Photo: Kusto Group
Yerkin Tatishev is the founder and chairman of Kusto Group, with a business career spanning industry and international investment. The group acquired Israeli paint manufacturer Tambour in 2014 (kustogroup.com). Its other interests include construction in Vietnam, while Tatishev’s separate education project in Kazakhstan is the High Tech Academy school.
Yerkin Tatishev: his biography and work in Zhitikara
Kusto’s corporate history traces its origins to a struggling mining operation in Zhitikara. Tatishev worked with partners to turn it around. The company attributes changes at the operation to new technology and changes in management.
In the same account, the group mentions investment in the local community. Kusto describes this as part of the operation’s recovery. This is the company’s version of events: it provides no independent assessment of the results of that management approach.
The work at the operation came before its purchase. The team acquired it in 2002 after four years of recovery work, according to the group’s history (kustogroup.com). The corporate account distinguishes between managing the struggling operation and subsequently buying it.
How industrial experience led to the group’s creation
The corporate history dates Kusto Group’s creation to 2008 (kustogroup.com). The company links the group’s initial capital to its earlier industrial experience. In its account, the work in Zhitikara preceded the group’s formation.
A KIMEP profile uses a different timeline: it lists Tatishev as Kusto Group’s founder and chairman since 2002 (kimep.kz). The university biography does not explain the discrepancy. These dates tell the history differently and need to be attributed separately.
In figures
Tatishev’s team acquired the mining operation in 2002, according to the corporate history (kustogroup.com). Before the purchase, it spent four years restoring the operation, according to Kusto (kustogroup.com). This is how the company describes the shift from turnaround management to ownership.
The corporate page lists nine countries where the group operates (kustogroup.com). It also reports a workforce of more than 8,000 (kustogroup.com). The page is undated, so both figures are presented as company information without suggesting they reflect the situation today.
Geography and headquarters
The list of countries includes Singapore, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Vietnam. It also names Uzbekistan, Israel, Italy, the US and Canada. This is the group’s published geographic footprint on an undated corporate page.
Kusto dates the relocation of its headquarters from Almaty to Singapore to 2013 (kustogroup.com). Kazakhstan remains listed among the countries where the group operates. The corporate history treats the headquarters move and the locations of its businesses separately.
Acquisitions and a construction contract
Kusto acquired paint and building materials manufacturer Tambour in 2014 (kustogroup.com). The official company profile dates the start of the group’s involvement in Coteccons to 2012 (kustogroup.com). These events chart the development of different parts of its portfolio.
The Diamond Island contract in Vietnam is valued at $122 million (kustogroup.com). Coteccons’ work packages for the project cover 150,000 square metres (kustogroup.com). That scope includes construction, finishing and design work.
The roles the company lists for Tatishev
The official biography presents Tatishev as Kusto Group’s founder and chairman. The company also lists his board roles at Kusto Oil and Gas and Kusto Vietnam. Tambour is listed separately as well.
The page does not say when the biography was updated. This is the group’s own information about Tatishev’s corporate roles. His position as chairman does not, by itself, establish the size of his stake or his personal wealth.
Tambour: paint and building materials manufacturing
Tambour is an Israeli manufacturer of paint and building materials founded in 1936 (kustogroup.com). Kusto acquired an operating industrial business. In the asset’s profile, the group describes its subsequent international expansion.
The areas of development listed include environmentally friendly products and energy-saving technology at the Ashkelon plant. This information concerns a portfolio company, a business held in the group’s investment portfolio. Kusto describes changes in Tambour’s production without quantifying their environmental impact.
Coteccons and the Diamond Island construction project
Kusto’s website presents Coteccons as a major construction partner of the group in Vietnam. The company profile includes details of Diamond Island. It dates the project’s start to 2015 (kustogroup.com).
The contract value and area of work relate to a specific project. They do not represent the acquisition price of Coteccons or the size of Tatishev’s personal investment. The Diamond Island profile describes the scope of the construction company’s involvement in the project.
How Tatishev explains his choice of businesses
In an interview with CEO Today, Tatishev links diversification to finding businesses with untapped potential (ceotodaymagazine.com). He says companies may lack capital or technology, as well as management, partnerships or market access.
He sees the common thread across the portfolio in the way companies are developed and knowledge is shared between them. Similarities between their products are not the main connection in this approach. This is how Tatishev explains his choice of businesses for Kusto’s portfolio.
Who makes decisions within Kusto Group
Speaking to CEO Today, Tatishev identifies strategic direction and capital allocation as his responsibilities. He also names the selection of leaders and adherence to shared principles. These tasks are how he describes his work as the group’s chairman.
He gives sector leaders the authority to make decisions with clear goals and reliable information. In his account, delegating authority keeps managers accountable. This is Tatishev’s stated approach to dividing responsibility within Kusto.
What Tatishev expects of his team
In an interview with WEproject, Tatishev links a strong team to its leader’s behaviour (weproject.media). He expects professionalism from leaders. They must also show the hard work and energy they demand of employees.
“Like attracts like,” Tatishev says. He also stresses mutual support and the division of roles. These comments describe his management principles, without an independent assessment of working conditions at the group’s companies.
High Tech Academy and education in Kazakhstan
KIMEP presents Tatishev as the founder of High Tech Academy, a school in Kazakhstan that uses project-based learning. The university biography lists this role alongside his leadership of Kusto Group. The school is described as a separate education project of the entrepreneur.
KIMEP also invited Tatishev to speak about crisis management and business after the pandemic. The university profile confirms this instance of his public involvement in education and his connection to High Tech Academy.
Other profiles on raem.kz: the biography of Arsen Tomsky, founder of inDrive, the biography of Mikhail Lomtadze and the Higgsfield AI profile in Startup Radar.
Frequently asked questions
Yerkin Tatishev founded Kusto Group
The official website names Yerkin Tatishev as the founder. The corporate history also describes his work with partners to turn around the operation in Zhitikara. This team first worked on the struggling operation, then acquired it.
Kusto Group’s official website is kustogroup.com
Yes, the group’s official website is kustogroup.com. It publishes Tatishev’s biography and Kusto’s history. Separate pages cover the group’s businesses and construction projects involving its partners.
Tatishev is Kusto Group’s founder and chairman
The company presents him as its founder and chairman. Tatishev describes his own work in terms of strategy and capital allocation. He also includes selecting leaders and maintaining shared principles among his responsibilities.
Tatishev is listed on Tambour’s board
Tambour is part of Kusto Group’s stated portfolio. The official biography also lists Tatishev as a board member of the manufacturer. The corporate page does not say when this list was updated.
Tatishev founded High Tech Academy in Kazakhstan
KIMEP names him as the founder of High Tech Academy in Kazakhstan. The university describes the school’s approach as project-based learning. It also invited him to speak about crisis management and business after the pandemic.
