Herman Gref is a statesman and a banking figure. He has been the Head of the Management Board of Sberbank PJSC since 2007. The owner of state awards, certificates of merit and honorable distinctions. According to researchers, he remains one of the most charismatic and extraordinary top managers.
Biography of Herman Gref
Herman Gref was born in a small village in the Kazakh SSR. His father was an electrical engineer by profession. His mother was an economist. There were three children in the Gref family. Their father died when Herman was a year and a half old. All parenting fell on the mother and grandmother. Thanks to an excellent education, already at school age children could read in three languages. The three of them managed to build a career – Herman Gref’s brother and sister are not as well-known as the current Chairman of the Sberbank’s Board, nevertheless, they are successfully engaged in business.
Education and military service
Herman Gref graduated from a secondary school. In the period between 1982 and 1984, he served in the ranks of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR. He was awarded a law degree in 1990. During his studies, he was actively engaged in social activities. After defending his thesis, he was a teacher at his faculty for some time.
In 1993, he completed postgraduate studies in St. Petersburg. At that time, his thesis tutor was Anatoly Sobchak. Later he successfully defended his PhD thesis.
Career and work in the Government
As Gref himself noted in an interview, he began his career as a rural legal adviser. However, in 1982, he was forced to interrupt his career building due to conscription into the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR for military service.
After graduation, he worked as a legal adviser, then moved to the Property Management Committee of St. Petersburg’s Petrodvorets district, later headed it. At the same time, he worked as deputy head of the district administration.
Herman Gref received his next position in 1994 – he became deputy director of the Real Estate Department of the St. Petersburg City Hall. Since 1997 he has held the post of Vice-Governor, at the same time he worked in the Municipal Property Management Committee. In 1999, he headed the Center for Strategic Research.
In May 2000, at the invitation of the Prime Minister, he became the head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. He has worked a lot on the implementation of major international projects, in particular involving the integration of Russia into world economic and trade structures.
Work in Sberbank
Herman Gref left the post of minister in the Autumn of 2007. When the government resigned, the President noted that officials managed to accelerate economic growth, improve the standard of living of the population and achieve success in implementing social sphere important projects.
In the same year, Gref moved to Sberbank. He became the president of the country’s largest bank and headed its board. Since that moment, the public joint stock company has undergone a number of positive changes, optimized assets and created a developed ecosystem, which includes large, recognizable services. Among them are trading platforms, online cinemas and delivery services.
Even now Gref is still the Head of Sberbank – shareholders re-elected him for a fourth term in 2019. Since 2017, he has held the leadership in the ranking of the most expensive brands in the country according to Brand Finance.
Family and latest news
For Gref, personal life has never been the main subject of discussion with media representatives. He prefers to protect his family from journalists’ excessive attention. It is known that the banker is married, has three children.
Gref’s wife, Yana Golovina, works in the field of education. They married in 2004. The ceremony took place in the park ensemble of Petrodvorets. According to Gref’s close friends, children and spouse have always been his priority. However, this did not prevent him from building a successful career and achieving success in public service.
According to the latest news, Herman Gref continues to engage in public activities. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Higher School of Economics, the Connection Foundation and other non-profit organizations.
