U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)
Washington, D.C., Friday, December 16, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) corporate officers and members of the executive committee for 2012 were elected at the USUBC annual business meeting held Wednesday, December 14, 2011, in Washington, D.C. Twelve persons were elected to the USUBC executive committee. 

Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs, Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Firm, was re-elected President of USUBC. Patrick Sweet, President, Sweet Analysis Services Inc. (SASI) was elected USUBC Secretary and Treasurer.  

Elected to the USUBC Executive Committee for 2012 were:  

(1)    Margarita Karpenko, Managing Partner, DLA Piper Ukraine LLC, Kyiv, Ukraine
(2)     Michael E. Kirst, Regional Vice President, Central/Eastern Europe and Russia, Westinghouse Electric Company, Brussels, Belgium
(3)     Bryan Lopp, Director, International Operations & Policy, The Boeing Company, Arlington, Virginia
(4)     David Lyons, Vice President, Louis Dreyfus Commodities, Washington, D.C.
(5)    Dr. Irina Paliashvili, President and Senior Counsel, RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A., Washington, D.C./Kyiv, Ukraine
(6)    Andrew A. Pidgirsky, Member, Board of Governors, Ukrainian American Bar Association (UABA), Houston, TX
(7)     Joseph E. Samora, Jr., Senior Vice President, Case New Holland Inc. (CNH), Washington, D.C.
(8)    Diana Sedney, Manager, International Government Relations, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Government Affairs, Chevron, Washington, D.C. 
(9)    John F. Steele, Director, International Government Affairs, Eli Lilly and Company, Washington, D.C. 
(10)   Vanessa Stiffler-Claus, Director, International Affairs, John Deere Public Affairs Worldwide, John Deere, Washington, D.C. 
(11)   Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs, Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Firm, Washington, D.C. 
(12)   Van A. Yeutter, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Cargill, Washington, D.C.

The USUBC Secretary/Treasurer serves as the thirteenth member of the executive committee:
(13)  Patrick Sweet, President, Sweet Analysis Services, Inc. (SASI), Alexandria, Virginia, USUBC Secretary Treasurer

USUBC HAS 175 MEMBERS
The USUBC membership has now reached over 175 it was announced at the annual meeting. This is a new membership record for USUBC, who only had eight members in January of 2005 and 22 members in January of 2007. Microsoft was announced as the 100th member of USUBC in December of 2008, and the INSTIL GROUP was announced as the 150th member in December of 2010. 

Dr. Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics & Senior Advisor, USUBC, made a presentation on "Ukraine's Business and Economic Climate Moving into 2012." Lada Pastushak, Director of Operations and Development, USUBC, gave a report on USUBC's activities in the USA for 2011 and Michael Datsenko, Deputy Director, Information & Member Programs, USUBC, gave a report on USUBC's activities in Ukraine for 2011. 

The board of directors thanked Christopher J. Lombardi, Director, International Business Development, Europe, Israel, Sub-Sahara, Raytheon International, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, for his service on the USUBC executive committee. The board of directors approved the management operations report, the financial report and the budget for 2012.

MICHAEL BLEYZER - PRESIDENT/CEO SIGMABLEYZER
The USUBC board of directors passed a unanimous resolution thanking Michael Bleyzer, President/CEO, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Firm, for his strong and outstanding support of USUBC over the past five years. 

The resolution said in part, "We are pleased to report that the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) ends 2011 with a membership total of over 175! Your personal vision to advance the business and economic interests of Ukraine in the United States, Ukraine and around the world has resulted in significant achievements including recognition that USUBC is now 'a strong international voice for business in Ukraine' and the largest business trade association in the world for Ukraine not headquartered within Ukraine. 

"The Board of Directors, on behalf of the entire U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) membership, sincerely extends our appreciation for all you have so generously provided to the growth and success. The common denominator for the successful growth has been your consistent and generous support, guidance and commitment."

USUBC RECEPTION/MEETING FUND MEMBER SPONSORS IN 2011
The 2011 MAJOR EVENT SPONSORS were given special recognition at the annual meeting.  They include: AES; AGCO; Adams & Reese; ADM; Baker & McKenzie; Boeing; Broad Street Capital Group; Bunge; Cargill; Case New Holland (CNH); Chevron; CHS Inc; Coca-Cola; Deere & Company; DLA Piper; Euphoria Fancy Foods; ExxonMobil; First International Resources; The Giles Legal Practice; Halliburton; Holtec International; Kraft Foods; Kyiv-Atlantic Group; Lilly; Louis Dreyfus Commodities; Mary Kay; Monsanto; and PMD International.

Additional major sponsors include: Procter & Gamble; Raytheon; RB International Financial (USA) LLC; Self Reliance (NY) Federal Credit Union; Shell; SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Firm; System Capital Management; The Bleyzer Foundation (TBF); TNK-BP; Ukrainian Development Company; Ukrainian American Bar Association; Vanco Exploration; Westinghouse; Winner Automotive Group; Winner Imports Ukraine, Ltd..