OREANDA-NEWS. November 03, 2011. After securing the necessary approvals from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Uniastrum’s Board of Directors has appointed Kirill Tikhonov Deputy Chairman of the Management Board. In his new role, Mr. Tikhonov will continue to supervise the Bank’s corporate activities, including work with small and medium businesses, reported the press-centre of Uniastrum Bank.

Kirill Tikhonov has been Uniastrum Managing Director for Corporate Business Development since June 2011. His responsibilities include coordinating the operations of the Bank’s corporate division, which include small and midsized enterprise.

Kirill Tikhonov graduated the Moscow Aviation Institute, soon afterwards becoming an entrepreneur, an experience that Mr. Tikhonov strongly believes enabled him to gain crucial insights into the subtleties of SME business practices. With a career in banking stretching back over 14 years, he is a noted expert on SME finance and has been instrumental in initiating and developing operations in this particular segment at a number of banks. Mr. Tikhonov started his career at Tori Bank, combining this position with an internship at the Small Business Assistance Fund (EBRD) before accepting an invitation to join KMB Bank, where he remained for seven years. Prior to joining Uniastrum, he headed the Corporate and Small Business Division at National Bank Trust.

“Thanks to its extensive regional network, Uniastrum Bank has huge potential for expanding its corporate and small business activities,” notes Kirill Tikhonov. “Specifically as regards smaller enterprises, we place particular stress on simplifying credit procedures and developing online communications with our customers in order to cut decision-making timeframes and improve the quality of our services. One of our key tasks we see as putting together special integrated options for diverse business segments by combining a number of highly popular products and services together in a single business package.”