The financial inclusion organization “Crystal” is pleased to announce new appointments in the composition of its Supervisory Board, taking three new independent members – Giorgi Arveladze, Matangi Gowrishankar and Robert Scot Kossmann.
Giorgi Arveladze has 20 years of extensive experience in banking. At different times, he held senior positions in leading banks and contributed significantly to their success. He was involved in structured product sales at BNP Paribas in London and the National Bank of Georgia. Giorgi Arveladze's career includes experience in real estate, transportation and energy sectors. Giorgi Arveladze was elected as a Senior Independent Director.
Matangi Gowrishankar has over four decades of experience in senior leadership roles in business and HR, both in India and overseas. She has worked across diverse industries with leading corporations, including Standard Chartered Bank, Reebok, GE and Cummins Inc. She has extensive experience in executive coaching, HR management and efficient team building. Most recently, she was with BP plc, where she held the position of Global Head of Capability Development (Downstream businesses) & Director of the Global Leadership Academy.
Robert Kossmann is an experienced banker with 33 years of retail and SME banking experience, who has worked in 13 different countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In 2004-2020, he worked for Raiffeisen Bank Aval Ukraine as Deputy Chairman of the Board for Retail/SME banking; he was the Head of SME Risk in Vienna, Austria and served as CIO and COO. Before Raiffeisen, Robert was a Senior Developmental Banker working with the EBRD, World Bank, ADB and USAID on restructuring large financial institutions. Currently, he is active as a Fintech Angel Investor and Advisor & Mentor to multiple startups in Ukraine.
Presently, the Supervisory Board of “Crystal” brings together 7 members, with each member boasting years of experience in business development, corporate governance, banking and microfinance, technologies, innovations and human resources development. Since 2017, the Supervisory Board is chaired by Archil Bakuradze.
“The new composition of the Supervisory Board is of crucial importance for successful transformation of Crystal into a bank and further development of the company. Having independent members in the majority of the board and setting the best standards of corporate governance is our deliberate choice. It serves a purpose of building a leading sustainable and innovative bank, focused on financial inclusion.” – says Archil Bakuradze, Chair of Crystal’s Supervisory Board.
