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AmBAR welcomes new President

Tue, 03/13/2007 - 11:47 — admin

Dear Friends:
Please join me in welcoming Vera Shokina, a portfolio manager at Silicon Valley Bank, as a new AmBAR President.  Vera will continue building our organization as a networking platform which we all use to exchange knowledge, ideas, and find business partners and friends.  Vera has been one of the key leaders of the SVOD Conference 2006 executive team, and her drive and management skills were invaluable contribution to the Conference success.  I encourage active involvement of AmBAR members in our programs, and invite everybody to help the leadership team advance our association to the level of a premier organization in Silicon Valley .  Please see attached press release for details.

 
Evgeny Zaytsev
AmBAR Director
 
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For Immediate Release
 
VERA SHOKINA NAMED A NEW PRESIDENT OF AMBAR 
Palo Alto, CA − 5 March 2007 Vera Shokina was officially and enthusiastically welcomed as the 2007-2008 President of AmBAR at the March 2007 Board Meeting. At this position she will succeed Dr. Evgeny Zaytsev, partner at Asset Management Company, an early stage venture capital firm in Palo Alto , CA. Vera, 34 , is a portfolio manager with Silicon Valley Bank in charge of a diversified portfolio of loans to emerging growth companies, primarily in the technology and life sciences industries. Prior to joining Silicon Valley Bank, she held various management positions at finance, asset management, equity trading and risk management at General Electric and Goldman Sachs. Prior to moving to Silicon Valley, Vera was a relationship manager with Citibank, the world largest international bank, where she worked with institutional foreign investors, including Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney, Goldman Sachs and Union Bank of Switzerland . Vera holds B.S. from the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages and MBA from the Finance Academy of the Russian Federation .
 
"Our organization has significantly evolved since its inception at the end of 2002. Not only AmBAR, but also the SVOD Conference have become recognized brand names. Vera is an excellent manager and inspirational leader, and I trust our organization has a very good potential to advance its programs under her leadership," stated Evgeny Zaytsev.  
 
As a new AmBAR President Vera will continue to grow the organization as a networking platform in Silicon Valley . "I look forward to working with the Board, members, and our wonderful volunteers to continue build AmBAR as an effective professional association for facilitating networking and exchange of business ideas among successful entrepreneurs and executives in the Silicon Valley, Russia and former states of the Soviet Union ," said Vera describing her vision for the upcoming AmBAR year.
 
"As a founder of SVOD and a former President of AmBAR it is very important for me who is going to lead AmBAR and SVOD to new successes. I am particularly excited that we found such a person. From the very first day I started working with Vera, it became obvious that she had solid execution skills, strong ability as a team leader, and vast experience in fundraising. But most of all I have been attracted by her warmth, all-absorbing optimism and inspiring smile, which I am sure will conquer both the AmBAR/SVOD teams and all participants of our future events," said Anna Dvornikova, director of AmBAR.
 
Anna also confirmed that she and Evgeny Zaytsev would stay actively involved in the management of the organization.
 
About AmBAR:
AmBAR is a non-profit business association of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, engineers, lawyers and other professionals with headquarters in Silicon Valley . Started in 2002 as an organization of expatriates from Russia , Ukraine and other former Soviet Union countries that were involved in technology businesses in the United States , AmBAR has grown into a large network in which innovators and entrepreneurs of all origin can exchange ideas and business contacts. Today AmBAR membership base consists of more than 2,000 business professionals.
AmBAR creates a unique platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and business contacts between technology entrepreneurs, professionals, and investors. The organization is also dedicated to accelerating access to capital for innovative projects and developing technology partnerships between Russia , Ukraine and other FSU countries and the United States . Through various seminars and conferences AmBAR provides educational programs that help entrepreneurs refine their business plans, and advance their product development and marketing efforts.