OREANDA-NEWS. On September 12, 2008 Neil Withers was appointed VTB Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations and Capital Raising Division. Earlier, Neil Withers worked as Advisor to the Chairman of Vozrozhdenie Bank. He had particular responsibilities for investor relations and strategy, reported the press-centre of VTB.

Neil Withers joining the VTB team reflects the Bank’s intention to develop investor relations in line with the best international practice.  

Commenting on this appointment Nikolai Tsekhomsky, VTB Board Member and CFO said, “Our status as a public company and listings on international stock exchanges make us place a special emphasis on effective investor relations. Neil Withers’ in-depth expertise in working for international companies and his knowledge of Russian realities will undoubtedly contribute both to strengthening our relations with equity investors and further expanding our investor base in debt financing”.     

Neil Withers said, “Shareholders’ and investors’ confidence is always essential for any bank. Today, when financial markets are in some difficult times, it has become of still higher importance. That is why VTB intends to be the most active and transparent bank in Russia, demonstrating to our investors VTB’s progress in achieving its major goal – becoming one of the world’s leading financial groups”.    

For reference: Neil Withers, a Canadian, has been in Russia for 11 years. He started his career in Russia as a head of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) project team within the “Twinning Project” sponsored under the World Bank.

 Neil Withers was responsible for CIBC’s relations with Vozrozhdenie Bank, one of thirty Russian banks participating in the Financial Institutions Development Program. Following the Russian financial crisis of ’98, Neil participated in negotiations between Vozrozhdenie, foreign creditors and international financial institutions. Since 2000, he has been a consultant with Vozrozhdenie and in 2003 joined the Bank as Advisor to the Chairman of Vozrozhdenie Bank. He had particular responsibilities for investor relations and strategy.

Prior to coming to Russia, Neil was seconded by CIBC to establish the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, a charity that helps young people establish new businesses. Neil worked for CIBC for 12 years in several areas: strategy, marketing and financial planning.

For a number of years he was the bank analyst for a Canadian investment dealer, Richardson Greenshields. He was previously head of international financial strategy for the Royal Bank of Canada where his 12 year career covered finance, planning and control and international division.

He started his career as an economist and editor at the “Bank Credit Analyst” in Montreal after graduation from McGill University. He received his CFA charter in 1976.