Oleg Viktorovich Boyko (; born 28 September 1964) an international investor and resides in Switzerland, Chairman of Finstar Financial Group.
Education
Oleg Boyko was born in Moscow in 1964 and educated at the Moscow Aviation Institution beginning in 1981, where he specialised in radio electronics. Boyko subsequently gained a Master of Business Administration from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. He worked at the Lomonosov Moscow State University between 1982 and 1986.
Career
Oleg Boyko has a diverse portfolio having successfully invested in multiple industries including financial services, banks, IT, retail, real estate, entertainment and steel. From a young age, Boyko was interested in the financial sector and he began his career in the IT and finance sectors whilst he was a student. He is credited for introducing the first stores with credit card readers into Moscow in the 1990s. In 1988, he began selling used United States computers and computer accessories in the Soviet Union. In 1990, he established National Credit Bank () and served as its director until Boris Fedorov (), took over the bank in autumn 1995 and was in charge of it until May 1996 before the collapse of the bank in September to November 1996. In 1995, Boyko was worth $1.5 billion. In 1996, Boyko and a team of professional executives formed Finstar Financial Group as an investment vehicle and management company in order to identify, invest in, and actively manage businesses on behalf of Boyko and other private investors. As Finstar's Chairman, international investor Oleg Boyko has now directed Finstar to focus mainly on digital financial services and fintech industries. Among its non-core businesses, Finstar maintains a presence in real estate, entertainment and FMCG retail. In 1999, Boyko was a joint investor in EvrazHolding alongside Alexander Abramov, combining three steel mills and thereby creating one of the world's largest vertically-integrated steel producers as a result. In 2004, Boyko sold his 25% stake in EvrazHolding for approximately $600 to $700 million prior to its listing on the London Stock Exchange. In 2002, Boyko founded Ritzio Entertainment Group, investing in casinos and gaming, a business that expanded across Russia before going internationally. The company became the largest in Eastern Europe. The Russian business halted abruptly when Vladimir Putin banned gambling in 2009. In 2010, Boyko became an investor in lottery businesses in Russia and Ukraine, including the national lottery to support the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. He has subsequently disposed of all his lottery interests. In 2003, Finstar purchased a controlling stake in a Latvian commercial bank, Baltic Trust Bank. By 2006, Baltic Trust Bank was ranked 13th amongst Latvia's 24 banks in terms of assets and had one of the largest branch networks, with 74 branches across Latvia. In 2006, Finstar sold its 79% stake to GE Capital, the banking and finance arm of General Electric. In 2006 Boyko entered the real estate market through a new holding company, Finstroy. Also in 2006, under Boyko, Finstar acquired 75% of Rive Gauche. At the time it was a local business, with stores mainly in Saint Petersburg; but under Boyko, Rive Gauche grew to become Russia's second largest cosmetics and perfumery chain. In 2012, Boyko sold 51% of his stake to a consortium of investors but continues to hold 24% of the business. In 2011, he invested the Riga, Latvia based 4Finance, a structure through which he has relationships with both the Fort Belknap and Chippewa (Lac du Flambeau) native Americans located in Montana and Wisconsin respectively. In 2015 Boyko family trust reduced its stake in 4Finance from 75% to 49% and in 2022 has completed its divestment. Boyko was involved in film production and served as a co-producer on Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For in 2014, and is a co-producer in Scarlett Johansson’s forthcoming directorial debut for the film Summer Crossing, which is based on a Truman Capote novel.