Yuri Poluneev
Yuri Poluneev | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 Odessa, Soviet Union |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, politician, academic |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Known for | Developmental economics, financial reform in Ukraine, competitiveness policy |
Yuri Poluneev (born 1956 in Odessa, Soviet Union) is a globally recognized economist affiliated with the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). He brings over sixteen years of experience in board-level governance, including leadership roles within prominent international financial organizations. His expertise spans international financial institutions, central banking, and economic policy. Additionally, he has taught international economics at the Kyiv State University Institute for International Relations.
Poluneev held the position of deputy chair of the supervisory board at the National Bank of Ukraine from 2008 to 2015 and was a parliamentary member in Ukraine between 2007 and 2012. His specialization includes developmental economics, strategies to enhance competitiveness, monetary policy formulation, regulation and oversight of the financial sector, legislation addressing financial crises, restructuring of non-performing bank debts, protection of creditor and consumer rights, deposit insurance frameworks, and safeguarding financial consumers. He has contributed as author or co-author to more than forty legislative proposals pivotal to Ukraine’s financial reform initiatives, notably in areas such as bank debt restructuring and establishing state deposit insurance.
He championed the idea that robust international competitiveness should serve as a “national idea” for emerging economies like Ukraine. Poluneev formulated the “Technology for Economic Breakthrough,” an economic model grounded in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook methodology that translates competitiveness rankings into practical economic policies. His research extensively examines the long-term economic consequences of the Ukraine crisis.
Poluneev also participated on the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine and was a member of the Committee for Economic Reform.
Education and research
Yuri Poluneev earned his BA in International Economy, English, and Arabic from Kyiv State University in 1978. He pursued an international management program at Toronto University during 1991-1992 and completed a short course in management accounting and finance at London Business School in 2000. He holds a PhD in International Economics from Kyiv State University (1986) and was honored with the title "Merited Economist" in 2010. Furthermore, he is recognized as a Fellow of the International Academy of Management (Barcelona). Poluneev has authored thirteen books along with over one hundred articles focusing on transition economy reforms, competitiveness, banking, and finance. Between 2006 and 2008, he served as editor-in-chief of the journal “Monitor of Competitiveness,” advocating for competitiveness as a central economic policy focus.
Professional career
Between 2005 and 2007, Poluneev led Ukraine’s oldest MBA institution as President of the International Management Institute (MIM-Kyiv). During this time, he also contributed to the UNECE Team of Specialists on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies.
From 1996 to 2005, he represented Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia as an executive director on the board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
In 1996, Poluneev was appointed deputy head of the economic department within the Administration of the President of Ukraine. Prior to that, from 1994 to 1996, he worked as assistant Director General for Programmes at the International Committee for Economic Reform & Cooperation (Bonn), where he developed investment initiatives aimed at newly independent states emerging from the former Soviet Union.
During the years 1989 to 1994, he served as deputy director general at MIM-Kyiv, held a visiting professorship at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, and acted as consultant for the OECD FDI Advisory Group focusing on Ukraine and Belarus. He co-authored OECD investment reviews for these countries in 1993 and 1994.
From 1978 to 1983 and again from 1985 to 1989, Poluneev was a research fellow at the Institute of Social and Economic Problems of Foreign Countries under the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences. Between 1983 and 1985, he worked as an analyst and interpreter within the Office of the Economic Advisor at the USSR Embassy in Iraq.
Social involvement and personal background
In 2005, Yuri Poluneev established the non-governmental organization Council on Competitiveness of Ukraine, which brought together prominent figures from business, government, civil society, and educational sectors to enhance the role of competitiveness in Ukrainian policymaking. By 2008, concepts from competitiveness theory had been incorporated into the nation’s economic policy framework. Additionally, he played a key role in reforming financial consumer protection by drafting legislation supported by USAID and consistent with OECD standards.
Poluneev held a board position with the British Ukrainian Society and served as co-chair of the UK-Ukraine Inter-Parliamentary Group between 2007 and 2012, promoting stronger political and commercial ties between both countries.
He also founded the charitable organization Music – to Children in 2004, which supports arts education for children with disabilities, funded through revenue generated from his music album sales.
Poluneev is proficient in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, has some understanding of German, and can read Arabic. He is married and a father of four.