Gennadii Riabtsev: "The state must manage as an owner, not interfere in company operations"

20.07.2026

On July 16, Energy Club held the forum “Corporate Governance in Energy: From Formal Rules to Real Responsibility” in Kyiv, which marked the conclusion of the Club’s three-month special project.

During the final discussion, representatives of the energy sector, state institutions, supervisory boards, and the expert community discussed practical aspects of corporate governance in state-owned companies, the role of supervisory boards, the implementation of OECD standards, and other challenges facing the industry.

One of the speakers at the forum was Gennadii Riabtsev – Doctor of Sciences in Public Administration, Professor, Chief Research Fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Professor at the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” and European Humanities University (Vilnius), and expert in energy security and public policy. During his speech, he presented his vision of key problems in the corporate governance of joint-stock companies in which the state holds a controlling stake, and outlined the main steps needed to increase their management efficiency.

Despite significant legislative updates and the gradual implementation of OECD standards, the corporate governance system in joint-stock companies with state ownership exceeding 50% remains insufficiently effective. In particular, key challenges include political influence on management decision-making, blurred boundaries between state regulation and owner functions, formal operation of supervisory boards, and insufficient transparency of procedures.

To overcome these obstacles, Gennadii Riabtsev proposed a set of practical measures focused on systemically improving corporate governance in the public energy sector.

Among the proposed initiatives:

• Demarcation of state functions: Clearly separate the political, regulatory, and ownership functions of the state; systematically transfer share ownership rights to specialized structures (for example, the State Property Fund of Ukraine) or directly to corporate bodies; minimize manual intervention by executive authorities in the daily operational activities of joint-stock companies.
• Strengthening the role and independence of supervisory boards: Establish mandatory competitive selection procedures for independent board members; ensure that supervisory boards have real powers in setting strategic goals, appointing executive management, controlling finances, and risk management; increase the personal accountability of board members for corporate results.
• Optimization of strategic planning: Introduce standard requirements for ownership state letters (expectations from the owner), business plans, and corporate strategies; systematically evaluate management performance against clear key performance indicators (KPIs); align long-term corporate goals with state energy policy priorities.
• Implementation of OECD standards and risk management: Actively introduce OECD guidelines for state-owned enterprises; build comprehensive internal control, compliance, and risk management systems; ensure mandatory external independent audits and publication of report materials.
• Transparency of public service obligations (PSO): Clearly distinguish commercial activities from state task execution and public service obligations; prohibit assigning additional social or political functions to companies prior to establishing transparent mechanisms for compensating economically justified costs from the budget or other sources; separate commercial goals and PSO performance indicators in strategic company documents.

Thus, Gennadii Riabtsev emphasized that effective corporate governance in state-owned enterprises must be based on a clear demarcation of powers of the state as an owner, independence of supervisory boards, strategic planning, and modern risk management mechanisms. A comprehensive resolution of these issues will make it possible to increase the operational efficiency of state enterprises, reinforce the trust of international partners and investors, and ensure sustainable development of strategic industries.

The proposals outlined by the expert became an important part of the professional discussion held within the special project of Energy Club, outlining practical directions for moving from formal compliance to an effective corporate governance model.

Expert recommendations formulated during the three-month special project and the final discussion are intended to contribute to improving the corporate governance system in Ukrainian energy, strengthening the institutional capacity of state-owned companies, and shaping transparent rules in line with modern international standards.