Ice and Flame: Building a NYSE Company in Wild Russia (VimpelCom and Its Founders)

VimpelCom is a Russian cellular operator that grew in less than 10 years (1992-2002) from a hypothetical concept, to small family-like company, to $2 billion NYSE-quoted corporation with 5.5 million subscribers on its wireless networks. This case study describes the perfect partnership between the two founders. One was the professor,Dr. Dimitry Zimin, formerly a department head at the Applied Radio Research Institute, and a cog in the Soviet machine. The other was Augie Fabela II, a very young, yet experienced, American entrepreneur. The case looks at their complementary leadership styles. It also tells the story of how they managed to capture a majority share of the market in Moscow and bring their company to the New York Stock Exchange.