CTC Media names Tsukanova as new co-chairman

Following the withdrawal of Modern Times Group CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann and MTG’s CFO Mathias Hermansson from its board, Russian broadcaster CTC Media has named new MTG nominee Natasha Tsukanova as co-chairman.

CTC Media’s shareholder agreement allows MTG to appoint three of CTC Media’s nine directors including one co-chairman.

Tsukanova is the CEO of Xenon, a Moscow-based financial consultancy firm she founded in 2009 after a career at JP Morgan, where she became head of investment banking for Russia.

MTG has also named Kaj Gradevik, a former head of acquisitions and business development at the Swedish broadcaster, as its other board member, siting alongside existing representative Irina Gofman, head of MTG Russia.

The board changes come as Modern Times Group considers its options for the future of its participation in CTC Media ahead of the imposition of rules limiting foreign media ownership in Russia.