Shkulev Victor Mikhailovich - co-owner of Hearst Media. He owns 80% of the holding’s asset in Russia, whose president he is. Glossy magazines, online portals and mobile applications have made the businessman the most influential person in the country. He is better known to the layman as the father-in-law of the most rated TV journalist of Channel One, Andrei Malakhov. How did a Transbaikal native who entered the TOP-5 of the most successful media managers come to success?
Way to success
The homeland of the future media mogul is the village of Uleti (Chita Region). Date of birth - 04/13/1958, which disproves the fateful significance of the number 13. Two higher education Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich, whose biography is interesting to ambitious people who dream of a career, received in Chita and Irkutsk. He was trained as a teacher of physical education (Pedagogical Institute of the city of Chita) and lawyer (Irkutsk State University). The young man came to Moscow by entering the graduate school of the Academy of Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1991 he defended his dissertation in jurisprudence, having begun cooperation with the popular publication Komsomolskaya Pravda. First, as the head of the legal department, then - the financial director. In parallel, he was engaged in Komsomol work and independent business, having founded a law company.
In the difficult nineties, he became the first general director of the publication Komsomolskaya Pravda, transferring him from the Soviet to a market economy. At first he headed only the newspaper, and then - the publishing house (1993-1998). Being the elected chairman of the board of directors of InterMediaGroup Publishing House, he left the civil service, focusing on the development of independent media.
Holding creation
Back in 1995, Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich, a biography, the photo of which is presented in the article, in partnership with the French, created the modern publishing group Hachette Flipacchi Shkulev. He owned a 49% stake. In 2011, the French sold their stake to the Americans (Hearst Corporation), and during the transaction, the ratio of packages became 50/50. The adoption by the State Duma in 2014 of a law restricting the participation of foreign investors in the Russian media allowed foreigners to have only a fifth of the shares. That is why today the media mogul owns 80% of the asset of the Hearst Shkulev Media holding.
Many felt that Shkulev this law was beneficial, but in all interviews he denies his participation in his lobbying. The document made the Russian market unattractive to foreigners, created an additional lever of control over the media and put the company in need of building up its business in order to maintain American partnership. To this end, negotiations were underway to acquire the Sanoma Independent (Finland), but the commission on their part did not give the green light to the transaction. Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich focused on strengthening the regional offices of the holding, digital media, as well as buying up regional sites that give very good results.
Family business
Today the Shkulev group of companies is:
- Glossy premium editions, the first of which was the Elle brand, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2016. The constant editor-in-chief is Elena Sotnikova. Among the most popular: Psychologies, Maxim, StarHit.
- Publications designed for a wide range of readers and having a large representation in the regions: VA-Bank, Antenna-Telesem. The total audience of publications is about 18.2 million people.
- Digital media representing the federal and regional network of portals on the Internet. The most popular are elle.ru, woman.ru. The total number of visitors per month is up to 61 million people.
Without support, it is impossible to create such an impressive holding. Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich could not do without her. The family, the photo of which can be seen above, is his like-minded people and the most important employees. Wife Tamara - HR Director, in whose competence issues of personnel policy and public relations. The eldest daughter Natalya, after graduating from MGIMO (international law), was additionally educated in London. She combines the responsibilities of the publisher of the Elle brand and the corporate executive director of the holding, becoming the right hand of her father. The youngest daughter, Elena, is the brand manager of Marie Clare magazine, created for successful women choosing a career.
Eldest daughter
Natalia Shkuleva turned 36. She has been married to Andrei Malakhov for five years. Their romance can rightly be called an official. In 2007, a new project was launched - a publication about the life of stars, in the place of the chief editor of which they were looking for a professional journalist leading a secular life. There was no better candidate than Malakhov. He was made an enviable proposal - to lead the editorial board of StarHit magazine with an annual income of 5 million. Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich, while doing business, never delved into the substantive part of the activities of his publications. Make them in demand by a certain part of the audience - in the competence of the chief editor. Malakhov gladly agreed to head the editorial staff and enthusiastically set to work.
In the corridors of the publishing house, he met his fate - a charming blonde, who stands out among peers. Fascinated by her favorite business, she was able to become a devoted and reliable friend to her star husband. Now Andrei Malakhov is also part of the business of his father-in-law. The couple lives in two houses and until they think about children, enthusiastically surrendering to work.
Connection with a small homeland
Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich, whose wife, being an HR director, is directly related to her daughter's happiness, the son-in-law is satisfied with the professionalism. Today the circulation of the publication is 600 thousand copies. The Internet version is one of the most visited thanks to many interesting special projects. The media magnate is often asked why he is away from politics. He explains that today she is in the second ten interests of fellow citizens. This is due to the fact that there is no competition and real political discussion in the country. People are more interested in household issues: transport, electricity, utilities. That is why the holding began the expansion of city portals.
Shkulev is well aware of life in the regions where he often has to travel. He maintains close ties with his small homeland, leading the Trans-Baikal community. From 2011 to 2015, he was the general sponsor of the Trans-Baikal International Film Festival. The crisis forced to abandon it in 2016, but Shkulev hopes to resume a significant event for fellow countrymen. He supports his native village by sponsoring a local temple and school. For the best students, he established a scholarship, which allowed 27 high school students to expand their educational opportunities.
Afterword
Shkulev Victor Mikhailovich - a model of determination and dedication. In 2014, his publishing house received the Brand Awards, and he, according to GQ magazine, entered the 150 most influential Russians. Today, some deputies created a hype around the fact that city portals are being bought up with American money. But the changes that take place on them speak of significant changes for the better: editorial teams are created to collect information from primary sources, network news is distributed, which increases the reliability of information received by the population via the Internet. The media business requires constant updating and creative solutions. In the absence of compulsory subscription and support from the authorities, it cannot be built solely on the humanitarian component, which the president of the holding perfectly understands.