Who Runs Russian Banks?

STUDY AUTHORS:

Elena Prosvirkina, Doctoral Student, Swiss Business School; Senior Lecturer, HSE Faculty of Business and Management.

Anna Emelyanova, Student, HSE Faculty of Business and Management.

Russian banks' top management teams are fairly homogenous in terms of age, but diverse in terms of education and work experience, according to Prosvirkina and Emelyanova's study'Heterogeneity of top management teams in banks on the Russian market'.* They analysed the details of senior managers published on the official websites of 178 Russian banks. 

CEOs Without International Experience

Having a career in the banking sector is hard work; one needs at least ten years of professional experience to advance to an executive position. Therefore, board members at virtually all the banks studied are between 40 and 50 years old on average.

Typical Russian Banker Profile

Male, aged 40 to 50.

Russian national.

No international work experience.

Employed in the banking sector for more than ten years.

Financial education is not his first or only degree.

Prior to banking, had worked in management and finance.

In almost 87% of the banks studied, the vast majority of CEOs are Russian nationals without international work experience.

There are no significant differences in terms of their length of service as CEOs either. "Once formed, the board membership rarely changes, and all CEOs stay in office for about the same amount of time," according to the study authors. Just one in five Russian bank CEOs is a woman.

Diversity Makes Teams Effective

Most (about 76%) bank CEOs earned their first degree is in economics, engineering or humanities. Many also hold a degree in finance, but it is unlikely to be their first or only one.

Earlier in their career, more than 80% of credit institution CEOs held positions in general management, finance and customer relations. Less often, future bankers started their careers in the legal, operational and HR departments.

Senior management teams tend to vary the most in terms of education and experience, which, according to Prosvirkina and Emelyanova, can make them more effective.

*The study sample included 178 banks incorporated in Russia and varying in terms of length of operation, ownership structure, type of business, number of employees, nationality and capital concentration.

CEO team heterogeneity was calculated using the relative variability index.

May 10, 2017