Part-time PhD student
Education / Academic qualification:
- Westminster International University in Tashkent, 2021 — Bachelor’s degree in Economics with Finance, First class honors
- Westminster International University in Tashkent— Master’s degree in Research Methods in Social Sciences, Distinction
Employment
- 2025 - present - Assistant Manager at Deloitte & Touche LLC, Strategy, Risk and Transactions Department
- 2023-2025 - Senior Consultant at Deloitte & Touche LLC, Strategy, Risk and Transactions Department
- 2021-2024 - Consultant at Deloitte & Touche LLC, Financial Advisory Department
Expertise
• Economic theory;
• Compliance;
• Risk;
• Governance;
• Consulting;
• Research and data analytics.
Doctoral project
This project examines how compliance risk governance (CRG) maturity influences the success of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in transition economies, focusing on Asia, particularly Uzbekistan’s ongoing privatisation programme. While reforms in banking, telecommunications, and energy have drawn strong foreign investor interest, outcomes often fall short due to bureaucracy, evolving regulatory frameworks and other factors. Existing M&A scholarship emphasises strategy, leadership, and cultural fit but rarely considers governance maturity as a determinant of performance. In volatile institutional contexts like Uzbekistan, the absence of robust CRG mechanisms heightens integration risks, reputational damage, and regulatory disputes. This study addresses two gaps: the lack of empirical evidence linking CRG maturity to M&A outcomes in emerging markets, and the absence of a tailored maturity model for privatisation-related transactions. The research integrates Institutional Theory, the Resource-Based View, and Transaction Cost Economics to conceptualise CRG maturity as both a strategic capability and a safeguard against institutional uncertainty. It will develop a Compliance Risk Governance Maturity Index (CRGMI), measure its impact on transaction success, and combine quantitative analysis of M&A deals (2015–2025) with qualitative case studies and interviews with executives, regulators, and advisers. Findings will contribute to theory by embedding governance maturity into M&A success models and to practice by offering a CRG Roadmap and Governance Toolkit for policymakers and investors. For Uzbekistan, the study provides timely guidance to ensure its privatisation delivers sustainable growth, strengthens investor confidence, and aligns governance standards with international best practice.
Publications
- Zakhidov, A. (2024). How relevant is ESG practice for Uzbekistan? Economic Review, 5(292).
- Zakhidov, A. (2024). A systematic review of why nuclear energy can be part of the green agenda and what this means for the Republic of Uzbekistan. Economic Review, 8.
- Zakhidov, A. (2024, February 7). Column: Why Uzbekistan companies should implement the ESG concept in all their divisions. Gazeta.uz. https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2024/02/07/esg/
- Zakhidov, A., Abdullaeva, L., Aganova, V., Alimuhamedova, N., et al. (2024). Student aspirations and studying in the United States: Voices of Generation Z from Uzbekistan. Midwest Quarterly, 66(2), 70–94.
Conference Participations, Scientific Talks:
