The newly elected Board of Directors of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (Norilsk Nickel, the Company) had its first meeting on July 7, 2008. The Board of Directors elected Vladimir Potanin, President of CJSC Interros Holding Company («Interros»), as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and appointed Mr. Sergey Batekhin, Deputy General Director of Interros, as General Director (CEO) of the Company. Mr. Batekhin will assume his responsibilities as General Director on July 21, 2008. Mr. Batekhin replaces Mr. Denis Morozov, who had been General Director of the Company since April 3, 2007.

Mr. Morozov said: «I requested the new Board to reconfirm my authority as CEO since my continued ability to lead the Company at the time of competing interests of major shareholders required the full support and cooperation of the entire Board of Directors. I began my professional life here 10 years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the development of one of Russias leading public corporations as it became an important player in the global mining and metals industry. The primary goals set a year and a half ago when I was appointed General Director have been achieved. I would like to thank all my colleagues who have been supporting me during these years and who helped Norilsk Nickel to prosper in the interests of all its shareholders.»