Maxim Timchenko has led DTEK since its foundation in 2005, building it into Ukraine’s largest private energy group, with a presence in 27 countries. Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, he has overseen the rebuilding of destroyed energy infrastructure and accelerated the development of more resilient assets, including Ukraine’s largest windfarm and battery storage project. Between 2022 and 2026, DTEK invested €2.4 billion — more than any other company in Ukraine during the war.
In recognition of his leadership, Maxim received an Honorary Fellowship of the Energy Institute in 2026 and was named among TIME100 climate leaders in 2025. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Electricity Governors Community and serves on the supervisory boards of UN Global Compact Network Ukraine and the American University Kyiv. A graduate of the Donetsk State Academy of Management and the University of Manchester, he began his career at PwC before joining SCM Group and subsequently founding DTEK.
The war has sharply increased risks and shortened planning horizons. But putting investment entirely on hold also comes at a price: the loss of markets, production capacity, and competitive positions.
Nevertheless, new projects continue to be launched in Ukraine, international financial institutions continue to finance the private sector, and investors are committing capital to businesses now.
What makes an investment viable today, how should wartime risks be assessed, and which instruments can make them acceptable to private capital? We will discuss this at KIEF 2026 during the panel discussion "Investment Doesn't Wait for Peace".