The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, has appointed Matteo Patrone as its new managing director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, the bank said on Oct. 16.
Patrone, an Italian citizen who has been the regional head for Romania and Bulgaria since Jul. 2015, will replace current director Francis Malige on Nov. 1 this year. Malige has been recently appointed by EBRD as the director of the organization’s financial institutions department and is now based in London.
Patrone will be based in Kyiv, the EBRD said in a statement.
The new director will take over responsibility for EBRD operations and engagement in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
EBRD’s combined investment in those six countries stands at almost 24 billion euros to date, according to the bank’s most recent updates.
While Patrone was in charge of operations for Romania and Bulgaria, the EBRD invested over 2 billion euros in the two countries, the EBRD said in a statement.
“I am honoured and humbled to take on this new position at the EBRD in an exciting region,” Patrone said in a press statement.
“We have seen impressive progress in all countries under my predecessor and it will be my priority to create the conditions for our strong local teams to build on this and expand further. The needs are huge and our offer is attractive. Our aim will be to continue promoting the competitiveness of the local economies as they are moving closer to Europe.”
Marina Petrov, Deputy Head of EBRD in Ukraine, said in London last week that the bank remains committed to Ukraine’s development and that further investments into the renewable energy sector were a top priority.
The bank’s latest commitment to Ukraine is the pledge to invest between $2 million and $4 million in the development of infrastructure auctions to stimulate the renewable energy sector, according to a statement from Petrov on Sept. 25 2018.
