A foreigner will once again become the new business ombudsman of Ukraine, following the results of the competition announced in the summer.
The new business ombudsman of Ukraine, following the results of the competition announced in the summer, will again be a foreigner. This was announced at the International Forum of Corporate Directors, held by the Professional Association of Corporate Governance (PACG), by Oleksiy Dolgih, managing partner of Boyden Ukraine, which specializes in the search for top managers and was selected by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to hold this competition.
According to Dolgih, there was not a single Ukrainian among the candidates for the position of business ombudsman.
“Zero candidates among Ukrainians. They don’t believe it, he noted.
Dolgikh clarified that three strong candidates have already been selected, and now everything depends on the government’s decision to approve the winner of the competition. The managing partner of Boyden Ukraine expressed hope that the relevant decision will be made in December.
Let us recall that the current business ombudsman, former Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Vashchuk, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers for this position on December 9, 2021, and his term ends this December. He replaced former Warsaw Mayor Marcin Święczycki in this position.
The Business Ombudsman Council (BOC) was established in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding within the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Initiative, signed in 2014 by the Government of Ukraine, five business associations, the EBRD and the OECD. Since 2015, the BOC has been operating as an independent permanent advisory body to the Cabinet of Ministers, with a team of over 30 specialists.
The mission of the Council is to promote the formation of a transparent business environment by considering complaints from companies about violations or manifestations of corruption by officials. The BOC, under the leadership of the Business Ombudsman, acts as a neutral, extrajudicial mechanism and ensures a constructive dialogue between business and the authorities.
