The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has named Thalia Chryssikou, head of global sales strategies and structuring at Goldman Sachs, as chair of the board.
Chryssikou has worked at Goldman Sachs for 23 years after joining in 1998 as head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, interest rate, currency and emerging market strategies for the securities division.
She takes on the role from Michael Cole-Fontayn who has been a member of the AFME board since 2011 and served as chair between September 2015 and June 2021.
Cole-Fontayn will be stepping down to join the board of JPMorgan Securities as an independent director.
The enormous potential for transformation of the European economy through digitalisation and decarbonisation will require unprecedented levels of investment and finance, according to Chryssikou.
She says: “AFME has a key role to play in helping to shape European financial regulation to promote deep and integrated capital markets to serve the needs of companies and investors in this task. I look forward to acting on behalf of all our members to enable our financial markets to rise to this challenge.”
Adam Farkas, AFME chief executive, comments: “We are delighted to welcome Thalia Chryssikou as AFME’s new chair. Chryssikou brings a wealth of knowledge from her over 20-year career in financial services and technology at Goldman Sachs that equips her to lead the AFME board as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also a passionate advocate of supporting female talent which is a priority for AFME and the financial services industry as a whole.”
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Michael Cole-Fontayn for his service and dedication to AFME. Cole-Fontayn is a strong supporter of Europe’s capital markets, having passionately promoted the ‘E’ in AFME during his decade on the AFME board,” Farkas adds.
