Fuad Akhundov

Biography

Akhundov was born on 12 May 1966 in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. He graduated from school №6 in Baku. In 1991 he graduated with honors from the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy with a degree in engineering and economics. In 1993, he graduated from the University of Texas (Austin, United States) with a degree in corporate and international finance. In 1994, he studied at the Joint Vienna Institute at the International Monetary Fund and at the Japanese Center for International Finance, where he received a diploma in macroeconomic management. He is fluent in English, Azerbaijani, Russian, and Turkish. He is married and has three children.

Career

Akhundov started his career in 1986 as the Chief Engineer in the Engineering and Construction Department of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. During 1987-1991 he was appointed as a head of the regulatory research station in the system of Special Construction of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. In 1991 he joined the State Committee for Economy and Planning of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the position of Chief Economist and Deputy Director of the Directorate of Business Regulation and Economic and Legal Expertise.

Akhundov was engaged in the development of draft laws in the field of economy that laid the foundations of the market reforms in the Republic of Azerbaijan. He took part in the drafting of the following laws: "On the Securities Market", "On the Liberalization of Business", "On the Stock Exchange". In 1992 he was appointed as the advisor of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He continued to participate in the development of the economic legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Akhundov took part in the development of antitrust legislation and of laws including "On the Property" and "On the Committee for State Property", which ensured the country's transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. After the post-graduate studies at the University of Texas (Austin, Texas, United States), he began his career in the banking system of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In 1993 he headed the International Banking Operations Department at the Industrial Investment Bank of Azerbaijan. In 1994 he took the position of Director of the Department for Regulation of Foreign Exchange Transactions and International Financial Institutions in the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA). Later, Akhundov was appointed Director of the Department for Monetary Policy and Regulation of Foreign Exchange Operations in the NBA.

From August 1994 to September 1995, Akhundov was the Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Azerbaijan. While working at the National Bank of Azerbaijan, he led the bank's team at the negotiations of the NBA with the IMF and the World Bank. Being one of the founders of the first monetary program of the NBA, he personally developed and presented the law "Regulations on Foreign Exchange Regulation" to the Parliament of Azerbaijan.

Under the leadership of Akhundov, a new national payment system and the first payments balance of the country were introduced. As the Chairman of the Board of the Baku Interbank Currency Exchange, he organized the first auction, which laid the foundation for the inter-bank foreign exchange market. In 1995, Fuad Akhundov headed the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA). By 2001, the IBA had become the leading bank in the Republic of Azerbaijan, with a market share estimated at 2/3 of the country's banking capital, and with about 50% of retail deposits.

In 1996 the bank launched a credit cards program, Azerbaijan's first ATM was installed the same year, and the first international credit cards were issued in 1997. Later, the IBA served over 2 million cardholders and controlled 90% of the country's market. As a strategy for retail banking operations, the scheme of payment of utility bills was launched in Azerbaijan's capital, the city of Baku, in 2000. The bank was recognized as the best regional bank in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) in the field of management, and as the bank with the best management information system and IT system in the CIS countries. According to Euromoney magazine, it was recognized as the "Best Bank in Azerbaijan" in 1998, 1999, 2000, and was nominated "Bank of the Year" in Banker magazine. In 1998, Thomson Financial Bankwatch awarded the IBA with a credit rating; it was the first company in the history of Azerbaijan to receive an international credit rating.

Since 2001, Akhundov has been the Chief Executive Director and First Vice President of Nikoil Finance Corporation (Moscow). In August 2001, he led the team on the acquisition of Industrial Insurance Company (now "Uralsib-Insurance"), which was an insurance company in Russia at the time. In November 2001, Akhundov led the team in the acquisition of Autobank (tenth place among retail banks in Russia). In July 2003, Akhundov began heading the working committee for the integration of Nikoil Group and the acquired Autobank. He was Chairman of the Committee for the Investment and Underwriting in the Autobank-Nikoil Financial Corporation. As the chairman of the investment committee he was directly involved in the acquisition of Kopeyka, one of the largest Russian retail chains, by Nikoil.

In summer 2003, he began negotiations with the shareholders of the Bank Uralsib, which held the top 5 in all-Russian rankings at the time. Uralsib had an extensive regional network, with over 300 branches in 80 cities of Russia. In November 2003, Nikoil Group acquired a 15% stake in Uralsib through a privatization auction held by the State Property Fund, and a few weeks later Akhundov closed a transaction for a 57% stake in the bank. Another 3.5% stake was purchased on the open market, and the share in the equity of Uralsib increased to 75 + 1%, which allowed him to head the Management Board of the bank. In December 2003, Akhundov was appointed President and Chairman of the Management Board of the Bank Uralsib JSC.

From February 2004 to the end of 2005 he managed the merger of the Autobank-Nikoil FC and the Bank Uralsib. By the end of 2005, the consolidated Uralsib Financial Corporation increased its assets by almost 10 times, and took the 5th place in the DCM. It was also among the three leading private banks and asset management companies. The Uralsib FC was among the top five research teams, according to the rating of Thompson-Extel, was the seventh among the banks engaged in retail, and the tenth among the creditors of corporations in the Russian Federation.

In 2006, Akhundov founded and headed the United Capital Investment Group and served as a member of the Supervisory Board in the Silkroutefinancial Foundation (London).

Fuad Akhundov led the team which achieved approval for the first Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Side Parameters Report (SPR) for a nuclear power plant in Turkey. Under Akhundov's leadership, Akkuyu Nuclear undertook a so-called "multi-lot" construction strategy which later became a foundational strategy for bringing outside investors into the project.

In 2016 Akhundov founded Independent Energy Fund, a fund whose primary focus is financing Rosatom's foreign expansion.

He continues to lead Akkuyu Nuclear in the capacity of the Deputy Chairman of the Board.