As board chairman of Alfa's Altimo telecom-holding company has oversight of cell network operator Vimpelcom's $6 billion bid for Wind Telecom, the telecom assets of Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris; March meeting of shareholders will decide deal fate. Born in then Soviet Republic of Estonia and graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute; served as commercial director at a small firm founded with the institute's help. In 1992 hired by Alfa Group to oversee establishment of a privatization-investment fund; months later became chief executive of Alfa Capital, the group's fund-management company. After expanding Alfa Capital became responsible for all of the bank's investment units.