Dr. Boris Mints was born in Rybnitsa, Moldova. He attended Ivanavo State University earning a degree in physics. He continued his studies, earning a PhD in technical sciences and is an associate professor of higher mathematics.
Business
Dr. Boris Mints started his career at the Ivanovo Textile Institute between 1983 and 1990. In 1987 he worked in a Youth Center for Scientific Creativity where he secured his first investment capital.
In 1990 Dr. Mints was vice mayor of Ivanovo and chaired the city property management committee (CPMC) until 1994. Following his time as vice mayor, Dr. Mints was appointed the head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Issues of Local Governance and Secretary of the Council for Local Government in the Russian Federation and served between 1996 and 2000. At the time, the committee was chaired by the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Mints became the general director of REN TV, the Russian free-to-air television network, for three years between 2001 and 2003.
01 Group
Dr. Boris Mints was chairman and founder of the O1 Group Investment Company which owns and manages assets in real estate and financial sectors. He served as Chairman of the group. Between 2012-13 he was president of the Otkritie Financial Corporation. In 2013 Dr. Boris Mints ceased to be a shareholder of the Otkritie Financial Corporation, selling his shares to other partners.
In 2010 he expanded the business by founding O1 Properties and Investment Company for managing real estate assets. Between 2014 and 2015, he acquired shares in the Austrian companies CA Immo and Immofinanz. CA Immo owns and manages commercial property in Austria, Germany and Eastern Europe. By 2017 O1 Properties was the 6th largest owner of commercial real estate in Russia.
From 2013 to 2017, the O1 Group began acquiring pension business assets, including deals to purchase NPF Telecom-Soyuz, NPF Stalfond, NPF Blagosostoyanie OPS, NPF Uralsib, NPF Obrazovaniye, NPF Our Future, NPF Socialnoe Razvitie. As a result, in 2016 the Future Financial Group, one of the largest pension asset managers in Russia, was established. The Group manages several leading funds in the compulsory and non-state pension sector, including NPF Future, NPF Telecom-Soyuz, and NPF Obrazovaniye. As a result, the Future Financial Group launched an IPO on the Moscow Stock Exchange in October 2016.
In September 2018, Boris Mints sold O1 Properties and the Future Financial Group, including NPF Future.
Philanthropy
Art
Dr. Boris Mints is an avid collector of Russian paintings and graphics. His collection is mainly from painters from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries including works by Serov, Korovin, Kustodiev, Konchalovsky, Polenov, Pimenov and Gerasimov.
Dr. Mints formalised this collection by curating the Museum of Russian Impressionism in Moscow in the building of the former confectionery factory “Bolshevik”. The Museum was opened to the public in May 2016, based on a design by John McAslan + Partners.
Dr. Mints has backed and produced several highly impactful documentary films. His IMDB page lists his credits and includes Kaddish, Svideteli, and Skripka.
Support for Jewish community causes
Dr. Boris Mints is the Presiding Board member of the Russian Jewish Congress and the Vice-President of the World Jewish Congress which represents Jewish people from over 100 countries.
He is also the Chairman of the Council of Patrons of The Conference of European Rabbis (CER), which is the primary Orthodox rabbinical alliance in Europe. CER unites more than 700 religious leaders of the mainstream synagogue communities. The CER’s mission is to protect the religious rights of Europe’s Jewish communities.
A better future
Dr. Mints is the Founder and chairman of the Yegor Gaidar International Foundation. Established in May 2010, its mission is the development and dissemination of culture, thinking and vision associated with Yegor Gaidar in Russia. The Foundation is committed to the principles of free academic discussion, rational perception of history and economy and openness to fair criticism and cooperation.