Who Runs Large Businesses When Owners Step Away from Operations: Trends in Ukraine

In Ukraine, there is practically no old money inherited capital passed down from generation to generation, but there are other approaches to transferring business management. The Page explored who owners are handing over operational management to and what the outcomes are.

Business owners are transferring operational management to market leaders, internal executives, or independent directors. Photo: Depositphotos

Many founders often continue to manage companies for decades. The question of stepping away from operations and transferring management has also become relevant.

"Before 2022, stepping into a 'supervisory board' was a sign of business maturity, but today this decision is driven by other factors: international expansion (owners are focusing on opening branches in Poland, Germany, Romania, the USA) or attracting foreign investments that require a transparent corporate structure," says Anna Vasyukhno, founder of the recruiting company A-HR.pro.

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Owners often transfer management to:

• internal top managers (COO, CFO, HRD);
• professional market CEOs brought in for specific tasks, such as IPOs;
• supervisory boards or independent directors, retaining only strategy and financial and security oversight.

One example is the agricultural holding AGROTRADE. At the end of 2024, the company was led by experienced manager Serhiy Nechyporuk, while owner and former CEO Vsevolod Kozhemyako joined the military at the onset of the large-scale war.

Management was also transferred at Uklon. All co-ownersDmytro and Viktoriya Dubrovskyi, Serhiy Smus, and Vitaliy Dyatlenko stepped away from operational management in 2023 and moved to the supervisory board. Following this, Serhiy Gryshkov (former CPO) became CEO, and in 2025, Kyivstar acquired 97% of Uklon's corporate rights. In 2026, the Chief Ride-hailing Officer position was taken by Olena Orlova, who previously served as CMO.

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However, there is also a counter trend, says Dominika Ivanova-Bekar, founder of Bekar Consulting. Some founders are returning to operations and becoming CEOs. This often happens due to distrust of external managers or unwillingness to pay high salaries to top executives.

For example, the UPG gas station network. In 2025, founder Volodymyr Petrenko invited professional top manager Oleksandr Matiushenko, but he worked for less than six months before moving to the Parallel gas station network.

After this, Petrenko personally returned to managing the company. He admits that "operations" won't let him go, and finding a professional CEO is an extremely challenging task.

• More about the most notable appointments and dismissals of top managers in Ukrainian companies in 2025–2026 can be found on The Page.