New frontiers of partnership

Kontinental Hockey League President Alexander Medvedev and KHL Commerce and Communications Vice-President Ilya Kochevrin were among those gathered in the northern capital for the XVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which ran from the 21st to the 23rd of June.

The International Economic Forum is the main event in Russia’s economic calendar and has been held in Saint Petersburg since 1997. The KHL is one of the international partners of the Forum and was the first sporting organization to achieve such status.

“For the Kontinental Hockey League, to be a partner at such an impressive gathering as the International Economic Forum is a great responsibility and an invaluable experience,” said Ilya Kochevrin. “It is an opportunity to raise the KHL above the level of ordinary sporting competitions using the principles and methods of sport-related marketing. It is a chance for the League to gain a socio-economic presence on an international scale.”

As in previous years, the event was attended by past and present heads of state and political leaders in addition to the top brass from many leading Russian and multinational companies, and at this year’s forum the events were organized into four basic pillars: Securing the Future, Realizing Russia’s Potential, Responding to Impact Technologies and Leadership in Focus. In all, there were dozens of themed contributions, briefings and discussion panels, enabling more than four thousand participants from over sixty nations to take advantage the most comprehensive updates on subjects as diverse as the world economy, innovation technology, anti-crisis measures, prospects for the development of the fuel and energy sector, the financial spheres and many others.