Herman Gref, the CEO of the Russia's largest bank, is probably the closest match to the model of the athletic leader among the protagonists of this book. The scale of his work is unprecedented. In less than ten years, he transformed a clumsy, old-fashioned, gigantic bank into one of the country's most innovative companies – a change that is visible to literally every Russian citizen.

Herman Gref: Profile of a Leader

In 2007, to the big surprise of the international financial community, the former minister of economic development and trade of the Russian Federation, Herman Gref, became the new CEO of Sberbank. At age 43, Gref had a spectacular government career behind him but had never worked in business. Born into a family of ethnic Germans in a small town in Northern Kazakhstan, he graduated from the prestigious St Petersburg University with a degree in economics and became engaged in social and political life during the perestroika years. After holding government jobs at district and city levels in St Petersburg, he went to Moscow to head a ‘centre of strategy’ that had been set up to create a blueprint for the economic development of Russia. There he assembled a team of experts from different spheres of life and engaged various organizations to contribute to the centre's work. The ideas thus developed formed the foundation of President Vladimir Putin's initial reforms in early 2000, which are recognized for having given a significant a boost to Russian economy. Gref then became a minister and earned a reputation as a committed liberal reformer who could push his agenda through the corridors of power.