EDINBURGH-based fixed income specialist Cameron Hume has appointed a heavy hitter from the investment banking industry who is also a published poet to its board as it eyes growth.

Alla Bashenko has joined Cameron Hume as an independent non-executive director after holding senior posts at Goldman Sachs and Nomura.

Cameron Hume said Ms Bashenko has been recruited to take a high-level view of the business and to prove advice when required drawing on the experience she has gained working in a range of global markets.

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Its chairman, Sir Sandy Crombie, said Ms Bashenko’s international expertise, contacts and knowledge of global markets will bring an exceptional bank of experience to the board.

“Her skills are complementary to those of the existing Board members, and her different perspective will be extremely valuable to Cameron Hume,” he said.

Cameron Hume specialises in managing fixed income investments on behalf of institutions such as pension funds,

Ms Bashenko was born in Ukraine and studied at the prestigious Brown University in the USA.

She has had a number of collections for poetry and children published and writes in Russian and English. Her latest collection, “Around the World”, came out in April last year.

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Ms Bashenko described Cameron Hume as a relatively young business with tremendous potential.

The volatility in global equity markets stoked by the coronavirus pandemic may have boosted demand for the services of firms that can help people invest in fixed income assets, such as Gilts issued by the Government and corporate bonds.

Managing director Chris Torkington founded Cameron Hume in 2011 after serving as managing director of operations at Scottish Widows and group information and operations director at Standard Life. The co-founder of the business, Guy Cameron, was formerly head of fixed income at Edinburgh fund manager Baillie Gifford.