Todd Berman aims to make Sberbank an investment banking powerhouse.

1. i. ::,r lB /cfl,pita,l .r ri,. . i.t
the bankbeyond its heardand in Russia and the Commonwealth of
Independent States," says Berman, referring to a hybrid of invest-
ment and commercial banking. "Ife're really creating a unique
proposition, and not just in Russia but across emerging Europe."
Recruiting some 45 Russian and foreign bankers and integrating
Troikahave pulledBerman awayfrom deal making,buthe's bonfident
rhat his firm will soon be a global player in M&A and equity capital
markets. Sberbankis understood to befinancingoil giant andfellow
state-owned enterprise Rosneft on its $55 bitrlion acquisition ofBP's
Russian jointventure,TNK-BP; it's also a joint global coordinator for
Moscow-based telecom MegaFon's planned listings on the I-ondon
and Moscow Stock Exchanges.Through late October, Sberbank CIB
rankedNo. 9 fortheyearinRussianM&Adealvolume,with $ 14.3bI-
lion, according to Dealogic, up 62 percentbut down three places from
2)Lllts22tartsactions put it atNo. I in deal activity.
"Todd is a strong deal maker, but what sets him apart is that he is
alwals very inclusive when it comes to client relationships and willing
to share expertise," says Dirk lWerner, head of M&A at Sberbank
CIB, who followed Berman from BofA Merrill.
Berman also has plenty of international experience at building
universal banking operations at previous employers, including
Citigroup and BofAMerrill. "Universal banking enables you not iust
to provide advice on how to execute a deal butttre ability to position
that deal in the market as well as delivering the capital to finance it,"
he says. "That's averypowerful combination."
RAII{MAKTRS I Born and raised in Dallas, Berman started his career in 1986 on
'Wall
MISSIONTO Street, where he worked on Salomon Brothers'powerful debt
capital markets desk. He then.zigzagged between New York and I-on-
don,pickinguphis Cambridge degree before headingto Harvardin
l989.Twoyears laterBerman joinedBain.0(4ratseemedlike anodd
move for an investrnent banker sparked his interest in Eastern Europe,
and Russia in particular. "One of the partners at Bain asked me to
transferto Moscow forthree months," recalls the father offour,who
speaks conversational Russian. "I ended up stayingthere three years."
During his first stint in Moscow, Berman mostly advised big com-
panies onhowto enterthe Russian market. He reioined Salomonin
1 9 9 5 and soon took over its investment banking business in Central
and Eastern Europe. After Salomon became part of Citigroup in
TODII,BNIIMAN].HAS NO IVORRIDS ABOUT THD O[TT' I 998, Berman added the Middle East andAfrica to his duties. He quit
comeoffteU,,Sr$qsidential election, Now head of corporate and Citi in 2000 to leadthe global cemmunications practice at Lehman
invesmem,,ban'king:et Russia's Sberbank CIB, Berman graduated Brothers Holdings, where he helped to build the European banking
from Ftaivard',Lgw',,School with Barack Obama and worked for franchise and worked on U.K. satellite communications provider
Uitt Romniylatnmagement consulting firm Bain & Co. "Both are Inmarsat's $2.4 billion IPO in 2005. He joined Bank ofAmerica
outstanding,indidduats; rnen ofreal integrity, so the U. S . will do well Corp. in 2006, becoming deputyhead ofinternationalbankingbefore
with either," theAmerican says. tlre firm agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co. two years later.
This agnosticism befits a globe-trotting banker with a broad EarlylastyearBerman got a call fromlgor Sagiryan,who was then
outlook. "I feel very comfortable working in different cultures," says runningTroika's investment banking division and had been chair-
Moscow-based Berman,48, who recently returned to Russia and man ofBainLink, a Russian consulting jointventure. ForBerman'
also holds a law degree from the University of Cambridge- leavingBofAMerrill was an all-or-nothing proposition. "I would not
He ioined $384billion-in-assets SberbankinJanuary20l I from have gone backto Russia just to run investmentbanking forTroika
BankofAmerica MerrillLy'nch's I-ondon office,whereher*as global stand-alone or for Sberbank stand-aloner" he says.
co-head ofmedia and telecommunications. At Russia's largest bank Berman calls himselfguardedly optimistic about Russia. "'We have
he aims to turn his division formerly Moscow brokerageTroika growth in the mlrket and some good fundamentals at very cheap
- an inter- valuationsr"he says. "The keywill be to see continued stability in the
Dialog, which Sberbank acquired early last year
- into global markets and incieased risk appetite from global investors." *o
national force. "(/e're building a universal bankingmodd to molr
NOVEMBER 2012 . INSTITUTIONALINVESTOR.COM