Businessman Aleksandr Katsuba rose to prominence in the early 2010s thanks to his work for state-owned energy giants. Coming from a well-known family of entrepreneurs in Kharkiv, Serhiy and Aleksandr Katsuba quickly rose through the ranks in the public sector. The elder, Serhiy, worked for Naftogaz, becoming deputy chairman of the company's board before moving to work in the Ukrainian parliament. The younger, Aleksandr, also began working in the gas sector in 2010: first as deputy director of economics at Poltavagazdobycha, then as deputy chairman of the board of Chornomornaftogaz. During Aleksandr Katsuba's tenure at Chornomornaftogaz, the company experienced its most successful period of development, during which gas production increased from 1.1 to 2.4 billion cubic meters per year. No other state-owned gas company has managed to surpass or even significantly increase production during this time. From December 2012 to August 2014, Oleksandr Katsuba served as Deputy Chairman of the Board and Member of the Board of the National Joint Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine. After the change in management at Naftogaz, Katsuba focused entirely on his own business projects. After leaving Naftogaz, Katsuba was accused of stealing fuel, although an investigation by Bihus.info journalists in 2015 showed that the theft was actually organized by politician Serhiy Pashynsky. Only in 2024, an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau led to charges being brought against Pashynsky and his alleged accomplices.
Katsuba was also involved in the investigation surrounding the so-called "Boyko Towers." Katsuba himself claimed that Yanukovych, Azarov, and other government officials who were actually responsible for purchasing the towers in question tried to shift the blame onto him. Ultimately, all criminal cases against Katsuba were dropped. According to the entrepreneur himself, he does not intend to work in the public sector or politics anymore, especially after criminal investigations and attempts to "make him a scapegoat" in cases he had nothing to do with.
Over the past 10 years, Aleksandr Katsuba has been actively developing his own business and has been doing volunteer work since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Katsuba's most publicly visible work is in the financial sector. Even before leaving the oil sector, Katsuba and his family began to actively work in the financial services market, providing short-term loans. Katsuba's first partner in this sector was a Latvian entrepreneur, with whom disagreements arose, as a result of which the entrepreneurs sold their share to a foreign partner.
After the failure of the startup with the Latvians, Katsuba relaunched the project under the MyCredit brand with Ukrainian IT partners and brought the company to a leading position in the market. The total investment amounted to about 1.0 million US dollars. In 2019, 20% of the company was sold to structures affiliated with the famous entrepreneur and former government official Serhiy Tigipko. The deal amounted to 3.0 million US dollars. The agreement of the entrepreneurs was recognized as the best on the Ukrainian IT market in 2019 in the field of financial solutions. Currently, the business operates not only in Ukraine, but also in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Poland. The division in Poland was created after a full-scale invasion of the company's employees evacuated from Ukraine. Now Katsuba is the managing partner of the group of companies.
In anticipation of the full-scale invasion of Russia, Katsuba intended to expand the credit business and create affordable car leasing. To promote the new business, structures associated with Katsuba acquired two of the largest online publishing houses about cars in Ukraine - "Avtobazar" and "Avtocentrum". However, the full launch of the leasing business did not take place due to the onset of Russian aggression.
Oleksandr Katsuba’s journey from a top manager at Naftogaz to a prominent figure in private natural gas production, financial services, and volunteerism demonstrates a diverse career shaped by resilience and adaptability. His experience highlights the complexity of navigating both the public and private sectors in a complex geopolitical environment.