BGEO Group appoints Kaha Kiknavelidze as CEO of Bank of Georgia

He replaced Murtaz Kikoria who left the company to pursue a career outside banking.

Kiknavelidze joined the Bank of Georgia in 1994 as a finance manager and since 2008 served as a member of the bank's supervisory board and audit committee and from October 2011 was as a member of BGEO’s board, which he will step down from.

He previously worked for UBS and Troika Dialog and is the founder and managing partner of London-based investment management company Rioni Capital, where he will also step down from by the end of the year.

BGEO Group chief executive Irakli Gilauri, said: "I would like to thank Murtaz for his substantial contributions in various roles in the development of the group since he joined us in 2008, including serving as CEO of our healthcare business from 2012 to 2014 and more recently as CEO of Bank of Georgia. I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

“I would like to congratulate Kaha on his new appointment. He joins executive management at an exciting time when the bank has a significant opportunity to build on its recent strong growth by further developing the bank's presence and profitability in both the retail and corporate banking sectors in Georgia. I have known Kaha for many years and I very much look forward to working closely with him in his new capacity."

Kiknavelidze added: "I am delighted to join the bank in an executive capacity. I regard the group as one of the best managed organisations in the region and am excited to join the management team in order to drive the bank forward in the next stage of its development.

“Both BGEO and the bank and Georgia itself have significant opportunities ahead and I look forward to continue working with the BGEO board of directors and bank management and staff to ensure we take advantage of those opportunities and deliver on all of our key strategic priorities."