Businessman Ion Tiriac who controls through his group a business that is worth more than two billion euros a year, has brought a Wall Street executive to run his companies. Petru Vaduva, 48, replaces Anca Ioan as CEO.

Anca Ioan's three-year contract ended at the end of last year. Ioan is one of the most respected executives in the local business environment, as the business controlled by Ion Tiriac developed significantly on two key markets during her tenure: real estate and automotive.

The businessman has bet a lot of money on the real estate market in recent years, a market that is currently experiencing a severe correction mainly caused by the lending freeze.

The biggest real estate project, which requires one billion-euro investments, announced by Tiriac is the one in Otopeni, with the total value of investments on this market standing at 2 billion euros.

The second field Tiriac bet on, the automotive industry, where his business stood at 1.4 billion euros last year, according to the latest estimates, is going through its worst time in a decade.

"In a difficult economic context, I felt the professional profile and the experience of Mr. Vaduva fit the profile and the avenues of development of the business of our group," stated Ion Alexandru Tiriac, son of Ion Tiriac and his representative within the group.

Vaduva holds an MBA from the Yale Business School, and his professional experience includes positions with famous companies such as Russian brokerage firm UralSib and investment bank Renaissance Capital.

He also gained financial investment experience at investment banks JP Morgan and Bear Stearns. After London, Moscow and New York, Vaduva returned home in 2007 as chief investment officer of investment fund Intrepid GEM, of which not much is known.

"The adaptability and flexibility acquired from extensiv