Salamat Kussainova, Kazakhstan

 

Director, Corporate Governance Department
National Holding Company “Samruk-Kazyna”
Young Leaders Program (’06)

 

 

 

Salamat received a bachelor’s degree from the Eurasian University under Gumilyev, located in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, in 1999 and a master’s degree from the Young Leaders Program at GRIPS in 2006. She started her career in 1999 with the Committee of State Property and Privatization of the Ministry of Finance where she held positions of chief and senior specialists and head of division. After her return from Japan in 2006, Salamat joined the state-owned National Holding Company “Samruk” and worked as senior manager and then Deputy Director of the Strategy and Corporate Governance Department. In 2009 she moved to the World Bank Country Office in Kazakhstan, where she worked as a public sector reform consultant. She was in charge of coordinating public sector projects in Kazakhstan and was involved in projects in Europe and Central Asia region.

 

From February 2012 Salamat is working as Director of Corporate Governance Department in the Sovereign Wealth Fund “Samruk-Kazyna” 

 

 

You are currently working as the Director of the Corporate Governance Department at Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund. Please tell us about Samruk-Kazyna and your main tasks and responsibilities?

Samruk-Kazyna is a joint stock company which owns, wholly or partially, important government-linked companies in Kazakhstan, including the national rail and postal service, the state oil and gas company, the state uranium company, an airline company, and a number of financial companies. The state is the sole shareholder of Samruk-Kazyna. It was created in October 2008 with the merger of two funds, “Samruk” and “Kazyna”, by decree of the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Samruk-Kazyna’s mission is to increase the national welfare of the Republic of Kazakhstan through increase in long-term value of the organizations and efficient assets management, belonging to the Fund’s Group. My current duties include improvement and implementation of best corporate governance practices in Samruk-Kazyna group of companies. 

 

In your current capacity, what do you see as the main opportunities and challenges for Kazakhstan over the course of the next five to ten years?

Kazakhstan has an objective to become one of 50 most competitive countries in the world. Samruk-Kazyna is a shareholder of the companies that operate in strategic sectors for the Kazakh economy such as oil and gas, energy, transport and communications, financial institutions, and other industries. My current challenge is to contribute to the development of Samruk-Kazyna group of companies and to their transformation into leading and competitive companies. 

 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your work? 

I am working in very competitive and challenging environment where I would like to bring positive changes and tangible results.

 

Samruk-Kazyna is a shareholder of national (government owned) companies and is supposed to set high-level targets and challenging objectives, introduce the best standards and help companies to become more competitive. So I feel a huge responsibility for delivering high quality results. Also in my position I feel that I need to be a good leader for my staff and also would like to help them grow into high-level professionals.    

 

What have been the most interesting or rewarding aspects of your career thus far? 

There should be a meaning in what we do, with useful outputs and outcomes. I love my job and whenever I work I try to put a piece of my heart and love into it. I love working with people.         

 

What led you to GRIPS? What is the most important thing you got out of your studies here, and how has your experience at GRIPS prepared you for future endeavours?

GRIPS is a unique knowledge institution that brings together talented leaders from around the world. Some of my friends had studied at GRIPS and highly recommended it. GRIPS has become a priceless part of my life.

     

First of all I mostly appreciated the high-level professionals; the friendly, at the same time tough, professors, coordinators and all staff of GRIPS. The GRIPS facilities such as the library, classrooms and dormitory are super. So, everything is set up for the students; we did not need to worry about anything; all we had to do was just concentrate on our studies.  

With my classmates we often studied as one team. Many of my classmates, professors and administrative staff have become my good friends. I am very grateful to the Japanese Government for this excellent opportunity created for students from different countries of the world.

     

Knowledge and experience I gained from GRIPS has been like a bridge to my career development. After arriving back home from Japan I got a job at Samruk – Kazakhstan’s biggest national holding company. It is quite competitive to get job there. 

 

What have been the most interesting or rewarding aspects of your career thus far?

There should be a meaning of what we do with useful outputs and outcomes. I love my job and whenever I work trying to put piece of my heart and love. Love working with people.  

 

What is your fondest memory of your time spent in Japan? And what do you miss most about Japan?

I miss everything; GRIPS, Professors and all staff at GRIPS, our coordinators, the library, my classmates, the very polite and friendly Japanese, Japanese language and culture, our dormitory at Odaiba, the field trips, morning exercises in the gym with Susan and Julian (my classmate and her husband). And of course, the cultural events at GRIPS.

 

I also participated in Japan Tent – the yearly international exchange students’ jamboree in Ishikawa prefecture – and was lucky to do a home-stay with a Japanese family. My okaa-san – the host mother – and her family treated me as their daughter and she even came to Tokyo to attend my Graduation Ceremony. 

 

What is your favourite thing to do when you are not working?

I love spending time with my family, friends, doing sports, going to the cinema and traveling 

 

How do you maintain a balance between your work and the rest of your life?

This is a big challenge for me! I am a workaholic.

 

What advice would you give to current GRIPS students?

Enjoy every second spent in this beautiful and amazing country. Enjoy GRIPS, classes, spend more time with classmates and some of them will become your true friends for life. Make sure you participate in events, including cultural ones, organized at or by GRIPS and learn about Japanese culture and language.  

 

Do you have any suggestions on how to further utilize the GRIPS alumni network?

GRIPS needs a strong network. There could be also communities of practice, connecting people to share their knowledge and experience in a particular area of interest. So after graduation we could be in touch, share ideas, work together on interesting topics and do research. It would be great to meet at GRIPS or in other countries after graduation.

 

Many ideas and I am willing to contribute!