OREANDA-NEWS. Franz J. Marx, CEO of Ilim Group, delivered a speech at the opening of the Management of the Future Conference 2015, an annual event bringing together the leading Russian companies and most promising Russian students.

In his speech entitled “World-class talents for global business”, Ilim's CEO spoke of the current trends in the pulp and paper industry and its development outlook with a focus on Ilim's products and position in both domestic and global markets, and its plans, development strategy, and expectations for young professionals.

Mr. Marx presented Ilim's vision of the current economic environment, its development outlook, and potential impact on the pulp and paper industry. Ilim Group believes that emerging pulp and paper markets in Russia, China, and East Asia demonstrate rapid growth, whereas the US and Western Europe markets reduce their pulp and paper product consumption. Ilim is also of the opinion that the Russian pulp and paper market has a significant potential to boost energy efficiency and improve performance and wood supply, compared to other countries.

Over the past few years, Ilim Group has made a significant progress in increasing its efficiency and optimizing internal business processes. The Company has successfully implemented a large-scale investment program worth USD 2 billion and built new state-of-the-art facilities. Currently, Ilim Group continues to implement its action plan to increase competitiveness and efficiency across the value chain.

“Our goal is to become one of the most efficient and profitable companies in the global pulp and paper industry, with a focus on talent development and implementation and exchange of best practices”, said Franz J. Marx, CEO of Ilim Group. “We are looking forward to hire young leaders with strong communication skills, striving for continuous development and work in the international team of professionals”. At the end of his speech Mr.Marx answered the questions raised by the students.

This Conference held under the auspices of the Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University, was convened for the fourth time and attracted 100 Russian students from the leading universities from around the world.