Profile: Multilingual PhD (in mathematics) with application to macroeconomics. Strong academic and practical experience in public policy in the spheres of education and STI, marketing, systems analysis and quantitative modeling in Kazakhstan and other CIS countries. First exposure to International Institutions gained in central banking in Uzbekistan. Has rich experience of working with international donors, such as the World Bank, UNDP, Asian Development Bank, EBRD. Ambitious, self-motivated, with good interpersonal skills in multicultural environment. Fluent in the following languages: English, Kazakh, Russian, Uzbek and Turkish.
Work experience
Yerbol has more than 16 years of experience in designing and implementation of complex state programs in STI development, including policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, and management of public authorities. He has contributed to the development of the laws on Science and commercialization of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He was also one of the developers of the State program on formation and development of the National Innovation System of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Yerbol also contributed to the development and then approval of the Uzbekistan’s Law on Science and the Law on Innovative activity. He is the Chairman of the International Science and Commercialization Board within the World bank’s Fostering Productive Innovations Project.
Until recently, Yerbol worked as Rector of Almaty Management University. Upgraded development strategy with new vision until 2025, AMBA and BGA accreditation of the Graduate Business School among other international and national institutional accreditations and establishing strategic partnership with Arizona State University and Cintana Education – these are few major accomplishments to list for the work period on this position.
Yerbol Suleimenov was also on the position of Advisor to the Minister of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. On this role, he was responsible for designing and preparing “Modernizing Uzbekistan National Innovation System” - the World bank project worth 50 mln. USD.
He also served as Regional Director in Kostanay oblast for the National company “KazakhInvest”, where among his main achievements were increasing investment capacity and visibility of the region and attracting FDI. To mention some projects: construction of a plant for deep processing of grain in Kostanay industrial zone (Kazakh-Chinese joint project), investment in equity of Allur Group (KZ) by China National Machinery Corporation (CMC).
Before joining the KazakhInvest, Yerbol worked as Deputy Chairman of “Tobol” Social-Entrepreneurial Corporation – subsidiary to Kostanay region’s administration. He also served as Green Projects Advisor at the UNDP Country Office in Kazakahstan jointly with the Astana International Finance Centre on establishing the International Centre for green technologies and investment projects.
Until February 2016 - Head of Secretariat of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana and Project manager of the UNDP’s project “Institutional support to the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana”.
Before joining the UNDP, he worked at the Center for Strategic Developments and Analysis at the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Until October 2013, Yerbol served as Deputy Chairman at the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He was at the heart of all recent public policy reforms in the sphere of Science and Technology in Kazakhstan. Then he was a President, CEO at the Science Fund where he was implementing public-private partnership principles in the sphere of S&T through co-funding innovative projects.
In 2005-2011 Yerbol worked as CEO of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Key qualifications
Yerbol Suleimenov is a PhD in mathematics after graduation in financial mathematics from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
With the background in banking sector he has extensive experience of project management on different levels, including issues of fund-raising up to successful completion of the projects.
He was one of authors of National Human Development Report in 2004 for UNDP on analysis of education system in Kazakhstan and in 2006 on analysis of impact of new technologies to human development.
Academic as well as policy-making experiences are valuable assets of Yerbol Suleimenov.
On top of that he has outstanding organizational abilities. He has succeeded to sign first ever (among the CIS countries) national deals with the world information resource leaders such as Thomson Reuters and Springer. (see http://thomsonreuters.com/content/press_room/science/web-of-knowledge-kazakhstan)
With the background in mathematics Yerbol successfully implemented quantitative methods to measure a success in science and he was among first people who systematically introduced such tools as bibliometrics and citation analysis in public R&D policy methods in the Central Asian region.
He is a member of the editorial board of the 2015 UNESCO Science Report http://en.unesco.org/USR-contents and an author of a section on survey on the Central Asia in the 2020 UNESCO Science Report.
Yerbol is 48, married, raising three sons and a daughter.