Members

Tariel Gvalia
Board Member

Tariel has over 30 years of experience in Banking and Financial industry. Since 1995, he was the founder and CEO of Tbiluniversalbank before the merger with Bank of Georgia (listed on London Stock Exchange as BGEO). After the merger, Tariel served as a Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bank of Georgia. From 2008 until 2010, Tariel served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Belarusky Narodny Bank (BNB), where he currently serves as an Independent Director. In Georgia, Tariel established several leading companies such as GCG Audit, Galt & Taggart and Georgian Leasing Company. Tariel currently serves as a member of the Supervisory Board of Georgian Stock Exchange, as well as a judge at BARTA Georgia. Furthermore, Tariel is also a founder and the Chairman of the Abkhazian Students Foundation. Tariel holds Masters in History and Economics from Tbilisi State University.

Dr. h.c. Sascha Ternes
Board Member

Sascha, a citizen of Germany, has 20 years of management experience in emerging markets, with a proven track record in the area of finance and banking. He resides in Georgia since 2007, where he initially served as CFO and later as CEO of ProCredit Bank Georgia (the 3rd largest bank in the country, the market leader in MSME lending) and subsequently as Deputy CEO of Bank of Georgia (the country’s largest bank, listed on the London Stock Exchange, FTSE 250). In 2015 Sascha established TERNES Real Estate Fund, the pioneer in collective investments for creating high-yielding real-estate portfolios in Georgia, which in 2017 was acquired by BlueOrchard Finance, a licensed Swiss impact asset manager, where Sascha now serves as COO. Prior to relocating to Georgia, Sascha held various senior executive positions over the course of 13 years in a German Technology Group which focused on international development and investment. Here he was responsible for the implementation and supervision of numerous operations in 10 countries, with duties including assignments to Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Sascha has a background in finance and business administration and was awarded with an honorary doctoral degree, affirmed by the German Ministry of Education & Science. Sascha is a Board Member of Georgia’s Financial Supervision Agency (FSA). He also serves on a volunteer basis as Chairman of the German Business Association (DWV) in Georgia as well as Chairman of the German International School Tbilisi, both organizations which he co-founded.
 

George Glonti
Board Member

Banker and financier with hands-on over 20 years. 10+ years of successful strategic, crisis and turnaround management practice. Presently Independent Member of Supervisory Board and Chairman of Audit Committee at Pasha Bank Georgia, Non-Executive Vice President of SWIFT Service Bureau in Georgia. Freelancer specialized in Management Consulting and Business Turnarounds. Board member of Georgian Independent Directors’ Association. Initiating fintech projects, leveraging on the knowledge and experience in banking and finance. Past achievements include – As a turnaround manager taking over the executive management of a loss making local (Georgia) leading pay TV business, transforming and doubling revenues, EBITDA and customer base; Successful turnarounds and transformations of local (Georgia) commercial banks (Presently Liberty Bank and Tera Bank) in the role of a CEO; Optimizing Central Bank’s operations and modernizing regulatory framework in the role of a Vice President. Graduated from Tbilisi State University in 1994 with a Master’s degree in Economics, majoring in Banking and Finance. 

Victor Kipiani
Board Member

Victor is a founding and executive partner at Mgaloblishvili Kipiani Dzidziguri (MKD). He has 20 years’ experience advising various multinational, development, state and national companies and institutions on high-profile mandates in general business law, project finance, banking, capital markets, investment law, energy, transport, regulatory and corporate law and also pursues his activities in comparative legal studies and public law. Besides, Victor has a substantial knowledge and experience in working with governmental agencies giving a guide to global companies to successfully navigate on the local market. He did his Honors Diploma in Law at Tbilisi State University, has degrees of Master of Law from Exeter University (Chevening Scholarship) and Ph.D in Business Administration from Washington University. Victor is a member of Georgian Bar Association, board member of Georgian Lawyers’ National Association and co-chair of Georgia-Ukraine Business Club. He has been recommended as a leading private legal practitioner for Georgia by all major international directories and publications, including IFLR, Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Who’s Who Legal, The Legal 500. He regularly writes on various legal, business and public topics in local and foreign periodicals and participates as the presenter and moderator in various domestic and international events.   

Giorgi Naskidashvili
Member

Giorgi has more than 13 years of work experience in banking and financial sector in Georgia. He held middle and high management positions at Georgian banks such as Bank of Georgia, BTA Bank, Progress Bank and has gained a diverse experience in both front and back office management. Besides his banking experience Giorgi acted as a private investor and managing partner in several start up projects in the field of agriculture, service, production and financial services in Georgia. Since 2010, Giorgi serves as the CEO of JSC Georgian Credit, the 3rd largest microfinance organization in Georgia with international shareholders and members of the supervisory board with expertise in banking and finances. Since 2014 Giorgi is an independent member and chairman of the supervisory board at Aspria Group LLC (the biggest fitness club chain in Georgia). Giorgi holds MBA degree from the Tbilisi State University and PhD from the University of Bremen in Germany. 

Prof. Irakli Kovzanadze
Member

Irakli has more than 20 years of experience of working as CEO in the banking system of Georgia, sitting on the boards of the leading banks in post-Soviet countries and Europe and is one of the pioneers of the challenging reform process of financial sector of emerging countries. As MP he served as a Chairman of Finance and Budget Committee of the Parliament of Georgia (2004-2008) and as a Chairman of the Task Force of EBRD/OECD on corporate governance of banks in Eurasia (2007-2009). Until 2015 Irakli served as CEO of JSC Partnership Fund, a state owned investment fund of Georgia with asset value of more than $3 billion. Currently he is the Chairman of Georgia’s Financial Supervision Agency (FSA) and Professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Irakli has published six books and more than 50 articles in economics, including problems of the genesis, development and manifestation of systemic banking crises, their forecasting and prevention. 

George Keshelashvili
Member

George is a Fin-Tech, Technology and Innovation professional with more than 20 years of experience in banking, IT and consulting in Georgia and Eastern Europe. Experienced in technology, company management (including recovery and crisis management), regional & international payment networks roll-out, strategic projects implementation including: companies restructuring M&A, operational/technology platforms migration etc.  Currently George is a owner / partner of several companies: Boxwood – vendor of large-scale payment solutions, EU based MonHolding – provider of on-line financial services, E-space – vendor of EVs and operator of EV charging networks. Over his professional carrier George was a Deputy CEO/board member of several commercial banks in Georgia, CEO of the country’s largest bank card processing company – Georgian Card, CIO of Bank of Georgia Group, CEO of Express Technology – holding company – owner of several payment / transaction processing networks in Georgia and EE. 

Sulkhan Gvalia
Member

For the last 24 years Sulkhan has been working in banking in Georgia, out of which 10 years (1995-2005) he was one of the owner and Deputy CEO of TUBank and 11 years Deputy CEO of Bank of Georgia in charge Of Risk Management (2005-2012) and Corporate Banking (2012-2016). Sulkhan was the leading manager of TUBank which was created from scratch. In 2004 Bank of Georgia acquired this bank and Sulkhan joined to the Bank of Georgia’s management team. Bank of Georgia is a Georgian LSE listed financial institution since 2006 with 35% market share (since 2012 on the main market and FTSE 250 company). Sulkhan has a bachelor degree in Law from Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi and bachelor degree in Banking of BankAcademy, Frankfurt, Germany.

Kaha Baindurashvili
Member

Kaha previously served as the Georgian Minister of Finance in 2009 – 2011, where he was responsible for fiscal and monetary policy, public finance management, tax and customs policy, public debt management, other critical financial and economic decisions of the Government of the Republic of Georgia. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Managing Director/Owner of a single family office Willsfort LLC (investment management services company) with branches in Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Until November 2012, he was also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Georgian Lottery Company and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Georgian Post Ltd.  Kaha served as the First Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance, and, until 2007, Chairman of the Tax Department of the Government of Georgia. Amongst other issues, he is an expert in matters relating to Georgia, Public and Corporate Finance, Turnaround Management, Macro Economy, Political Outlook, Deregulation, Anti-corruption Reforms, Trade and International Relations, and Taxation. He is also on board of Georgian International Arbitration Centre. Born in Tbilisi, Kaha earned a master’s degree in Economics at the Tbilisi State University in 2000 and Master’s degree in Economics from Williams College, Massachusetts, USA, in 2006. Kaha is awarded with the highest order of honor – The Presidential Order of Excellence in 2011.

Ted Jonas
Member

Ted Jonas is a US-trained and educated lawyer licensed in Washington DC. He is an independent member of the Supervisory Board of JSC Anaklia Development Consortium, which is engaged in the construction of the first deepwater port for large container vessels on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. In addition, Ted serves on the Supervisory Board of the Caucasus Nature Fund, a €100 million conservation trust fund based in Germany, with its program office in Tbilisi, dedicated to co-funding and expanding the protected areas of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Previously Ted served for six years (2017-2023) as the first independent member of the Supervisory Board of JSC Silknet, helping to oversee its acquisition of Geocell, its first Eurobond offers, and a major modernization of its corporate governance and internal audit practices. He also served for 10 years on the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Tbilisi (2006-2016). Ted was Managing Partner of DLA Piper Georgia and a Senior Counsel at Dentons in Tbilisi from 2005 to 2021, and has 30 years of private law practice experience, most of it at the international level with leading law firms.  Ted worked for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Georgia’s early years of independence, two members of the U.S. Congress in the 1980s, and clerked for a U.S. federal appellate judge 1991-92. Ted received his B.A. degree in History from Cornell University in 1984 and his J.D. with honors from Cornell Law School in 1991. He is a dual U.S. and Georgian citizen and lives in Tbilisi with his family.

Galina Alagardova
Member

Galina, a citizen of Greece, is a Financial Management and Corporate Governance Official with +20-year experience in Financial Management, Project Management, Corporate Governance, Public Financial Management and leadership at various positions in KPMG, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank and the Global Fund (Switzerland). Throughout her career, Galina provided consultations and guidance to private companies and banks on corporate governance practices, particularly in financial disclosure, accounting, auditing and reporting issues; conducted analysis of financial health of companies, elaborated action plans and monitored their effective implementation. Galina drafted the Corporate Governance Regulations and Corporate Governance Code for the National Bank of Georgia and National Securities Commission of Georgia as well as elaborated various by-laws and charters on Internal Audit, Audit Committees, Financial Disclosure and Annual Reports, Corporate Governance Manuals and Financial Forms for listed companies, insurance companies and commercial banks. Galina led several very successful projects in Georgia and Central Asia in Public Financial Management (PFM), also providing partners with PFM and financial management related training and guidance. She led the World Bank Accounting and Auditing ROSC program in Georgia and actively participated in Accounting and Auditing Reform in the Country. She coordinated the interaction with Government, donor community, private companies and banks, professional organizations and NGOs. Galina is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) and  has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Diploma in Engineering.

Malkhaz Dzadzua
Member

Senior Executive and Business Leader with over 2 decades of management experience in Financial Services Industry and SocialEntrepreneurship, including 15 years as a CEO of leading Microfinance Institution in Georgia. Board and Steering Committee Member of several international and local organizations. Guest Speaker and Panelist of many high-level conferences and forums. Started in 1995 as a student volunteer of local NGO in Georgia (CHCA) and was soon promoted to a Business Consultant, Loan Officer, Branch Manager and Program Director. In 2004 became a Founder CEO of small Microfinance startup (CRYSTAL) established in Kutaisi, Georgia and in a decade turned it into a local market leader and internationally recognized institution with more than $120 million total assets, 1,000 employees and 25% of market share. From 2019 lives in Switzerland and continues his professional activities in Development Finance and Impact Investing area. In late 2019 joined the Supervisory Board of leading Deposit-taking Microfinance Institution in Tajikistan (IMON) as an Independent Director nominee by the FMO (Dutch Development Bank). Malkhaz is a PhD candidate in Economics. He holds a Master’s degree of Leadership in Development Finance from the Frankfurt School FSFM, and Master’s degree in Economics & Management from the Georgian State Subtropical University.

Giorgi Tkeshelashvili
Member

Giorgi is a professional with over 15 years of top management experience. Giorgi has a strong background in Telecoms, Digital transformation and E-commerce as well as in household goods production and distribution. He served as CFO (from 2006) and later as CEO (from 2012) of Beeline Georgia. Giorgi has a significant advisory experience being Georgia Capital’s advisor in Telecoms, Media and Technology. He also was a Member of the Supervisory board of Business Association of Georgia. Giorgi is a co-founder of an e-commerce platform Degustate.com and co-founder of a household production and distribution company Orei, where he is a Chairman of the board. Giorgi has a Master’s degree in Economics and Management from Moscow State University.

Yuri Dolidze
Member

Yuri is a highly ranked professional with more than 25 years’ experience in audit, advisory management fields. In the early days of the development of the professional services market, Yuri together with partners founded and managed two local leading audit firms, worked as a local expert for Deloitte and Ernst & Young, initiated opening of PwC Georgia branch in 2005, acting as its assurance and advisory services director and training academy leader for 9 years. His professional practice included also the valuation services in cooperation with American Appraisal as well as business coaching. During his professional career, Yuri was significantly involved in developing professional society. He was one of the founders of IFAC member Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors (GFPAA), presented in its Board and various committees for 15 years. In 2016, the Prime-Minister of Georgian assigned Yuri on the position of the Head of Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision, known as SARAS to fulfil duties of Georgia set by EU Association Agreement in its approximation to accounting and auditing EU directives. As per EU Commission assessment, the unprecedented accounting reform is the most advanced one among all other measures performed by Georgia in achieving EU membership. His term at SARAS expired in 2021 and currently he represents business associations in its Board. Yuri continues supporting accounting and auditing reform now with the regional coverage including Georgia as the WB consultant, Armenia as ADB contractor and Ukraine as EU expert. Recently Yuri was assigned on position of the CEO or Accounting Reform’s Stakeholders’ Foundation (RSF).