OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2007. Alfa-Bank Head of Research Ronald  P. Smith, in addition to his role leading the Bank’s dynamic research team, is now taking on the role of Chief Strategist, and will now monitor global financial trends and provide investment advice and ideas to Alfa-Bank’s equities clients.

Alfa-Bank Managing Director and Head of Equities Dominic Gualtieri states, “The decision to combine these positions move us closer toward the more traditional model for investment banks, in which the Head of Research is also Chief Strategist. It’s only logical that the Head of Research is the person best able to synthesize the ideas of the team, in which each senior analyst covers a certain sector.” Mr. Gualtieri went on to say, “I have full confidence in Ron in this position. He has a demonstrated track record in the industry, and I expect he will add even greater value for our clients in this new expanded role.”

Ronald  P. Smith was born in Texas in 1967 and has been with Alfa-Bank since 2006. Before joining Alfa-Bank, he worked at ING Bank (Eurasia) as a director and Head of Moscow Research. From 1999 to 2005 he held senior positions at Citigroup Asset Management (Stamford, Connecticut, USA) and Renaissance Capital (Moscow). Smith holds a BA from Texas A&M University (1992) and an MBA from the University of Texas-Austin (1999).