Sova Capital Limited hires new Head of Compliance and three non-executives

FCA-regulated multi-asset prime-broker Sova Capital Limited has informed that Steven Woolley has joined the firm as Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer. Steven brings more than twenty years of experience in legal and compliance to the company. Prior to joining Sova Capital, Steven fulfilled the role of Head of Compliance at Trium Capital LLP, PineBridge Investments and ABN AMRO. He is an Oxford University graduate, MA in Oriental Studies.

Sova Capital Limited is the new name of Otkritie Capital International Ltd (OCIL), which was fully transferred to its new owner, Despacio Associates Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the “Concern ROSSIUM” group, in the beginning of the year.

In addition, David Newton, Kerim Derhalli and Oleg Borunov have also joined as Independent Non-Executive Directors, each bringing significant experience to bolster the firm’s management body.

David Newton has been appointed as Chairman of the Board Audit Committee, as well as being a member of the firm’s Board Risk and Compliance Committee and Board Remuneration and Nomination
Committee. He was previously a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 25 years focusing primarily on financial services. He is a Chartered Accountant and member of The Chartered Institute of Taxation, as well as being a board member for various companies, including ICBC plc and Monty’s Bakehouse UK Limited.

Kerim Derhalli joins the firm as Chairman of the Board Risk and Compliance Committee, as well as being a member of the Board Audit Committee and Board Remuneration and Nomination Committee. Kerim brings over 30 years of financial services experience, having held multiple global and senior management roles in a number of large financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan. Kerim is the Founder and current CEO of a social and investing mobile app Invstr and holds a B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University.

Oleg Borunov is the Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Head of Investment Business at Credit Bank of Moscow. He has over 14 years of global markets experience. Prior to joining the Credit Bank of Moscow, he headed up the Global Equities Department at VTB Capital and held executive positions at Deutsche Bank and UFG. He also held positions at Transcapitalbank, Alfa-Bank and Sun Chemical Company.

Reflecting on the new hires, Sova Capital’s CEO, Sergey Sukhanov commented:

I welcome David, Kerim, Oleg and Steven at a critical juncture in Sova Capital’s expansion strategy. Indeed, as we focus on strengthening our presence on Western Markets while simultaneously continuing to maintain our dominance in Emerging Markets; ensuring that we remain abreast and in compliance with all regulatory and compliance developments, is fundamental to our future success. Particularly, we are conscious of the need to be able to respond to regulatory change quickly and efficiently, while always looking after our clients’ interests.

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