• Alexei Kudrin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, confirms as opening keynote speaker for the conference. As the main architect of the Russian government’s financial policy for a number of years, and with his recent promotion to the role of Deputy Premier, Mr. Kudrin is uniquely positioned to comment on Russia’s development as a new force in the global economy.
• Michael Klein, CEO of Global Banking at Citigroup, confirms as guest speaker for the Bull and Bear Banquet. In addition to his position as a senior manager of one of the world’s leading financial institutions, Mr. Klein brings a great deal of personal insight and understanding into global markets, and his skills as an excellent speaker.
• Leonid Reiman, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Russian Federation, confirms his participation as a plenary speaker. Mr. Reiman has been a frequent participant for a number of years in conferences organised by Eventica in London and Moscow. His presence at the Global Investment & Finance Forum will help to underscore the vital role played by the knowledge economy in developing emerging markets such as Russia.
• Vladimir Dmitriev, Chairman, Vnesheconombank, confirms as a speaker. Vnesheconombank is a Russian state-owned specialised bank and is one of the oldest banks in the country. It supports top priority industries, to develop the non-raw materials sector of the Russian economy and boost Russian companies’ competitive edge in domestic and foreign markets. The bank also acts as an agent for the Government of the Russian Federation in managing foreign Soviet-era and Russian debt.
• Arkady Dvorkovich, Head of the Experts Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation, confirms as a speaker. Mr. Dvorkovich was appointed to his current role in April 2004, where he is a key adviser on the Russian government’s economic policy. He previously served as a Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
• Charles E. Ryan, Chief Country Officer and CEO of Deutsche Bank Group in Russia, confirms as a speaker. A widely acknowledged leader of the business community in Russia, Mr. Ryan devoted more than a decade to founding and developing United Financial Group (UFG), one of Russia’s leading investment companies, which was later sold to Deutsche Bank in a landmark deal that was completed in early 2006. This transaction strengthened Deutsche Bank’s position as one of the leading investment banks in Russia.
• Anatoly Chubais, CEO, RAO Unified Energy System of Russia, confirms for ‘Forbes Live’ interview with Maxim Kashulinsky.This unique session, designed specially for the Global Investment and Finance Forum in cooperation with Forbes, will allow conference participants a chance to take a look behind the pages of the well known business magazine, as it comes alive in this special interactive format.
• Alexey Buyanov of AFK Sistema and Evgeny Luneyev of PIK Group confirm for CFO Roundtable, to be chaired by Oleg Anisimov of Finance Magazine. This session will give delegates a unique opportunity to hear directly from Finance Directors of leading Russian companies about the impact that the liquidity crunch is having on their plans to go to market.
• Oleg Vyugin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, MDM Bank, confirms as speaker. Mr. Vyugin brings a wealth of experience from various posts in both the state and private sectors. Prior to joining MDM in May, he was head of the Federal Financial Markets Service, where he was an outspoken supporter of developing domestic stock markets in Russia.
• Alexander Potemkin, President of MICEX and Alexei Rybnikov, Chief Executive of the MICEX Stock Exchange, confirm. The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (or MICEX) is one of the largest universal stock exchanges in Eastern Europe, hosting the shares and corporate bonds of over 550 companies, with a total capitalisation of over $900 billion.
• Russian News Channel Vesti 24 to organise a series of interviews with key speakers in New York, London and Moscow, to be broadcast prior to the Forum. These interchanges will focus on the impact of the global financial climate on Russia and other emerging markets.
• KPMG, a long-time Partner of Eventica, confirms as a Lead Partner for the Forum, with Roger Munnings, head of their operations in Russia, coming on board as a plenary speaker. A global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services, KPMG operates in 148 countries, and Russia is one of its fastest growing markets.
• Gillian Tett, the Editor who oversees global coverage of financial markets for the FT, confirms as a speaker. In 2007, Ms. Tett was awarded the Wincott prize, the premier British award for financial journalism, for her capital markets coverage.
• Centrelnvest Group signs up as a Lead Partner. With the recent appointment of Alexei Gurin as its General Director, the financial services group is poised to become a leader in the Russian market, offering a wide variety of services, including brokerage, investment banking, asset management and consulting.
• Andrew Hunter, Head of Corporate Finance (Europe) for Macquarie, confirms as a speaker, on behalf of Macquarie Renaissance, their Russian joint venture. Macquarie is the world’s biggest private owner of infrastructure assets, with over $202 billion under management.
• The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) confirms as a Lead Partner. The EBRD, established in 1991, is now the largest single investor in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Russia has become an important focus of the bank in recent years, and for the Forum it will be holding a session on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and infrastructure development, a special area of interest.
• Chris Gibson-Smith, Chairman of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), confirms as a plenary speaker. Following its merger with Borsa Italiana, the LSE is Europe's leading equities business. In recent years, Russian companies have raised billions of dollars on the LSE and AIM, its junior exchange.
• Hans Joerg-Rudloff, Chairman of Barclays Capital, confirms as plenary speaker. In addition to his position at Barclays, Mr. Rudloff sits on the boards of a number of other companies, including Russian oil giant Rosneft.
• James Chanos, President and Founder of Kynikos Associates, confirms as a speaker. Mr. Chanos’ $4 billion New York based hedge fund is known for its success in short selling, and its identification of Enron’s problems ahead of the market.
• John Peet, Europe Editor of the Economist, confirms as a speaker. Mr. Peet is a highly-respected economics commentator.
• Ruben Vardanian, CEO of Troika Dialog, confirms as speaker. Mr. Vardanian has been the main driving force in creating one of Russia’s largest investment banks.
• Forbes confirms as a Media Partner, and will do a special session entitled ‘Forbes Live’, moderated by Maxim Kashulinsky, the magazine’s editor in Russia.
• Kommersant Dengi confirms as a Media Partner. The magazine’s editor, Sergei Yakovlev, will moderate a session at the conference.

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