Dmitry Konov

Dmitry Vladimirovich Konov (born 2 September 1970, Moscow) is a Russian business executive. He was the head of Sibur, Russia's largest integrated petrochemical company, from 2006 to 2022.

Biography Dmitry Konov was born in Moscow. His father worked as a geodesist mapper, which involved extensive travel across Russia and contractual trips abroad. His mother was an expert at the of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Konov attended a school that placed a special emphasis on English language training. He later graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). and at Renaissance Capital (1997–1998).

Konov held various positions at SIBUR, including Vice President for Strategic Development and Analysis, Vice President for Corporate Policy and Strategy, Senior Vice President for Corporate Policy and Strategy, and Senior Vice President for Business Development – Head of the Plastics and Organic Synthesis Division.

When Konov joined SIBUR, the company consisted of several dozen Soviet-era factories processing oil and gas by-products into various low-margin chemical products. Konov led a change in strategy to reposition SIBUR as a petrochemicals company specializing in high-margin plastics production for the global market. In 2015–2016, SIBUR opened up to international investors by selling a 10% stake to China's Sinopec. China's Silk Road Fund bought another 10% stake in the company.

Between 2012 and 2014, SIBUR completed a number of large-scale investment projects: a pipeline from the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area to Tobolsk, the construction of Russia's largest polymer facilities in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Tobolsk, Bashkiria and Voronezh, and an LPG transshipment terminal in Ust-Luga. by 2019, the company significantly reduced the share of imports in the domestic consumption of polypropylene, PVC, PET and polystyrene.

SIBUR invested heavily into current repairs and maintenance of the facilities' fixed assets.

Under Konov's management, SIBUR entered a period of active digital transformation: VR technologies began to be deployed enabling distant control over production processes and the operation of industrial equipment. The Amur GCC is a digital facility with automated control or remote maintenance of most processes. This setup could reduce the number of employees by at least half in comparison to Zapsibneftekhim. SIBUR was among the first companies, both globally and in Russia, to integrate a digital modeling system into petrochemical production by launching a high-precision project for modeling physical and chemical processes inside its low-density polyethylene reactor.

As part of SIBUR's management team, Konov also transformed the company into an environmental leader in its industry and home country. In 2019, SIBUR became one of the first Russian companies to adopt a sustainable development strategy. Since 2020, it has focused on reducing carbon emissions and using recycled materials, including developing production of 'green' PET granules from recycled food packaging. In 2021, Sibur launched a net-zero collaboration platform with the WEF and global industry players to promote solutions to climate change. Forbes ranked Sibur among the top-10 environmentally friendly companies in Russia in 2021.

In March 2022, the EU and the UK imposed sanctions directly against Konov. As a result, he decided to step down as chairman of the management board and left other management bodies of the company. Also he is under UK sanctions for previously holding positions at SIBUR and Alrosa, which he left in March-April 2022. In June 2022, Konov filed an appeal with the EU Court to be removed from the sanction lists,

Other projects He took part in the development of Russia's national framework for safe chemical management, which set the basis for technical and other regulations. For his contributions, he received the .

Wealth In 2017, Forbes listed Konov among the wealthiest people in Russia. Under SIBUR's management incentive programme, he acquired a 4% stake in the company worth $535 million, making it to No. 193 in the Forbes list. Konov has noted that he owes most of his wealth to SIBUR's shares which are not actual money: "They are preserved by SIBUR".

In one of his interviews, Konov said that he owns a house in Cannes

Personal life In 2011, Konov met the model Katarina Konks (born in 1982). They married in 2016 and now have a son.