AXIA Ventures Group (“AXIA”) announced today that Francisco Sottomayor has joined AXIA as Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking for Iberia. Mr Sottomayor is an experienced professional with 17 years in Investment Banking with expertise in financial solutions across M&A, restructuring, asset management, Equity and Debt capital markets. Before moving to AXIA, Mr. Sottomayor was employed by Credit Suisse for 16 years as Senior Managing Director and Head of Securities for Equity and Fixed Income of Iberia Coverage, managing teams in Credit Suisse’s London and Madrid offices.
Mr. Sottomayor brings established relationships with key decision makers at major corporations, banks, as well as within the investment community and will be a major catalyst to AXIA’s Lisbon office, which initiated operation in May 2015, by bridging global capital with domestic opportunities in the Iberian region. From early in his career, Mr. Sottomayor developed know-how in the FIG sector, through which he built a strong network, particularly in Southern Europe. It is worth highlighting that during his time at Credit Suisse, he advised major Spanish and Portuguese banks such as Santander, BBVA and Caixa Geral. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Sottomayor worked for Citigroup Portugal and Banco Português de Investimento.
Over the past years, Mr. Sottomayor was involved in a number of major projects such as privatizations involving the Portuguese government and Chinese investors, corporate IPOs, raising equity for various banking and telecommunication companies in Iberia and Brazil, cross border M&A deals, transactions with Spanish insurance companies regarding their Asset-Liability Management, as well as financing public sector assets and infrastructure projects.
AXIA intends to use Mr. Sottomayor’s indispensable experience in order to assist Iberian banks and corporates to enhance the business dynamics of the region. At the same time, Mr. Sottomayor will be tasked with identifying compelling investment opportunities for global investors as the local economic environment improves.
Mr. Antonios Achilleoudis, Group Managing Director of AXIA, pointed out the following: “We are delighted to have Francisco join our Group and lead our Iberian Investment Banking team at this specific timing. In addition to having played a key role in important investment banking transactions in the region, Francisco has an excellent understanding of multiple sectors, companies and business models. His significant expertise will reinforce AXIA’s current strategic approach and help the Iberian team to move forward rapidly, thereby establishing AXIA as the Investment Banking firm of choice in the specific region. We extend a warm welcome to Francisco and wish him great success in his journey with us.”
