The Hoover Institution announced today the appointment of Stan Polovets to its distinguished Board of Overseers. Mr. Polovets will work with Hoover Institution’s administration and research fellows on strengthening its Russia analytical capabilities and development of the Soviet dissident archives.
“We are honored to welcome Stan to the Board of Overseers,” said John Raisian, the director of the Hoover Institution. “The leadership and involvement of our Board of Overseers have been critical elements in our success and stature, and Stan is the caliber of person who will place a deep importance on what it takes for us to continue to build on that success.”
Stan Polovets is a Russian-born American executive and Stanford alum (MBA, MA 1989), who has worked in various prominent roles in the Russian energy sector. Until 2013, he was the CEO of AAR, Russia’s largest private equity group that held a 50% stake in TNK-BP, one of the world’s 10 largest private oil companies. TNK-BP accounted for 18% of Russia’s oil production and was sold in 2013 for $55 billion to the country’s national oil company, Rosneft.
“We are very pleased to welcome Stan to our Board,” said Eric Wakin, Associate Director of the Hoover Institution and Director of Library and Archives. “Stan brings a wealth of experience and in-depth understanding of the post-Soviet space, the intricacies of its political, economic and business environment, and how they impact today’s increasingly complex and interdependent world. Expertise of this caliber is key to further enhancing Hoover’s status as a world-class research institution.”
Prior to AAR, Mr. Polovets worked in senior management and Board roles in a number of major Russian corporations and was the only American citizen to participate in the development of Russia’s Long-Term Energy Strategy on the invitation of the Russian Federation Energy Ministry. Mr. Polovets also worked for The RAND Corporation and helped launch Ernst & Young’s consulting business in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the early 1990’s.
Mr. Polovets currently serves on a number of corporate boards, including L1 Energy, a $10 billion energy investment fund headquartered in the UK, where he is the Lead Director. He is also Chairman for Russia and Eastern Europe at Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm. An active philanthropist, Mr. Polovets is the Co-founder and Chairman/CEO of the Genesis Prize Foundation, and a co-founder of the Genesis Philanthropy Group. He is also a member of the President’s Global Council at New York University (NYU).
As a member of the Board of Overseers, Mr. Polovets will contribute to Hoover Institution’s effort to build up the research and analytical capability related to Russia and former Soviet states. Mr. Polovets will also aid the expansion of the Hoover Institution’s world-renown Library and Archive by facilitating the transfer of personal documents and archives of leading Soviet dissidents. Among the individuals who will be contributing their archives to Hoover’s unprecedented collection is Yuli Edelstein, a former Soviet dissident and currently the Speaker of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament).
“I am honored to join the Board of Overseers,” said Stan Polovets. “My relationship with the Hoover Institution began over a quarter of a century ago when I was a graduate student at Stanford. I look forward to being a part of the effort to strengthen the Institution’s role as a globally important repository of knowledge and a source of expertise capable of addressing the most complex policy challenges.”
About the Hoover Institution: The Hoover Institution is a public policy research center at Stanford University, devoted to the advanced study of economics, politics, history, and political economy—both domestic and foreign—as well as international affairs. With its eminent scholars and world-renowned Library & Archives, the Hoover Institution seeks to improve the human condition by advancing ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity and secure and safeguard peace for America and all mankind.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jenny Mayfield | Director of Media Relations | Office of Public Affairs | jennymayfield@stanford.edu | 650-723-0603
Matt Dorf | President, West End Strategy | matt@westendstrategy.com | 202-776-7700
