Ambassador Kurt Volker is a leading expert in U.S. foreign and national security policy with over 35 years of experience in a variety of government, academic, and private sector capacities.  He served as U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations from 2017 to 2019, and as U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2008-2009.  Ambassador Volker is President and Founder of Alliance Strategic Advisors, LLC, which provides strategic advice and services to a diverse range of business clients with interest in Central and Eastern Europe.  He has previously served as a Director of CG Funds Trust and the Wall Street Fund.  He serves on the Advisory Board at BGR Group, which provides government relations, public relations, and business advisory services to a wide array of clients.

In June 2020, Amb. Volker was named a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).  From 2012-2019, Ambassador Volker was the founding Executive Director of The McCain Institute for International Leadership, a part of Arizona State University.  He remains a Senior Advisor at the Atlantic Council; a Trustee of the American College of the Mediterranean in Aix-en-Provence, France; a Founding Partner of the American University of Kyiv; a Trustee of the Hungary Initiatives Foundation; a member of the GLOBSEC International Advisory Board; and a member of the International Advisory Board of the U.S. Institute for Peace.  He has taught Transatlantic Relations at Arizona State University and The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and is a member of the latter’s Board of Advisors.  He contributes regularly to public policy debates, through op-eds, articles, speeches, and television appearances for a wide variety of outlets.

A former career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, Amb. Volker has 25 years of diplomatic experience working on European policy under six U.S. Administrations.    

From 2017-2019, Ambassador Volker was the U.S. government’s most senior representative focused exclusively on ending Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukraine and bolstering U.S. and European support for Ukraine.   As U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from July 2, 2008 until May 17, 2009, he was deeply involved in pushing back on Russia’s invasion of Georgia, the ramp up of NATO military efforts in Afghanistan, the return of France to NATO’s military structure, the enlargement of NATO to 28 members, and NATO’s 60th Anniversary Summit in Strasbourg, France.

From July 2005 until June 2008, Ambassador Volker served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, previously served at the National Security Council (NSC), and in the Private Office of NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. From 1997-1998, he worked on foreign policy matters for Senator John McCain.

Ambassador Volker has a B.A. from Temple University and an M.A. in International Relations from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He speaks Hungarian, Swedish, French, some Spanish, and is learning Georgian.

Douglas L. Becker is the Founder and Chairman of Cintana Education. He is also the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Laureate Education and co-founder of Sterling Partners.

In 1983, Mr. Becker co-founded Sterling Partners — since then the firm has become a leading investor in education and other industries, having made over 80 investments over the years.

He also subsequently founded Laureate Education, the largest higher education company in the world, which grew to more than 1,000,000 students enrolled at 70 campus-based and online institutions owned or managed by Laureate and its affiliates. These universities operated over 150 campuses in 23 countries around the world, offering bachelors and advanced degrees in almost every field of study. Under Douglas Becker’s leadership, Laureate became the world’s largest Certified B Corp™ and the first publicly traded company that is organized as a Public Benefit Corporation. Mr. Becker served as Chairman and CEO of Laureate from its inception in 1999 through the end of 2017 and as Chairman through 2018.

Prior to founding Laureate, Douglas Becker was the Chairman and CEO of its predecessor, Sylvan Learning Systems, during which period Sylvan became the largest K-12 tutoring company in North America, with over 1,000 tutoring centers, more than 200,000 students and a brand that became a household name. Along with co-founder Chris Hoehn-Saric, Doug launched many other notable education companies within Sylvan during this period including Sylvan Prometric (Now Prometric Inc.) which became the global leader in computer-based testing and assessment.

As part of his commitment to community service, Mr. Becker has served on many non-profit boards and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins International.  He has served for 16 years as the Chair of the Board of the International Youth Foundation, a global NGO focusing on the needs of youth in over 100 countries, including many of the most impoverished nations.  As of September 2022, he will continue to serve as Chair Emeritus.

Mr. Becker ardently believes universities play an indispensable role in the development of nations, communities and individuals, and that more students deserve access to the resources of the world’s top-tier universities. His work has been driven by his vision of using highly innovative design principles to deliver breakthroughs in quality and scale for all levels of education.

Maxim Timchenko is a Chief Executive Officer of DTEK. He is a member of the Electricity Governors community, which brings together business leaders and partner organizations from the World Economic Forum.

Maxim Timchenko graduated the Donetsk State Academy Management with honors, majoring in Production Management. He continued his education at the University of Manchester, where he obtained a diploma with honours and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economic and Social Studies. In 2011, he successfully completed the joint Executive Development Programme – Energy of a Leader – run by the DTEK Academy and the London Business School. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Maxim Timchenko started his career in 1999 at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was promoted from consultant to lead auditor. Between 2002 and 2005, he worked as a senior manager at SCM; he supervised the work of SCM's energy business until it spun off into DTEK.

Timchenko has been DTEK's chief executive officer since its founding in July 2005. He promoted the establishment of a vertically-integrated chain of companies within the SCM Group. DTEK’s subsidiaries operate in the areas of coal mining, and electricity generation and distribution, which allowed the company to overcome the 2008 global economic crisis. The vertical integration provided the company with necessary financial security and development opportunities, even in adverse conditions. To date, DTEK is Ukraine's leading and biggest private investor in the energy sector, and its subsidiaries are involved in coal and natural gas extraction; electricity generation from wind, solar, and thermal power plants; energy resources trading in national and international markets; distributing and supplying electricity to consumers; providing energy efficiency services to customers; and developing high-speed charging station networks. According to Deloitte, DTEK is among the top ten most dynamic companies in Central and Eastern Europe.

Since 2019, Timchenko has been a member of the UN Global Compact on Ukraine's Supervisory Board.

Yury Antaniuk is Vice President and Head of Central and Eastern Europe at EPAM Systems.

Mr. Antaniuk IT Engineering career spans more than 30 years, with the last 22 years of his career dedicated to working at EPAM.  His experience includes a variety of software development, leadership, and project roles. Prior to joining EPAM, he was an associate professor in the field of computer science.

For the last 15 years, Yury Antaniuk has been the Head of EPAM Ukraine. During this time, the Ukrainian Delivery Organization became the Country's IT leader and the largest country delivery center at EPAM. In May 2019, Yury expanded his leadership role to Head of the Central and Eastern Unit, which connects Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain with Ukraine.

Cagri Bagcioglu is a Regional CEO, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of Cintana Education.

Dr. Cagri Bagcioglu has spent his career in international education working in U.S. and international state and private higher education institutions and organizations. He has served as Senior International Officer for various U.S. state universities and has provided consultancy to different higher education institutions and companies in the United States and other countries. Most recently, Dr. Bagcioglu provided operational leadership to the mature centers of INTO University Partnerships in North America as well as support to INTO’s senior leadership in innovation and new projects.

Prior to that, Dr. Bagcioglu worked for Laureate International Universities between 2009 and 2018 in different capacities and roles, becoming the CEO of Laureate’s Turkey operations. During his tenure in Turkey, Dr. Bagcioglu led Istanbul Bilgi University to triple its enrollment, growing to over 30,000 students, to improve all outcomes of the University including its position in national and international rankings, and to seek and obtain national and international accreditations.

Dr. Bagcioglu is a member of several international education professional organizations and has presented numerous times at their events. Dr. Bagcioglu obtained his BBA in Economics and Finance at the University of North Alabama where he also completed his MBA in Marketing and Finance. He received his doctoral degree in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Liverpool.

Michael Cowgill is the President and Co-founder of Georgian American University, LLC (GAU) in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is the Supervisory Board Chairman of the Anaklia Development Consortium and the Director of Alpha Group Holding for logistics and transportation services in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.

Mr. Cowgill has over 46 years of experience in managing all phases of projects in 46+ countries in the energy, infrastructure/transportation and education industries with emphases in project/construction management, environmental, regulatory and strategic analyses, operational risk management, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and global business development. From 1999-2003 he was the pipeline adviser for the Government of Georgia providing strategic, regulatory, technical assistance and technology transfer for the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Oil) and South Caucasus (Natural Gas) Pipelines.

Michael Cowgill is 1st Vice President & Vice President /Treasurer and past President, 1st Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia (AmCham); Executive Board Member of the Georgian Academy of Natural Sciences; and Supervisiory Board Member of the UN Global Compact in Georgia.  He has TRACE International Certification 2014/2015 www.TRACEInternational.org certifying compliance with international anti-corruption/bribery standards. Previously he was: on the Steering Committee of UN Global Compact for CSR in Georgia; Advisory Board Member of Civil Development Agency (CIDA) in Georgia; Member of Georgian Government Anti-Corruption Council; Georgia Representative to OECD Responsible Business Conduct Initiative; Member of the Board of Directors of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA); Advisor to the University of Texas’ Business and Environmental MBA program; Member of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners (TIPRO) Environmental Committee.

Michael Cowgill has completed Electrical Engineering studies at University of Missouri; BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Kansas; an MBA from UC Berkeley; and is a PhD candidate at Georgian American University.

Arkadiy Dobkin is the CEO, President and Chairman of the Board at EPAM Systems. Inc., a leading digital transformation services and product engineering company.

Under his leadership, EPAM has grown from a New Jersey-based start-up with Eastern European roots to become the foremost global digital transformation services provider – leading the industry in digital and physical product development and digital platform engineering services.

Today, EPAM is a Forbes Global 2000 company and a part of the S&P 500 Index. The Company is recognized by leading independent research agencies, including being listed among the top 15 companies in Information Technology Services on the Fortune 1000 and ranked as the Top IT Services company on Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for the last three consecutive years. EPAM is also listed among Ad Age’s top 25 World’s Largest Agency Companies for three consecutive years and in 2020, Consulting Magazine named EPAM Continuum a top 20 Fastest-Growing Firm. Additionally, in 2022, EPAM was named a Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Company.

Mr. Dobkin is known as a pioneer in the software product engineering and IT services industry and has been an instrumental force in opening the vast software talent pool of the Central and Eastern European regions to the international business community. In 2021, he was recognized by GLOBSEC with the Tatra Summit Business Leadership Award for his impressive contribution to development of the tech business environment across the CEE region and beyond, and was named as one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs.

Prior to founding EPAM in 1993, Mr. Dobkin held technical and product leadership positions at SAP, Prudential Insurance and Colgate-Palmolive and was inducted into the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Academy and to the elite Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. He holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from the Belarusian National Technical University.

Karlo Goginava is a co-founder and managing partner of Wings and Freeman Capital LLC, Georgia-based, privately owned impact-driven financial advisory firm, with a 12-year track record of working with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Wings and Freeman Capital’s regional coverage includes Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Uzbekistan. As of June 2022, the company has secured commitments of up to US$ 300 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

Karlo Goginava obtained his BBA in Business Administration and Finance at the European School of Management Tbilisi, Georgia. He then completed his MBA in Marketing and Finance at the Berufsakademie Mosbach, Germany. In 2006, Karlo Goginava received his Master’s degree in Advanced European Studies from University of Basel, Switzerland. 

Karlo Goginava has more than 18 years of banking and development finance experience.

• Held various top management positions at commercial banks in Georgia and served as a senior advisor at German Development Bank (KFW).

Dmytro Sakharuk is an Executive Director of DTEK. He joined DTEK in March of 2010 as the Deputy Legal Director, becoming the head of department in 2011.

Following the introduction of a new corporate governance structure, Dmytro Sakharuk has been appointed Executive director in August 2014.

In 2016, Mr. Sakharuk has obtained the position of the acting CEO of DTEK Energy in October 2016.

In September 2017, Dmytro Sakharuk was named CEO of DTEK Energy.

On January 12, 2021, Mr. Sakharuk was appointed the Executive Director of DTEK.

While working at DTEK, Mr. Sakharuk successfully completed both the Energy leadership program, a joint program organized by the London Business School (UK) and Academy DTEK, as well as the Transfer to General Management program offered by INSEAD.

Mr. Sakharuk began his career at Philip Morris Ukraine in 2004, and then joined an international law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP in 2008.

In 2000, he graduated with honors from the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs (Ukraine) majoring in Law. The following year he received a master’s degree in Law Enforcement with honors from the same university. He continued his education at Chicago-Kent College of Law (USA) where he received a master’s degree (L.L.M) in International and Comparative Law in 2002.

Mr. David Tkeshelashvili has a strong educational background in Legal Studies, with expertise in the field of International Law, focused on the rule of law and democracy development in transitional countries.

David Tkeshelashvili currently works for Emory University School of Medicine as a Senior Program Coordinator of International Programs. Previously, from 2013 till 2021 worked as an Associate Director of the Center of International and Comparative Law (CICL) at Emory University School of Law. As an Adjunct Professor of Law and worked on variety of projects, mainly related to the aspects of rule of law and institutional development in transitional countries.

From October of 2018 he is a member of the Advisory Board of Washington based organization Strategeast, strategic center, whose goal is to create closer working ties between political and business leaders in the countries that proclaimed or restored their independence after the collapse of the USSR outside of Russia and their peers in the U.S. and Western Europe. Since 2017 he is also involved in consulting of number of European business entities on the regulatory framework of the EU and internationally recognized practices.

From 2022 Member of the Supervisory Board of American University Kyiv.

Until April of 2013, Mr. Tkeshelashvili was the Head of the Administration (Chief of Staff) of the President of Georgia. Prior to that, he served as the First Vice-Prime Minister and the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia. In 2008-2009 Mr. Tkeshelashvili was the State Minister for Regional Issues. In 2007-2008 he was the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs and in 2006-2007 - as the Minister of Environment Protection and Natural Resources, instituting a series of structural and policy reforms. During the transition period after the Rose Revolution (December 2003-June 2004), Mr. Tkeshelashvili served as the Head of Staff to the Prime Minister of Georgia. For eleven years (1995-2006) Mr. Tkeshelashvili was an elected member of the Parliament of Georgia, serving as the Deputy Leader of the Majority, the Chairman of the Sub-committee on Relations with NGOs and Media under the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection. In 2004-2006, Mr. Tkeshelashvili was MP under the Budget and Finance Committee.

Has LLM Degree from Emory University and Degree of Master of Arts, Legal Studies from Tbilisi State University.

Dr. Mamuka Tsereteli is a Senior Fellow at Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) at American Foreign Policy Council. He is the President of the America-Georgia Business Council and an adjunct Professor at American university in Washington, DC. Dr. Tsereteli has more than four decades of experience in academia, diplomacy and business development, focusing on security and economic/business/energy developments in the Black Sea-Caspian region.

Previously he served as a Research Director for the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Dr. Tsereteli directed the Center for Black Sea-Caspian Studies (2009-2013) and was an assistant professor (2007-2011 at School of International Service (SIS) at American University. He taught classes on energy security for Europe and Eurasia, international economic policy, energy markets for Middle East and Central Asia, geopolitics of the Frontier States etc.

In addition to research and academic activities, for 25 years Dr. Tsereteli leads the America-Georgia Business Council – the leading business association of American companies which focuses on promotion of the US-Georgian trade and business relationships. In 1994-1998 Dr. Tsereteli served as an Economic Counselor at the Embassy of Georgia in Washington, DC, covering relationships with International Financial Institutions, as well as US assistance programs and business initiatives, related to pipeline and energy security projects. Dr. Tsereteli is an author of many academic and popular publications, and he frequently speaks at the events related to international relations, economic development, energy security and country risk analysis in the Black Sea-Caspian Region. Dr. Tsereteli is a Founder of the Georgian House of Greater Washington, LLC, a Board Member of the third largest bank in Georgia Liberty Bank, and a Board member for the non-profit organization American Friends of Georgia.

Serhii Voitsekhovskyi is a member of the Board BGV Group Management.

He has 16 years of experience in managerial roles, including within Ukraine’s largest retail business, ATB Supermarkets. In 2018 he joined BGV Group where he is responsible for implementing the company’s strategic initiatives. Serhii holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Executive MBA from Kyiv-Mohyla Business School.