The Alaska World Affairs Council Presents

"Russia and the U.S.: Northern Perspectives”

Sponsored by

Monday, February 9, 2009 – Hilton Hotel
Doors open at 11:30 a.m. - Program begins at 12:00 p.m.
For Reservations
RSVP by Thursday,5th February, 2009 to the Alaska World Affairs Council
by telephone 276-8038 or by email to AlaskaWorldAffairs.org .
Lunch Program $20 for Members - $25 for Non-Members - $6 for Coffee Only

Mikhail V. Margelov, Chairman of the International Committee of the Russian Federation Council.

Mikhail Margelov, a key foreign policy advisor to the Russian Government, is Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, as well as the Chairman of the European Democrat group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He is a well-known spokesman for the Russian government and is often engaged with foreign countries and institutions regarding bilateral issues.

Prior to his service in the Federation Council, Mr. Margelov served as a consultant to President Vladimir Putin’s electoral headquarters in 2000, and was Director of the Russian Information Center (Rosinformcentr) from its creation in October 1999 until 2000. From May 1998 to September 1999, he was a Manager at RIA-Novosti.

Mr. Margelov was Head of the Public Relations Department of the Presidential Administration from 1996 to 1999, after having served as Chief Coordinator for Advertising during President Boris Yeltsin’s 1996 re-election campaign. In 1995, Mr. Margelov was a Project Director at Video International Group, overseeing the publicity campaigns of Grigory Yavlinsky and the Yabloko party.

Mr. Margelov is a graduate of the Institute of Asian and African Countries, which is affiliated with Moscow State University.

Ed Verona, President and CEO of the U.S.-Russia Business Council

Ed Verona was appointed President and CEO of the U.S.-Russia Business Council on June 1, 2008. Prior to that position, he was Vice President of ExxonMobil Russia, Inc., based in Moscow.

Mr. Verona began his professional career in 1980 as a Special Representative for mining and petroleum equipment manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand, based in La Paz, Bolivia (1981-4), Quito, Ecuador (1984-5) and Miami, Florida (1985-6). He joined Shell Oil Company in 1987 in the Group Services Division in New York City. He was appointed to the U.S. Foreign Service in 1989 and assigned as an Economic Officer to the American embassies in Mexico City (1989-91), Brasilia (1991-3) and Moscow (1994-96).

In 1996, Mr. Verona left the Foreign Service to become Executive Director of the Moscow-based Petroleum Advisory Forum (PAF), an industry association representing international oil and gas companies in Russia. In 1998, he was named Russia Country Manager for Texaco, Inc., based in Moscow. Mr. Verona was transferred to Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1999 as Texaco’s Country Manager, where he also served as Chairman of the Kazakhstan Petroleum Association (KPA) 1999-2000. Subsequently, he was assigned to Washington, D.C. as International Government Relations Advisor. Following Texaco’s merger with Chevron, he served as Vice President for Government and Public Affairs for ChevronTexaco’s upstream operations in Latin America, based in Caracas, Venezuela from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Verona served as Chief Representative in Moscow of the Canadian Barrick Gold Corporation from 2004 to 2006.

Mr. Verona received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Arizona and a Masters of International Management (MIM) from the American Graduate School of Global Management (Thunderbird).