Board of Directors

Arne Berggren

Joined the Group on 13 August 2019; appointed as Chairman on 1 March 2021

Experience

• Over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry internationally including advisory roles for a range of governmental and supranational bodies and institutions
• Various roles within UK listed banks and a breadth of corporate governance expertise
• Experience in investment banking activities and in leading bank restructurings
• Deep understanding of strategic planning and implementation

Arne has worked in the financial services industry for more than 30 years. He has held several senior leadership and advisory positions at prominent financial institutions, including the IMF, World Bank, Swedbank, Carnegie Investment Bank AB and the Swedish Ministry of Finance and Bank Support Authority. Arne played a leading role in the handling of the Swedish banking crisis in 1991-93 and assisted the FRA in Thailand and FSC/ KAMCO in South Korea during the Asian crisis. Arne has also served as an independent Non-Executive Director in asset management companies in Turkey and Slovenia, and, until recently, in Greece at Piraeus Bank.

Current external non-executive appointments

• Chairman of Hoting Innovations AB

Tsira Kemularia, CDir

Joined the Group on 10 September 2018; appointed as Senior Independent Director on 15 September 2021

Experience

• More than 23 years of in-depth experience across the energy sector including regulated commodity trading and financial services
• Chartered Director and Fellow with the Institute of Directors in London, UK
• Former member of the British-Georgian Society and former Chair of the Georgian Community in the UK
• Relevant experience and expertise in information security risk management

Throughout her career, Tsira has held various roles covering market risk management and commodity trading at companies including Dynegy Inc. in the US and UK and at Shell International Trading and Shipping Ltd (STASCO) in London, Russia CIS, and Caribbean operations. Between 2005 and 2016, she served in a broad range of managerial roles covering M&A and Commercial Finance, Group Treasury and Trading and Supply in the UK, Moscow and Barbados. Tsira was previously the Head of Group Pensions Strategy and Standards at Shell International Ltd based in London. From 2019 to mid-2022, Tsira held the position of Head of Internal Audit and Investigations for Shell’s global Trading and Supply organisation, the world’s biggest commodity trading and supply business. In July 2022, Tsira was appointed as a Vice President of Corporate and UK Country Controller responsible for the Shell Group’s financial management of the corporate segment. Tsira is a member of the Shell UK Management Board, and a member of Shell UK Country Coordination Team, Chief of Staff for UK Crises Management

Current external non-executive appointments

• Trustee Director of the British Gas Trustee Solutions Ltd, a closed pension fund (post British Gas acquisition by Shell)
• Trustee Director of Shell Trustee Solutions Ltd

Per Anders Fasth

Joined the Group on 4 May 2021

Experience

• Extensive CEO and senior executive experience, having spent more than 20 years at leading banks and other financial institutions
• More than 30 years of accumulated experience as an independent non-executive director
• Strong listed corporate governance, leadership and strategic advisory skills
• Significant financial reporting, investor relations and internal controls experience
• Relevant experience from the financial information technologies (fintech) and credit management industries across Europe

Over the past 25 years, Per Anders has served as CEO in several companies such as at SBAB Bank, Hoist Finance and European Resolution Capital as well as CFO and other senior executive positions at the leading North-European bank SEB. He has also gained extensive strategic consulting experience having spent 10 years at top-tier consultancies McKinsey & Company and QVARTZ (now Bain & Company).

Per Anders has been a non-executive director of more than 15 financial institutions in Europe. In addition, he has extensive professional experience from having worked in more than 20 European countries as a non-executive director, senior executive and advisor to corporations and governments.

Current external non-executive appointments

• Chairman of Lyra Financial Wealth, a privately held wealth management company
• Board member of Atle Investment Management/Services, a privately held investment management company
• Board member and audit committee chair of Ukrgasbank, a Ukrainian corporate bank 

Janet Heckman

Joined the Group on 23 February 2023

Experience

• Over 30 years experience in corporate, investment and development banking
• Extensive expertise in global relationship banking, 15 years experience in operations management
• Relevant experience of developing and delivering business plans and strategic change in a wide range of jurisdictions, including across Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. This included the establishment of key partnerships with national governments

Janet was previously the Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean(SEMED) Region at the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD). Based in Cairo, she was also the Country Head for Egypt. During her long career at Citigroup, she spent time as EMEA Corporate and Investment Managing Director and held a number of field roles across EMEA, and was responsible for Global Relationship Banking across CEMEA.

Current external non-executive appointments

• Board member and audit committee chair of Astana International Exchange
• Board member of Air Astana, Kazakhstan
• Board member of Citibank Kazakhstan

Eran Klein

Joined the Group on 4 May 2021

Experience

• Extensive experience in banking, credit, capital markets and legal
• Significant risk, corporate governance, strategy and structuring experience
• Strong Emerging Markets banking and stakeholder management experience
• Relevant experience and expertise in information security risk management

Eran is an experienced international banker and lawyer. Over a period spanning more than two decades, he held senior roles in leading financial institutions, such as Commerzbank, Citibank, ING Financial Markets and Deutsche Bank. Covering both developed and emerging markets, Eran has accumulated valuable knowledge in capital markets, SME finance, retail lending, corporate governance, liquidity and balance sheet management, as well as in risk management, audit and strategy implementation. Until recently, he served as a Non-Executive Director and risk committee chair at Privatbank, the largest bank in Ukraine.

Current external non-executive appointments

• No current additional board appointments

Thymios P. Kyriakopoulos

Joined the Group on 4 May 2021

Experience

• Extensive experience in global capital markets, regional banking and supervised entities
• Expert risk manager, investor, investment banker, and balance sheet optimiser
• Operational transformation leadership and crisis management spanning systemic banks and fintech
• Strong governance, risk and asset management oversight skills for both listed and quasi-governmental entities

Thymios is a senior banking executive with considerable international experience. He specialises in operational transformation, balance sheet optimisation, risk management, financial engineering and portfolio management. Thymios was executive general manager and chief risk officer of Piraeus Bank S.A, a leading listed Greek Bank, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Inc. in the fixed income currencies and commodities trading division, and has held board and executive roles in insurtech, fintech, financial services and advisory sectors.

Current external non-executive appointments

• Board member and chair of the investment committee of the Growthfund, the National Fund of Greece
• Board member of Attica Bank, the Greek listed bank
• Board member of Agreed Payments SA, the newly licensed fintech business

Rajeev Sawhney

Joined the Group on 24 November 2021

Experience

• Strong global corporate leadership experience of more than 40 years
• Significant advisory and executive experience to technology and cybersecurity companies in financial services and other industry sectors
• Extensive expertise in Human Resource management
• Relevant experience and expertise in information security risk management

Rajeev has 40 years’ experience as a senior corporate growth executive. He specialises in digital technologies and has served in financial services and
various other industry sectors in Europe, North America and Asia. Previously , Rajeev held the positions of Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Director of OXSIGHT Ltd, a medical technology innovation company, and an Oxford University spin off. He was formerly a senior advisor to the CEO at global IT services firm Zensar Ltd in the UK and a member of the advisory board at Garble Cloud Inc., a cybersecurity company in Silicon Valley, USA. Prior to that, Rajeev gained strong operational experience as President of HCL Technologies and at the IT services firm focussed on the Banking and Finance sector, Mphasis, a Hewlett Packard company. Rajeev has been on the World Economic Forum expert Task Force on Low-Carbon Economic Prosperity and contributed at the World Economic Forum Summer Davos on climate change deliberations.

Current external non-executive appointments

• No current additional board appointments

Nino Suknidze

Joined the Group on 24 November 2021

Experience

• Strong financial services background
• Extensive experience as a leading legal counsel in major financial services sector transactions and listings
• Considerable governance, regulatory and risk management experience, including at an LSE-listed company
• Experience in advising companies across a range of sectors, including telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, energy and commerce

Nino is a business lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in the Georgian market. She has a deep understanding of, and expertise in, various areas of practice including banking, finance, corporate, regulation, competition and capital markets. Previously, Nino served as general counsel at JSC Bank of Georgia. Before joining TBC Bank Group plc, she held various positions at the Georgian offices of international law firms Dentons and DLA Piper over a period of more than 11 years. Currently Nino is the managing partner of the law firm Suknidze & Partners LLC.

Current external non-executive appointments

• Vice President at Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Board member at Care Caucasus, a charity organization in Georgia

Vakhtang Butskhrikidze

Appointed on 29 April 2016

Experience

• Leading banker in the Caucasus and Eastern European region
• Over 25 years’ strategic and financial leadership experience
• Robust knowledge and expertise of strategic planning and development, start-up and fintech management, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital raising and investor relations

Vakhtang has more than 30 years of banking and financial industry experience. He led the Group from its founding in Georgia in 1992 as a start-up to the current market-leading financial institution. He joined TBC Bank as a Senior Manager in 1993 and became Chairman of the Management Board in 1996. Since 1998, he has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of JSC TBC Bank and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of TBC PLC in May 2016.

Vakhtang is a prominent banker in the Caucasus and Eastern European region and has received several prestigious awards, including the Best Banker 2011 award from the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development and was named CEO of the Year 2014 for Central and Eastern
Europe and the CIS by EMEA Finance magazine. In March 2019, he won the Special Award for Responsible Capitalism in Adversity from the prestigious FIRST organisation - a multidisciplinary international affairs organisation, which aims to enhance dialogue between leaders in industry, finance and government.

Current external (non-Group) non-executive appointments

• Board member of the Association of Banks of Georgia
• Board member of the Business Association of Georgia
• Member of the Visa Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) Business Council