OREANDA-NEWS. Polyus Gold International Limited (LSE - PGIL, OTC (US) - PLZLY, Polyus Gold or “the Company”), the largest gold producer in Russia, announces today that it has received notice from its Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Oleg Ignatov, that he wishes to resign from his position as CFO in order to pursue other activities.

Mr. Mikhail Stiskin, who is currently Deputy CEO for Strategy and Corporate Development, will be appointed Chief Financial Officer of Polyus Gold, as of 27 March 2014. Mr. Ignatov will continue in his role as CFO of the Company for the handover period.

Mikhail Stiskin joined Polyus Gold in 2013 following a highly successful career in investment banking. Prior to joining the Company, he was Managing director at Sberbank CIB (until 2011 known as Troika Dialog where Mikhail was also a partner), a corporate and investment banking arm of Sberbank, Russia's largest financial institution, where Mikhail was in charge of research coverage of the metals and mining/fertilizer sectors. For many years Mikhail's team rated as best in the sector within both the CIS and EMEA regions and was involved in a number of landmark transactions. Mr. Stiskin graduated with honours from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations with a degree in economics and holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).

Mr. Stiskin will retain his responsibilities for managing the strategy, corporate development and investment functions which will be merged with the Finance Department creating a simpler and leaner management structure.

Pavel Grachev, Interim CEO of Polyus Gold, said:

"I would like to thank Oleg for his contribution during his nearly six years' service with Polyus Gold and wish him well for the future. I also welcome Mikhail in his new role and wish him every success in his new assignment. I am confident that this appointment will further strengthen our tradition of prudent financial management, enabling us to deliver maximum shareholder value".