Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich is a co-owner of Hearst Media. He owns 80% of the holding's assets in Russia, of which he is president. Glossy magazines, Internet portals and mobile applications have made the businessman the most influential person in the country. To the layman, he is better known as the father-in-law of the most rated TV journalist of Channel One - Andrei Malakhov. How did the native of Transbaikalia, who entered the TOP-5 of the most successful media managers, come to success?
The path to success
The birthplace of the future media mogul is the village of Ulety (Chita region). The date of birth is 1958-13-04, which refutes the fatal value of the number 13. Viktor Mikhailovich Shkulev, whose biography is interesting for ambitious people who dream of a career, received two higher educations in Chita and Irkutsk. He studied as a teacher of physical culture (Pedagogical Institute of the city of Chita) and a lawyer (Irkutsk State University). The young man came to Moscow by enrolling inpostgraduate study of the AON under the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1991 he defended his dissertation in jurisprudence, starting cooperation with the popular publication Komsomolskaya Pravda. First as head of the legal department, then as financial director. At the same time, he was engaged in Komsomol work and independent business, having founded a law firm.
In the difficult nineties, he became the first general director of the Komsomolskaya Pravda publication, transferring it from the Soviet to a market economy. At first he headed only a newspaper, and then a publishing house (1993-1998). Having been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of InterMediaGroup Publishing House, he left the civil service, focusing on the development of independent media.
Creating a holding
Back in 1995, Viktor Mikhailovich Shkulev, whose biography, whose photo is presented in the article, in partnership with the French, created the modern publishing group Hachette Flipacchi Shkulev. He owned 49% of the shares. In 2011, the French sold their stake to the Americans (Hearst Corporation), and during the deal, the stake ratio became 50/50. The adoption in 2014 by the State Duma of a law on limiting the participation of foreign investors in the Russian media allowed foreigners to own only a fifth of the shares. That is why today the media mogul owns 80% of the assets of the Hearst Shkulev Media holding.
Many thought that this law was beneficial for Shkulev, but in all interviews he denies his participation in its lobbying. The document made the Russian market unattractive for foreigners, created additional leveragemedia control and forced the company to ramp up business in order to maintain the American partnership. To this end, negotiations were underway to acquire Sanoma Independent (Finland), but the commission on their part did not give the green light to the transaction. Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich focused on strengthening the regional offices of the holding, digital media, as well as buying up regional sites that give very good results.
Family business
Today the Shkulev group of companies is:
- Glossy premium editions, the first of which was the Elle brand, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2016. The permanent editor-in-chief is Elena Sotnikova. Among the most popular: Psychologies, Maxim, StarHit.
- Editions designed for a wide range of readers and having a large representation in the regions: "VA-Bank", "Antenna-Telesem". The total audience of publications is about 18.2 million people.
- Digital media representing the federal and regional network of portals on the Internet. The most popular are elle.ru, woman.ru. The total number of visitors per month is up to 61 million people.
Without support, it is impossible to create such an impressive holding. Not without her and Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich. The family, whose photo can be seen above, are his like-minded people and the most important employees. His wife, Tamara, is an HR director responsible for personnel policy and public relations. Eldest daughter Natalya after graduating from MGIMO(international law) additionally received her education in London. She combines the duties of the publisher of the Elle brand and the corporate executive director of the holding, becoming the right hand of her father. The youngest daughter Elena is the brand manager of Marie Clare magazine, created for successful women who choose a career.
Eldest daughter
Natalya Shkuleva turned 36. She has been married to Andrey Malakhov for five years. Their romance can rightly be called official. In 2007, a new project was launched - a publication about the life of stars, in the place of the chief editor of which they were looking for a professional journalist leading a secular life. There was no better candidate than Malakhov. He was made an enviable offer - to head the editorial office of StarHit magazine with an annual income of 5 million. Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich, doing business, never delved into the content of his publications. To make them in demand by a certain part of the audience is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief. Malakhov gladly agreed to head the editorial office and enthusiastically set to work.
In the corridors of the publishing house, he met his fate - a charming blonde, who stands out sharply among her peers. Passionate about what she loves, she was able to become a devoted and reliable friend to her star husband. Now Andrey Malakhov is also part of his father-in-law's business. The couple lives in two houses and does not think about children yet, devoting themselves to work with enthusiasm.
Connection with a small homeland
Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich, whose wife, being an HR director, hasdirectly related to the happiness of the daughter, the professionalism of the son-in-law is satisfied. Today, the circulation of the publication is 600,000 copies. The Internet version is one of the most visited due to many interesting special projects. The media mogul is often asked why he stays away from politics. He explains that today she is in the second ten interests of fellow citizens. This is explained by the fact that there is no competition and no real political discussion in the country. People are more interested in everyday issues: transport, electricity, utilities. That is why the holding began the expansion of city portals.
Shkulev is well aware of life in regions where he often travels. He maintains close ties with his small homeland, heading the Transbaikal community. From 2011 to 2015 he was the general sponsor of the Zabaikalsky International Film Festival. The crisis forced us to refuse to hold it in 2016, but Shkulev hopes for the resumption of an event significant for fellow countrymen. He supports his home village by sponsoring the local temple and school. For the best students, he established a nominal scholarship, which allowed 27 high school students to expand their educational opportunities.
Afterword
Shkulev Viktor Mikhailovich is an example of determination and dedication to his work. In 2014, his publishing house received the Brand Awards, and he himself, according to GQ magazine, entered the 150 most influential Russians. Today, some deputies have created a hype around the fact that city portals are buying up onamerican money. But the changes taking place on them speak of significant changes for the better: editorial teams are being created that collect information from primary sources, network news is being distributed, which increases the reliability of information received by the population via the Internet. The media business requires constant innovation and creative solutions. In the absence of a mandatory subscription and support from the authorities, it cannot be built only on the humanitarian component, which the president of the holding is well aware of.
