PEOPLE - Russian Ramp-Up

If HSBC is looking to advertise its commitment to developing a Russian presence, putting up $200 million to expand its operations in the country and naming veteran expatriate banking executive Stuart Lawson to run the business are two good ways to show it. Lawson, 55, a British citizen who has spent more than ten years running banks in Russia, says he’s confident he can reach the “enormous untapped audience out there who understand our brand” but who don’t yet see it on the streets of Moscow. He brings lots of local know-how: In his previous job as chairman and CEO of Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska’s Bank Soyuz, he fashioned a thriving retail bank with operations in 27 regions out of three small, rudderless banks in just three and a half years.