OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2009. Otkritie has appointed two new directors to its executive team, reported the press-centre of Otkritie FC.

Former Troika Dialog UK Chief Executive Howard Snell has joined Otkritie as a London-based Director. He will assume responsibility for the firm’s UK business strategy, and will also have corporate and investor relations responsibilities. Additionally, Nicholas Richmond has joined Otkritie as Director and Head of Equity Trading, based in Moscow.

Howard Snell was responsible for launching Troika’s UK and European business in 2003. At Troika, Howard headed the UK subsidiary which conducted European equity and fixed income brokerage, private banking, asset management and corporate finance businesses. During this time, Howard was also responsible for obtaining the firm’s FSA authorisation, and regulation and membership of the London Stock Exchange. Prior to joining Troika, Howard had worked at UBS, where he was responsible for Debt Capital Market Origination for Russia and CIS countries, and subsequently worked on a number of Russian Bi-lateral and debt restructuring transactions.

Nicholas Richmond has been working in equity markets for 20 years, of which the most recent eight have been in senior roles focusing primarily on Russian trading. Nicholas was previously Vice President at JP Morgan and Head of Russian Trading, where he ran the flow book and Russian proprietary trading book as well as pricing and hedging risk. Prior to this, Nicholas was a Director at Deutsche UFG and Head of Russian ADR Trading. He previously worked at Nomura as a sales trader, during which time he also helped develop an Order Management System.

Commenting on the appointments, Otkritie Securities Limited Chief Executive Roman Lokhov said: "We are delighted to have hired two of the Russian investment industry’s most respected and experienced practitioners. Their appointments are further evidence of the aggressive growth plans we have as a business".

"Otkritie has flourished in one of the most turbulent markets in many years. We have reached significant client and trade volume milestones and recruited many of the most talented analysts in Russia. Building on the success of our Direct Market Access product, Howard and Nicholas will help propel us to the next level by further growing our market share and firmly establishing Otkritie at the forefront of Russian brokerage market."

Commenting on his appointment, Howard Snell said: "I am pleased to be joining Otkritie during its exciting growth phase. There is little doubt the firm is one of the rising stars of the Russian brokerage market. Russia is a very attractive investment proposition with a number of Russian companies extremely undervalued, therefore providing opportunities for long term international investors. Otkritie’s potent blend of its unique product offering and its on-the-ground expertise make the firm a stand-out performer in today’s market."