New Delhi, July 11 -- CHISINAU - Moldova's president Maia Sandu on Saturday nominated Vasile Tofan, a Harvard Business School-trained private equity manager who has spent his career investing in Moldovan and Ukrainian companies, to serve as the country's next prime minister, handing an outsider with no prior government experience the task of steering one of Europe's smallest and poorest nations toward EU membership.

Tofan, who turns 44 on Sunday, is managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with portfolios concentrated in Ukraine and Moldova. He previously chaired the board of Purcari, Moldova's best-known winery and one of the few Moldovan brands with a genuine export profile in European markets. He holds a degree in pu...