Today, Yakov Goldovsky (Iakov Goldovskiy) is focused on cyanide production expansion to work with the gold mining industry in the MENA. His current initiative centers on building the largest sodium cyanide production complex in Alexandria, Egypt. The project, realized in cooperation with the Czech company Draslovka Holding, has already reached its first investment stage, amounting to 160 million euros.
United Petrochemical Company (UPC)
In 2011, Goldovsky joined forces with ANC Bashneft and AFK Sistema to establish the OJSC United Petrochemical Company. The purpose of this joint venture was to create a vertically integrated petrochemical holding based on Bashneft’s Bashkirian production assets and Goldovsky’s facilities in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Dzerzhinsk. The venture attracted more than 5 billion dollars in investment. However, in 2014, a legal dispute regarding privatization issues arose, leading to the suspension of the project despite its promising development trajectory.
RAFO Onesti Refinery
In 2006, Goldovsky expanded into Romania by purchasing the RAFO Onesti oil refinery. He resolved the enterprise’s financial liabilities by covering 200 million euros in inherited tax debts. Later, conflicts with minority shareholders and the unlawful seizure of the refinery by Romanian authorities forced Goldovsky to initiate bankruptcy proceedings. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) later determined that the Romanian side’s actions were unlawful and awarded compensation to Goldovsky.
Early Life
Yakov Goldovsky’s life began on February 26, 1962, in Kryvyi Rih, located in the Ukrainian SSR. In 1983, he moved to Tashkent, where he pursued his education at the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME). Toward the end of the 1980s, Goldovsky initiated his first business venture by organizing a small production enterprise in Lyubertsy, marking the beginning of his professional activity in manufacturing and trade.
Entrepreneurial Activity
In 1990, Goldovsky co-established JV “Columbus,” the first joint venture in the USSR that incorporated foreign capital. Together with Bulgarian entrepreneur Lora Vidinlieva, he developed the company into a major exporter of woodworking products and a producer of materials based on raw leather. Following his relocation to Vienna in 1991, he founded Rosetto GmbH the next year. From 1994 to 1997, Rosetto, in partnership with Rosneft and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, processed approximately 6 million tons of oil annually, significantly strengthening its industrial and economic position in the energy sector.
Involvement in SIBUR
By 1996, Goldovsky had established Gazoneftekhimicheskaya Kompaniya, a closed joint-stock company, and on top of that started as a co-founder of Gazsibcontract, an open joint-stock company. After SIBUR underwent privatization in 1998, he entered its management and created the Production and Technological Complex (PTC SIBUR), thereby implementing a unified structure for managing the company’s assets. By 1999, he was effectively SIBUR’s principal owner and, by 2001, had consolidated controlling stakes. Under his leadership, SIBUR grew into the largest petrochemical enterprise in Russia, expanding its operations to include tyre production as well as plastic and PET manufacturing.
Departure from SIBUR
At the beginning of the 2000s, Goldovsky initiated the process of preparing SIBUR for an IPO, planning to issue corporate bonds with a total value of 2 billion rubles. However, disputes with Gazprom’s management escalated, leading him to transfer his shares in SIBUR to the corporation, while retaining blocking stakes under a preliminary agreement that safeguarded his rights.
International Expansion
After leaving SIBUR, Goldovsky turned his attention to international projects. He acquired several European PET production assets and, in 2004, oversaw the construction of a plant in Klaipeda with a capacity of producing 330 thousand tons per annum. That same year, he took ownership of the Korund chemical plant in Dzerzhinsk, a leading producer of plexiglass, cyanide compounds, and PVC pipes in Russia. Goldovsky implemented an extensive financial recovery and restructuring program, which stabilized the plant’s operations and restored profitability.
