Mr Drakinos will lead the Bank’s operations in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, working closely with government authorities and market stakeholders to further develop the three economies, supporting private sector and key infrastructure development through investment, policy dialogue for reform and small business finance and advisory services, in line with the respective EBRD country strategies.
Mr Drakinos said: “I am delighted to return to the Caucasus and look forward to taking on this exciting mandate, building on my previous experience of the region and track record with the EBRD. Supporting the Caucasus is a central priority for the Bank. The region has great potential for further development and integration into the global economy, and I am keen to start working with the local EBRD teams to make a tangible contribution to the success of these economies.”
A Greek national, he first joined the Bank in 1993 as Advisor to the EBRD Board Director for Greece, joining the Financial Institutions team in 1995 and becoming Head of Office for Armenia, based in Yerevan, in 1998. After a 12-year period holding financial consultancy and banking roles with KPMG, Eurobank and the Black Sea Trade & Development Bank, he re-joined the EBRD in 2012 as Head of Office, Turkmenistan, and in 2015 moved to the role of Associate Director, Deputy Head of Greece, based in Athens. In October 2017 he was appointed Director, Head of Uzbekistan, a role in which he led the delivery of over 100 projects of more than €3 billion in value.
Mr Drakinos graduated from Athens University with a BA in Economics and obtained an MSc in Regional Development from Panteion University in Athens, followed by an MBA from Manchester Business School. He also completed the London Business School Corporate Finance Programme.
He succeeds Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, who has been appointed Head of Moldova, based in Chisinau.
To date, the Bank has invested more than €10 billion in 680 projects in the Caucasus, in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with the majority of those investments supporting private sector development.
