ACIIA Executive Board

Chairman

  • Fritz H. Rau, Chairman, DVFA Germany
    Fritz H. Rau Mr. Fritz H. Rau studied Business Management at the University of Mannheim and graduated with a degree in business studies.

    For more than 35 years with the Commerzbank AG as head of research, his responsibilities covered primary and secondary equity research and bond research.
    He has been a member of DVFA’s Board of Directors since 1986, and DVFA’s Chairman since 1998. He became the Chairman of the Association of Certified International Investment Analysts (ACIIA®) in 2000-2004 and returned as Chairman in 2008.

    Mr Rau was also Chairman of EFFAS in 2000-2008 and is currently active in a number of advisory boards.

Deputy Chairman

  • Kiyoto Hagiwara, President & CEO, SAAJ Japan
    Kiyoto Hagiwara Mr. Kiyoto Hagiwara joined the Securities Analysts Association of Japan (SAAJ) as an Advisor in July 2001 and became President & Chief Executive Officer in August 2001- 2009.

    He studied at the University of Tokyo (Faculty of Law) and prior to joining SAAJ he held various senior positions such as the Executive Auditor in the Bank of Japan (BOJ) for over 30 years.

    In 2001-2004 he was Chairman of the Asian Security Analysts Federation (ASAF currently ASIF) and in 2005 - 2009 Deputy Chairman. Mr. Hagiwara took on the role of Deputy Chairman of the Association of Certified International Investment Analysts (ACIIA®) in 2002 and became Chairman in 2004. He is currently the Deputy Chairman.

Board Members 2010

  • Lucy Sousa, President, APIMEC Brazil
    Lucy SousaMrs Lucy Sousa took on the role as Director of the Brazilian Capital Markets Analysts Association (APIMEC), in 2003-2004, became Vice-President in 2005-2006, Regional President in 2007-2008 and National President in 2009-2010.

    Mrs Sousa has been an Interlink Associate Consultant since 1996. Interlink is an independent and differentiated consulting firm which operates in the Brazilian capital market field.

    As an Independent Consultant, she was an advisor to the economic and financial assessment, related to the privatization process, in 1993-1996. Mrs Sousa, who has many years of experience in the banking and finance sector, held the position of Underwriting Manager and previous to that, Investment Analyst with Citibank Brazil. She also worked as an Investment analyst for UNIBANCO Investment Bank. She is a co-writer of the following books: “Abertura do Capital de Empresas no Brasil” (IPOs in Brazil), São Paulo: Atlas, 2000; “Guia do Mercado de Capitais” (Capital Market Guide), São Paulo: Lazuli, 2006, and “Acontece nas melhores famílias”, São Paulo:Saraiva, 2008, relating to the capital markets.

    Mrs Sousa has a PhD in Economics (1998) / UNICAMP, post graduated in Economics / PUC-SP (1985), graduated in Economics / USP (1978) and in Social Science / USP (1983). In April 1998 she completed her PhD thesis on “Brazilian capital markets from 1987 to 1997”.
  • Yixiang Lin, Vice Chairman, SAC China
    Lin Yixiang Mr. Lin joined the Securities Analysts Association of China (SAAC) in 2000-2009 as President and in 2002-2009 took on the role of Vice-Chairman of the Securities Association of China (SAC).

    Mr. Lin is the Chairman and CEO of TX Investment Consulting CO., Ltd. He became Vice President of C hina Securities Corp., 1996-2001, and prior to joining C hina Securities Corp., he held various senior positions within China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). In 1989-1994, he worked as an Economist & Assistant Portfolio Manager at the Caisse des Depots et Consignations, France.

    Mr. Lin has a Ph.D. in Economics (1989), from the University of Paris-X, France, M.A. in Economics (1985), from the University of Grenoble-II, France and B.A. in Economics (1983), from the Peking University, China.

    Mr. Lin has been a Consultant and Member of the Amendment Committee of Securities Law of China since 2003. He was previously a Consultant and Member of the Drafting Committee of Securities Investment Fund Law of China between 1999 and 2003. He has participated in the drafting and amendment of other securities-related regulations led by CSRC, PBOC & MOF since 1992.

  • Vincent Bazi, Chairman International Committee, SFAF France
    Vincent Bazi Mr. Vincent Bazi is Head of Equity Investments at NextStage, a €220 Million investment fund. He has 20 years experience in financial analysis, equity sales and investment. Mr. Bazi has also been the EFFAS (European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies) Deputy Chairman since 2008. He was Deputy Chairman of the Societe Francaise des Analystes Financiers ( SFAF), until 2008.

    Previously he was a financial analyst with Cheuvreux, JP Morgan, Head of Equity of Barings and Schroders and Head of equity Sales for Oddo and Dexia.

    Mr. Bazi graduated from Sciences-Po Paris and Columbia Business School.
  • SF Wong, Chief Executive, HKSI Hong Kong
    SF Wong Mr. SF Wong joined the Hong Kong Securities Institute (HKSI) as the Chief Executive in April 2009. Prior to joining the Institute, he worked for the DBS Bank Ltd in Singapore as Managing Director for eight years where his responsibilities included Advisory Sales, Equity Derivatives Trading, Investment Products, and Private Banking. He also served as a member of the Boards of DBS Asset Management and DBS Vickers. In 1998-2000, he was a Senior Executive Director of the Market Services Group of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, overseeing the Information Technology & Trading, The Stock Option Exchange, and Information Services.

    Mr. Wong has over 30 years experience in banking and finance and held various senior positions in Citibank, Credit Suisse, Toronto Dominion Bank and JP Morgan. Mr. Wong also taught undergraduate and MBA courses in Finance at the University of Hong Kong in the mid eighties.

    Mr. Wong has been a member of the Institute since 1998, and served on the Examinations Committee in 1999-2000. Mr. Wong holds a MBA (Specialisation in Finance) degree from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Rochester.
  • Sanjay Ramchandani, Director, CPMR India
    Sanjay Ramchandani Mr. Sanjay Ramchandani works in the area of education management and is currently Director (PDD). He started off his career in the Financial Products Marketing area and later moved on to the education sector where he gained over 10 years experience.

    Mr Ramchandani has been involved in various aspects of marketing and management of knowledge products. He is a graduate in Economics from the Delhi University and also has a post graduate qualification in financial analysis.

    He represents ACIIA in India through the Council for Portfolio Management and Research (CPMR). He resides and works in Hyderabad.
  • Giampaolo Trasi, Honorary member, AIAF Italy
    Giampaolo Trasi Mr. Giampaolo Trasi is Head of Equity & Credit Research at the Intesa Sanpaolo Group. With 25 years experience in financial analysis and asset allocation for professional investment, he is the Supervisory Analyst for the NYSE.

    He has been the Chairman of the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) since 2008. In 2004-2007, Mr. Trasi took on the role as Chairman of the Italian Financial Analysts Societies (AIAF) and in 2001-2004, Chairman of the AIAF Training Center. He was also a member of the EU Forum Group of Financial Analysts, in 2002-2003.


  • Jesus Lopez Zaballos, Training School General Manager, IEAF Spain
    Jesus Lopez Zaballos Mr. Jesus Zaballos took on his first professional role as a broker in the Spanish Money Market in 1984. He has worked as an expert in the Capital Market Industry, for several important private and public financial institutions, where he held a variety of responsibilities in different fields. He was Head of Domestic Treasury of the Banco de Crédito Industrial in 1991 and he was Head of Training of the Treasury and Capital Markets areas of Argentaria (1995-1998).

    In 1999, having obtained the PHD in Finance, Mr. Zaballos left his job as a Bank Executive Manager to create “Formación y Finanzas, SL”, a Business Consulting and Financial Advisory firm specialised in advisor and training activities for the Financial Industry. At present he is the chairman of the company.

    In 2002, he joined the Instituto Espanol de Analistas Financieros (IEAF) as General Manager of its Training School and continues there at present. He is the Director of the professional certification programs in Spain: CIIA, CEFA, Back Office Manager, European Financial Advisor and Asset Manager and Treasury Manager given by IEAF.

    Mr. Zaballos is a Board member of ACIIA, ILPIP, EFFAS and GIPS Spain. He was a member of the Financial Markets Commission of the Economist Association of Madrid between 2004 and 2008 and Chairman of the Training and Qualification Committee of EFFAS from 2005 to 2008.

    Mr. Zaballos has a PhD in Management and Business Administration and a degree in Economics and Business Administration.
  • Jean-Claude Dufournet, CEO, SFAA Switzerland
    Dr. Jean-Claude Dufournet Dr. Dufournet holds a master in IT and a doctorate in Economic Sciences from the University of Geneva. During his activities for the Swiss Financial Analysts Association (SFAA) as CEO, Dr. Dufournet established the following companies:

    • In 1990 he founded AZEK: The Swiss training center of the SFAA.
    • In 1998, he founded IndoSwiss financial software development company. IndoSwiss is an Indian IT company specialising in financial software development.
    • In 2001, he was involved in founding the Association of Certified International Investment Analysts ACIIA. The ACIIA now has 33 national association members and awards the CIIA diploma.
    • In 2003, he founded the company Information System for Financial Analysts. ISFA offer services to measure the performance of analysts’ recommendations.
    • In 2005, he founded the association International Learning Platform for Investment Professionals. ILPIP is common platform delivering course materials to all national associations offering the CIIA diploma.
    • In 2007, he founded the Association of International Wealth Management with Baker McKenzie and Central Law Training. The AIWM award the CIWM diploma.

    Dr. Dufournet is also a Board Member of ILPIP and AIWM As part of his consulting activities, Dr. Dufournet has collaborated with the biggest Swiss banking and financial institutes. He worked in the fields of real estate portfolio performance and in financial software development.

ACIIA Secretariat

  • Fiona Tween, Secretary General
    Fiona Tween Ms Fiona Tween joined ACIIA in October 2006 and is responsible for the running of the secretariat in Switzerland. She implements and administers the ACIIA activities and operations in accordance with the decisions of the Council and Chairman. Ms Tween has over 18 years administration and customer service experience.






  • Deirdre Higgins, Secretary
    Deirdre Higgins Ms Deirdre Higgins joined the ACIIA team in March 2009. She is responsible for a wide range of administrative matters of the ACIIA, including enquiries, organisation of the ACIIA meetings and billing and payments. Prior to joining ACIIA, she worked in a variety of administration and sales positions in both Ireland and Spain.