Georgian young professional named on prestigious Forbes list

A Georgian young professional has been named on a prestigious list of up-and-coming world leaders.

Giorgi Bachiashvili, CEO of the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, has been named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, released annually to recognize "the brightest stars in 15 different fields under the age of 30.

Bachiashvili, 28, leads a 6 billion USD private equity fund and is listed in the Finance category alongside other financiers from around the world. Other professionals in the same category come from international companies, which include Wells Fargo Private Bank, Goldman Sachs, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

According to Forbes, the fund, which was launched in September, last year, amounts to about 40% of the country's GDP.

"The fund is backed by Georgia's own billionaire ex-prime minister, who invested the initial $1 billion, and created some controversy around its investments in the Georgian economy. UAE's Abu Dhabi Group and China's Milestone International are among other big investors, the Forbes statement said.

The 30 Under 30 list is divided into 15 categories: Hollywood, finance, tech, social, music, sports, games, science, education, law, media, marketing, art, energy and food.  

Joining Bachiashvili on the list are several famous people, including Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, who was named in the sport category for her candy, jewellery and accessory business Sugarpova, actress Jennifer Lawrence and Snapchat Smartphone application creators Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy.

Iconic musician, 28 year old Bruno Mars topped the music category for his recent success of two platinum albums and 14 Grammy nominations, which included one win.

"The brightest stars in 15 different fields under the age of 30 are founder and funders, brand builders and do-gooders who are not waiting around for a proper career bump up the establishment ladder, reads the Forbes description of the list.  

"Their ambitions are way bigger and perfectly suited to the dynamic, entrepreneurial, and impatient digital world they grew up in. This is an exhilarating time to be young and ambitious.