Former head of Tinkoff, Oliver Hughes moves to Georgia's TBC Bank to take up international expansion

MOSCOW. Sept 14 (Interfax) - The former head of TCS Group , parent of Russian Tinkoff Bank, Oliver Hughes, has been appointed Head of International Operations at Georgia's TBC Bank Group.

Hughes will also be joining the bank's executive committee, a statement from the bank said.

"I am delighted to welcome Oliver Hughes to lead our international expansion strategy. I firmly believe that his extensive experience in developing fintech businesses will prove extremely valuable to TBC and will play a critical role in our future endeavors, helping to take our company to new heights." - Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, chief executive officer (CEO) of TBC Bank, said in the statement.

Nika Kurdiani, who was previously in charge of international development at TBC, will become chief executive officer for business operations of the group in Uzbekistan. He will also remain a member of the bank's executive committee.

Hughes will be responsible for developing the group's international operations. "TBC already has an excellent fintech business in Uzbekistan and I look forward to working with Nika and the team to significantly expand it. There is a huge opportunity in Uzbekistan. Additionally, this digital banking strategy could potentially be replicated in other international markets in future," Hughes said.

Hughes, along with another co-head of TCS Group, Pavel Fedorov, moved permanently to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in March 2022. They left the board of directors and then the board of the group.

Hughes headed Tinkoff Bank in June 2007, virtually from the moment of its founding. Before that, he headed the Russian representative office of Visa International. In March 2021, Hughes became CEO of TCS Group, and Stanislav Bliznyuk was appointed Chairman of the Board of Tinkoff Bank in his place. In November 2021, Hughes became co-CEO of TCS Group along with Fedorov.

At the end of April 2022, TCS Group's main shareholder changed: 35% of the group was bought by Vladimir Potanin's Interros from Oleg Tinkov.