Category Archives: Hires & Fires

Promsvyazbank hires ex-Aton banker to run trust management arm

By Andrei Skvarsky.   Russia’s Promsvyazbank has hired Alexei Ischenko, a former senior executive at Aton, as head of its trust management division.   Ischenko’s duties include the “evolvement and implementation of the development strategy” of the division, according to a statement by Promsvyazbank, a Moscow-based lender co-owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and… Continue Reading

Otkritie nabs Natkin for New York sales position

By Marcus Williams. Russia’s Otkritie Capital has recruited J.P. Natkin from French bank Credit Agricole as director of equity sales for its new Wall Street office. J.P. Natkin, a Russia veteran with over two decades of experience, worked in Russia for the Australian resource venture capital group Vanguard Petroleum. Most recently, he served as a… Continue Reading

Russia Finance Minister Kudrin 'quits' after 11 years

By Marcus Williams. Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the cool-headed darling of the country’s purse-strings, has resigned after clashing with President Dmitry Medvedev. Kudrin, who ran finance since 2000, quit the government after saying he would not work under Medvedev in next year’s cabinet due to serious disagreements over spending in defense. Kudrin had indicated… Continue Reading

BNP Paribas replaces chief operating officer in Moscow

By Andrei Skvarsky. French bank BNP Paribas has appointed Palle Larsen as chief operating officer at its Russian subsidiary, having moved him over from a similar job in Paris. In his Moscow-based position Larsen, who is Danish, replaces Kieran MacMahon, who has been transferred to the French lender’s representative office in Turkey, according to Russian… Continue Reading

Russia’s sovereign private equity fund names advisers

By Andrei Skvarsky. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a sovereign institution for promoting foreign investment in Russia’s barren private equity sector, has put together an international advisory board, appointing to it company chiefs and sovereign wealth top brass from various countries. The board’s nine members, who will work on a pro bono basis, include top figures… Continue Reading

Troika’s Vardanian quits as head of Skolkovo management school

By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian brokerage Troika Dialog’s founder and chief executive, Ruben Vardanian, has stepped down as president of the Kremlin-overseen Skolkovo Moscow School of Management. Vardanian, who will remain involved with the school, heading its Committee on International Cooperation and Strategic Partnerships, has been replaced by Andrey Rappoport, one of the institution’s founding partners.… Continue Reading

RenCap hires Nomura's Shambayati to co-lead global markets

By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow-based Renaissance Capital has hired Soroosh Shambayati as managing director and global co-head of markets from Japan’s Nomura. Shambayati will have responsibility for fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) in Rencap’s key geographies of Russia, the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Asia and Africa. At Nomura, he had been chairman of global emerging markets.… Continue Reading

Troika names Aton's Fedorova for business support role

Troika Dialog, the brokerage being acquired by state-controlled Sberbank, has appointed Irina Fedorova as director of business support. Fedorova, who last worked at Aton in a business support role, will be responsbile for supporting Troika’s private client division as well as “servicing private clients within the framework of the Sberbank merger”. Prior to Aton, she… Continue Reading

Ex-MICEX boss Rybnikov put at helm of St Petersburg commodity exchange

By Andrei Skvarsky. Ex-head of MICEX Alexei Rybnikov has been appointed as president of the St Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX), a commodity trading floor. SPIMEX’s board of directors unanimously put the reins in the hands of Rybnikov, who headed JP Morgan Chase’s investment banking operation in Moscow and Russia’s National Depository Centre before joining… Continue Reading

Merrill Lynch hires analyst from Troika

By Andrei Skvarsky. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Olga Veselova from Russian brokerage Troika Dialog as an analyst for its Russian subsidiary. Veselova, who was an analyst at Bank of Moscow before joining Troika in 2007, took up her position at Moscow’s Merrill Lynch Securities yesterday, according to Interfax. Troika has parted company… Continue Reading

Alfa-Bank to part company with CEO Johann Jonach

By Andrei Skvarsky.   Alfa-Bank chief executive Johann Jonach is going to quit Russia’s largest non-state lender in a month’s time.   Jonach, who formerly worked at Raiffeisen Bank International AG, has opted against renewing his contract with Alfa, which expires in October, Vienna-based monthly Trend said, citing the top manager himself.   Alfa declined… Continue Reading

Troika Dialog snags JP Morgan banker

By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian brokerage Troika Dialog has hired Anton Malkov from J.P. Morgan for a senior investment banking role. Malkov spent more than two years as a Moscow-based vice president of Deutsche Bank before joining J.P. Morgan’s Moscow operation. Malkov’s duties at Troika include deal structuring and consultancy, the firm said in a statement.… Continue Reading

Renaissance names Yvonne Ike as CEO of West Africa

By Andrei Skvarsky Renaissance Capital, the emerging markets investment bank, has  named Yvonne Ike as chief executive for West Africa, based in Lagos. Ike replaces Rotimi Oyekanmi, who has been appointed chairman emeritus for Renaissance Group,  West Africa.  In this role, Oyekanmi, who joined Renaissance in 2007, will be responsible for the build-out of Renaissance’s… Continue Reading

State Street appoints Raynes for senior EMEA role

State Street Global Advisors, the US fund giant, has recruited Susan Raynes as head of its UK, and EMEA institutional business. Raynes, who was previously head of SSgA’s San Francisco office, replaces Kanesh Lakhani, who worked at the firm for 13 years. Raynes will report to EMEA  head Greg Ehret and will be responsible for identifying institutional business… Continue Reading

Renaissance boosts wealth management arm with two hires

By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Advisors, an investment unit of Renaissance Group, has  boosted its Moscow team by hiring Vagan Amichba and Kirill Schmidt. Amichba has been hired as managing director and a senior financial advisor focusing on the group’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals and cross-selling into all businesses. Before joining Renaissance, he ran his own M&A consulting… Continue Reading

Martin Schwedler named as head of Raiffeisen Invest in Moscow

By Andrei Skvarsky. Austrian bank Raiffeisen has promoted Martin Schwedler to chief executive officer of its investment banking unit in Russia. The joint venture, owned equally by Raiffeisen Investment and ZAO “Raiffeisenbank” in Moscow, offers Russian corporate customers access to equity capital markets and M&A services. Shvedler said he plans to expand the activities of Raiffeisen’s local investment banking… Continue Reading

BCS poaches top e-traders from RenCap

By Andrei Skvarsky.   Russian broker BCS has hired three senior electronic traders from Renaissance Capital, including head of e-trading Stanislav Surikov.   The other RenCap defectors are Rizwan Kayani, who was chief operating officer at Renaissance’s e-trading group, and Michael Smith, who was in charge of the group’s international sales.   BCS, a Moscow-based… Continue Reading

UralSib hires Pioneer Investments banker as head of marketing

By Andrei Skvarsky.   Russian bank UralSib has hired Karen Kesoyan from global investment management firm Pioneer Investments as head of marketing and business development at its asset management division.   Kesoyan spent 12 years at Troika Dialog, first as head of public relations and then as advertising director, before joining Pioneer Investments, where he… Continue Reading

UralSib hires former Barclays analyst

By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian bank UralSib has hired Anton Tabakh, a former researcher at Barclays and Troika Dialog, as senior fixed income analyst. Tabakh spent several months as a freelance analyst after a brief stint with Barclays. He was senior fixed income analyst both at Barclays and at Troika, covering Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan in… Continue Reading