Valeria Hontareva
Valeriia Gontareva | |
|---|---|
| Born | Valeriia Oleksiivna Gontareva October 20, 1964 Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR |
| Other names | Valeria Hontareva, Valeria Gontareva |
| Occupation(s) | Investment banker, economist |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Known for | Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (2014–2017) |
Valeriia Oleksiivna Gontareva, also known as Valeria Hontareva or Valeria Gontareva, (; born 20 October 1964 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a distinguished Ukrainian investment banker and millionaire. She held the position of Governor (Chairwoman) of the National Bank of Ukraine from 19 June 2014 until her resignation on 11 May 2017.[1] In 2016, Focus magazine recognized her as the most influential woman in Ukraine.[2] Later, in 2019, the Financial Times included Gontareva among the world’s most powerful women.[3]
Early life and career
Born on 20 October 1964 in Dnipropetrovsk, Hontareva completed her studies at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in 1987 and earned a master’s degree in Economics from Kyiv National Economic University in 1997.
Following graduation, she spent two years as a junior researcher at the Ukrainian Centre for Standardization and Metrology. From 1989 to 1993, she worked as a design engineer at "Hiprostrommashyna." Her transition to finance began in 1993, where she took on senior roles within the Kyiv branches of ING Bank and Societe Generale.
In 1996, she was appointed director of resource management at Societe Generale Ukraine and advanced to deputy chairman of ING Bank in 2001, briefly serving as first deputy chairman in 2007. Between 2007 and 2014, Hontareva was Chairwoman of Kyiv-based financial group Investment Capital Ukraine (now ICU), divesting her shares prior to assuming leadership at the NBU.
President Poroshenko engaged ICU alongside Rothschild Group to facilitate the sale of his Roshen confectionery business.
Her income declaration for 2013 reported ₴3.88 million, ownership of several luxury vehicles, and multiple real estate holdings. By 2016, her e-declaration indicated earnings totaling ₴57 million, predominantly from the sale of shares in ICU Holdings Limited (₴52.57 million).
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine
On 19 June 2014, Hontareva succeeded Stepan Kubiv as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, becoming the first woman to lead the institution.
Throughout her term, the hryvnia’s value declined by almost three times. Nevertheless, international financial bodies commend her for spearheading comprehensive reforms that revitalized Ukraine’s banking sector, including the nationalization of Privatbank. She streamlined the central bank’s workforce from 12,000 to 5,000 employees and introduced a floating exchange rate regime that helped stabilize the economy. In a decisive effort to strengthen banking integrity, she declared insolvency for 87 banks, accounting for roughly 60% of total banking assets. Francis Malige, managing director at EBRD, described Hontareva as a leading agent of change in Ukraine.
Experts acknowledge her role in securing the central bank’s autonomy from oligarchic and political pressures. She reoriented monetary policy towards inflation targeting, mirroring frameworks used by the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve, diverging from previous policies focused on maintaining fixed exchange rates.
Hontareva tendered her resignation on 10 April 2017 and officially stepped down on 11 May 2017; Deputy Governor Yakiv Smoliy succeeded her interim leadership.
In her resignation address, she highlighted key accomplishments: adoption of flexible exchange rate and inflation targeting policies; purification and fortification of the banking system; and modernization of the National Bank’s operations.
Despite confronting significant obstacles such as armed conflict, political turmoil, economic downturns, and depleted state funds, under Hontareva’s guidance, Ukraine’s central bank achieved macroeconomic stabilization and enacted profound reforms within its banking sector.
On 1 October 2018, she became affiliated with the Institute of Global Affairs, an initiative associated with the London School of Economics.
Personal life
Hontareva is a married woman and has two male children. In 2018, she moved her residence to London.