Former head of American Express (AmEx) in Russia has been appointed deputy CEO of Russian Post, says Vedomosti.

      The appointment fits in with the restructring concept currenly being implemented by the largest Russian postal operator.

      Vladimir Salakhutdinov's experience at AmEx, Western Union and Net1 Group will help Russian Post to reshape its financial services as part of the bigger attempt to enhance the company's image.

      Russian Post has been often lambasted for what critics say is poor quality of service and delays in deliveries.

      In April 2013, the company's CEO, Alexey Kiselev, was replaced with Vladimir Strashnov, ex-CEO of Tele2 Russia.

      Here’s some background information about Vladimir Salakhutdinov courtesy of businessweek.com.

      According to businessweek.com, Mr. Salakhutdinov has 12 years of experience in the financial services industry. From 2002 to 2009, he held various senior management positions at Western Union at the European headquarters in Vienna as well as in Moscow. Mr. Salakhutdinov served as Operations Director for Eastern Europe and the CIS, as well as Vice President and Executive Director of Western Union MT East, a fully owned subsidiary managing Western Union's business in Russia and the CIS region. From 1997 to 2002 Mr. Salakhutdinov was employed by the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX). He started as an Economist and was soon promoted to Head of the Trade Management Department for the stock and corporate bond market. Mr. Salakhutdinov graduated with honor from Moscow Engineering and Physics institute with a degree in applied mathematics. He then graduated with honor from the State Academy of Finance with a degree in banking. Further, he holds an Executive MBA from the US-based Kellogg School of Management.