Oleg Bakhmatyuk
Oleg Bakhmatyuk (Ukrainian: Олег Бахматюк, born August 14, 1974) is a Ukrainian entrepreneur and politician, the owner of UkrLandFarming.

Education 
Oleg Bakhmatyuk was born in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.

In 1996, Oleg graduated from the Chernivtsi Economics and Law Institute specializing in management of the production sphere.

In 2005, he graduated from Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas with specialist diplomas in management and engineer-physicist.

Career 
During 1996–2001, Oleg had been the Administrator and Desk Officer, the Manager, the Deputy Head of Supply Division Department, the Head of Commercial Department at KGD as a representative of Itera in Ivano-Frankivsk Region.

In 2001, he founded the Precarpathian Finance Corporation.

Since 2002 he had become a Deputy of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council, the member of Economic Revival Faction, the member of the City Council Committee on issues of finance planning, prices and budget. In 2002, he also held the position of the Deputy of the President of KGD company Ostap Darmogray. Later in 2002 he left KGD and was leading Precarpathian Finance Corporation.

During 2002–2004, Oleg Bakhmatyuk was a business partner of Ihor Yeremeyev in oil, agrarian business and region gasification.

In 2003, Bakhmatyuk bought the Avangard poultry factory and created the same named company.

In 2003 he founded Stanislavska Torgova Kompaniya (Stanislavskiy Trade Company) that became an owner of the largest chain of grocery stores in Ivano-Frankivsk Region (under the brand Favorit). Later he has given it in for the debts to the competitors from Pakko-Holding. Thus the chain of supermarkets Favorit was sold to the Pakko-Holding company in 2010.

Bakhmatyuk has also owned the following Ivano-Frankivsk media: Reporter, the newspaper IF.UA, 3 studia, Galitskiy Correspondent.

In 2004, Oleg Bakhmatyuk founded the commercial bank Financial Initiative.

In 2005, Oleg had been appointed as the Head of the Office of Investments Expert Estimation and Corporate Financing at the national stock company NSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, then – the Advisor to the Head of NSC Naftogas of Ukraine.

On July 25, 2006, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairmen of the Board at NSC Naftogas of Ukraine.

In 2006, he bought a controlling stake in region gas distribution companies: IvanoFrankivskGas, LvivGas, ZKGas, ChernivtsiGas and VolynGas.

In 2007, Oleg sold the controlling stake of region gas companies to the RosUkrEnergo AG company, owned by Dmitriy Firtash.

On January 17, 2007, Bakhmatyuk was dismissed from the held position at Naftogas as well as from the public service.

Since 2011 Bakhmatyuk joined the founders of VAB Bank. As a result of the economic and banking crisis in Ukraine in 2014-2015, the bank, like 99 other Ukrainian banks (out of 180 as of 2013), was withdrawn from the market by the decision of the National Bank of Ukraine. Oleg Bakhmatyuk is the only one of their ex-owners of liquidated banks who proposed to cover the bank's debts to the Deposit Guarantee Fund and the NBU.

Agricultural business 
In 2003, Bakhmatyuk bought the Avangard poultry factory and created the same named company. 

Since 2007 Oleg Bakhmatyuk has been leading the Board of Management at Avangard Agro Holding. The company holds a 33% share of the Ukrainian egg market.

On April 29, 2010, the Ukrainian agricultural holding Avangard (SPV-company Avangardco Investments Public Limited) raised $187.5 million for 20% of the share capital during the initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

In 2010, Bakhmatyuk bought the assets of the American chicken processing company Townsends Inc. in the United States. The idea to  restore the work of the poultry processing plant and establish a USA meat supply to Ukraine and Russia, however, failed.

In 2011, Bakhmatyuk founded UkrLandFarming, the major vertically integrated agro holding of Ukraine (as a result of assets merger with Avangard), which is the largest agricultural lands lessee, producing grain and cattle breeding.

In 2011, he bought the company Dakor Agro Holding and Rise that made UkrLandFarming one of the largest vertically integrated agricultural companies in Ukraine.

In 2013, he bought the agricultural holding Valinor that significantly strengthened his position in this area.

During 2014-2015, Bakhmatyuk and his companies suffered great losses due to the conflict in Donbass Region and annexation of the Crimea where the company owned significant capital. As a result, the total debt has increased.

In April, 2016, he re-headed the Board of Directors of Avangard Agro Holding.

Recognition 
Oleg Bakhmatyuk has been an award winner of the National Program Person of the Year – 2009 for the Farmer of the Year nomination.

Family 
Oleg Bakhmatyuk is married. He raises three daughters and one son.

His sister, Nataliya Vasilyuk, is the Head of Avangard Agro Holding and was recognized as the best business woman of Ukraine’s agricultural sector (2019).

References