Fmr Nornickel exec Alexander Popov becomes Metalloinvest CEO

MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - Alexander Popov, a former executive at MMC Norilsk Nickel , has been appointed CEO of iron ore and steel producer Metalloinvest.

Oleg Krestinin, who had headed Metalloinvest since December 2023, is stepping down and will focus on strategic decision-making on the company's board of directors, Metalloinvest said in a press release.

Since the spring, Popov has been senior vice president and chief operating officer of Nornickel. From 2018 onwards he was head of the Bystrinsky mine from the group's Transbaikal division. In September 2025 it became known that Popov had left the company.

He was previously also head of Severstal's Olenegorsk mine and the Taganrog Boiler-Making Works Krasny Kotelshchik, part of Power Machines. He also worked in management positions at Kuzbassugol and Vorkutaugol.

Metalloinvest is the largest producer of iron ore in Russia and the CIS and is 100% owned by USM Metalloinvest LLC, part of USM Holdings, which unites the assets of Alisher Usmanov and his partners.