Snooping scandal hits hedge fund superstar
OF THE 50 leading women in hedge funds, one name stands out above the rest.
Elena Ambrosiadou, who runs the £1.8bn Ikos hedge fund, is well-known as a powerful hedge fund boss and as one of the wealthiest women in the world. But she is currently in the news for more controversial reasons.
The Greece-born businesswoman is embroiled in a spying scandal for allegedly ordering a large-scale surveillance campaign against her estranged husband and other ex-staff.
She is alleged to have ordered a private detective to spy on Martin Coward, her ex-husband, to uncover information that could potentially be used in a legal dispute.
A top fund manager who owns the world’s largest private sailing yacht in the world, the 300ft Maltese Falcon, she set up Ikos in 1993 with Coward in London.
She relocated to Cyprus in 2007 for tax reasons.
She has been at the forefront of hedge fund developments in Europe for two decades.
Coward, who quit the company in 2009 yet remains a co-owner, is a mathematician and masterminded the trading algorithms used by Ikos.
Ambrosiadou is also alleged to have ordered spying operations against several other Ikos workers.