they say, with such a friend, there is no need for enemies.
"Crab Letter"
This letter was first discussed in a whisper and then out loud last October, 2017. It was a scandal of sorts, in connection with which the Russian Fisheries Group was mentioned. RBC reported this.
So, a letter was sent to Vladimir Putin with a request to review the mechanism for distributing crab fishing quotas. And there was such a proposal - to return to the practice of selling quotas through auctions.
Quotas for crab production were distributed through auctions until 2003
Let us recall that quotas for crab production were distributed through auctions until 2003. But in 2004, the Russian Government abolished this practice due to the crisis that erupted in the fishing industry. And crab fishing quotas began to be assigned to fishing companies for 15 years on a “historical basis” based on auctions in 2000–2003.
But Timchenko’s man, the head of Rosrybolovstvo, Ivan Shestakov, suddenly started talking about auctions.
Head of Rosrybolovstvo Ivan Shestakov
He said auctions have certain advantages. Such careless statements caused a storm of criticism from representatives of the fishing industry. If crab auctions are returned to, some fishing enterprises will face default. And that is not all. The fulfillment of contracts for the construction of fishing vessels will be at risk.
Sberbank also warns about the risks of returning to crab auctions. The department of German Gref finances projects in the fishing industry for $1 billion.
But passions do not subside. At the end of December 2017, journalists learned that the Government of the Russian Federation was hotly discussing a new compromise option for the distribution of crab quotas. Read more on RBC:
This option was proposed by the Russian fishing company of Gleb Frank. So, according to businessman Frank, 40% of quotas should be awarded at auctions, 40% should be distributed according to the “historical principle,” and 20% should be transferred to investors for investment quotas. They will have to be presented in exchange for a commitment to build ships at Russian shipyards.
Crab fishing is one of the most marginal businesses in fishing
And soon Rosrybolovstvo informed the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation that in 2019 it is planned to introduce new types of quotas exclusively for crab - an auction quota with investment obligations. It will involve putting up for auction highly liquid and highly sought-after shares of quotas for the production of crabs and crabs in the Far Eastern and Northern basins. According to Rosrybolovstvo, this initiative could bring 81.9 billion rubles to the budget. On July 20, Rosrybolovstvo sent proposals to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation justifying the economic efficiency of introducing auctions for the right to harvest crabs.
But one of the most experienced experts, President of VARPE (All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters - ed.) German Zverev noted that the materials prepared by Rosrybolovstvo do not take into account the position of the players in the fishery complex, as well as research institutes and independent experts. Moreover, the materials contain distorted information about the profitability of the crab fishery. The Primamedia.ru portal wrote about this.
But government agencies - regulators of the industry (Ministry of Agriculture, Rosrybolovstvo) have prepared a financial model for the sale of up to 50% of the rights to crab fishing at auctions. And we tried to collect assessments from the business community. The industry responded with sharp rejection of “auction initiatives.” And she announced this at the IV Congress of Fishermen in February 2018. Representatives of the fishing industry for the first time publicly voiced their suspicions that it was the Russian Fishery Company, owned by Gleb Frank, that could be behind attempts to remove quotas for crab production from the “historical principle” system. And play them at auction.
On June 22, the “auction” issue was discussed at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. According to media reports, the government was considering two options for removing half of the crab quotas from the “historical principle”: selling 50% of the quotas at an auction with the condition that the winners build new ships, or selling 30% of the quotas at an auction without any encumbrances. And the inclusion of 20% of crab resources in the “investment quotas” program. Then the enterprise can count on the corresponding share of the quota after the commissioning of a new vessel or onshore enterprise.
Experts remind that crab fishing is one of the most marginal businesses in fishing. This is a quick turnover of money. In industrial fishing, fish are caught, processed, and frozen. And it can wait a long time for delivery and be stored in a warehouse. And thus the money can be received in a few months.
The crab catch quota for this year is 80 thousand tons in the Far Eastern basin and 15 thousand tons in the Northern basin.
Is Sovcomflot privatization possible?
But perhaps Frankie’s father and son are preparing another surprise for all of us? What exactly prompted Frank Jr.'s company to suddenly get involved in the crab fishery? After all, he was (and is) so good at catching pollock and herring?
Why did the crabs suddenly hit your head like that?
Let's not forget that Frank Sr. is the General Director of PJSC Sovcomflot. The government has been trying unsuccessfully to sell 25% of Sovcomflot since 2011. In 2017, income from the privatization of this package was included in the budget. Initially, the sale of shares on the Moscow Exchange was considered. However, First Deputy Prime Minister (now former) Igor Shuvalov said that the option of direct sale to investors, including Asian ones, was being considered. RBC reported this.
There are currently 158 vessels in Sovcomflot’s “garages”
Previously, conversations about privatization were accompanied by the traditional remark that “now is not the best time,” but then it turned out that in 2015, which was gone forever, the window of opportunity was wide open, since the profits of tanker companies were then maximum! Today, in addition to deteriorating indicators and a high debt burden, the tense political situation is not conducive to the placement of shares on international exchanges.
Let us remind you of this fact. At the beginning of 2017, the Russian government approved a forecast privatization plan for 2017-2019. During this period, it was planned to privatize the state's shares in the largest Russian shipping company Sovcomflot. It was planned that the state would completely withdraw from the capital of the Novorossiysk commercial sea port.
But in mid-September, the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, when asked by journalists whether the privatization of Sovcomflot was planned, forwarded this question to the Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin. “He is studying this topic. I can’t tell you for sure,” TASS quotes Anton Siluanov as saying.
But if this privatization suddenly happens, won’t it turn out that all the crab will go to dad and son Frank? Why then was the “crab letter” written to Vladimir Putin needed? "Squeezing" out of the Russian Fishing Company a partner - the brother of Governor Vorobyov, as well as getting rid of the "eyes" and "ears" - the former general director of the company Andrei Teterin? It looks like a new, family currency-intensive business is on the doorstep?
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