Kommersant reported the appointment of Ilya Berdnikov, citing a source familiar with the situation. A retail-market source told the outlet that Asya Balabai, Auchan's previous CEO, will in practice continue to run the business, while Berdnikov will take on oversight of the company.
The process will be managed by Interior Ministry General Andrei Krayushkin, who heads L.E.V. Management, the entity to which Auchan was transferred for temporary management. According to Kommersant, he formally holds no posts at the companies themselves.
From 2020 to 2022, Berdnikov was a department director at X5, then known as X5 Retail Group. He subsequently oversaw sales at the Georgian wine company Askaneli and worked at the Canadian construction firm Bothwell Accurate, and since October 2023 has been listed as a co-founder of the Canadian startup SolidRobots.
Citing Berdnikov's social media, Kommersant writes that he has held the post of executive director at Rosimushchestvo since December 2024. His LinkedIn profile lists his place of work as "Ros_Imushchestvo / RSP." The federal agency has no position of executive director; Rosimushchestvo is led by its head, deputy heads and department chiefs. Berdnikov is not mentioned in the agency's public materials.
The same profile lists him as an active co-founder of a foreign company from October 2023 to the present. Civil servants are prohibited from participating in the management of commercial organizations.
Auchan, along with Leman Pro, Nestle and FM Logistic, was placed under the temporary management of L.E.V. Management by a Putin decree on September 17. The chain has 230 stores in 100 Russian cities. In the first half of 2026, its turnover fell 2.5%, to 127 billion rubles, Kommersant notes.