Aug 18. Norilsk Nickel has appointed Adrian Coates from HSBC Bank as its main corporate strategy advisor, the company said in a press release. Mr. Coates had chaired the global resources and energy department of HSBC Bank Plc before June 2008. Adrian Coates participated in IPOs of Billiton and Vedanta, consulted Mittal Steel during its merger with Arcelor, Corus during a merger with Tata Steel and BHP Billiton on a potential merger with Rio Tinto. As NorNickel's main advisor Adrian Coates will perform an analysis of potential transactions with the metal maker's participation on the global market. A candidate for the position of the company's Deputy CEO for strategy earlier held by Tav Morgan has not yet been found.