The FINANCIAL — The EBRD is continuing to build up its support for emerging Arab democracies with the appointment of a Managing Director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region.
Hildegard Gacek took up her position in early April. She will be based in London and will report to the EBRD’s First Vice President, Varel Freeman.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr Freeman said: "Hildegard will be responsible for the formulation and delivery of the Bank’s strategy and business plan for this new region of operations. Hildegard is an experienced member of the Bank’s management team and will drive the start-up of our operations so that the EBRD can actively support these emerging democracies as early as possible."
The EBRD is responding to calls from the international community to apply the 20 years of experience it has built up supporting the process of economic and democratic change in eastern Europe to a new region undergoing an equally dramatic transformation.
It is expanding its geographic remit to the southern and eastern Mediterranean and preparing to invest specifically in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan.
Ms Gacek will manage the EBRD’s banking operations in the region, directing the activities of teams that will be based both in the relevant countries and in London.
According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, prior to her new appointment, Ms Gacek had been the EBRD’s Director for Serbia, based in Belgrade since 2007, and she will continue in this role for a short transitional phase until the appointment of a new Director.
Ms Gacek has extensive experience at the EBRD which she joined in 1998 as a Senior Evaluation Manager, from Union Bank of Switzerland. She was subsequently appointed Director for the Caucasus, Belarus and Moldova and then Director for Romania, based in Bucharest.
A German national, Ms Gacek started her career as a financial analyst at the German Investment Corporation, DEG, where she later ran the department responsible for the Middle East, West and North Africa for a period of eight years.
A graduate of the Cologne Business School, Ms Gacek holds an MBA and a Masters in International Trade. In addition to her native German, she speaks fluent English and French.
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