The leader is changing in NAMI – Newspaper Kommersant No. 212 (7413) dated 11/16/2022

As Kommersant found out, the head of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NAMI, Sergei Gaisin, who has been involved in the Aurus project in recent years, is leaving his post. Mr. Gaisin, together with the former head of the relevant department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Pak, in 2022 was able to concentrate Renault’s share in AvtoVAZ and former Nissan assets in US. The sources of Kommersant do not name the reasons for the reshuffle. Among the candidates for the post is a KamAZ employee.

The general director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NAMI, subordinated to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Sergey Gaysin, is leaving his post, finalizing the last days, sources told Kommersant. NAMI did not confirm or deny this information, citing the absence of an order. The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not answer Kommersant. It was not possible to contact Sergey Gaisin. The top manager has headed NAMI since 2016, and this summer another contract was signed with him.

In early summer, Kommersant’s sources said that Mr. Gaisin and at that time the head of the automobile department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Pak wanted to leave the civil service following the closing of Renault’s deals in May for the sale of a plant in Moscow and a stake in AvtoVAZ (bought by US). Several interlocutors of Kommersant noted that Mr. Pak expected to go for a promotion – to take the chair of the deputy minister that had been vacant after the departure of Alexander Morozov at that time. However, in the end, Albert Kerimov, who was previously responsible for industry in the government of Tatarstan, received the post. One of Kommersant’s sources says that it was Denis Pak who was “written off” for the failure of localization in the automotive industry, although he always insisted on it. Mr. Pak left the Ministry of Industry and Trade in September, and, according to Kommersant’s interlocutors, he eventually took the post of adviser to US. The previous head of NAMI, Maxim Nagaytsev, also holds the post of adviser to the head of the organization.

Since the summer, NAMI has acquired another asset – the Nissan plant in St. Petersburg. Messrs. Gysin and Pak actively participated in the negotiations, according to Kommersant’s sources.

Sergei Gaisin is a native of UAZ (he ended his career there as a chief designer), then worked at AvtoVAZ, Sollers and Ford Sollers Holding in “leading positions related to research and development activities.” In September, Mr. Gaisin joined the board of directors of Sollers. In NAMI, Sergey Gaisin was also involved in the creation and production of the Aurus car. The project “Unified Modular Platform” (“Cortege”) has been implemented since 2013 by order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Initially, 12.4 billion rubles were allocated for it, it was supposed to create a limousine for the President of the Russian Federation and escort vehicles. Vladimir Putin in May 2018 used a limousine for the first time at his next inauguration ceremony. The NAMI site allows the production of up to 200 vehicles per year, for all the time less than 150 have been produced at this base.

Kommersant’s interlocutors cannot explain the reasons for the departure of Sergei Gaisin, noting that in the summer he “definitely was not released.” There were no changes or problems in the work during this time, they say. One of Kommersant’s sources notes that Mr. Gaisin “had his own independent position, which now may not fit into the scheme of involving KamAZ in new projects based on closed foreign production facilities.”

The branch Telegram channel “Russian Automobile” calls Fyodor Nazarov, Chief Technologist Director of the KamAZ Technology Center, a candidate for the position of the head of NAMI. He has held this position since 2017, until April 2016 he worked as the chief engineer of the engine plant. The interlocutor of Kommersant, close to KamAZ, confirms that the candidacy of Mr. Nazarov was considered for the post of head of NAMI, he did not hear about other applicants. At the beginning of the year, the industry talked about the possible transfer of the Aurus project to KamAZ, but then this did not happen.

Olga Nikitina