Featured Speakers

• Nick Chism, Partner, Head of Global Infrastructure & Projects Group, KPMG

• Joel Finley, Director , Global Infrastructure Practice Group, KPMG

• Claudi Santiago, President, GE Oil & Gas

• Bastien Simeon, Global Water Sector Lead, Global Infrastructure and Projects Group, KPMG

• Cristiano Tortelli, General Manager, Turbomachinery Global Sales, GE Oil & Gas

• Robert Vartevanyan, Partner, Advisory, Head of Infrastructure & PPP, Russia & CIS, KPMG

• Laura Brank, Managing Partner, Head of Russia Practice, Dechert

• Oleg Pankratov, Managing Director, Co-Head of Investment banking of VTB Capital

• Vladimir Yakunin, President, Russian Railways

• Elena Bourganskaia, Manager, Infrastructure Cluster - Central and Eastern Europe, International Finance Corporation

• Alexander Bazhenov, Director, Center for Public Private Partnerships, VEB

• Michael J. Copps, Commissioner, U.S. Federal Communications Commission

• Veniamin Golubitsky, President, Renova-StroiGroup

• Natasha Khanjenkova, Director for Infrastructure and Energy, Russia Business Group, EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

• Galina Kurlyandskaya, Director, Center for Fiscal Policy

• Konstantin Limitovsky, Managing Director, Sberbank

• Naum Marder, Deputy Minister of Telecom & Mass Communications

• Harris Mehos, Director of Structured Finance, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

• Valery Okulov, Deputy Minister of Transportation, Russian Federation

• Damian Secen, Chief Executive Officer, Macquarie Renaissance

• Sergei Shishkarev, Head of Transportation Committee, Russian Parliament

• Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department  of Commerce

• Denis Travin, Director of the Department for Investment Projects, Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation

• Ambassador Philip L. Verveer, United States Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy

• Jim Williams, Director Insurance, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

 

Laura M. Brank
Head of Russia Practice
Dechert LLC

Laura M. Brank, the head of Dechert's Russia Practice, has been acting for domestic and multinational clients on matters throughout Russia and the CIS since 1995, supervising major local and cross-border M&A, joint venture, and syndicated, corporate, and project finance transactions. She is listed as a leading lawyer in Russia for corporate/M&A, banking and finance, and mining by Chambers.

Fluent in Russian, “lauded for her strategic thinking and astute business acumen,” and “a skilled manager of deals and resources” (Chambers Global (2009)), Ms. Brank formerly headed the Russia & CIS Practice of another international law firm and was managing partner of its Moscow office for 11 years. She has been recognized by Russia Journal Almanac as one of the top 75 foreign executives in Russia and by Who's Who for her work in energy, banking and finance, and corporate and commercial law. She is listed as a leading lawyer in Russia for corporate and M&A, banking and finance, energy and natural resources, and real estate in The Legal 500 EMEA(2009). She is highly recommended by PLC Which Lawyer? for project finance, corporate/M&A, and banking: lenders and borrowers. She has also been listed in Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Project Finance Lawyers (1999–2009) and its Guide to the World's Leading Energy & Natural Resources Lawyers since 2003. Along with just eight other lawyers, she was also listed in the corporate section of the The Lawyer's Hot 100 survey, 2010, a list of 100 lawyers to have excelled in their field during 2009. The survey described her as "one of the best-known ... and best-connected lawyers in the [Russian] market."

Nick Chism
Partner, Head of Global Infrastructure & Projects Group
KPMG

Nick leads KPMG’s network of infrastructure professionals across member firms worldwide. KPMG has been named “global transport and infrastructure financial adviser of the year” for 2006, 2007 and 2008 by Infrastructure Journal (IJ) and is ranked the #1 global PPP financial adviser by Dealogic and IJ.

Nick has 18 years of experience in transport and infrastructure. During this time, he has provided wide ranging advice to public and private sector clients on the development of infrastructure projects worldwide. He has advised governments on the development of PPP programmes, across North and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia. Similarly, he has provided strategic advice to infrastructure owners, operators and investors on their approach to the market. His experience includes:

As advisor to the Highways Agency from 1996 to 2001, he did much to develop the standard commercial model for DBFO roads. During this time, Nick created the first availability-based payment mechanism for roads, a model which has since been adopted worldwide.

He was lead financial advisor to the Irish Government from 1999 onwards on its toll road programme. Nick created the commercial structure for these deals, arguably the most successful PPP programme in Europe. 

Advising public and private sector clients on 30 road deals across Europe, including the Portuguese, German and Austrian programmes. Nick has been closely involved in KPMG’s work in the US PPP market since 2005, notably in Texas and Virginia.

 

Shane R. DeBeer
Partner Corporate and Securities
Dechert LLC

Shane R. DeBeer has been acting on transactions in the oil, gas and liquefied natural gas sectors, project finance, commercial real estate development, cross-border M&A, and general commercial matters since 1992, particularly in Russia, the CIS, and the Middle East. Mr. DeBeer has been recognized as a leading lawyer for energy and natural resources in Russia by Chambers since 2006.

He has also been recognized by Chambers since 2008 for his work in projects in Central and Eastern Europe – cited as "powerful and highly commercial" – and was listed as a leading lawyer for corporate/M&A, energy and natural resources, and real estate in Russia in The Legal 500 EMEA (2009).

 

Joel Finley
Director , Global Infrastructure Practice Group  (GIPG)  
KPMG

Joel was the engagement manager for recent projects dealing with the financial and business sustainability of the post-Olympic/legacy use of venues being constructed for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and is an advisor for the Strategy and Programme Management component of the KPMG’s ongoing Internal Audit/Risk Assessment Review for LOCOG 2012.   Other recent sport-related engagements have included:

1.VANOC (2010 Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee) - development of a governance and operations model for the management and operation of three facilities that will be operated by the Whistler Legacies Society (WLS), a not-for-profit society, following the 2010 Games. The purpose of this engagement was to provide the members of the WLS with sufficient information to understand the options for managing the assets of the WLS, (plus the potential staffing and budget requirements), to enable them to select a preferred option.
2.BC Government 2010 Olympic Secretariat – review of projected operating statements for selected 2010 facilities. 
3.City of Richmond – Development of the post-2010 Business Plan for the 2010 Speed Skating Oval. This plan outlined the proposed balance of programs and services, staffing requirements, a high level marketing plan for the identified business opportunities, as well as providing as projections of the future financial performance for the facility. The Speed Skating Oval is the "flagship" venue for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games - and is the largest venue construction project for the 2010 Games.
4.City or Richmond – Assisted the City to assess alternative governance structures to manage its ownership of the 2010 Speed Skating Oval. The project included considering how other entities have handled similar situations and assessing the impacts of different operational and staffing models.
5.The Board of Directors of the Games Operating Trust (GOT) - The GOT is the legacy endowment fund established assist with the post 2010 operations of the 2010 facilities. KPMG was engaged by the GOT to review and modify the disbursement policies and procedures for funds from the Trust.
6.University of Northern British Columbia– Development of the business case for the Northern Sport Complex.
7.On an ongoing basis, provides strategic leadership, of both a policy and program development nature, to the BC Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport.
 

Harris Mehos
Director, Structured Finance
Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Harris Mehos joined OPIC in 2009 where he is responsible for of the originating and underwriting of OPIC’s Structured Finance business globally, including investment guarantee and direct loan facilities supporting US private investments in projects in overseas markets.    Prior to joining OPIC, Harris was a Managing Director at Ambac Assurance Corporation for ten years where he was the head of Ambac’s Commercial Asset Backed Securities group responsible for underwriting commercial asset securitizations in a diverse group of commercial assets including maritime container and railcar leases, media and telecommunication assets, intellectual property assets, equipment leases, and other financial and operating assets.    Prior to joining Ambac, Harris was a Vice President in Fleet Bank for seven years where he was responsible for structuring and underwriting securitization and secured credit facilities to Specialty Finance and Transportation companies.    Harris has also worked in the Global Shipping Group at Manufacturers Hanover and worked at Coopers and Lybrand and Citibank.    Harris holds an MBA in Finance from New York University and a BA in Economics from Duke University.
 

Claudi Santiago
Senior Vice President
GE Oil and Gas

Claudi Santiago is a Senior Vice President of GE and the President and CEO of GE Oil & Gas. Appointed to his current role in 1999, he has led the business through a period of significant growth and has overseen the transformation of a traditional manufacturing company into a world-class business partner to many of the world’s leading oil and gas industry players.
Mr. Santiago joined GE in 1980 as a Project Manager with GE Information Services. Over the following years he held positions of increasing responsibility across Europe until 1991 when he moved to Rockville, Maryland, USA as Worldwide Marketing Leader for GE Information Services. 

After a move to lead GE Information Services in Europe based in Paris (France) in 1997, Mr. Santiago joined the newly acquired Nuovo Pignone business to establish an Aftermarket Services unit. Today this part of the company contributes a significant proportion of GE Oil & Gas’ revenue from the comprehensive range of equipment services including field based technical assistance, product upgrades and customized service agreements.

In 2006, Mr. Santiago received the GE Chairman Leadership Award for being an exceptional builder and key driving force of the growth and transformation of the Oil & Gas business.  Mr. Santiago holds a master degree in Computer Science from the Universidad Autonoma of Barcelona and has completed postgraduate studies at INSEAD in Fontainebleau (France) and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (USA).

A native of Barcelona (Spain), Claudi Santiago is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Italian. In his free time he enjoys playing tennis and feeding his love for art. He and his wife Nuria have two children.

Ambassador Philip L. Verveer
United States Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy
US Government

Ambassador Philip L. Verveer was confirmed as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in August, 2009.  Ambassador Verveer has practiced communications and antitrust law in the government and in private law firms for more than 35 years. From 1969 to 1981, Ambassador Verveer practiced as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, as a supervisory attorney in the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission, and as the chief of the Cable Television Bureau, the Broadcast Bureau, and the Common Carrier Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. Between 1973 and 1977, he served as the Antitrust Division’s first lead counsel in the investigation and prosecution of United States v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., the case that eventuated in the divestiture of the Bell System. As a Bureau Chief at the FCC, Ambassador Verveer participated in a series of decisions that enabled increased competition in video and telephone services and limited regulation of information services. In 1979, Ambassador Verveer became a charter member of the Senior Executive Service and in 1980 received the Distinguished Presidential Rank award. Between 1981 and 2009, Ambassador Verveer engaged in private law practice in Washington, DC.

In 1995 and 1996, Ambassador Verveer chaired the Federal Advisory Committee that identified the spectrum requirements necessary to afford public safety organizations efficient and interoperable wireless communications. He has served on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School and the Executive Committee of the Alumni Board of Governors of Georgetown University.

Ambassador Verveer is a graduate of Georgetown University (1966, BSFS), and the University of Chicago Law School (1969, JD).