Vsevolod Vladyslavovych Kovalchuk (born October 7, 1978, Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian businessman who served as the head of PJSC Ukrenergo from October 2015 to February 2020.
Education
He graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University with a degree in organizational management and from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrical engineering and electrical technology. He obtained an MBA from the Kyiv International Business School.
Early career
Kovalchuk began working at the age of 14 in the district department of public education, where he was involved in the development and support of software for payroll calculations and the accounting of low-value and fast-moving items.
In the early 2000s, Kovalchuk's activities were related to real estate, woodworking, furniture, building materials, and work in state enterprises, where he was involved in analysis and reform efforts.
In 2001, he worked as a real estate sales manager and later as the head of the sales department at the IT company Formula A.
In 2005, Kovalchuk founded the trading company Razor Distribution Company.
Until 2007, he held various positions at NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, ranging from the chief specialist in the analytical department and the department of strategic research to the director of the Information and Analytical Support Department.
Kovalchuk also founded Dominator Group Ukraine LLC, specializing in woodworking, furniture production, and trade.
In 2008, he worked at SE NNEGC Energoatom as the executive director of economic policy and analysis.
In 2010, he joined Ukrenergo for the first time, where he served as an expert in investment and capital construction, deputy director for capital construction and investments, and advisor to the head of the project management group for the construction of the Shcholkine Pumped Storage Power Plant.
In 2013, he founded Ukrainian Forest Resources LLC, a company involved in production and woodworking.
Work at Ukrenergo
Kovalchuk joined Ukrenergo in 2010 as an expert in investment and capital construction, then as the deputy director of PJSC Ukrenergo. He later became the head of the project management group for the construction of the Shcholkine Pumped Storage Power Plant. He left in 2013.
On February 25, 2015, he was appointed as the first deputy director of PJSC Ukrenergo.
Reforms at Ukrenergo
Vsevolod Kovalchuk initiated and implemented a corporate governance reform at Ukrenergo. A new company statute was adopted. As a result of this corporate governance reform, strategic oversight of the state enterprise's activities was carried out through a Supervisory Board. Out of the seven members of the Supervisory Board, four are independent directors elected by a special committee under the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The main goal of the reform was to introduce competent, transparent, and impartial control over the company's management.
Under Kovalchuk's leadership, Ukrenergo began collaborating with the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) and Transparency International Ukraine. This allowed the company to implement international standards for information disclosure and maximum transparency in the construction of energy infrastructure facilities. CoST recognized Ukrenergo as the most transparent among state-owned enterprises based on an analysis of investment projects.
In 2017, Kovalchuk introduced a "single window" for submitting documents for the connection of green energy generation facilities to Ukrenergo's networks.
Overall, from 2015 to 2017, thanks to the active fight against corruption in state procurement, Ukrenergo saved more than 8 billion UAH, reducing equipment and work prices by an average of 40%. In addition to procurement, new approaches to the company's investment policy also contributed significantly to these savings: a comprehensive approach to substation modernization and attracting low-cost financing from international financial institutions.
Under Kovalchuk's management, on July 29, 2019, Ukrenergo was reorganized and transformed into a private joint-stock company (PJSC) "Ukrenergo".
Integration into the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) Vsevolod Kovalchuk identified the integration of Ukraine's power grid with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) as a key goal for Ukrenergo's development in the field of power transmission networks.