When Maxim Basov became CEO of Rusagro, one of Russia’s leading agribusiness companies, in 2009, it could not have been a worse time. The world was lurching towards a major economic crisis, and the situation in Russia was probably even worse due to its own internal issues. But in a way, this was the kind of position Maxim had been looking for – an apparently hopeless combination of factors from which the only one way out was… up. If he could just find the key to unlock the newly created opportunities. Under Maxim’s leadership, Rusagro went on to become one of the fastest growing companies globally, with a financial performance to match and market leadership positions across its four principal divisions, namely sugar, meat, agriculture, and oil & fats. It benefited from the protectionist measures imposed following the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, with a domestic market with relatively high prices. Rusagro planned to become the biggest agricultural and food producing company in the world. Would it be possible to sustain the growth and continue to capture opportunities with the increasing economic fluctuations? What would it take in terms of skills and human capital? What else could the company do to ensure its competitiveness in an open economy?
