Kulibaev Timur Askarovich is a businessman, executive, and philanthropist from Kazakhstan. He is also active in public and sports associations.
Name:
Kulibaev Timur · Timur Kulibaev · Kulibaev Timur Askarovich · Timur Askarovich Kulibaev · Кулибаев Тимур · Тимур Кулибаев · Кулибаев Тимур Аскарович · Тимур Аскарович Кулибаев · Тимур Құлыбаев · Құлыбаев Тимур · Құлыбаев Тимур Асқарұлы · Тимур Асқарұлы Құлыбаев · 库利巴耶夫·铁木尔 · تيمور أسكاروفيتش كوليباييف
Timur Kulibaev: Early Life and Educational Background
Kulibaev Timur Askarovich was born in Alma-Ata in 1996. He attended a school specializing in physics and mathematics. The school was renowned for its high level of teaching, which enabled its graduates to gain admission into the best universities. After receiving his diploma in 1983, Timur Kulibaev passed the entrance exams to Lomonosov MSU, where he studied economic planning. The future businessman earned his degree in 1988. Eleven years later, he also learned a PhD.
Kulibaev Timur Askarovich: Stages of His Business Career
In 1988, having graduated from college, Timur Askarovich Kulibaev returned to his hometown, where he began working at a research institute under the national State Planning Committee. In 1990, he became the director of the National Clearing Center, which was part of a foundation dedicated to the country’s development across various sectors. The Timur Kulibaev biography was connected with this organization for two years.
Between 1988 and 1991, he led the Altyn-Alma consortium. Later, the organization evolved into the ALMEX holding, working in the fields of insurance, consulting, and investing in the agro-industrial complex.
In 1995, Kulibaev Timur and a group of associates founded ATF Bank. He chaired the credit and financial institution’s board of directors and also joined the loan committee. In 1997, he handed over his managerial duties as he entered public service.
In the spring of 1997, the national company Kazakhoil was established, consolidating all of the oil and gas state assets in the country. The position of Vice President for Financial and Economic Affairs was occupied by Timur Kulibaev, biography of whom was unfolded in this position until March 1999.
His former boss, Nurlan Balgimbayev, notes that Kulibaev Timur Askarovich was known for his drive for results, readiness to tackle problems, ability to prioritize, and respect for colleagues regardless of their positions. During his tenure at KazTransOil, the company actively expanded its range of expertise, including the issuance of Eurobonds, corporate financing, and modern management methods.
In the spring of 1999, Timur Kulibaev, biography of whom was already bound up with the fuel and energy sector, became president of the national company KazTransOil. This entity later merged with KazTransGas, leading to the creation of Oil and Gas Transport JSC, with Timur Askarovich Kulibaev as its CEO.
In early 2002, a new consolidation of assets took place when Kazakhoil merged with the national company, leading to the creation of KazMunayGas JSC. Kulibaev Timur held the role of the first deputy president.
In 2005, at the initiative of the top manager, the Kazenergy association was formed, uniting national and international companies operating in Kazakhstan’s fuel market. As the head of this organization since its inception, Timur Kulibaev has overseen significant success in establishing interaction between the state and the business community.
In 2006, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich became deputy chairman of the Samruk holding, which managed state assets, and remained in this position for just under a year and a half.
In 2006, Timur Kulibaev, biography of whom includes significant work in the energy sector, also became chairman of the board of directors for the KEGOC electric grid corporation. He played a key role in the corporation’s executive body until 2011, with a brief hiatus. Timur Askarovich Kulibaev held a similar position at KazMunayGas from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2009 to 2012. Additionally, in the summer of 2008, he became head of Kazakhstan’s national committee at the World Petroleum Council international NGO.
In the autumn of 2008, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich became deputy chairman of the board for the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund. In 2011, he was promoted to chairman. During the same period, he led the boards of directors of several subsidiaries within the fund. Kulibaev Timur was tasked with accomplishing a series of critical objectives set by the country’s leadership in a very short time frame. He was to enhance the competitiveness of the fund’s companies on a global scale, improve their management systems, support innovation, and organize a public IPO for certain state assets.
With support from Timur Kulibaev, KazMunayGas acquired a 10% stake in the project to develop the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field. Discovered in 1979, its reserves are estimated at 1.2 billion tons of oil and 1.35 trillion cubic meters of gas. The Italian fuel corporation Eni and the British Gas Group have been operating there since 1992, joined five years later by the American company Chevron and the Russian Lukoil.
Overall, the manager’s work in Kazakhstan’s energy sector has facilitated its modernization. He also made significant efforts to strengthen cooperation with the RF, the European Union, and China in the oil and gas sphere.
Kulibaev Timur, biography of whom has included the development of technologies and management practices since the 1990s, helped prepare an audit of state companies’ innovation activities. By the end of 2011, they were running 19 advanced projects related to exploration, hydrocarbon processing, automation of railway operations, sulfuric acid production modernization, telecommunications, and other economic sectors, with a total budget of $850 million.
From 2011 until January 2022, Timur Askarovich Kulibaev was a member of the board of directors of Gazprom.
Kulibaev Timur: Supporting the Business Climate in Kazakhstan
In 2010, Timur Kulibaev was elected head of the presidium of the National Economic Chamber of Kazakhstan Atameken (meaning “Ancestral Land”), an organization established in 2005 to represent the country’s business community, protect the interests of its members, and collaborate with the government to improve the business climate. In 2013, the association evolved into the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Atameken.
Under Timur Askarovich Kulibaev, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs participated in the creation of independent centers evaluating the quality of Kazakhstan’s higher education from an employer’s perspective. The manager also helped develop a program to engage businessmen in building the infrastructure for the EXPO 2017 exhibition, which chose Astana as its host city. The event focused on innovative energy, featuring exhibitions from 115 countries. Over the course of three months, the exhibition welcomed 4 million visitors, including 500,000 from abroad. During EXPO, Kazakhstan’s small and medium-sized enterprises alone signed contracts worth a total of 640 billion tenge (worth almost $2 billion at the time).
In 2015, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich backed a project aimed at developing entrepreneurship in rural areas. 1.2 billion tenge was allocated to bring this idea to life through the ALMEX Group. The Bastau Business program was designed to offer microloans to start businesses and enhance aspiring entrepreneurs’ skills. In 2017 alone, approximately 15,000 individuals received the necessary training, with over 3,000 of them successfully founding various types of companies. By 2022, more than 180,000 had completed the training, more than 60,000 business projects were launched, and more than 70,000 jobs were created.
In 2017, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs began compiling a list of reputable manufacturers to support during government procurement processes – a move announced by Timur Kulibaev. Biography of the organization he led also embraced other significant initiatives in 2017, including tax reductions for companies, increased accountability for officials, the digitalization of customs operations, and support for the national automotive and hospitality industries.
Furthermore, under the leadership of Timur Kulibaev, the Chamber of Entrepreneurs played a role in liberalizing the country’s judicial system. A number of charges related to economic activity, including “Pseudo-entrepreneurship,” were removed from the national criminal code. The practice of settling disputes out of court also saw wider application. Thanks to such reforms, Kazakhstan experienced a fivefold decrease in the number of criminal cases related to economic activities.
In 2018, Kulibaev Timur announced the establishment of an appeals committee for tax disputes under the Ministry of Finance. The manager also consistently advocated against the illegal actions of officials that hinder the development of entrepreneurship. According to the Chamber’s head, such violations significantly harm the national economy.
With the support of Timur Askarovich Kulibaev and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, a new elective course, Fundamentals of Business, was introduced in schools across the republic in 2019. By early 2022, 250,000 high school students were taking the course.
In 2019, Kulibaev Timur Askarovich also began working to develop tourism in Kazakhstan. He specifically opposed the so-called residence tax and called for improvements to the electronic visa application system.
In 2020, Timur Kulibaev met with business community representatives to jointly discuss support measures for entrepreneurship during the coronavirus pandemic. These measures were primarily aimed at companies willing to retain jobs post-quarantine. That same year, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs signed an agreement with the Kazakhstani government to integrate their information systems. Timur Askarovich Kulibaev noted that the organization he leads aims to create a digital landscape where entrepreneurs can access various services, submit inquiries, and receive responses online.
Another significant achievement from Kulibaev Timur Askarovich and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs was the reform of the country’s regulatory system. The number of documents that entrepreneurs need to process was reduced by 75%, while the total number of regularly requirements was cut by 58%. This refinement process is ongoing.
In early 2022, the Timur Kulibaev biography as head of the Chamber Atameken came to an end.
Timur Kulibaev: Biography in Kazakhstani Athletics Organizations
Kulibaev Timur Askarovich also has extensive managerial experience in various sports organizations. In 2009, he took the helm of the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation. His decade-long leadership was marked by the success of Kazakhstani boxers at the Olympics. In 2019, Timur Askarovich Kulibaev became the president emeritus of the sports organization.
In 2012, he became vice president of the International Boxing Association, a position to which he was reappointed seven years later. The Timur Kulibaev biography took another significant turn in September 2015 when he became head of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He continues to lead the republic’s Olympic organization to this day, staunchly opposing the use of doping. He was most recently re-elected in September 2023.
At the end of 2012, Timur Kulibaev became the chairman of a new confederation uniting Kazakhstan’s boxing, judo, wrestling, and weightlifting associations. He has consistently criticized regional authorities for the misallocation of budget funds intended for the development of mass sports.
Between 2016 and 2019, Kulibaev Timur also served as president of the Kazakhstan Swimming Sports Federation.
The manager is also involved in international Olympic structures, including the International Olympic Committee’s Commission for Public Affairs and Social Development. Since 2018, Timur Kulibaev has also been a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees, an organization founded in 1979 that includes all recognized National Olympic Committees worldwide.
Timur Askarovich Kulibaev: Charitable Projects
Philanthropy is another area of concern for Timur Kulibaev. Biography of the entrepreneur includes assistance to the residents of Arys, a town whose infrastructure was significantly damaged when a nearby military arsenal exploded in the summer of 2019. Together with a fellow businessman, Kulibaev Timur allocated 1 billion tenge to repair the town’s schools and kindergarten. The funds were channeled through the Halyk Fund, established by the entrepreneur in 2016.
At the end of 2022, the humanitarian organization funded the construction of another preschool in the village of Auliekol in the Kostanay Region. The previous building was destroyed when a forest fire spread to the settlement. The businessman also allocated funds to build housing for the underprivileged in Almaty.
In 2020, the philanthropist donated considerable funds to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The executive donated funds for the creation of a so-called “Youth Home,” designed for orphaned teenagers and mentors preparing them for independent living.
The businessman’s charitable foundation also sponsored the construction of a desalination plant in the Mangistau Region. With a capacity of 4,000 cubic meters per day, the facility aims to provide water to several villages that are home to over 10,000 people. The project’s financing agreement was signed in August 2023.
Altogether, the Halyk Foundation dedicates 45 billion tenge to its various programs.
Timur Kulibaev: Family and Hobbies
Timur Askarovich Kulibaev is married with three children. His eldest son, Altai, holds a bachelor’s degree from the Business School at City, University of London.
In his leisure time, the businessman enjoys playing golf.
