Bank of Cyprus appoints new CEO

The Bank of Cyprus’ board of directors on Monday announced it had appointed Panicos Nicolaou as the group’s chief executive officer to succeed John Patrick Hourican.

Nicolaou’s appointment is subject to subject to approval by the European Central Bank (ECB) and he will formally take up his duties once his appointment is approved.

Nicolaou joined the bank in 2001 and his career has been mostly within the corporate banking division. He was promoted to the position of director of the corporate banking division in June 2016 and has been an executive committee member since then.

He has been responsible for managing the corporate banking centres throughout Cyprus, the international corporate banking centre and international operations, as well as the bank’s factoring unit. Under his supervision, corporate banking serves over 2,500 corporate clients across key sectors of the economy.

Nicolaou holds a BSc in financial services from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) School of Management, UK, a BSc in mechanical engineering from National Technical University of Athens (Metsovio), Greece and an MSc in mechanical & industrial engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is also an associate member of the UK Chartered Institute of Bankers since 2004.

In the months ahead Nicolaou as CEO-designate will work closely with Hourican to help ensure a smooth transition.

“After a thorough international search process, I am delighted that Panicos has emerged from a strong field as our choice to lead the Group in its next chapter,” said the bank’s chairman Dr Josef Ackermann. “Panicos comes from the Bank of Cyprus family, with a long and successful career and notable contributions in strengthening business relationships with our major corporate clients. My board colleagues and I are fully confident that the Bank of Cyprus will remain in good hands with Panicos at the helm.”