Hello former KAO colleagues and friends,
It was good to once again receive the invitation to the KAO Reunion in Calgary. I have spent little time in Calgary since making the decision back in 1995 to remain in Russia following my departure from KAO. At that time I joined on with Ernst & Young in Moscow (travelling through much of Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus), but then of course moved on to become CFO of Hurricane in Kzyl-Orda, Kazakhstan, then Vice-President of Project Financing for a lead and zince mining operation in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan prior to returning to Vancouver, Canada for a little more than a year so as to allow my wife and son (both from Kazakhstan) to obtain their landed immigrant status. I returned to Usinsk (SeverTEK) in April 2002 (with my family again living in Moscow), assuming the position of Finance Director in October 2002 after Gord Casperd moved on, but left this position in February of this year when offered the opportunity to spend more time in Moscow with my family as Upstream Controller for TNK-BP.
SThe position at TNK-BP was not what had been promised, however, with my scope of works being seriously narrowed to more routine accounting and systems work and no involvement with direct operations. I like the opportunity to be directly involved with the real operations and part of the full picture. Since leaving SeverTEK I was continually asked to return as Finance Director, but then the opportunity was elevated to that of General Director. General Director is a position difficult to refuse, and with reluctance again to be away from my family (my previous work with SeverTEK resulted in my being in Usinsk almost 90% of the time), I have resumed work here in Usinsk this past September. There are the usual politics yet to resolve amongst shareholders, but I am here and expect soon to assume the official title as General Director representing the western partner, Fortum.
Thus far I find this position extremely interesting. True, I am not a technical person, but the knowledge I have gained through the years through forcing myself to understand the key areas of the operations is helpful. True too is that SeverTEK is now entering into a new phase: from construction to production, and this requires that the company place a strong focus upon cost control and become much more lean. We have already started to take a strong approach in this direction and I believe we will be successful. As with KAO, we have a very good group of people working here in SeverTEK and they need only to be focused in the right direction.
I continue to think fondly of KAO. It was KAO which first brought me to Russia and placed my life on a completely different track. I recall the nightmares I had prior to my first trip to Usinsk with KAO after having made the decision and wondering what it was I would be getting into: a completely different culture, an unknown language, the dark of winter, the cold, the expectations. But I am glad I made the move and I am happy with the changes it forced in both my life and my character. I can now say I live a very rewarding, very successful and very challenging life thanks to this turn. I am now back full circle in Usinsk for the third time, but it feels more like home every time. I have come to the point now that I consider myself a resident of the world and find it difficult to settle back into Canada. Life here has changed me significantly.
I wish all my KAO friends well and hope to see them again at some point. This year I hope to attend the party here in Usinsk (as I have always been traveling). Have fun and enjoy!
Regards,
Patrick Hanna
October 19, 2004