OREANDA-NEWS. June 23, 2010. "The National Depository Center" (Closed Joint Stock Company) (NDC), Russia's only settlement depository servicing the full range of debt and equity securities of Russian issuers, reports that Alexander Ikonnikov, an independent director of NDC's Board of Directors, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Independent Directors Association, has won the Annual International Prize "The Rising Star of Corporate Governance" established by Yale School of Management. The Millstein Center for Corporate Governance, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, has named the winners in the course of the annual corporate governance forum held by Yale Management School.

Mr. Ikonnikov said: "First of all this award demonstrates that the international expert community recognized reforms in the corporate governance sphere held in Russia. At the same time it reveals international business's expectations related to a continuance of the reforms with regard to improvement of the quality of the corporate governance in our country."

The award has been established in order to reward the corporate governance professionals who approved themselves as outstanding analysts, experts, directors and managers. Representatives of various countries including Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Russia, Singapore and the US have been named the winners of "Rising Star of Corporate Governance" Award in 2010.

The nominees were selected by the jury which included representatives of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance, International Corporate Governance Network, the Open Compliance and Ethics Group, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The jury evaluated the nominees' achievements, leadership qualities, future projects and initiatives, their reputation in the industry and potential of the nominees' influence in the sector in future.

Alexander Ikonnikov was elected the member of NDC's BoD in 2007. He has taken part in development of recommendations on improvement of NDC's corporate governance system and was involved in NDC's reorganization from not-for-profit partnership to a joint-stock company. Now he heads the company's Committee on HR (Nominations) and Remuneration in the Board of Directors.