Timur Kulibaev: Top Executive in the Kazakhstan Energy Sector

Kulibaev Timur Askarovich is a Kazakh businessman, top executive, public figure, and philanthropist. He has been instrumental in enhancing the republic's investment appeal and in supporting national entrepreneurship. He has also made a substantial contribution to the development of sports in the country.

Name:

Kulibaev Timur · Timur Kulibaev · Kulibaev Timur Askarovich · Timur Askarovich Kulibaev · Кулибаев Тимур · Тимур Кулибаев · Кулибаев Тимур Аскарович · Тимур Аскарович Кулибаев · Тимур Құлыбаев · Құлыбаев Тимур · Құлыбаев Тимур Асқарұлы · Тимур Асқарұлы Құлыбаев · 库利巴耶夫·铁木尔 · تيمور أسكاروفيتش كوليباييف 

Kulibaev Timur: Childhood in Kazakhstan and Education Abroad

Timur Kulibaev was born in 1966 in Almaty (then known as Alma-Ata) in the Kazakh SSR. He comes from the Sikkim clan of the Dulat tribe, the most populous in the republic's Senior jüz territory. His father, Askar Kulibaev, was involved in state and political activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 1983, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich graduated from one of the specialized physics and mathematics schools established at universities in key cities to attract talented children. After graduating from Almaty, Timur Kulibaev moved to Moscow to attend Lomonosov MSU, where he took in-depth economic planning courses.

Timur Kulibaev earned his degree in 1988, then moved back to his hometown.

In 1999, Kulibaev Timur earned his PhD. His dissertation explored the nuances of management systems and methodologies for improving managerial mechanisms in oil production under market conditions.

Timur Askarovich Kulibaev: The Early Career of a Kazakh Businessman

In 1988, Timur Kulibaev, biography of whom was intertwined with economics, joined one of the research institutes under Kazakhstan's State Planning Committee. His education at MSU was perfectly aligned with the organization's focus.

By 1990, Timur Kulibaev took a leadership position at a foundation dedicated to developing the republic's cultural, social, and scientific-technical spheres.

In 1992, Kulibaev Timur took the helm of Altyn-Alma. In 1996, the organization was transformed into the ALMEX holding, which is still operational today, focusing on investments, consulting, brokerage services, and support for the agribusiness industry.

In 1995, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich and his business partners founded a bank with support from the Dutch credit institution MeesPierson. The entrepreneur led the supervisory board of the new financial institution and also became a member of the credit committee.

In 1997, the Timur Kulibaev biography of work briefly intersected with public service. For several months, the manager was part of the Kazakhstan State Committee on Investments. Timur Askarovich Kulibaev was responsible for negotiations and project evaluations. While serving in this position, the top executive entrusted the management of his assets to banking colleagues.

Timur Kulibaev: Biography in the Oil and Gas and Energy Sector

In 1997, all state-owned oil and gas assets were consolidated in the establishment of the national company Kazakhoil, with Kulibaev Timur as the deputy head of the company. He was responsible for financial and economic issues. At that time, the boss over Timur Kulibaev, Nurlan Balgimbayev, highlighted the manager's strengths, including a high level of education, a results-oriented approach, the ability to identify key tasks, and a respectful attitude towards employees, regardless of their age or positions.

The President of Kazakhoil recalls that during those times, the national fuel and energy sector was in dire need of specialists well-versed in market economics. And one such individual was Timur Kulibaev. Biography of his tenure at the company was marked by the implementation of numerous innovative approaches. Under his guidance, corporate financing, new resource management systems, modern KPIs, and other advanced tools were adopted.

Thanks to the efforts of the management team, Kazakhoil established equitable cooperation with leading global market players.

In 1999, Kulibaev Timur took the helm of the top management of the national company KazTransOil, which later merged with KazTransGas to form the joint stock company Oil and Gas Transport (from 2001 to 2002, he served as its CEO).

Kulibaev Timur Askarovich initiated the move to return the country's gas pipelines to state ownership, which were previously held by the Belgian corporation Tractebel. Timur Askarovich Kulibaev was instrumental in executing this complex transaction, which was completed in the early 2000s.

In the first quarter of 2002, Timur Kulibaev became the deputy head of KazMunayGas (KMG), created from the merger of Kazakhoil and Oil and Gas Transport. The manager held this position for three and a half years, during which the organization conducted a series of major deals. Notably, around the turn of 2004–2005, it secured a five-year loan of $650 million at a 1.75% interest rate from the French bank BNP Paribas. Shortly thereafter, KMG acquired an 8.33% stake in the North Caspian project from British Gas for $913 million. The asset includes three offshore fields, collectively containing 1–2 billion tons of "black gold." At the same time, this area is known for its challenging conditions—extreme temperature fluctuations and the presence of rare wildlife, necessitating stringent attention to environmental standards. Commercial hydrocarbon production began at the site in 2016.

In 2005, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich proposed the establishment of an energy industry association—Kazenergy, which included both local and international players. By then, Kulibaev, biography of whom already spanned nearly a decade in the industry, led the association until the end of 2023. During his tenure, Kazenergy achieved remarkable results in facilitating connections between energy companies and government bodies.

Kulibaev Timur Askarovich: National Companies of the Kazakhstan Energy Sector

Timur Kulibaev professional biography took a significant turn in 2006 when he became the deputy chairman of the board of the Samruk holding, which specialized in managing state assets. At the turn of the decade, Timur Askarovich Kulibaev was part of the board of directors of KazMunayGas and the electric grid corporation KEGOC, the latter being the operator of the main power lines in Kazakhstan.

In 2008, he became Kazakhstan's representative to the World Petroleum Council under the UN. At the same time, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich was appointed deputy chairman of the board for the Samruk-Kazyna National Wealth Fund. The businessman also became a member of the boards of directors of some of the fund's subsidiaries: Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan Railways, and Samruk-Energo.

For several months in 2011, Timur Kulibaev led the National Wealth Fund, tackling a number of significant tasks within a relatively short timeframe. The manager had to enhance the competitiveness of the fund's companies on the global market, improve their management quality, and foster innovation within these business units. Kulibaev Timur was also tasked with preparing a "people's IPO" for several assets—a move aimed at getting Kazakhstan citizens interested in the stock market. Among the companies that went public was KEGOC, which, in December 2014, put up 10% of its stake minus one share for sale. The demand at the auction proved to be one and a half times greater than the supply.

Timur Kulibaev played an active role in a program monitoring the high-tech strategies of national companies. By the end of 2011, they had implemented around 20 such initiatives, totaling approximately 130 billion tenge. The highest activity in the high-tech field was observed in sectors such as fuel and energy, railway transport, and sulfuric acid production.

Timur Askarovich Kulibaev: Improving the Business Climate

In 2010, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich was elected head of the presidium of the Union Atameken, the National Economic Chamber of Kazakhstan. The top executive quickly set significant objectives for the Chamber, including the development of legislative changes in the customs domain.

In 2013, the Cabinet of Ministers and Union Atameken established the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs with the aim of improving the business climate in Kazakhstan. Timur Kulibaev, biography of whom already included successful efforts in facilitating relations between the state and the entrepreneurial community, was appointed head of the Chamber's presidium. At his suggestion, the Chamber also included "Atameken" in its name, meaning "ancestral land."

As the head of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Timur Kulibaev frequently traveled across Kazakhstan, inspecting various enterprises and conducting dialogues with businessmen and officials.

In 2014, the country's leadership tasked the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs with analyzing the public services sector for entrepreneurs and developing a scheme for effective interaction between the Chamber and governmental bodies at various levels. Also during the tenure of Kulibaev Timur Askarovich, Atameken initiated the establishment of the post of ombudsman for the protection of entrepreneur rights. The Chamber also undertook an independent assessment of the country's level of higher education.

In 2014, the Chamber participated in the development of a special program for preparing Kazakhstani businesses for the EXPO-2017 exhibition in Astana. More than 1,400 small and medium-sized companies signed contracts totaling 640 billion tenge (around $1.86 billion). During the EXPO, the tourist flow to the country increased by 80%, and tax revenues to the capital's budget rose by 20%.

Timur Kulibaev, biography of whom includes significant entrepreneurial experience, participated in the launch of the Bastau Business project, which involved providing microloans to the rural population to start their own businesses. The program, which kicked off in 2015, also provided training for those interested in learning the basics of business. In 2017, 15,000 people underwent this training, 3,000 of whom managed to start their own business.

That same year, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, which occupies an important place in the Timur Kulibaev biography, made a proposal to reduce taxes for entrepreneurs, increase the accountability of officials, digitalize the activities of customs authorities, and support the development of Kazakhstan's automotive and tourism industries.

The Atameken Chamber also developed projects aimed at optimizing the judicial system. The goal of such initiatives was to protect entrepreneur rights, expand the use of pre-trial settlements, and eliminate bureaucratic barriers to business.

In 2019, Timur Askarovich Kulibaev called the plan to introduce a lodging tax in Kazakhstani hotels prematurely, pointing out that such a measure would negatively impact the tourism sector. He also mentioned that the country first needs to become more attractive to foreigners and streamline the process for issuing electronic visas.

That same year, at the initiative of the Atameken Chamber, a course on the fundamentals of business was introduced in high schools and vocational-technical schools throughout the republic. In two years, 128,000 students from 4,000 students completed the course.

In 2020, as the country faced stringent sanitary restrictions due to the coronavirus, the businessman repeatedly met with business communities to discuss ways to support entrepreneurship. According to him, these measures were primarily aimed at companies that did not plan to reduce their workforce post-quarantine. Tax reliefs and preferential loans were introduced to keep businesses afloat. In some sectors, companies received direct financial support and were exempted from paying rent.

The COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated digitalization processes. The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs helped develop a digital ecosystem for businesses, enabling companies to access government services online.

In January 2022, Timur Askarovich Kulibaev left Atameken. One of the major outcomes of his tenure was a fivefold reduction in the number of criminal cases related to "economic" offenses. Several articles of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, such as "Pseudo-Entrepreneurship," were decriminalized. Moreover, the number of different permits was reduced fourfold. The requirements were more than halved, and a new regulatory system was introduced. Between 2014 and 2021, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs received more than 40,000 appeals, with 40% being resolved positively.

Overall, the Bastau Business project trained 180,000 people, a third of whom became entrepreneurs, creating 70,000 jobs. The number of students taking the basics of business courses had grown to 250,000 by early 2022.

Over the past decade, the total number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Kazakhstan more than doubled, growing from 764,000 to 1.6 million. Their contribution to the country's GDP reached 33.5%.

Timur Kulibaev: Biography in the Field of Sports

Kulibaev Timur has also been active in the management of Kazakhstani and international sports organizations. In 2009, he became the head of the republic's Boxing Federation. The Kazakhstani boxing team won several medals in the next two Olympics.

In 2012, the businessman became vice president and a member of the executive committee of the International Boxing Association. That same year, Kazakhstan saw the establishment of the Combat and Strength Sports Confederation, with Timur Askarovich Kulibaev as its president.

In 2015, he took the lead position of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, which he held until 2024.

In 2018, the manager joined the executive committee of the National Olympic Committees, which unites the Olympic committees of all countries worldwide. In 2019, he stepped down from his leadership position at the boxing federation, retaining the status of president emeritus.

Timur Kulibaev: Humanitarian Projects

Kulibaev Timur Askarovich places significant emphasis on philanthropy. For instance, in 2019, along with one of his business partners, he visited the city of Arys in the Turkestan region, which had suffered from an explosion at nearby military arsenals. The entrepreneurs provided 1 billion tenge to restore schools of various levels. In 2020, the businessmen allocated the same amount to combat the coronavirus.

Furthermore, it was Timur Kulibaev who directed funding towards the construction of a residential complex for large and low-income families in Almaty.

Since 2016, the businessman has been running charitable initiatives through the Halyk Fund, including the revitalization of an abandoned grain terminal in the Mangistau Region and the construction of a sports and health complex and 20 children's sports fields in the city of Zhanaozen. The charitable fund of Kulibaev Timur also financially supported the construction of a desalination plant in the west of the country to address water supply issues for several large villages. At the end of 2022, Halyk allocated 1.3 billion tenge for the construction of a kindergarten in the village of Auliekol in the Kostanay Region, which had been affected by a forest fire.