The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has named Hüseyin Özhan as its acting Managing Director for Central Asia. He is succeeding Zsuzsanna Hargitai, who has been appointed Managing Director, SME Finance and Development at the EBRD’s headquarters in London.

A Turkish national, Mr Özhan will assume his new role on 1 June 2024 and will continue to be based in Almaty. He will oversee the Bank’s operations in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Mr Özhan will also continue working in his current capacity of EBRD Director for Kazakhstan, where he is managing the Bank’s largest and longest-running banking operation in Central Asia.

Mr Özhan holds a BA in Economics and Mathematics from Macalester College in Minnesota, USA, an MA in International Trade Finance and is a PhD candidate from Yeditepe University in Türkiye.

To date, the Bank has invested €19.5 billion through nearly 1,100 projects in Central Asia.