Herman Smetanin takes helm of Ukroboronprom for second time

The Supervisory Board of the Joint-Stock Company Ukrainian Defense Industry has appointed Herman Smetanin, who previously held this position, as the General Director following the results of the competition.

"The search, selection and assessment of candidates, of which there were 14, was carried out by the international company Odgers Berndtson. It specializes in the selection of top-level managers and has a number of successful cases in leading Ukrainian and foreign businesses. The decision to appoint a new General Director was made after the final interviews with candidates who were shortlisted based on the results of the preliminary selection," the Ukroboronprom Telegram said on Wednesday.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ukroboronprom, David Lomdzhariya, noted that Smetanin has gained "unique work experience and is well-versed in both the internal processes of enterprises and the organization of the work of the defense industry at the government level."

As reported, Smetanin, born in 1992, was appointed General Director of JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry (the successor to Ukroboronprom) at the end of June 2023. Prior to that, he briefly headed the Malyshev Plant, where in 2020-2021 he was the Director of Production, in 2021-2022 he was the Director of the Kharkiv Armored Plant, and in 2016-2020 - the Chief Engineer of the Lviv Armored Plant.

In September 2024, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Smetanin as Minister of Strategic Industries, and Oleg Hulyak was later appointed as the General Director of Ukroboronprom.

On July 17, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada, on the proposal of the newly appointed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, approved the new composition of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, in which Smetanin did not receive a position. It was already announced then that he would again head Ukroboronprom.