Alexei Viktorovich Kuzmichev, born on October 15, 1962, in Kirov, Russia, is a Russian financier and co-founder of the colossal Alfa Group and LetterOne Group. His background is rooted in the Soviet military and technical education.

He served in the army on the Soviet-Chinese border as a radio operator from 1980 to 1982, a period during which he joined the Communist Party. In 1983, he enrolled at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, where he met his future billionaire partners, Mikhail Fridman and German Khan. This influential trio first founded the 'Alfa Photo' cooperative in 1988, specializing in photo chemical imports and laying the groundwork for the 'Alfa Group' consortium.

Alexei Kuzmichev's career took flight in the early 1990s as he convinced his partners to diversify into oil exports and international commodity trading, establishing Alfa Eco (later rebranded as A1). He became the key figure overseeing the Group's high-stakes international trading operations. The consortium quickly amassed controlling stakes in key Russian companies, including Alfa-Bank and the telecom giant VimpelCom.

The defining moment of his wealth creation was the 2013 sale of their 50% stake in the TNK-BP oil joint venture to Rosneft for a colossal $28 billion (Kuzmichev's share was estimated at $2.5 billion from the total TNK-BP sale proceeds of $14 billion). The proceeds from this deal were channeled into the international investment vehicle, LetterOne Group. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent international sanctions against him and his partners, Kuzmichev resigned from LetterOne's board, and was later detained by French police in 2023 for suspected tax crimes and violation of sanctions, though he was released on an €8 million bail.

Alexei Kuzmichev's philanthropy is largely private and aimed at supporting cultural and educational initiatives, often linked to his personal interests. He is known for his patronage of contemporary modern art, exemplified by his purchase of the Sam Durant painting, 'Dream More Work Less'.

His public engagement is political and industrial: he has served in various high-level governmental advisory roles, including co-chairman of the 'Delovaya Rossiya' (Business Russia) public organization. His companies are significant employers, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across Europe and Russia. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, LetterOne made a substantial donation of $150 million to support those affected by the war in Ukraine.