Vladimir Lisin got his first job in 1975 working as an electrical fitter in a Soviet coalmine, and later worked as a welder foreman at Tulachermet Metals Works. He rose through the ranks to become section manager, shop manager in 1979 and deputy chief engineer in 1986. In 1992 he joined a group of traders (the
Trans-World Group) who won control of Russia's steel and aluminium industry. When the partners split in 2000, he received 13% of the firm and later achieved a controlling share. His former boss was named the Minister for Russian Metallurgy, and Lisin became the sole owner of
Novolipetsk Steel in 2000. Since 1993 he has been a board member of several Russian metal producers, including NLMK, MMK and Sayansk and Novokuznetsk Aluminium Plants and has been a member of the board of directors of
Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) since 1996 and its chairman since 1998. He previously worked as deputy chief engineer and as deputy general director of the Karaganda Steel Plant, one of
Kazakhstan's four largest steel plants. Lisin was member of the board of directors of Zenit Bank. Lisin sits on the board of directors of the Novolipetskii Metallurgical Combine, one of largest steel companies in Russia, in 1998 and still holds that position. He is a director at CJSC Chernomorneftegaz. He was a Director of Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Co. since 2002. He has been chairman of JSC Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Corporation (OJSC Novolipetsk Steel) since June 2007. He served as an independent member of the board of directors of OJSC
United Shipbuilding Corporation in 2008–2012. Until January 2023 he was a member of the
Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs bureau, but then left the post of his own free will. His business interests, apart from steel, include transportation and logistics (with stakes in St Petersburg Sea Port,
Tuapse Commercial Sea Port,
North-Western Shipping Company,
Volga Shipping Company), energy (stakes in Chernomorneftegaz and Severneftegaz), and utilities (Russian grid companies
Federal Grid Company and Distribution Grid Company of Center). These predominantly Russian assets are controlled via Fletcher Group Holdings. In the summer of 2023, it became known that Lisin registered Serenity II Holdings and Nebula II Holdings in
Abu Dhabi and transferred his assets there.
Sanctions In 2022, investigative reporting by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and its Ukrainian service reported alleged links between businesses associated with Lisin and Russia’s military-industrial sector, including reporting that one of his companies had done business with a state-run institute involved in nuclear weapons development. A separate investigation by Radio Svoboda described alleged ship-to-ship transfers of Russian petroleum products at sea involving tankers it said were owned by Volga Shipping, enabling onward delivery by EU-flagged vessels. Novolipetsk Steel denied supplying the Russian military-industrial complex and said its Russian operations focus on rolled strip steel for general civilian use and are not capable of producing heavy plate steel or steel with ballistic properties. The company further stated that it has not supplied products intended for military use and that it cannot control the end use of its civilian products, statements reported by outlets including The Times. In October 2022, the United States was urged to impose sanctions on Lisin. Lisin has been reported as sanctioned by Australia, and in June 2025 Canada listed Vladimir Sergeyevich Lisin under its Russia-related sanctions. While Reuters reported in October 2024 that Lisin had not been targeted with United States or European Union sanctions at that time, the EU has sanctioned Volga Shipping in connection with Russia-related restrictive measures. According to the Disclose investigation, despite reported connections to the metallurgical sector and alleged links to the Russian arms industry, Lisin had not been subjected to sanctions by either the European Union or the United States at the time of reporting. Lisin resisted calls to step down as president, and ISSF Secretary General Alexander Ratner stated that neither he nor Lisin had links to the Russian government. == Net worth and rankings ==