ULYANOVSK, Volga Region. Oct 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Valery Savotchenko has been appointed director general of the Aviastar SP JS, which specialises in making AN-124 Condor and TU-204 planes, the Aviastar-SP press service said on Monday.
The company's previous director, Yuri Ryazanov, retired last week, as the New Commonwealth holding company, Aviastar-SP's strategic investor, decided to quit the aircraft maker, the press service told Interfax-Military News Agency. Ryazanov will return to New Commonwealth and continue working there.
Savotchenko was born in the town of Berezniki in the Perm region in March 1941. He graduated from the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute with a diploma in servicing aircraft.
His first job was the head of a shop in a machine-building plant, located in the city of Ulan-Ude. In June 1978 he was appointed deputy head of the projecting department for technical processes mechanisation in the administration of the main technologist with the Ulyanovsk aircraft production association.
Savotchenko occupied various higher posts in the Aviastar-SP administration from 1987 to 2000. Next year he was appointed director for production and technical backing and first deputy executive director of the enterprise.