PRA Group, Inc. has announced the appointment of Owen James as global investments officer, effective April 7. PRA Group also announced that Chris Graves, executive vice president and global investments and analytics officer, is retiring for personal health reasons, effective May 12, 2023. James has been with PRA Group for more than a decade, most recently as managing director of acquisitions. He has led the Company's investments in Europe and has served on the European senior management team. Over the past five years, PRA Group's European business has delivered strong results and has grown to become a significant driver of the Company's overall performance, with more than $2 billion invested in portfolios across 11 European markets. In 2022, James also began leading investments in the Australian market. James joined PRA Group as part of the Company's first entry into Europe through the acquisition of Mackenzie Hall Holdings in 2012.
James has more than 30 years of experience in the global nonperforming loan industry, leading operations, business development and investments. Prior to joining PRA Group, he worked for more than 15 years in a variety of senior roles at Intrum Justitia, a major European debt servicer and buyer. James has assumed responsibility for PRA Group's global portfolio investments and has joined the senior leadership team, reporting directly to President and CEO Vikram "Vik" Atal.
PRA Group, Inc. is a financial and business services company with operations based primarily in the Americas and Europe and Australia. The Companyâs primary business is the purchase, collection and management of portfolios of nonperforming loans. The accounts it purchases are primarily the unpaid obligations of individuals owed to credit originators. It purchases portfolios of nonperforming loans at a discount in two categories: Core and Insolvency. Core operation specializes in purchasing and collecting nonperforming loans, which it purchases since the credit originators have chosen not to pursue, or have been unsuccessful in, collecting the full balance owed. Insolvency operation consists primarily of purchasing and collecting nonperforming loans where the customer is involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, or the equivalent thereof, in certain European countries. It also provides fee-based services on class action claims recoveries in the United States.