The Board of Trustees

Galimzhan Yessenov is the founder and creator of the Shakhmardan Yessenov Science and Education Foundation, continuing the legacy of his grandfather, the Kazakh scientist and political figure after whom the Foundation is named.

In 2013, Galimzhan established the Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundation to promote education and science in Kazakhstan. Under Galimzhan’s leadership, the foundation has provided scholarships and grants to support talented Kazakh students in pursuing higher education, both in Kazakhstan and abroad. This initiative has played a vital role in nurturing the next generation of leaders and professionals in Kazakhstan.

Galimzhan Yessenov has business interests in several sectors including banking and telecommunications. As Chair of Jusan Bank, he leads one of Kazakhstan’s foremost financial institutions. He is also a major shareholder of Kcell JSC, the leading mobile operator in Kazakhstan. In 2023, he was named one of Kazakhstan’s 50 most influential businessmen by Forbes Kazakhstan.

Yessim is an investor in a group of companies that focuses on local start-ups and business projects in various industries, providing support all the way from their kick-off and throughout the development process.  Aizhan is the initiator and founder of the International Almaty Marathon (a full member of AIMS) and several other mass participatory sports events.

Aizhan holds a bachelor’s in International Business and Marketing from the EU Business School, a master’s in Marketing Communications from University of Westminster, and a master’s in International Dialogue in the Context of Globalization from the Sorbonne-Kazakhstan Institute. She is also a graduate of the Abai National Pedagogical University’s program on international relations.

Doctor of economics, professor. He has a considerable experience working in state authorities and financial sector. He worked as a Deputy Head of the Council of Economic Advisers under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, First Deputy Minister of Economy, Chairman of the National Agency for Foreign Investments, Vice-Chairman of the National Bank, and Deputy Minister of Finance.

He is the author of well-known books such as The Socio-Economic Efficiency of Social Production Amidst Intensification, Alma-Ata (1985), The Effectiveness of Social Production, Moscow (1987), National Capital, Almaty (2010), etc. Serik Akhmetzhanovich is also the author of more than 100 scientific publications on macroeconomics and finance. More information about the work and biography can be found at the following links in Russian: Wiki and Academic.

Software engineer and the head of the POWR company’s office in Kazakhstan.
Graduated from Satpayev University in 2008, where she specialized in IT security. Then obtained her Master’s degree in IT management from the University Technology Malaysia in 2010.

She was awarded the Bolashak scholarship and emerged as the winner of the “Internships in IT startups in USA” program of Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundation.

Co-founder and the data specialist of the Mocap Analytics and Adjunct professor with the Simon Fraser University (Canada). In 2009 he graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (BA and MSc). In 2015 he received PhD degree at California Institute of Technologies.

A graduate student in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Eldar is actively engaged in research and co-authored four articles and a patent. While studying, Eldar co-founded the Mocap Analytics startup that focuses on sports analytics, gathering big data and the machine training in sports (basketball, American football, and baseball) based on localized data.