Gulzhan Moldazhanova (born 11 June 1966,

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

, Kazakhstan) is a businesswoman who served as CEO for Basic Element and was named among the most powerful women of the mid- to late 2000s. In 2018, she and others resigned from Russian company

Rusal United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company (russian: МКПАО «ОК РУСАЛ», MKPAO «ОК RUSAL») is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output (as of 2016). It was the largest until ov ...

as it was facing sanctions from the US.

Early life

Moldazhanova was born to a pharmacist mother and metallurgy student father, though she was raised by her single mother after they separated. With a head for math, she studied physics at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, then went on to graduate with a doctorate from Moscow State University. Her connections to

Oleg Deripaska Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska (russian: Олег Владимирович Дерипаска; born 2 January 1968) is a Russian billionaire and an industrialist. Deripaska enriched himself on previously state-owned assets that were privatized in ...

began, since he was also a physics graduate of Moscow State University.

Career

Moldazhanova began as a personal assistant to Deripaska in 1995, before being targeted as a high potential employee and gaining training as an accountant from Russia's Finance Academy. In the early 2000s, she grew to director within sales, marketing and strategy within Rusal. In 2005, she was appointed as CEO of Basic Elements, which was a $14 billion private-equity holding company at that time. In 2006, she was named #22 in

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

's Global Power 50 Most Powerful Women, due to her status as CEO and her involvement in restructuring the fund around multiple sectors. In 2008, still as chief executive of Basic Elements, she was named as #37 of Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women. The article guessed the Basic Element was looking to be listed on a foreign stock exchange, which didn't happen. In 2009, Deripaska took over management from Moldazhanova, before ceding again to her in 2012. In 2018, Moldazhanova ended her tenure at Basic Elements, while additionally resigning from director position on the board of Rusal.

Personal life

In 1999, Moldazhanova divorced her husband, with whom she has one daughter. According to '' Salzburger Nachrichten'', Moldazhanova has an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n passport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moldazhanova, Gulzhan 1966 births Living people Russian women in business Al-Farabi Kazakh National University alumni Moscow State University alumni Naturalised citizens of Austria