Stefan Dürr, founder and President of the EkoNiva Group: ‘You Need to Look Ahead and Listen to Your Inner Voice’
In early December 2025, the HSE International College of Economics and Finance (HSE ICEF) held a student meeting with Stefan Dürr, founder and President of the EkoNiva Group, at the HSE building on Pokrovsky Bulvar. The entrepreneur spoke about his journey from running a small farm in southern Germany to building the largest agribusiness in Russia, and offered advice to aspiring entrepreneurs on how to succeed in the industry. The event continued a series of meetings between ICEF students and prominent Russian practising economists and business leaders.
The EkoNiva Group is a vertically integrated holding company and Russia’s largest producer of raw milk. Founded in 1994, the group’s production facilities and service units operate in more than 40 regions across Russia and employ over 18,000 people.
Stefan Dürr shared his personal story with the students. In 1989, he first travelled to the USSR for a work placement at agricultural enterprises in the Kursk and Moscow regions. After defending his degree thesis in his home country, the future entrepreneur returned to Russia and later founded EkoNiva, which over time grew into the country’s largest agro-industrial holding. According to Stefan Dürr, ‘EkoNiva is now the leader in milk production in Russia.’ The company produces around 8% of all milk in the country. The holding controls 632,000 hectares of agricultural land and operates 42 modern farms, four milk-processing plants, and one cheese factory. In 2024, the company produced 1.4 million tonnes of raw milk, with revenues amounting to 98 billion roubles.
Recalling how his relatives once tried to dissuade him from working in agriculture, Stefan Dürr shared a piece of advice: ‘It is important not to follow the mainstream—you need to look ahead and listen to your inner voice.’
Today, EkoNiva’s products are available in all major retail chains in Russia, including Pyaterochka, Chizhik, Magnit, Auchan, and Lenta, as well as in a number of restaurant chains such as Vkusno i Tochka, Rostics, and Dodo Pizza, among others.
Stefan Dürr presented to the students the key indicators used for operational management and monitoring, including mechanisms for managing profitability in crop production, dairy farming, and processing. He also shared details of how financial results are formed in these areas.
The students learned about the possibilities of using AI technologies in crop production, including the identification of productivity zones, analysis of soil fertility factors, the application of precision farming systems, and monitoring the condition of soils and crops. The company also uses AI in animal husbandry, logistics, and pricing.
The EkoNiva CEO also spoke about the guided tour projects implemented at the company’s facilities. ‘We organise tours to show that cows are kept in comfortable conditions—they are happy and feel well,’ Stefan Dürr noted.
The company supports a project to establish agrotechnology classes in schools aimed at educating children about agriculture. ‘Many people think that working in agriculture is not for them,’ the entrepreneur explained. ‘We show children that modern Russian agriculture is a very promising field.’
Stefan Dürr also told students about internship opportunities at EkoNiva. Last year, the company accepted 2,900 interns from Russian universities across various fields.
The students learned about the core elements of the agribusiness holding’s corporate culture. The CEO noted that the company adheres to principles of honesty within the team, respect for employees, and a careful, responsible attitude towards nature and soil. The founder placed particular emphasis on a culture of expressing disagreement within the team. ‘If a manager is wrong, you are not just allowed to object—you are obliged to do so,’ the speaker explained. In Stefan Dürr’s view, such an approach is essential for the company’s development.
The businessman also shared important pieces of business advice with the students, noting that ‘success lies in the details, and sober analysis of reality and a positive mindset are always necessary.’ He considers the idea of ‘allowing for controlled chaos’ to be especially important: in Stefan Dürr’s opinion, not everything can be planned, and sometimes it is better not to intervene but simply to observe ongoing processes carefully.
Participants shared their impressions of the meeting with the HSE News Service.
Nikita Bubnenkov, a fourth-year ICEF student at HSE University, said he was interested to hear how an entrepreneur from Germany had managed to build a dairy empire in Russia. ‘It was nice to take part in a tasting session before the lecture: a variety of cheeses and dairy products were presented. It is a good idea—first you try the product, and then you learn more about the company that produces it,’ the student said. In Nikita’s view, such meetings are extremely important: ‘They allow students to see that a lot is possible in life. Stefan Dürr’s experience is truly inspiring—there is much to learn from him.’
‘Stefan Dürr is an interesting person with an inspiring success story. Events like this are a chance to meet a representative of a large company, learn from their experience, and ask questions,’ said Evelina Bereza, a third-year student in HSE’s Media Communications programme. ‘Before the meeting, at the tasting session, I tried EkoNiva’s products. I liked the High Focus milk drink. The cheeses on offer were also very good, so now I will be sure to look out for them in shops.’
Anastasia Mitsura, an eleventh-grade student at the HSE Lyceum, is taking part in the Data Analysis National Olympiad (DANO). ‘My team and I are working with a dataset provided by EkoNiva and studying cow feeding practices, milk yields, and other indicators,’ Anastasia explained. ‘As part of this project, we decided to take a deeper look into the company’s activities and conduct in-depth research. Today I gained a great deal of useful knowledge about running a business, which is especially important for me as I am interested in this field and hope to apply in the future to the Business Informatics programme at HSE University. Stefan Dürr’s experience really allows you to draw meaningful conclusions for the future, and for me this was extremely valuable.’
The topic that interested the lyceum student most was managing a large team. ‘At the moment, I am leading small projects myself and sometimes face difficulties: how to respond properly to employees’ opinions, how to listen to the team, and what to pay particular attention to. Stefan Dürr’s advice on these issues was the most important part of today’s talk for me,’ she said.
‘As a future economist, I am interested in the agricultural business—it is a very promising field,’ said Ivan Kapishnikov, a first-year student in the World Economy programme at MGIMO University. ‘I liked the data presented at today’s meeting. In my view, it can be applied not only in agriculture. I also noted new economic indicators and learned a lot about how agribusiness operates. I found the stated principles of running a large company particularly interesting. I paid special attention to issues related to import substitution of agricultural equipment.’
‘I am working on a project aimed at restoring soil fertility—a technological project within an agribusiness holding,’ said Semyon Vorontsov, a third-year HSE ICEF student. ‘Since Stefan Dürr represents one of the largest agribusiness holdings in Russia, I had a direct question and a proposal for him, which I very much hope he will consider. For my project, and in general, it was important for me to hear that EkoNiva is genuinely interested in developing soil fertility in the long term. Meetings like this matter: they broaden the horizons of younger students, and for more senior ones they provide an opportunity to prove themselves and even put forward a proposal.’
Text by Alexandra Snegireva, third-year student of the Asian and African Studies programme, HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs