Board of Directors Zirax LLC

Board of Directors Zirax UK

Mikhail Baranov

Mikhail began his career as a theoretical physicist in the Moscow State University Nuclear Physics Research Institute in Moscow in 1986, after graduating from Moscow State University with a diploma in physics.

Later he worked in the semi-conductor research field and was employed by state-owned research and development centres. He started his career in banking in 1993 when he was appointed as deputy managing director of one of the commercial banks in Moscow.

Having gained extensive experience in banking and trade finance, in 1997 he was appointed as managing director of Kapital Moskva Bank. In May 2007 Mikhail was appointed as chairman of the board of Inkaro Bank in Moscow.

His banking and finance experience has involved him in a number of merger and acquisition and investment deals within the Russian and CIS chemical sector. Mikhail was appointed as a non-executive director of Zirax Limited on 11 August 2005.

Nicholas Louis

Nicholas has a degree in contemporary world history from Moscow University, an Master of Philosophy degree from Balliol, Oxford and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management. He runs a successful consultancy business for a portfolio of companies seeking international expansion. Since 1987 Nicholas worked as country manager in Russia for several UK specialist chemicals sector and engineering companies. He then progressed to head up the aluminium and alumina departments of Glencore in Moscow.

Between 2006 and 2010 as director of Otkritie Securities and vice-president of the parent company, Otkritie Financial Corporation, Nicholas initiated and sustained the international expansion of this top Russian investment bank, opening up their UK operation. Since 2010 he is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. In 2010 he joined the board of Timan Oil & Gas plc.

In September 2011 Nicholas accepted an invitation to join Zirax Limited and looks forward to helping develop this very promising business in an increasingly important industry sector.

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