Team

Photo (from left to right): Philip Lupov, Yelena Yelagina, Natalia Smirnova, Brook Horowitz, Boris Tkachenko, Elena Emelianova

Brook Horowitz – Brook is Executive Director for Russia of International Business Leaders Forum. A graduate of Cambridge and Harvard Universities, he has had over 15 years’ experience in Russia. As a senior manager with US multinational General Electric during the nineties, he held responsible positions in business development, product management and sales and marketing in Western and Eastern Europe. Since 2001 Brook has been working extensively with public sector organisations and NGOs in Russia on projects funded by USAID, TACIS and DFID. In 2005 he became Executive Director for Russia of IBLF. He regularly appears at international conferences on business in Russia and has had articles in several publications including The Times, International Heralds Tribune and Vedomosti. He has a strong interest in Russian culture and is a Director of Pushkin House, a Russian cultural association based in London.

Boris Tkachenko - IBLF Russia Branch Director. Boris comes to us from the Russian Microfinance Centre, wh ere he was Executive Director. RMC is the leading resource centre for promoting microfinance in Russia. Previously he worked for fourteen years in technical assistance projects financed by USAID, DFID and TACIS, focused on institutional, regulatory and legal framework and business development. Boris has also worked with the IFC, the British consulting company ADAS International, the French consulting consortium SOFRECO and the French cooperative bank Credit Mutuel. Boris has a law degree from Rostov University and received a post-graduate diploma from the prestigious Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. He has a second education in the psychology of management and additional education in the business psychology consulting for organisations.

Yelena Yelagina – Manager of External Relations, IBLF Russia. Before joining IBLF Russia, Yelena was Administrative Director and External Relations Officer at the Institute for Urban Economics. She is an expert in the field of public relations, institutional development and corporate social responsibility. Yelena has substantial experience working in USAID, Open Society Institute and World Bank projects in Russia. Graduated from the Russian State University for the Humanities; received advanced training at the Russian Public Relations Association, Center for the Study of Philanthropy (the Graduate School & University Center, City University of New York).

Elena Emelianova – chief accountant of IBLF-Russia. She has substantial experience of working in international business and NGOs. Before joining IBLF Russia she was a chief accountant of Moscow branch of Santera Company and Marathon Oil Company. She also has worked with leading NGOs such as Open Society Institute, McArthur Foundation, and Eurasia Foundation. Elena is a member of the Institute of Professional Accountants of Moscow Region.

Natalia Smirnova – Financial Literacy Programme Manager, editor of educational web-portal (www.azbukafinansov.ru). She is a General Director of Personal advisor ltd. and independent financial advisor. Natalia is a member of the Association of financial planning (USA), a lector of the Moscow institute of independent financial and investment advisors and a lector of the Moscow Business School MIRBIS.