UBCCE THIRD BUSINESS FORUM
“SEIZING NEW INVESTMENT AND TRADE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BLACK SEA AND CASPIAN IN THE POST CRISIS ERA”
HOTEL NIKOPOLIS, THESSALONIKI, GREECE, NOVEMBER 12 – 13
OPENING CEREMONY
Athanase LAVIDAS
President, Union of Black Sea and Caspian Confedera tion of Enterprises (UBCCE)
Vice Chairman of BoD&Head of International Affairs, SEV
Chairman & CEO Lavipharm Group
Born in Athens, Dr. Athanase Lavidas assumed the management of Lavipharm in 1976. The parent company, Lavipharm S.A., is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange since 1995. Lavipharm today is an integrated group of companies engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and healthcare products in Greece, with a strong international activity.
Additionally, Dr. Lavidas is the Chairman of the Greece-United States Business Council and member of the Board of Directors of many bilateral councils, whose mission is to establish or further enhance the business ties between Greece and the corresponding countries. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Hellenic Entrepreneurs Association (E.EN.E.). Moreover, Dr. Lavidas is Vice Chairman of the Board of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), Head of International Affairs.
He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Athens University and a Master and Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Munich. He also has an MBA from the Institute of Marketing and Management in Paris, France. He is fluent in French, German and English.
Nikos PENTZOS
President, Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (FING)
Born in 1971, Nikos Pentzos became President of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (FING) in April 2009. He started his professional career in ZANAE S.A. (food industry) in 1988 where he is now General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors.
He holds a Masters in Marketing Management from Middlesex University, UK and also obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Economics from Richmond University, UK. He is fluent in English.
Amb. Leonidas CHRYSANTHOPOULOS
Secretary General, Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
Ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos has been the Secretary General of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) since May 2006. Prior to his current job, he assumed several positions in Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1972 and 2005 including: Director General for Bilateral Economic Relations and Multilateral Economic Cooperation (Dec 2004 – April 2005), Director General for European Union Affairs (Jan – Dec 2004), Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Ottawa (2000-2004), Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Warsaw (1996 – 2000), Minister Plenipotentiary first class (1996), Alternate Director General for European Union Affairs (1994-1996), Ambassador of the Helelnic Republic to Yerevan (1993).
Spyros KOUVELIS
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Hellenic Republic
Spyros Kouvelis was born in Athens in 1964. He graduated in Economics from Athens Law School and received an M.Sc. in Environmental Economics from the University of Reading, in the UK.
He took office as Deputy Foreign Minister in October 2009. During the 2007-2009 legislative sessions, he served as PASOK’s Political Representative for Environment and Physical Planning and he was a member of the following Parliamentary Friendship Groups: Greece-France, Greece-India, Greece-Azerbaijan. He also held the position of Alternate Representative of the Parliamentary Sector of PASOK in charge of matters related to the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.
From May 2007 until his election as MP, he was responsible for the Sustainable Development Plan of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP). In 2001, he took on the position of Coordinator for the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (MedWet) of the Ramsar Convention. Between 2004 and 2007, he served as President of the Rhodes International Film and Visual Arts Festival – Ecofilms. From 1991 to 1997, he served as head of the Environmental Programs section of the Greek branch of WWF and he was a member of the organisation’s three-member board. He was also member of WWF’s Agricultural and European Policy Office, President of the WWF Mediterranean team and also worked as a councillor at the Fund’s European Policy Office in Brussels. He worked with the Hellenic Center for Marine Research on the implementation of the “Poseidon” Programme.He is fluent in French and English.
PANEL SESSION I
“IMPACT OF THE CRISIS ON REGIONAL ECONOMIES AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION INITIATIVES IN THE BLACK SEA AND CASPIAN”
Moderator:
Ahmet ERENTOK
President, Azerbaijan Turkey Businessmen Association (ATIB)
First Vice President, Union of Black Sea and Caspian Confederation of Enterprises (UBCCE)
Ahmet Erentok is the First Vice President of UBCCE responsible for regional economic integration since March 2009. He has been the Chairman of Ata Holding Azerbaijan since 2002 and Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan Turkey Businessmen Association (ATIB) since April 2004.
He was the Chairman, CEO and Founder of Partner Investment Holding and Hapugam Investment Holding from 1998 to 2002. From the beginning of 1999 he worked on the Lake City Project with Hapugam Investment Holding, which covered Turkey, Azerbaijan/Caucasus, the Balkans, Russia and Central Asia. His previous positions were: Vice President and Member of the Executive Board of Tuna Group of Companies, Member of the Board of Turkmen Holding, Chairman of the Executive Board of GFC General Finance Inc., Member of the Board and CEO of Akpinar Holding, etc.
He has received BA (Business Administration/Economics) at BuckinghamUniversity. Further he has received Master Degree (MA) on international relations and jurisprudence at Brooklyn College, New York University.
He is also the Chairman of the Azerbaijan Turkey America Foundation and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan Turkey Historical Research Fund (ATAF).
Eftychia BACOPOULOU
Secretary General, BSEC Business Council
Eftychia Bacopoulou belongs to the economic diplomacy service of the Greek Foreign Ministry. Prior to joining the BSEC BC, she has also served in Brussels (1998-2001, Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU), Sofia (2001-2004, Greek Embassy), Athens (2004-2007, MFA, Directorate for economic relations with SE Europe, CIS countries & BSEC). At the time of her election and before taking her office, she was serving as Deputy Head of the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Embassy in Moscow.
She studied Law at the University of Athens and made postgraduate studies in European law and International Business Law in Paris and Athens. Prior entering the MFA service, Ms Bacopoulou pursued a career as attorney-at-law.
Ghinea Arminio IORGA
Head of Policy and Strategy Department, Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB)
Ghinea Arminio Iorga, a Romanian national, is Head of Policy and Strategy of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. He is in charge of coordinating the preparation of Bank policy, strategic and operational documents; formulating the Bank’s countries/sectors strategies; developing forecasts and projections for the Bank’s strategy and operations; undertaking research and surveys for promoting the economic development of the region and the Member States; and maintain ongoing dialogue for policy, strategic and operational purposes with member country authorities and relevant priority representatives of the private sector, multilateral development institutions, international organizations, and multilateral and bilateral donors.
Prior to joining the BSTDB, he served at various positions with different public, private and international organizations, such as Ministry of Finance, central bank, commercial bank, and development bank (the World Bank).
He holds a Diploma from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania, a Masters degree in International Affairs from ColumbiaUniversity in the City of New York, and a Certificate in Banking from the Graduate School of Banking – University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Daniel QUADBECK
Policy Analyst, OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme
Daniel Quadbeck is a Policy Analyst at the OECD and co-ordinator of the regional programme activities of the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme. He is a specialist in international relations and international commercial law currently focusing on private sector development, investment and SME policy issues related to the Eurasia region. He is contributing to a study focusing on competitiveness and policy barriers in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Prior to joining the OECD, he worked in public administrations and the private sector. He holds a master degree in international law, history and regional studies from Freie Universität Berlin.
OECD’s Eurasia Competitiveness Programme, launched in 2008, is a regional programme that contributes to economic growth in Central Asia and Saouth Caucasus and Ukraine. OECD experts work closely with governments, the private sector and civil society to design and implement tools and instruments that will lead to policy reforms and improve the business climate. For more info please refer:
Iuliu BARA
Head, Joint Management Authority of the Black Sea Programme 2007–13
Iuliu Bara has been the Deputy Director of General Direction for European Territorial cooperation in the Romanian Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing since April 2008 and is the head of the Joint Management Authority of the Black Sea Programme 2007–13. Before assuming his current post, he worked in MDPWH’s Cabinet between December 2004 – March 2008 as the Chief Counsellor. He was the Director for Public Policies at Development Alternatives Inc., in Washington between October 2002 – May 2004 and Secretary of State in the Romanian Ministry of Labor from December 1996 to December 2000.
He holds a Bachelor degree in Economic Sciences from the Academy of Economic Studies of Bucharest. He speaks Hungarian, Romanian, English, French and Russian.
The Black SeaBasin Joint Operational Programme 2007-2013 (Black Sea JOP) is a programme under the European Neighborhood & Partnership Instrument (ENPI) of the EU. It aims to contribute to: “a stronger and sustainable economic and social development of the regions of the Black SeaBasin”.The programme´s three specific objectives, are promoting economic and social development in the border areas, working together to address common challenges and promoting local, people to people cooepration. For more info please refer:
-PANEL SESSION II
“UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF THE BLACK SEA AND CASPIAN”
Moderator:
Giuseppe BELSITO
Regional Programme Coordinator, Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme , United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Giuseppe Belsito, Italian, is currently the Regional Programme Coordinator of the UNDP office in Athens and in charge of the Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme. Since 1993 he has been serving as United Nations official various assignments in Africa, Middle East and Central Asia focusing on private sector development and regional cooperation issues.
He holds a master degree in Law from the University of Rome, a master in international affairs from the University of Rome and a post-graduate specialization in international trade with the University of Turin.
UNDP’s Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme (BSTIPP) is a private sector driven programme and aims at promoting trade and investment links among BSEC countries and is a unique initiative as it is the first of its kind to have an overall regional approach on investment and trade promotion in the Black Sea. For more info please refer
Amb. Stoyan STALEV
Executive Director, Invest Bulgaria Agency
Amb. Stoyan Stalev has been the Executive Director of Bulgaria Invest Agency since 2006. Prior to his current position, he assumed several positions in Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ambassador of Republic of Bulgaria to Turkey (1998 – 2006), Minister of Foregin Affairs (1197), Ambassador of Republic of Bulgaria to Germany (1991 – 1998). He worked as the law advisor of the Bulgarian President, H.E. Zelio Zelev between 1990 – 1991.
He is awarded by a Federal Cross Medal and he is a member of the Diplomatic Institute of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He speaks Bulgarian, English, German, French, Spanish and Russian.
Anca TATU
Counselor, Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment
Anca Tatu have joined in April 2008, ARIS’ young team of specialists, as counselor within the Promotion and Technical Assistance Department. She was the counselor of the Romanian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development between 2006 and 2008.
Born in 1979, she is a holder of two academic degrees - Bachelor of Laws, awarded by the Faculty of Law of the Romanian Police Academy in the year 2003, and Bachelor of Foreign Languages and Literatures, awarded by the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, English-Spanish Department, of the Spiru-Haret University, in 2007.
Bojan JANKOVIC
Deputy Director, Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency
Bojan Jankovic is the Deputy Director of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency of Serbia (SIEPA), a Government Agency dedicated to supporting investors and Serbian companies.
Before being appointed as the Deputy Director (October 2007), Mr. Jankovic worked as FDI Advisor for the company for three years on some of the largest projects in Serbia. Prior to SIEPA Mr. Jankovic spent three years working as the key account manager for the international leader in detergents and cosmetics business Henkel, a company itself a very important investor in Serbia.
He holds a BBA degree from Institute Franco American De Management, Paris (2001) and an MBA on the European University in Belgrade (2005). He is currently enrolled in the Cotrugli EMBA program.
Irfan TOKGOZ
Deputy Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Direct Investment, Undersecretariat of Treasury of the Republic of Turkey
Irfan Tokgozhave been working as a Deputy Director General of Directorate General of Foreign Direct Investment at the Undersecretariat of Treasury since August 2007. He is currently working also as a Board Member at the Turkish Development Bank since May 2008.
Prior, heassumed several positions in Turkish Ministry of Interior (district governor in 1994) and in the Undersecretariat of Treasury (Junior Treasury Controller between 1995 - 1998), (Treasury Controller between 1998 – 2006). He also worked as a board member at Turkish Electricity Transmission Company from March 2006 to May 2008.
He holds a Bachelor degree in Political Sciences at Ankara University, Turkey and a Master Degree in Finance at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA.
SPECIAL ADDRESSby Marcos BOLARIS, Deputy Minister of Economy, Competitiveness and Maritime, The Helelnic Republic
“The dynamism of North Greece and its pivotal role in Southeast Europe”
Born in Serres, Greece in 1958, Marcos Bolaris has a degree on law from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and graduate studies in Public Administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago. He is member of the Greek Parliament since 2004 and active in various parliamentary committees including Cultural and Educational affairs, Defense and External relations. He is a member of the Board of the “Andreas Papandreou” Institute of Strategic and Development Studies (ISTAME). He is fluent in English.
PANEL SESSION III
“UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF THE BLACK SEA AND CASPIAN”
Moderator:
Apostolos TSOUKALAS
CEO, Invest in Greece Agency
A senior executive skilled in corporate governance, organization, operations, strategic planning and information technology, Apostolos Tsoukalas worked in senior positions in the private sector including Larca G.M.M.S.A (largest nickel producer in Europe), Singular S.A. (software products and services), Marfin Financial Group (banking) and Softmak International (management and technology consulting).
He holds a MS degree in Computer Science from Polytechnic University of New York and BS in Civil Engineering from National Technical University of Athens.
Beso CHANTLADZE
Investors Relations Coordinator, Georgian National Investment Agency
Born in Prague, former Czechoslovakian Republic, Beso Chantladze graduated his bachelor’s degree in International Economic Relations at Tbilisi State University and Masters Degree in Public Administration at Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.
He started his professional career as the specialist in the Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia in 2006. He has been working for the Government of Georgia as the international economic relations chief specialist, national expert for UN on economic issues and etc. Now he is the Investor Relations Coordinator in the Georgian National Investment Agency under the Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia.
Shragim Shams ARAGHI
Deputy Director General, Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran
Shragim Shams Araghi has over 10 years of experience working as a civil servant. He has also international working experience with the multilateral development banks and financial institutions. He started his professional career as the senior tax expert with the State Tax Organization of Iran in 1998. He took the position of the senior expert of the office for loans in the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran (OIETAI) between 2001 – 2004 and the position of the Islamic Development Bank representative in Iran between 2004 – 2008. He rejoined the OIETAI in 2008 as the Deputy Director General of Foreign Investment Office. He is the holder of a Master degree in economic systems engineering.
Salar Mohammed AMEEN
Vice Chairman, National Investment Commission of Iraq
Salar Ameen has been the Deputy Chairman of the National Investment Commission since February 2008. Before assuming his current post, he worked as the technical advisor for the Iraqi Ministry of Culture. He also held several positions in a variety of fields: Commercial Manager at Dijla Corporation for aluminum production, Marketing Manager at Sapeem Italian company in Baghdad, Electrical Engineer at the Intisab Corporation in Jordan, Commercial Manager at the Miran Corporation for General Trade in Mersin, Turkey and the Marketing Manager in Ozal Turk Corporation, in Istanbul. He was also the Vice Chairman of the Enfardo Charitable Organization.
He holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Technology in Baghdad.