Board of Directors

Mel Carvill was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Lion Finance Group PLC on 10 March 2022. Mel serves as Chairman of Lion Finance Group PLC’s Nomination Committee, as well as a member of the Remuneration Committee. Mel also serves as Chair of the Supervisory Board of JSC Bank of Georgia.

Skills and experience

Mel has extensive international experience across a broad range of companies in the financial sector. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Coopers & Lybrand and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Corporate Finance, is a Chartered Insurer and an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, as well as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

Career

Mel worked at the Generali Group from 1985 until 2009, including as Chief Risk Officer, Head of Corporate Finance and M&A, Head of Strategic Planning and latterly Head of Western Europe, Americas and Middle East. In 2009 he joined PPF Partners, a private equity fund investing in Central Eastern Europe and Asia, where he was President until 2014, and then worked for the wider PPF Group, latterly as an advisor. Mel has served on company boards in European, America and Asian markets.

Archil Gachechiladze was appointed as the Executive Director and CEO of Lion Finance Group PLC on 28 January 2019. Archil serves as the CEO of JSC Bank of Georgia.

Skills and experience:

Archil has over 20 years of experience in financial services in both local and international organisations. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Tbilisi State University and holds his MBA with distinction from Cornell University. He is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society in the United Kingdom.

Career:

Archil held senior positions between 1998 and 2009 at the Salford Equity Partners, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), KPMG Barents and Lehman Brothers Private Equity (currently Trilantic Capital Partners). In 2009, he joined Bank of Georgia as Deputy CEO, Corporate Banking and has since held various roles with the Bank and the Group, such as Deputy CEO, Investment Management, CFO of BGEO Group and Deputy CEO, Corporate and Investment Banking. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Archil served as the CEO of Georgian Global Utilities (formerly part of BGEO Group PLC).

Andrew McIntyre was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 15 March 2024. Andrew serves as Chairman of Lion Finance Group PLC’s Audit Committee, as well as a member of the Nomination and Risk Committees. Andrew is also a member of JSC Bank of Georgia’s Supervisory Board.

Skills and experience

Andrew is a qualified Chartered Accountant with broad experience of financial services businesses operating around the world. He holds a master’s degree from Cambridge University in Medical Sciences and Music.

Career

Andrew is a non-executive director of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Plc. He was a partner at Ernst & Young from 1988 to 2016, specializing in international financial services and predominantly based in the firm’s London offices, apart from the period 2004 to 2010, spent in the Zurich office. He acted for some of the firm’s largest financial services clients and held various management positions, including as a member of the UK firm’s board. Andrew previously held board positions at C. Hoare & Co, National Bank of Greece S.A., Ecclesiastical Insurance Group plc and the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Tamaz Georgadze was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 24 February 2018. He serves as a member of the Risk, Remuneration and Nomination Committees. Tamaz is also a member of JSC Bank of Georgia’s Supervisory Board.

Skills and experience

Tamaz has extensive experience with a wide range of international companies. He holds PhDs in Economics from Tbilisi State University and in Agricultural Economics from Justus-Liebig Universitat Giesen in Germany; he also studied Law at the latter, graduating with honours.

Career

Tamaz is the CEO of Raisin, which he founded in 2013, launching the first global deposit platform in Europe. Previously, Tamaz worked as an aide to the President of Georgia in the Foreign Relations Department from 1994 to 1995. He had a ten-year career at McKinsey & Company in Berlin, where he served as a Partner from 2009 to 2013, conducting engagements with banks in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Georgia and Vietnam, with a focus on strategy, risk identification and management, deposit and investment products, operations and sales. Tamaz was previously an independent non-executive director of BGEO Group PLC, including holding positions on its Audit, Nomination and Risk Committees.

Maria Gordon was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 20 September 2024. Maria serves as a member of the Lion Finance Group PLC’s Remuneration Committee, Nomination Committee and Audit Committee. Maria also serves as a member of JSC Bank of Georgia’s Supervisory Board.

Skills and experience

Maria is a seasoned independent director and accomplished senior finance executive with broad international experience. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, an MA in Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University, is a CFA Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School.

Career

Maria has strong governance experience, having served as chair, director and committee member of various public companies. Maria currently serves as non-executive chair of the board of Capricorn Energy PLC, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and as non-executive chair of Constellation Oil Services. She has two decades’ direct investment experience in senior roles, including as Head of Emerging Markets Equity Strategy at Goldman Sachs and PIMCO, and brings considerable expertise in portfolio management and equity and debt capital markets, including in emerging markets.

Cecil Quillen was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 24 February 2018. Cecil serves as Chair of Lion Finance Group PLC’s Remuneration Committee and as a member of the Nomination Committee. Cecil is also a member of JSC Bank of Georgia’s Supervisory Board.

Skills and experience

Cecil has extensive legal and commercial experience in Europe and the US, particularly with respect to regulated financial institutions and emerging markets. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his law degree from the University of Virginia.

Career

Cecil, a US lawyer with nearly 38 years of practical experience, became a partner in the New York office of global law firm Linklaters LLP in 1996 before transferring in 2000 to its London office, where he is a leading US capital markets practitioner. He works on a broad spectrum of securities and finance matters with a focus on transactions involving financial institutions and those in Central and Eastern Europe. He is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia and is a registered foreign lawyer in England and Wales.

Véronique McCarroll was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 1 October 2018, and as the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director on 16 June 2025. Véronique serves as a Chair of Lion Finance Group PLC’s Risk Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee and of the Nomination Committee. She is also a member of JSC Bank of Georgia’s Supervisory Board.

Skills and experience

Véronique has 40 years’ experience in financial services, with a focus on corporate and investment banking, risk management and digital banking. She graduated from Ecole Superieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in 1985 and holds a NED certificate from Sciences Politiques Paris (2019).

Career

Véronique started her career with Banque Indosuez in Capital Markets from 1986 to 1996. She then spent 19 years in international consulting firms, including 15 as partner in Financial Services, at McKinsey & Company, Oliver Wyman and Andersen/Ernst & Young. She was subsequently a Bank Executive at CACIB, heading Strategy and Digital Transformation, and Deputy CEO of Orange Bank until the end of 2025. She teaches Finance at Paris Dauphine University.

Mariam Megvinetukhutsesi was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 12 March 2021. Mariam also serves as a member of Lion Finance Group PLC’s Risk and Nomination Committees, and as a member of JSC Bank of Georgia’s Supervisory Board.

Skills and experience

Mariam has extensive governance and financial experience. She received her undergraduate degree in Banking and Finance from Tbilisi State University and holds an MSc in Finance and Investments from the University of Edinburgh.

Career

Mariam provides consulting services to businesses on governance and financial management. She has 20 years’ prior experience in financial services, including in banking appointments at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 1997 to 2007 and as Deputy CEO at TBC Bank from 2009 to 2014. Previously she served as Head of Georgia’s Investors Council Secretariat from 2015 to 2019, promoting reforms for improvement of Georgia’s investment climate.

Karine Hirn was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 7 April 2025. Karine also serves as a member of Lion Finance Group PLC’s Audit Committee, Risk Committee and Nomination Committees.

Skills and experience

Karine has broad international investment experience, with a strong insight into trends, industries and capital markets. She holds a MSc in Management from EM Lyon in France, a Post Graduate Degree in Eastern European Studies from Sciences Po Paris and studied at Moscow Academy of Finance and Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki.

Career

Karine has over 30 years’ experience in financial services, with a focus on asset management and responsible investment. Based in Hong Kong since 2013, she is a partner, co-founder and Chief Sustainability Officer of East Capital Group and Chairperson of the Group’s Luxembourg domiciled management company and fund structures. Previously, she was China Chief Representative in Shanghai and CEO of East Capital in Sweden. Currently a French Trade Advisor and honorary member of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, Karine is also an advisor to the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University in Boston and is a frequent commentator on emerging markets and sustainable investing in international conferences and media.

Armen Orujyan was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lion Finance Group PLC on 9 March 2026. He serves as a member of the Nomination and Risk Committees.

Skills and experience:

Dr. Orujyan brings executive expertise in deep-tech innovation, venture scaling, and global digital policy. With a proven track record of catalysing national technology ecosystems and cultivating international entrepreneurship, he provides strategic governance informed by decades of high-level policy advising and operational leadership. He holds a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University, where he received the Distinguished Alumni Award, and a B.A. with honors from UCLA.

Career:

Armen currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Curio Ventures, where he leads the firm in ventures that address critical global challenges through deep-tech innovation and growth-focused business models. Previously, as the Founding CEO of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology, he significantly elevated Armenia’s standing in the international innovation landscape, particularly within artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and other STEM fields.  He founded Athgo Corporation, a UN-recognised global entrepreneurship platform that cultivated over 10,000 young innovators across 80 nations, and has served as a Founding Member and Co-Chairman of the UN’s Global Alliance for ICT and Development and as a Commissioner on the UN’s Broadband Commission for Digital Development. He has held prominent advisory roles at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Asia Society Global Council.