Stefan Dürr has been Managing Partner and CEO of Ekosem-Agrar GmbH, Walldorf, since 1993 as well as President of the Russian subsidiary, Ekoniva.
Stefan Dürr studied geo-ecology at Bayreuth University and was the first Western European trainee to go to Russia at the age of 25. In 1994, with support from the Federal Agriculture Ministry, he initiated the German-Russian Dialogue on Agricultural Policy, whose project coordinator he still is. He also acted as a consultant to agricultural committees of the Federation Council and the Duma of the Russian Federation. In 1998, he started trading agricultural machinery and turned EkonivaTechnika, which has been spun off in the meantime, into the market leader of the sector. In 2002, Stefan Dürr acquired his first farming operation. Today, the company manages 173,000 hectares at six locations and is one of the leading agricultural enterprises in Russia.
In 2009, Stefan Dürr was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of his outstanding contributions to establishing and fostering German-Russian relationships in the agricultural sector.