| Natia Turnava, first vice-governor and acting governor – National Bank of Georgia |
The board of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has elected former economy minister Natia Turnava as its first vice-governor and acting governor, in accordance with a bill of amendments passed by the country’s parliament in June.
The bill introduces changes to the laws governing the central bank’s management structure, including the establishment of the position of first vice-governor, who will assume the role of the central bank governor in the absence of the latter.
The appointment comes after a dispute between the country’s president, Salome Zourabichvili, and its ruling political party, Georgian Dream, over the passage of the bill. Ms Zourabichvili has expressed concerns that the amendments, which she vetoed, could politicise the institution and undermine its independence.
Ms Turnava was originally elected to the central bank’s board in June 2022. Prior to joining the NBG, she was the country’s minister of economy and sustainable development from 2019 to 2022, having previously been deputy minister from 2018. Prior to that, she was the deputy executive director of Georgia’s state-owned investment fund, known as the Partnership Fund, for five years.
Speaking at a press briefing about her appointment, Ms Turnava emphasised the importance of the NBG’s close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and other international organisations. She also reiterated its commitment to complying with the regulations and restrictions imposed by the US, the EU and the UK on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and made assurances that the independence of the central bank is safeguarded by the country’s constitution.
| Mikel Williamson, CEO – First Bank |
Mikel Williamson has been named as the incoming CEO of the privately owned US-based lender, First Bank. He will succeed current CEO Shelley Seifert, who will retire at the end of the year.
Mr Williamson previously served as president and CEO of Happy State Bank & Trust before its sale in 2022. He stayed on after the merger to oversee the bank’s Texas market. Prior to his 10-year stint at Happy State, he held a variety of senior roles at Capital One, JPMorgan and Bank of America.
First Bank is a family-owned business with four generations of independent, single-family ownership. The bank claims $6.6bn in assets and operates across 79 locations throughout the states of California, Missouri and Illinois.
| Rachelle Frewer, chief financial officer – LHV Bank |
LHV Bank, a provider of banking services to global fintechs and small and medium-sized enterprise lending solutions to UK businesses, has named Rachelle Frewer as chief financial officer (CFO). She will assume her position in January 2024 and will also join the bank’s board of directors.
Ms Frewer joins from Moneycorp Bank, an international currency exchange company, where she has served as CFO and board member since June 2022. Prior to that, she worked as a CFO at Wyelands Bank. She will succeed Gary Sher, who will step down in September.
Having recently secured a UK banking licence, LHV Bank aims to broaden its customer base, with plans to accept retail deposits later this year.
Ali Khan, group digital and information officer, and Gianfranco Bisagni, group chief operating officer – UniCredit
UniCredit has appointed Ali Khan as group digital and information officer, as it moves to accelerate its digital transformation plans. He joins from PwC where he led its industry cloud business as a senior partner. According to UniCredit, Mr Khan’s knowledge of the bank’s current technology and expertise in cloud and data will be crucial in delivering the next phase of its digital and data transformation.
In addition, Gianfranco Bisagni, who is currently the bank’s group head of central Europe, will transition to group chief operating officer. Mr Bisagni and Mr Khan will work together to boost collaboration across UniCredit’s central departments, while empowering each country’s digital and operations teams.
Nat Tyce, head of global markets, Europe, the Middle East and Africa – Nomura
Nomura has appointed Nat Tyce as head of global markets for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. In this role, he will partner closely with the bank’s global product heads and oversee all of Nomura’s global markets activities within the region.
Mr Tyce previously worked at Barclays, where he held a number of senior positions during his 25-year career, including as global co-head of macro trading and head of macro trading EMEA and Asia-Pacific.
He will report to Rig Karkhanis, who leads Nomura’s global markets business, and Jonathan Lewis, head of EMEA. He will take over from John Goff, who has been appointed to global head of structuring.
| Bruno Gennari, emerging markets strategist and sales – KNG Securities |
KNG Securities, a London-based, fixed-income investment banking boutique, has appointed Bruno Gennari to the role of emerging markets strategist and sales. He will be tasked with advancing the firm’s Latin American expertise, particularly in sovereign debt instruments.
Mr Gennari brings seven years of experience working as an economist and fixed-income strategist. He was most recently a senior strategist at BancTrust & Co. Prior to that, he spent three years as a senior research and strategy analyst specialising in domestic and cross-border debt issuance within Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
