Published: January 9, 2009
Alpha Associates has announced that Kurt Geiger, former head of financial institutions and private equity and chairman of the equity committee of the EBRD, will join the Zurich-based private equity fund firm as special adviser and chairman of its advisory board.
Alpha, which manages the oldest and largest private equity fund-of-funds programme in Central and Eastern Europe, is further expanding its investments in the region, particularly in Russia and CIS, where his experience and network will be a great asset. Central and Eastern Europe and Russia/CIS have been the highest returning private equity markets in the world over the past five years, outperforming all other emerging markets as well as Western Europe and the US.
Kurt Geiger has been with the EBRD for 15 years. As business group director for financial institutions and private equity and member of its senior management, he led a great number of successful investments in financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia/ CIS and has built EBRD’s private equity funds investment program into the largest in the region. He joined the EBRD after a distinguished career of more than 30 years in international finance. Geiger enjoys a high reputation with leading figures in the financial services industry and government officials in- and outside the region and has been a thought leader on shaping the private equity industry in the region.