Alexandre Kotcherguine has become a familiar figure in the London capital markets.
As the head of international business development for MDM Financial, he is responsible for raising the profile of the bank outside its native Russia from almost zero to a prominence that has won it several awards, including best financial borrower in emerging Europe from Euromoney this year.
He organized MDM Financial's debut Eurobond at the beginning of this year, as well as its $300 million commercial paper programme, and he is already talking about introducing a securitization programme. MDM is rapidly turning into a Russian bank that acts like a western bank.
Born in St Petersburg 43 years ago, Kotcherguine was studying civil engineering and architecture at Leningrad University as Mikhail Gorbachev steered the country towards openness. As light was shed on the secrets and mistakes of the Soviet Union, his generation, he says, "realized that what we were taught in school didn't make sense. People started looking around for new ideas and new experiences." Many looked abroad. Kotcherguine's father was a famous theatre set designer, and thus able to travel more than most. Soon, the young Kotcherguine was keen to leave the country too.