Oleg Boyko

Education

Oleg Boyko was born in Moscow in 1964. He was educated at the Moscow Aviation Institution, specialising in radio electronics, and subsequently gained a Master of Business Administration from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. He worked at the Lomonosov Moscow State University between 1982 and 1986.

Business Interests

Boyko’s business interests include banking, financial services, retail, leisure, heavy industry, media and technology. In 1999 Boyko was a joint investor in EvrazHolding along with Alexander Abramov, combining three steel mills and thereby creating one of the world’s largest vertically-integrated steel producers. In 2000, Boyko and a team of professional executives formed Finstar Financial Group as an investment vehicle and management company in order to identify, invest in, and actively manage businesses on behalf of Boyko and other private investors.

In 2002, Boyko founded Ritzio Entertainment Group, investing in casinos and gaming, a business that expanded across Russia and internationally. In 2010, Boyko became an investor in lottery businesses in Russia and Ukraine, including the national lottery to support the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. He has subsequently disposed of all his lottery interests.

In 2003, Finstar purchased a controlling stake in a Latvian commercial bank, Baltic Trust Bank. In 2006, Finstar sold its 79% stake to GE Capital, the banking and finance arm of General Electric. In 2006 Boyko entered the real estate market through a new holding company, Finstroy. In 2004, Boyko sold his 20% stake in EvrazHolding for approximately $600 to $700 million prior to its listing on the London Stock Exchange.

In 2006, under Boyko, Finstar acquired 75% of Russia’s second largest cosmetics and perfumery chain, Rive Gauche. In 2012, Boyko sold 51% of his stake to a consortium of investors but continues to hold 24% of the business. In 2013, Boyko announced Finstar’s investment in FashionTV, a fashion channel which broadcasts in 192 countries. In 2016, Boyko’s Finstar furthered its tech investments by announcing its acquisition of a 51% stake in Prestamos Prima, in addition to leading Spotcap’s third funding round.

Boyko is involved in film production and served as a co-producer on Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For in 2014, and is a co-producer in Scarlett Johansson’s forthcoming directorial debut for the film Summer Crossing, which is based on a Truman Capote novel.

Parasport Foundation

Boyko founded the Parasport foundation in 2006, during the Paralympic Winter Games in Turin. The Foundation offers funding for Paralympic athletes to train and attend competitions and obtain physical and mental health care, and promotes equality for people with disabilities. Recently the Foundation became the official partner of the Russian Paralympic Committee, and has established a presence in Asia. In 2016, Boyko co-hosted its 10th anniversary celebration with an event in Moscow, attended by Paralympic Committee representatives from 25 countries. Since 2006 Boyko has also been the Head of the Paralympic Movement Development Committee of the Russian Paralympic Committee. He was appointed to the International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Development Committee as a member in October 2015 following the successful funding by Parasport of the 2015 IWAS Games in Sochi.