The Eye (Spring)

egional spotlight
Moscow
2016 marks the 10 year anniversary of our Russian office. Our SMD
Oleg Leonov and MD Leonid Fink explain the opportunities and challenges
facing businesses wanting to operate in this unique country.
Tell us a little about
our history in Russia.
Whilst our US-based colleagues
had worked on Russianrelated
matters for some
years, our first permanent
office opened in Moscow in
2006 upon the acquisition of
Financial Dynamics (FD). FD
had won major clients such as
Vimpelcom, Mechel and Rusal
who were all looking to build
their international reputations
and raise capital in the Western
markets, and soon became
the market leader working
on the many IPOs emanating
from the former Soviet bloc.
By the time the office
rebranded as FTI Consulting
in 2011, following the global
financial crisis the market, and
our business, had changed
dramatically. Under Oleg
Leonov’s leadership we
diversified our business to offer
the full spectrum of strategic
communications services. Our
Moscow office also serves as
a regional hub, in partnership
with a network of affiliates
who are experienced in the
neighbouring markets of Central
Asia and Eastern Europe.
What type of clients
do you have??
Our client base is balanced
between Russian corporate
leaders such as Sberbank,
Eurochem, Cherkizovo, Lenta,
Promsvyazbank and Mail.ru, and
large Western multinationals
operating in the Russian
market such as MasterCard,
Morgan Stanley, Lafarge,
Electrolux and Lombard Odier.
Last year we welcomed
specialists from Instinctif
Partners to strengthen our
financial communications
offering across the region.
Leonid Fink and Jenny Payne
work out of our London office,
with Anton Karpov in Moscow,
and their arrival has led to an
inflow of new clients, notably
Polymetal International, Lenta
and Cherkizovo Group.
Why is it important
for you to have a
presence in London??
We all recognise how attractive
London is for influential Russian
individuals and companies, and
many Russian companies listed
on the London Stock Exchange
are seeking Russian-language
advice in London, close to their
financial audiences. So we have
a real competitive advantage
if we can offer senior experts
with the knowledge, experience
and language skills to be able
to advise them. In addition,
most of Russia’s neighbours in
the region prefer to be advised
out of London than Moscow,
How do you work with
the other segments
in the EMEA region??
The Mastercard account is a
great example of our productive
engagement with SC colleagues
across the world. We have also
partnered with our FLC and
EFC practices in the country
on a number of occasions.
What are the
particular challenges
of working in Russia??
It would be fair to say that we do
face very significant challenges
at the moment. Russia is going
through a severe economic
recession caused mainly by
the fall in oil prices and the
economic sanctions against
the country. This means that
businesses, even large ones,
are struggling and are looking
to cut costs, which inevitably
affects the market for our
services. We have managed to
retain our clients and win new
ones, but there is no doubt that
it is a tough environment.
Finally, tell us a little
about Moscow
Moscow is pretty much like any
other typical large European
city, except it gets very cold
in the winter and very hot in
the summer. The cultural life
is amazing: there are dozens
of theatres and art galleries,
and simply walking in central
Moscow along the sprawling
boulevards and squares is
great fun. Possibly the best
experience of all is the fine food,
as we have lots of really good
restaurants at very affordable
prices following the fall of the
Rouble. So do come and visit!
Mastercard was actually our
client in Moscow before it began
working with the SC team across
the globe. It has since become
one of FTI’s largest SC clients.
Oleg Leonov
Leonid Fink
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