ICU APPOINTS OLYANA GORDIYENKO AS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DIRECTOR

ICU, an independent asset management, private equity and investment advisory firm specialising in Central and Eastern Europe, is pleased to announce the appointment of Olyana Gordiyenko as Corporate Governance Director.

Olyana Gordiyenko has a successful track record with over 20 years’ experience working in corporate governance roles and as corporate lawyer. 

Prior to joining ICU, Olyana was an Associate Director in the Governance and Political Affairs pillar of the Economics, Policy and Governance department at EBRD. While at EBRD, Olyana has been voted one of the best lawyers of Ukraine amongst politicians, public servants and public figures in 2018 and 2019, according to the Ukrainian Women in Law rating, run by the Legal Newspaper (in Ukrainian - “Urydychna Praktyka”).

In September 2016 Olyana has been appointed as the Commissioner with the National Securities and Stock Market Commission. As the Commissioner, Olyana was leading the policy dialog around the principles of the corporate governance for joint-stock companies and public enforcement in this area. Olyana contributed to the reform of the corporate governance of the SOEs and was the main driver behind recent corporate law developments in Ukraine, including implementation of EU Take-Over Directive.

Before that, as a corporate/M&A partner with the top-tier international law firm Baker McKenzie, Olyana was leading a number of policy projects, including advising various state authorities (including the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, State Property Fund of Ukraine) and international financial institutions on the legislative reforms in Ukraine. 

Overall, Olyana’s legal background includes 15 years of experience advising local Ukrainian and international clients on M&A transactions, including English law governed cross-border deals and private equity transactions. Olyana also specialized in joint ventures and reorganizations and provided sound counsel on general corporate matters to blue chip companies, including state-owned enterprises in Ukraine. While at Baker McKenzie, Olyana and the practices led by her were consistently highly ranked by legal directories (IFLR, Legal 500, Chambers Legal) and awarded by the Legal Newspaper (in Ukrainian - “Urydychna Praktyka”).

Commenting on the hire, Makar Paseniuk, Managing Partner said:

“We are pleased to have hired someone of Olyana’s calibre to join the team. Olyana brings with her stellar experience and her global perspective having worked in various corporate governance roles and she would be incredibly valuable to ICU as we enhance our corporate governance to be best in class. I firmly believe this is vital as Ukraine forges ahead with the reforms and the investment climate improves.”