06-wb-arrt-dalibor-vavruska.jpg
Dalibor Vavruska
Citi
"He has great industry expertise owing to more than ten years of experience."
Citi’s Dalibor Vavruska vaults from third place to claim the top spot for the first time. “He’s had good stock calls,” asserts one buy-side backer. Case in point: In July, Vavruska, who reports on four companies, highlighted his valuation-based buy rating on VimpelCom, an Amsterdam-based outfit that oversees one of Russia’s largest telecommunications services providers, after the American depositary receipts tumbled to $6.69. By the end of May, the ADRs had surged to $9.95, rising 48.7 percent and besting the sector by a whopping 41.6 percentage points. In January the London-based analyst launched coverage on MegaFon with a buy, at $25 per global depositary receipt, citing the Moscow-based operator’s strong growth prospects. Last month the company reported that earnings bolted 35.5 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, to 12.6 billion rubles ($393.1 million), and by the end of the month, the GDRs had climbed to $31.27. Vavruska, 42, joined the firm in 2011 from ING Equity Markets; he holds a master’s degree in mathematical engineering from the Czech Technical University in Prague and an MBA from New York’s Rochester Institute of Technology. — Ben Mattlin