Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renaissance Capital (Egypt) appointed and Chief Executive Officer for North Africa

Cairo – Renaissance Capital, a leading emerging and frontier markets investment bank, today announces the appointment of Marios Hadjiyiannakis as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renaissance Capital (Egypt), and the appointment of Amr Helal as Chief Executive Officer, North Africa. Ahmed Badr, Chief Executive Officer for MENA and Head of MENA Equities, is stepping down to pursue other career opportunities.

In the capacity of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renaissance Capital (Egypt), Marios Hadjiyiannakis will co-ordinate the work of the Board and supervise relations with key stakeholders, in addition to his responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer, Cyprus.

Mr. Helal is appointed to lead the Firm’s franchise in North Africa and oversee the Company’s strategy and senior client coverage in the region. He will be based in Cairo and report to Marios Hadjiyiannakis and CoCEOs Ruslan Babaev and Anna Vyshlova.

Ruslan Babaev, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, commented: “We are delighted that Mr. Helal has decided to join Renaissance Capital team on a full scale. Amr has been with the Firm since October 2017 as an independent non-executive director in Cairo, hence his vast knowledge of our business, client offering and operations will ensure a smooth and well-managed transition. He has an outstanding track record and established reputation in financial markets across the MENA region and we believe that he will be a perfect fit for our team, both on the ground and globally.”

Mr. Helal brings over 17 years of private equity and investment banking experience in the region, having held senior roles in a number of leading institutions including EFG-Hermes and the Abraaj Group. Amr joins from Capstone Group, Egypt’s first dedicated real estate private equity fund manager, where he was Head of Corporate Private Equity. Mr. Helal is a graduate of the American University in Cairo with a BA where he majored in economics and minored in political science and international relations.
Anna Vyshlova, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, said: “Marios Hadjiyiannakis is one of the Firm’s longest-serving employees and most seasoned managers. He has a vast and profound knowledge of Renaissance Capital’s operations, including in the MENA region, where he has been heavily involved in the activities of the Firm. His appointment as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renaissance Capital (Egypt) is a logical step, aiming to make our on the ground team and client offering ever stronger.”

Marios Hadjiyiannakis has been Chief Executive Officer, Cyprus since April 2007. He has overall responsibility for regional business development, operations and regulatory relations. Prior to joining Renaissance Capital, Marios was the founding partner of Egnatia Financial Services (Cyprus) Ltd, one of the three leading domestic investment firms in Cyprus; he has also been the CEO of the key financial services subsidiaries of the FTSE 250 Playtech Plc. Marios is a Chartered Accountant. He holds a BA (Hons) in Industrial Economics and Accounting from the University of Nottingham. Marios has been extensively involved at national level in the rollout of initially the investment services directive and subsequently MiFID I and MiFID II into domestic national legislation in Cyprus. He is a Member of the Governance Committee of the National Investor Compensation Fund.

Anna Vyshlova, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, added: “On behalf of the Firm, we would like to thank Ahmed Badr for his outstanding contribution and dedication, as well as commitment to ensure seamless transition for all our clients, employees and other stakeholders. We wish Ahmed well in his future endeavors. Ahmed was instrumental in building Renaissance Capital’s franchise in the MENA region, one of our core markets.”

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About Renaissance Capital
Renaissance Capital is a leading emerging and frontier markets investment bank providing access to 50 markets across the globe with operations in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia. Founded in 1995, the Firm has established market-leading positions in each of its core businesses – equity and debt capital markets, M&A, markets business division, including equity & equity derivatives, fixed income, FX & FX derivatives, commodities and REPO & financing; as well as research, and prime brokerage. It has one of the largest EEMEA distribution and execution platforms with Sales and Trading teams present in London, Moscow, New York, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, Nairobi, Cairo and Dubai. Renaissance Capital is owned by ONEXIM Group. For more information, please visit www.rencap.com/eng/.
Renaissance Capital published its IFRS financial results for the first half of 2018 ending 30 June 2018 on 3 October 2018. During the reporting period, net profit increased by 35% YoY to USD7.5mn. Operating income grew by 6% YoY to USD78.5mn.

Renaissance Capital was named as the Most Innovative Investment Bank in Emerging Markets in 2018 by The Banker’s Investment Banking Awards. The Firm also recorded an impressive set of results in the 2018 Extel Survey for the third consecutive year, with strong placings in a range of categories for individual analysts and the Firm overall. In the 2018 Financial Mail awards for African equity research, the Firm's local team was ranked fourth, and individual analysts achieved top positions in their respective categories. The Global Finance magazine 2018 award named Renaissance Capital as the Best Bank in Frontier Markets.

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For more information, please contact:
 
Daria Khilenkova
Renaissance Capital
Mobile +7 (916) 805-4926
DKhilenkova@rencap.com

© Press Release 2018