Welcome to the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

INTERCONTINENTAL KYIV JOINS U.S.-UKRAINE BUSINESS COUNCIL (USUBC)
A new grand and elegant hotel found right in the heart of Kyiv

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Wash, D.C., Wednesday, March 3, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The InterContinental Kyiv, a new luxury hotel in the center of Kyiv, has been approved for membership in the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), the USUBC executive committee announced today on behalf of the entire USUBC membership of over 100 companies and organizations who have business operations, investments or other development programs in Ukraine. 

The hotel is part of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (160 hotels in 65 countries) group which is part of IHG, an international hotel company. IHG has more guest rooms than any other hotel company in the world – rooms in nearly 4,400 hotels across nearly 100 countries. IHG operates seven hotel brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites and has very large operations in the USA.

LOCATED IN VERY HEART OF ANCIENT KYIV
The InterContinental Kyiv is situated in the very heart of ancient Kyiv and has 272 rooms including a state-of-the-art Presidential Suite. It is near three of the main Ukrainian Orthodox churches, St. Sophia, St. Michael and St. Andrew's, as well as the other historical sites of the area.

Business travelers will appreciate the hotels proximity to corporate offices, government agencies and embassies. When it's time for leisure, a wealth of shopping, historical and cultural sights are nearby including the Opera House, Khreshchatyk (Kyiv Main Street), the Ukrainian House, the Philharmonic, the Parliament (Rada), Museum of Eastern and Western Art, the National Art Museum of Ukraine and the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko.

Close by is the historic Andriyivskyi Uzviz paved with cobble stones, lined with small shops and artist studios, that winds itself down a large hill to the Podil neighborhood and the Dnieper River.  Outdoor venders line the street each day selling Ukrainian arts, crafts, antiques and souvenirs. The InterContinental Kyiv hotel is located 2A Velyka Zhytomyrska Street in Kyiv, Ukraine.

FIVE STAR ELEGANCE
USUBC was recently given a tour of the InterContinental Kyiv.  "The hotel has an amazing and elegant historical look and is really an stunning hotel that offers all the first-class facilities and services needed by the international business community," according to Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs, Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Emerging Markets Private Equity Investment Group, www.SigmaBleyzer.com, who serves as President/CEO of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC).  

Additional information about the InterContinental Kyiv can be obtained at: www.intercontinental-kiev.com.

USUBC is very pleased to have InterContinental Kyiv as a member," said USUBC President Williams, "and we look forward to working with  the hotel".   "USUBC now has a membership base of over 100 companies and organizations which allows USUBC to provide its new members such as InterContinental a full-time operation and a significantly expanded program of work," according to USUBC program director in Kyiv, Ludmyla Dudnyk.   

USUBC MEMBERSHIP NOW OVER 100 AND STILL GROWING
Over One-Hundred Members, March, 2010, Membership in January of 2007 was 22.  The complete list of USUBC members can be found at: http://www.usubc.org/members.php.

SENIOR ADVISORS TO USUBC- 2010
[1]  Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow
Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, D.C.

[2]  Ariel Cohen, Ph.D, Senior Research Fellow
Allison Center for International Studies,
Davis Institute for International Studies,
The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.

[3]  Keith Crane, Senior Economist
Rand Corporation, Washington, D.C.

[4]  James Greene, President
Effective Engagement Strategies, LLC, Washington, D.C.
Former Head, NATO Liaison Office Ukraine

[5]  David Kramer
Senior Transatlantic Fellow
The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Washington, D.C.

[6]  Leonid Kozachenko, President
Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC), Kyiv, Ukraine

[7]  William Green Miller, Senior Policy Scholar
Woodrow Wilson Center, 
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Washington, D.C.

[8]  Steven Pifer, Senior Fellow
The Brookings Institution
Senior Advisor, Russia & Eurasia Program, CSIS
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Washington, D.C.

[9]  Dr. Edilberto Segura, Partner, Chief Economist
SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group
Chair of the Advisory Board of The Bleyzer Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine

[10]  Keith Smith, Senior Associate
Europe Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Former U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania, Washington, D.C.  

[11]  William B. Taylor, Jr., Vice President, Peace & Stability Operations
United States Institute of Peace, Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Washington, D.C.

[12]  Damon Wilson, Vice President
Atlantic Council of the United States, Washington, D.C.

USUBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
For Year 2010
(http://www.usubc.org/excommittee.php)

[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]  John R. Miller, Director,
International Business Development, Europe, Israel, Sub-Sahara
Raytheon International, Inc., Arlington, VA

[4]  Dr. Irina Paliashvili, President and Senior Counsel
RULG-Ukrainian Legal Group, P.A., Washington, D.C./Kyiv, Ukraine

[5]  Andrew A. Pidgirsky, Chairman, Board of Governors,
Ukrainian American Bar Association (UABA), Houston, TX

[6]  Mara L. Sovey, Director, International Affairs
John Deere Public Affairs Worldwide, Deere & Co., Washington, D.C.

[7]  Samir B. Sahgal, Director, International Operations
Washington, D.C. Operations, The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA
          Treasurer, USUBC

[8] John F. Steele, Director, International Government Affairs
Eli Lilly and Company, Washington, D.C.

[9]  Patrick H. Sweet, President
Sweet Analysis Services, Inc. (SASI), Alexandria, VA

[10]  E. Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs, Washington Office
SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group, Washington, D.C.
         Chairman, Executive Committee, USUBC, President/CEO, USUBC

[11]  Van A. Yeutter, Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Cargill, Washington, D.C.

[12]  Jack I. Heller, Attorney at Law
Heller & Rosenblatt, Washington, D.C.
         Legal Counsel, USUBC