U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) hosted a Roundtable "ACTION PLAN FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RADICAL REFORM AGENDA" presentation by Dr. Edi Segura, Chairman of the Board, The Bleyzer Foundation, Partner and Chief Economist, SigmaBleyzer and by Oleg Ustenko, Executive Director, The Bleyzer Foundation, in Kyiv, Ukraine.  Dr. Segura gave an update on the current macroeconomic situation and what is expected the rest of 2016. 

The timely and important USUBC  "Action Plan for Economic Growth and Radical Reform Agenda" Roundtable was held on Wednesday, April 27, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room at the offices of SigmaBleyzer/The Bleyzer Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine  followed by a reception.  The presentations was followed by an open discussion/Q&A session. USUBC president Morgan Williams moderated the session. 
The head table featured: Oleg Ustenko, The Bleyzer Foundation; Dr. Edi Segura, The Bleyzer Foundation; Morgan Williams, USUBC; Seppo Korhonen, Westinghouse; Vitaliy Fedchuk, Monsanto 

RADICAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REFORMS NEEDED NOW

The current economic and political crisis is a major call for Ukraine to implement now a RADICAL and SUBSTANTIVE REFORM AGENDA and move the country away from the past Soviet structures, policies and institutions, revitalize economic growth and allow Ukraine to be a strong, properous, independent country. Only a substantive ECONOMIC REFORM PROGRAM would ensure rates of economic growth of at least 7% per annum over the next 5 years and longer. To achieve these growth rates will require a major increase in domestic and international investments, as well as improvements in productivity.  Fundamental improvements must be made in Ukraine's investment/business environment.

RSVP:  Registration is required for attendance at the USUBC members briefing in Kyiv.  Please register by sending an e-mail to mwilliams@usubc.org. There is no charge for the meeting or the reception.   

BIO'S --- DR EDI SEGURA AND OLEG USTENKO

(1) DR. EDI SEGURA --- Dr. Edi Segura is a Partner and Chief Economist at SigmaBleyzer and the Chairman of the Board of The Bleyzer Foundation. He joined the company in 1998. Dr. Segura is also an Honorary Member of the Supervisory Board of the EU Ukraine Business Council, and Senior Advisor to the US Ukraine Business Council.
Dr. Segura joined The World Bank in 1972 and served in senior positions dealing with 35 different countries until 1998. His many positions with The World Bank included Division Chief, Industrial Development and Finance Division, Europe, Middle East and North Africa Region; Director, Country Department II and Technical Director, Latin America and Caribbean Region; and Chief of World Bank Mission in Ukraine. During Dr. Segura’s tenure in Kiev, The World Bank approved total lending/guarantees of about $1.6 billion for ten operations. Before his assignment in Ukraine, Dr. Segura was responsible for all World Bank operations in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Department's portfolio under his supervision included 90 operations, with a loan amount of $12 billion.

Before joining The World Bank, Dr. Segura was a Partner and Vice President of Bailey, Tondu, Warwick and Co, a New York investment bank with operations in the US, Latin America and Asia.
Dr. Segura has been a Lecturer at the Said Business School of the University of Oxford in the UK, the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine, the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, the Euroasian National University in Kazakhstan, the New Bulgarian University in Bulgaria, and the George Washington University in Washington DC. He has also lectured at Rice University in Texas, Kyiv-Mohila University in Kyiv, the International Institute of Business in Kiev and the Catholic University Business School in Lviv.

Dr. Segura holds a Ph.D. degree (in Finance and Economic Development) and an MA degree (Economics) from Columbia University in New York, an MBA degree from Stanford University in California, an MA degree from ESAN (Escuela Superior de Administracion de Negocios) in Peru, and an Industrial Engineering degree from Peru. He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University and the Corporate Strategy Program of MIT. He was also a Visiting Scholar at the Kiel Institute for World Economics in Kiel, Germany.

(2) OLEG USTENKO - Oleg Ustenko is an Executive Director at The Bleyzer Foundation. His economic and financial research is focused on transitional and developing economies. The CIS region and Ukraine are his particular areas of interest.

Mr. Ustenko joined The Bleyzer Foundation in 2004 and since then has been actively involved in all major projects, including assessments in macroeconomics, investment and the overall business climate in the regions of analysis.  He also acts as a consultant to the Ukrainian government and other CIS countries. He is an active participant at major economic and business conferences in the region and is one of the most published and quoted economists in Ukraine.

Prior to joining The Bleyzer Foundation, Mr. Ustenko was involved in different economic policy-oriented projects of The World Bank, OECD, governments of CIS countries and leading universities including Harvard University and MIT.  Mr. Ustenko has a Master’s Degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Kiev State Economics University. He also attended the Ph.D. program in economics at Brandeis University.