RusEnergy

05-27-2009 - Upstream OnLine - Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has agreed to serve as interim chief executive of TNK-BP, until a permanent appointment is made by the end of the year. BP and Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), who each hold 50% of TNK-BP, said in a statement that TNK-BP would hire two executives, Pavel Skitovich and Maxim Barsky, each of whom had "the credentials to become the new [chief executive]". The two men would take senior positions in the company. In the statement, the companies said they have agreed a succession plan which will see a new independent chief executive officer in place at TNK-BP by the end of the year. Skitovich, formerly a member of the executive board of Russian investment outfit Interros and former general director of Polyus Gold Mining Group, is BP's preferred candidate for the top job. Barsky will join TNK-BP from West Siberia Resources where until 2008 he served as a managing director and is currently a board member. He was put forward after BP went public with their choice yesterday afternoon. The statement added. "At the request of BP, and to observe the requirement of the revised shareholder agreement signed in January that the [chief executive] be a Russian speaker with extensive Russian business experience, Mikhail Fridman, chairman of the TNK-BP board, has agreed to serve as the interim [chief executive] and executive chairman of the board during this period." Tim Summers, who has been acting chief executive since January, will resume his role as chief operating officer.