The 2004 Eleventh Annual

SUCCESS IN

THE CIS & EASTERN EUROPE

This symposium is designed for those who are planning to do business in countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe or who are currently doing business there. The program includes case studies of successful businesses, presentations on support programs available, and analyses of current legal, political, cultural, and economic issues.

Friday, November 5, 2004

Session 1. US Government support. A panel of US government representatives will provide information about a variety of valuable programs:

US Department of Commerce, SABIT (Special American Business Internship Training Program), the internship program for CIS managers whom you can train here in the US to work for your business in the CIS. Represented by Patrick Brennan, marketing coordinator.

US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) represented by Daniel D. Stein, Regional Director, with responsibility for USTDA's program in Eurasia. USTDA was authorized to operate in the former Soviet Union in late 1991. Since that time, USTDA has provided funding of over $95 million for feasibility studies, technical assistance, and other activities in the non-Baltic countries of the former Soviet Union. Before joining USTDA in 1985, Mr. Stein worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he focused on U.S. trade with the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the People's Republic of China. He is the author of numerous articles on legal aspects of international trade and has served as Chairman of the United Nations Working Party on International Contracts. Mr. Stein?s topic is ?Doing Business in Eurasia ?Lessons Learned.?

US Department of Energy, Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI) represented by Marguerite Mininni, Acting Director of NCI. Ms. Mininni has been with the project since its beginning (1998) and spent 31years working with the former Soviet Union as senior advisor for Russian and International Programs. Her current portfolio includes program strategic direction, international partnerships, and program outreach. NCI represents an unprecedented effort by the United States to help the Russian Federation to physically downsize and reduce the capacity of the nuclear weapons complex. NCI increases US national and global security by removing functions and equipment from the weapons complex and helping to create sustainable businesses in the closed cities ?reducing the physical footprint and leading to the irreversible, transparent downsizing of the weapons complex. Ms. Mininni?s presentation is entitled "Expanded Response to an Expanded Threat."

American International Health Alliance (AIHA), represented by James P. Smith, Executive Director and a co-founder of AIHA, has created more than 100 winning partnerships between US hospitals, health systems, and universities and their counterparts in 22 countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Mr. Smith is an expert on health policy, planning, and administration, with more than 25 years of senior public and private sector experience. AIHA operates under various cooperative agreements with and grants from the United States Agency for International Development?the US government agency that finances humanitarian programs and projects that promote broad-based, sustainable economic growth in more than 80 countries worldwide. AIHA has supported more than 105 partnerships involving communities in the US and Eurasia.

Session 2. CIS and Eastern Europe. Presentations will be given by:

Fikret Pashayev, PhD, Economic Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the US. For the last decade Azerbaijan, in cooperation with international organizations and bilateral donors, has made remarkable achievements in developing a market economy, implementing economic reforms and creating favorable conditions for foreign investment. Dr. Pashayev will talk about economic development in Azerbaijan. He will focus on business and investment opportunities, the government?s successful oil strategy, and the development of non-oil economic sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and information and communication technologies.

Mamuka Murjikneli, Senior Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Georgia in the US. Mr. Murjikneli is in charge of Economic, Trade, Energy and Agricultural Divisions. Previously he served as a Commercial Attach? of the US Embassy of Georgia and as Senior Specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Mr. Murjikneli will be speaking about ?The Priorities of Georgian Government in Private Sector Development.?

Mamuka Tsereteli, PhD, Executive Director of the America-Georgia Business Council and an adjunct professor at School of International Service at American University, Washington, DC. Dr. Tsereteli previously served as Economic Counselor at the Embassy of Georgia in Washington. His areas of interests include economic and energy security, political and economic risk analysis, mitigation strategies, and business development. The topic of his presentation is ?Georgia: Critical Link for Business Development in the Caucasus and Central Asia.? The presentation will cover major developments in energy, transportation, tourism, the wine and food industry, and financial services. Several new projects will be presented that provide opportunities for US companies to participate.

Zygmunt Janiec, PhD, Head of Economic and Commercial Division, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles. Dr. Janiec was formerly Commercial Counselor of Poland in the Middle East (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman) and General Manager of Foreign Investors? Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Poland (Warsaw). The theme of his presentation is ?Why Poland, as a Member of the EU, is More Interesting for

American Investors than Before.?

Pietro Lucian Pavoni, Minister Counselor and Deputy Consul General of the Romanian Consulate General in New York. In his position he oversees the development of Romanian-American business relationships at the level of private companies (as opposed to inter-government). This includes traditional trade (export-import), investments, involvement in the financial markets, technology transfer, technical assistance, and outsourcing. Mr. Pavoni will discuss current trade and investment opportunities in the Romanian market. He will give an overview of the Romanian economy, success stories and investment strategies, and discuss Romania's membership in the EU-- advantages and caveats for American investors.

Session 3. Case Studies. Technology Transfer. Presentations will be given by:

Milena Thompson, representing Ridgetop Group and Ardext Technologies, which are involved in the semiconductor tools business. At Ridgetop Group, Inc, Ms. Thompson handles all administrative, accounting, financial and government contract management aspects of the business. She is also responsible for the SABIT program from the application process through the end of internship report submission. In her presentation, she will describe the practical aspects of hosting interns from the CIS countries, including recruitment of suitable candidates, managing expectations, language issues, and social activities.

Gulbarshyn Bozheyeva, PhD, Technology Commercialization Specialist, US Industry Coalition (USIC). Founded in 1994, USIC is a non-profit association of American companies who are active partners in our nation?s long-term nonproliferation efforts with the former Soviet Union. USIC acts as the commercialization agent for Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP), a program sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration of the US Department of Energy. IPP supports development of non-military technologies and the creation of long-term jobs in the high-tech commercial marketplace for scientists and engineers in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Dr. Bozheyeva will focus on commercialized technologies, using examples and experiences from the Initiatives for the Proliferation Prevention Program.

Steve Chase, President of Intel Russia. Intel has been in Russia for over 13 years, involved in market development, R&D, education programs and venture capital investments in Russia/CIS. He will talk about Russia's economy, it's dependence on natural resources, and making information technologies Russia's next natural resource.

Hesketh Streeter, Director of International Affairs for British Petroleum (BP) in Washington, DC. In this capacity, Mr. Streeter manages issues that have a US dimension with the various BP businesses in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caspian region. Mr. Streeter?s professional career began in 1974 with NL Baroid Petroleum Services, based in Houston. Over a 10-year period, he held a number of technical, marketing and managerial posts in the North Sea, Southern Europe and West Africa. In 1984, he joined BP Exploration as a staff engineer based in London. He held drilling and production operational posts in Colombia and Norway, then served as regional co-coordinator for Latin America, and country manager for BP in Mexico. More recently, he was involved in integration activities during the BP/Amoco merger in Norway, and was the integration manager for ARCO businesses in Latin America. Prior to taking his current post, he spent 20 months as associate president for BP?s business development activities in the Middle East. He will focus on ?World Energy Issues Affecting the CIS and Eastern Europe."

John G. Aronson, President and Founder of AATA International, Inc, Fort Collins, Colorado, an environmental management, permitting, and technical services consultancy with global experience. Mr. Aronson has served for over 30 years as principal environmental management consultant and principal-in-charge for a wide variety of complex natural resource development projects around the world including many projects in Russia and former Soviet Union. Mr. Aronson currently serves as principal HSE consultant to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRO) on the Buryatzoloto gold projects, Zun Holba and Irokinda, Buryatia, Russian Federation. He has a broad range of experience throughout the Russian Federation, including work in Magadan, Kamchatka, Amur, Sakhalin Oblasts, Yakutia (Sakha), Orenburg, and the Urals. Mr. Aronson is a world recognized water expert and practicing applied limnologist (freshwater scientist). In his presentation, he will describe environmental challenges in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Session 4. Legal reforms and challenges in CIS and Eastern Europe

Tim C. Bruinsma, partner and the head of the International Practice Group in the Los Angeles office of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. As a transactional business attorney, Mr. Bruinsma provides legal representation in connection with mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, commercial transactions and project finance, with an emphasis on international transactions. His expertise includes representation in connection with distribution and license agreements and development, supply and requirements contracts in Europe, Asia, Turkey, Central and South America, as well as establishment of offshore corporate structures to facilitate global transactions. He has special expertise in representing clients in transactions involving developing countries such as Russia and the CIS, China and African countries. Mr. Bruinsma will focus on new opportunities for project finance in Russia and the CIS.

Alex Frishberg, attorney at law, Frishberg & Partners. Licensed to advise on privatization matters by the Ukrainian State Property Fund, Frishberg & Partners is the oldest law firm with foreign ownership based in Kiev, Ukraine. Frishberg & Partners provides the following services: mergers and acquisitions (including due diligence, structuring acquisition of controlling shares of stock and negotiating strategies as well as documenting the transfer of ownership) and legal advice on Ukrainian business laws (including acquisition of apartments and buildings, joint venture formation, currency regulations, taxation, and labor practices). Mr. Frishberg will describe Ukraine?s legal and investment climate.

Irena Juras-Makeeta, managing partner, Juras Law Firm, PLC, Scottsdale, Arizona. Ms. Juras-Makeeta specializes in international, commercial and bankruptcy law, with experience representing businesses, government officials and individuals in the US and abroad. She has represented a wide range of clients including: (i) the Czech company Inekon Group a.s., in connection with multi-million dollar sales of streetcars in the US; (ii) the Czech Consulate General in Los Angeles; and (iii) the famous Czech painter Jan Grimm. Of particular interest is her unique understanding of Czech and US law, differences between both legal systems and business cultures. In her presentation Mrs. Juras-Makeeta will talk about ?Legal Implications of EU Enlargement on Doing Business in Central and Eastern Europe with a Special Focus on the Czech Republic.?

Session 5. Case Studies. Presentations will be given by:

Ursula McLoughlin, President of Corona Hospitality, Inc, a company which has
been engaged in the development and management of hotels in Kazakhstan since
the early 1990s. Mrs. McLoughlin will describe the company's latest project - an International Business Club and Conference Center at Castle Gaussig in the former East Germany. The purpose of Castle Gaussig is to act as a platform for East - West business.

Marina Mayhew, MBA, President of Commonwealth Adoptions International, Inc (CAII), licensed, accredited, non-profit 501 C3 international adoption agency with its main office in Tucson, satellite offices in Florida and Pennsylvania, and representative offices in Moscow, Bogot? and Panama City, and pending offices in Barcelona and Tashkent. Jim and Marina Mayhew founded CAII in 1993. CAII places international orphans from nine countries into families in the US and Europe. The company?s mission is to find good families for foreign-born orphan children. Ms. Mayhew?s presentation will focus on business aspects of running an international non-profit entity. She will discuss the importance of transparency of operations in the international arena and recognizing the effect of globalization on the development of Third World countries.

Bill Washburn, president of Foodpro International, Inc, a consulting engineering firm that offers a complete range of services to the food industry from concept development through the start up of new or expanded operation. Founded in 1974, Foodpro has completed more than 360 projects in 36 countries. Internationally, its personnel have specialized in working in developing countries. With extensive work in Russia and the NIS, the firm is in a good position to monitor change in the food industry. Mr. Washburn will share his views about some of the dramatic recent changes and just how to survive and profit by doing business in this exciting part of the world.

Saturday, November 6, 2004

Session 5. Case Studies. Continuing. Presentations will be given by:

John Rodgers representing Taurus Service. To a worldwide clientele, Taurus Service markets and distributes frozen Bovine semen from over two hundred Taurus Code 76 owned bulls. Taurus Service exports semen to most countries of the world with major dairy cow populations. Taurus strives to provide dairymen around the world with genetics that contribute to the profitability of its customers. Sires are selected for longevity, fertility, and components to help dairy farmers build a better herd. Ten years ago, after visits to Kazakhstan, Mr. Rodgers helped Taurus form a subsidiary company, Taurus Service of Central Asia. He travels each year to Central Asia and coordinates groups from Kazakhstan on training visits to the US. He will share his business experience in Kazakhstan.

Vali Iancu, Senior Vice President, KVG Consultants, Inc. Mr. Iancu started KVG Consultants, Inc as an Arizona corporation in early 1990, providing information engineering and management consulting at INTEL Corp in Silicon Valley. Mr. Iancu has over 27 years in computer related businesses, with over 14 years of executive management. He?s been responsible for the successful start up and running of numerous multimillion dollar projects, including onshore/offshore business and project models. His business knowledge includes telecommunications, finance, human resources, manufacturing, marketing, government, shipping, banking, healthcare, education, and transportation applications. The company has provided management consulting, training, and software consulting throughout the US and overseas, for fourteen years, becoming a premiere software consulting company, supporting clients in their effort to successfully implement new technologies. Mr. Iancu?s presentation is "The Gold Mine of Outsourcing IT Projects in Eastern Europe."

Stuart L. Manley, PE, JD, Director of Infrastructure Development International AG, a project, construction and contract management company that offers a complete range of services and training pertaining to infrastructure development. Dr. Manley has over thirty-five years of civil engineering and international law experience covering the areas of business development, joint-ventures, contracts, finance, construction projects from ?Turn-Key? to ?Build, Operate and Transfer? (BOT) projects, in over one hundred countries, with special projects in Russia and Central Asia since 1968. He has worked within Kazakhstan since 1978 and is currently involved in the $1.5 billion Metro-Monorail Project in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In his briefing ?So You Want To Do Business In Kazakhstan?,? Dr. Manley will cover many of the major issues and challenges which face American business and their employees in this emerging country.

Session 6. Investment and Finance. Presentations will be given by:

Alex Dely, founder and President of the TTT Inc, Holding Group, which structures/finances small/medium scale energy, environment, construction and food processing projects in the US and 14 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia, with financing from internal TTT funds as well as multilateral and private financial institutions on three continents. Mr. Dely has been an associate professor and visiting scholar at four major colleges/universities, and has co-founded close to 30 US/international technology-based joint ventures in the past 15 years. He also has concluded numerous technology transfer and licensing agreements. Mr. Dely's activities in the former Soviet Union and Central/Southeast Europe are structured via TTT subsidiaries in Russia, Bulgaria and Croatia, with active projects ranging from industrial park development to energy cogeneration, small hydro plants, and fruit/vegetable and meat processing plants. In his presentation he will focus on "Structuring, Managing and Financing Small/Medium Scale Construction and Infrastructure Projects in the FSU/SEE".

Marlena Hurley, Vice President, Delta Capital Management. Delta Capital Management, manager of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund (the Fund), is a leading Russia-focused private equity fund manager dedicated to identifying and investing in emerging growth companies in Russia. Delta Capital Management focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on three high-growth sectors in Russia fuelled by high consumer demand: financial services, consumer products and services, and TMT (technology, media and telecommunications). Established in 1994, the Fund has invested in excess of $250 million in 41 portfolio companies and has achieved 12 successful exits. Ms. Hurley is currently developing a consumer credit bureau project for the Russian market with international credit bureau operators Trans Union (US) and CRIF (Italy). Ms. Hurley was previously Director of Corporate Finance at private investment firm Access Industries, where she structured project finance transactions in the energy sector in Russia and Kazakhstan. She will describe "Private Equity Investment in Russia" .

Karol?na Bočkov? , Director for U.S. Operations West, CzechInvest. CzechInvest, the Czech Investment and Business Development Agency, is an agency of the Ministry of Industry & Trade whose services and development programs contribute to attracting foreign direct investment and developing Czech companies. Mrs. Bočkov??s task is to increase awareness of the Czech Republic as an ideal region for locating investment projects with high added value and to actively seek out companies with a high likelihood of investing in Europe. Prior to joining the California office, Mrs. Bočkov? served as a head of the Global Services and New Technologies Section at CzechInvest. She took an active part in developing a new investment incentive scheme for business support services and innovation centers. In her presentation she will describe investment opportunities for Arizona companies in the Czech Republic.

Steven L. Johnston, Investment Insurance Officer with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in Washington, DC. Mr. Johnston will discuss how OPIC can help investors assess and mitigate the political risks associated with investments in the CIS and Eastern Europe. OPIC, one of the most experienced political risk insurers, has reserves exceeding $4 billion and can insure up to $250 million per project. It offers political risk insurance coverage for equity investments, parent company and third-party loans and loan guaranties, technical assistance agreements, cross-border leases, capital markets transactions, contractors' and exporters' exposures, and other forms of investment. OPIC, a U.S. government agency, offers special insurance programs for small businesses, infrastructure development, financial institutions, and natural resources, oil and gas projects. Mr. Johnston will also describe OPIC's Small Business Center and its programs tailored specifically for US small businesses.

Shushanik Hakobyan, currently pursuing a graduate degree at Johns Hopkins SAIS in International Relations/ International Economics. Prior to SAIS, Mr. Hakobyan was working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. He will present Armenia's recent economic achievements, the current FDI situation in Armenia, as well as potential investment opportunities.

The registration fee of $135 is to be paid by October 15, 2004. Full-time student registration fee is $25. You are encouraged to register early, as space is limited.

Reservations for accommodations at the The Hilton Tucson East hotel may be made by calling nationwide 1-800-445-8667, or online at www.tucsoneast.hilton.com by October 3. When calling for reservations, ask for the CIS group rooms to receive a special rate of $89. Rooms not reserved by Sunday, October 3, may not be available.

The Hilton Tucson East welcomes you to sunny Tucson! They invite you to enjoy world class service at their award-winning hotel. Their atrium style hotel affords you the comfort of indoor corridors with the pleasure of stunning mountain views unique to Tucson, Arizona.

Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter, by calling 520-626-4007. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation.

For further information, please call 520-621-7341 or 520-298-6599 at the University of Arizona Department of Russian and Slavic Studies and ask for senior lecturer Roza Simkhovich or department head Dr. George Gutsche. Last minute program changes can be found on the forum Web site: go to http://russian.arizona.edu , follow the link to Business Forum 2004. You also may e-mail Roza Simkhovich at roza@dakotacom.net .

____Yes, I will attend lunch on Friday for an additional $15.00 (to be paid together with registration fee). If you would like a vegetarian dish, please check here _____

____Yes, I will attend dinner on Friday for an additional $25.00 (to be paid together with registration fee). Please indicate your choice: ____Roast Breast of Turkey, ____ Salmon Fillet

(Note: registration fees are not considered a tax-deductible contribution to the UA Foundation)

Organized by The University of Arizona

SUCCESS IN

THE CIS & EASTERN EUROPE