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Team Leaders
Robert H. Peyton is a Member of the Board of Managers of C.I.S. Management Co. and President and Chief Executive Officer of Agribusiness Management, LLC, the Investment Manager for the private equity investment fund, Agribusiness Partners International, headquartered in Nebraska. Mr. Peyton joined America First Companies in 1995 to serve as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Manager. In that capacity, he has overseen the investment of $100,000,000 in food and agribusiness companies in the former Soviet Union. Mr. Peyton is also President of the Emerging Markets Group of America First Companies, LLC. America First Emerging Markets Group is involved in monetization and distribution of dairy products in Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Georgia. They are also engaged in the development of agribusiness projects in the Central Asia Region. His previous experience includes 17 years with Cargill, Inc. and ten years with ConAgra, Inc., holding top management positions with both companies. Most recently, Mr. Peyton served as Executive Vice President of ConAgra International and President of ConAgra International Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Mr. Peyton is a graduate of Kansas State University. Mr. Peyton currently serves as a Director of four Portfolio Companies in the CIS: Rasko (Glass Bottle Producer), Golden Rooster (Integrated Broiler Company – Chairman), Polygraph (Label & Packaging Company) and Bagrationi (Sparkling Wine Company). Mr. Peyton was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber in October 2004.
Dr. Deborah Anne Palmieri is CEO and President of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® and a nationally known scholar, lecturer, writer and industry expert on Russian business, trade and economic relations with the U.S. and Western nations. She is the recipient of over 12 major academic honors and awards, including MacArthur Scholar Fellow at Duke University, Columbia Presidential Fellow, Visiting Scholar at the London School of Economics, and Junior Fellow at Columbia University's Harriman Institute. Dr. Palmieri has served as a senior administrator at the University of Southern California and taught at Pomona College and the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies. She is the co-author or editor of four books, including Russia and the NIS in the World Economy: East-West Investment, Financing and Trade; The U.S.S.R. and the World Economy; and The Dynamics of Soviet Foreign Policy. Her most recently released book, a 3-volume set, The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Doing Business in Russia, is a definitive guide on business with Russia. She is editor of the bimonthly Chamber publication, The Russian Commerce News. She has published numerous business writings and academic articles and has delivered hundreds of paper presentations and speeches at various conferences and universities across the United States on U.S.-Russian business and economic issues. Dr. Palmieri holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder; an M.A. from the University of Denver, Graduate School of International Studies and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
Jeffrey A. Burt is a Partner of Arnold & Porter. Arnold & Porter is a Washington based international law firm with other U.S. offices in New York, Denver and Los Angeles. It was among one of the very first law firms to establish a base in Moscow, and has advised many Western firms as well as newly privatized Russian enterprises on a broad range of litigation, transactional and regulatory issues. Mr. Burt supervises the operations of Arnold & Porter’s Moscow office. He has extensive on-the-ground experience in N.I.S. commercial transactions, dating back to 1986. He was among the first Western attorneys to establish office operations in Moscow (in 1988) and has been involved in many significant joint venture transactions in the oil and gas area, health and publishing fields. He serves as Co-Chairperson of the Committee on Newly Independent States of the FSU of the Section of International Law and Practice of the American Bar Association. Mr. Burt is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and has authored numerous articles in his areas of expertise. He is coauthor of International Joint Ventures. Mr. Burt has co-edited a three-volume treatise, Joint Ventures with International Partners, published by Butterworth Legal Publishers. Mr. Burt received his B.A. in 1966 from Princeton University and his M.A. and law degree from Yale Law School. He has been a partner since 1978 in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Arnold & Porter. His principal areas of practice are international joint ventures, international trade law, and general transactional law.
The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® John G. Aronson is President and Founder of AATA International, Inc., an environmental management, permitting, and technical services consultancy with global experience, based in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Mr. Aronson has served for 30 years as principal environmental management consultant and Principal-In-Charge for a wide variety of projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Former Soviet Union, as well as for complex natural resource development projects around the world. He has worked extensively over the past 10 years in the Russian Far East, and for nearly seven years in Kazakhstan. Mr. Aronson served as the international onshore coordinator for the Sakhalin II project in 1998 and 1999. Currently AATA serves as Integrated Service Provider for the Sakhalin II project and environmental consultant to several large mining and oil & gas projects in Russia and the FSU. Mr. Aronson is a world recognized water expert and is a practicing applied limnologist (freshwater scientist). He holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences, an M.S. in Limnology (minor Civil Engineering), with post graduate training in Environmental Engineering, Natural Resource Management, and Statistics. Mr. Aronson has served as Chairman, Ecology Committee for the Water Environment Federation, and is a Certified Fisheries Scientist with the American Fisheries Society. He is a Certified Senior Ecologist with the Ecological Society of America. Mr. Aronson is the author of Watershed Management in Russia and the Former Soviet Union which was published in Watershed Management (Reimold, R. 1998. McGraw Hill). He is a Director of The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce®. Mr Aronson served as Chairman of the Post-Conference Technical Workshop, Sakhalin Oil and Gas Conference held in London in 2002 and is a regular environmental keynote speaker at this conference. |
The
Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® is built on the
team concept. Our companies work together as a team to improve
their own and America's business standing in Russia. Our leadership
is comprised of dedicated people and companies who have the
energy, drive, vision and stamina to work and thrive in Russia's
challenging business environment. The Executive Committee
of the Board of Directors works closely with the Board and
members to ensure the organization is meeting member needs
and is relevant and vibrant as it stands in the forefront
of business leadership. Meet our team leaders below.
Mr.
Robert H. Peyton, Chairman
Dr.
Deborah Anne Palmieri, CEO & President
Mr. Jeffrey A. Burt, Secretary and General Counsel
Mr.
John G. Aronson, Treasurer