Ukrainian Business Forum 2020

Olena Makarenko – Director, Risk Consulting, Forensic at KPMG in Ukraine.

Olena has been working for over 15 years in consulting, 8 years out of them – in risk management.

Ruslan Redka – Managing Partner at Legal House, Ukraine.

He specializes in corporate law, contract law, labor law, securities, and comprehensive legal support.

An expert in complex solution of corporate business problems – from conducting large transactions to resolving individual cases, building a complex business structure of a client company and its effective work.

Competencies include:

• business structuring
• drafting corporate agreements
• support for mergers and acquisitions
• preparation of the company for receiving investments
• support of litigation and out-of-court proceedings on corporate conflicts
• risk management
• support of operations with land and real estate

Specialist in the field of company formation and business promotion in the Gulf countries. Ekaterina worked for a large state-owned company in the Emirates, where she registered more than 200 companies in 2017-2020. During this period, she also participated in the launch of two large industrial projects in the emirate of Ras-Al-Khaimah.

In addition, Ekaterina has over 10 years of experience in real estate, investment and insurance in the UAE and Europe.

Today, Ekaterina successfully cooperates with Ukrainian traders, international companies and startups, helping them to open representative offices in the UAE.

Ekaterina has a diploma from the National Aviation University in the field of International Relations and Tourism.

Andriy is a professional attorney-at-law with primary focus on complex tax and legal issues and protection of property.

Andriy has more than 15 years of professional experience in Ukrainian law firms and the “Big Four” companies, where he advised multinational and domestic businesses on preferred business, tax and transaction structures and supported clients in implementing large-scale projects and reaching set goals. He has significant experience of successful representation of clients in tax disputes in front of tax authorities and courts of all levels.

Key facts:
– Leader of the practice of tax law, according to the rating “Client’s choice: TOP 100 best lawyers of Ukraine 2019”
– Got individual recognition as a prominent practitioner in tax and transfer pricing (Ukrainian Law Firms 2019. А Handbook for Foreign Clients)
– Named among the top Ukrainian tax dispute resolution professionals by International Tax Review Magazine in 2014, 2015

Director of MIC Start LLC,
Member of the Board of the Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors

Certified auditor, consultant and business coach.
Co-author of IFRS Reporting: Practical Training Guidelines, IFRS: A Short Course for Practitioners.
Sergey has extensive experience in translating enterprises to apply international standards, including reporting transformation, policy development, automation process support, and IFRS corporate training in Ukraine.

Dmytro Kononets is successful banker with 14 years experience working in the banking sector. The last 9 years he have work to providing personal services to wealthy clients, studying, developing and implementing service models, and servicing large private capital. He went from a sale manager to a co-founder of a private company.

Career:

• 2009 – 2011 “Rodovid” PJSC, Head of VIP Banking. Responsible for the American Express business line.
• 2011 – 2015 “Forward” JSCIB, Head of Premium Banking. Managing Director of Private Banking.
• 2015 – 2016 “Mykhayilivskyi” PJSC, Head of VIP Banking.
• 2016 – 2019 “PRAVEX BANK” JSС (member of Intesa Sanpaolo group), Director of Family banking. Director of Banking.

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• Private Banking Club to NABU (Independent Association of Banks Ukraine)
• Executives Club
• Business Capital Club

Education:

Master’s Degree in Information Security and Payment Systems Security

Julia Kurylo – lawyer, expert in international corporate law,
Partner of Ctrl.law JSC, Head of Corporate Law Practice of JSC Ctrl.law

Not every profession can give a person independence. One that is determined not by the walls of the office or the company as a whole, but independence in decision-making, in a creative approach, in the possibility of developing interesting strategic plans that open the way to financial stability and prosperity.

It is my profession that enables people to open new horizons of opportunities, find new ways to financial stability and prosperity, beyond which there is what determines independence – freedom in one’s actions and decision-making.

Mastering this profession, I went from being an ordinary insurance agent to the owner of a broker in Israel, gained experience working as a regional director at Allianz Rosno Life Insurance Company, Vice President at NASTA Insurance Company, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at ORANTA Insurance Company (Kiev) and President of the Insurance Company Oranta-Life. To achieve such results, my higher economic education (ROAT) and business education (EMBA -Master of Business Administration) helped a lot.

Applying practical skills, I train people to effectively achieve financial goals and the ability to manage this resource in such a way that they can not only secure their future, but also give their loved ones the prospect of acquiring elite housing, quality medical care, and education in foreign universities.

Dr. Alexander Lindemann is partner at Lindemann Rechtsanwälte. As a lawyer and tax adviser he advises investment funds, asset managers, private clients, investors and banks in legal, regulatory and tax matters. He advises in the structuring of Investment Funds, Securitisations, Holdings, Foundations, Trusts, in among others Switzerland, Luxembourg, Malta, Liechtenstein and Cayman Islands. He is a frequent speaker and publisher on capital market and tax issues. He is President Capital Market Forum Switzerland (www.kapitalmarktforum-schweiz.ch).

Having grown up in Munich, Alexander studied at University of Bayreuth, Julius-Maximilian University Würzburg and Washington & Lee University School of Law in Virginia /USA. He has worked in leading positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Credit Suisse & Clifford Chance before founding Lindemann Rechtsanwälte. Alexander is board member of a Listed Alternative Fund as well as a Real Estate Fund, and has served for many years on the board of a pension fund. He has three children.

Alexander was elected by Who’s Who Legal as leading lawyer in Investment Management / Private Funds in Switzerland 2019 and 2020

Who’s Who Legal says:
Alexander Lindemann is “extensively experienced” with “profound knowledge of the financial industry”, and a record of excellence in tax matters and structuring private funds.

Since 2003, I advise entrepreneurs, families and privately held companies on their domestic and international tax matters, help manage personal and business risks, resolve complex problems, and find unconventional solutions. I am well-equipped with understanding and practical experience on CFC rules, trusts, IFRS, corporate reorganizations, M&A, financial instruments, IPO, and family office setups. My “native” territories are Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, but I also have experience with clients in China and Turkey. You can also count on my tax skills in other jurisdictions such as Switzerland, the USA, the Netherlands, the UK, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Singapore, Latvia, Czech Republic, Hungary, etc.

I hold an Adv LLM degree in International Tax Law (Leiden University), and a bachelor degree in finance and accounting (KIMEP, Kazakhstan). In July 2019, I left PwC Switzerland partnership to establish Angles, a boutique advisory firm working exclusively with private clients.

Since 2003, I am developing my professional skills in different areas of civil law (Baker & McKenzie), international taxation (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC) and general business management (country manager of BDO Legal in 2009-2012). Certified as the attorney-at-law in Ukraine. I speak fluent Ukrainian, Russian and English, as well as basic German.

My professional expertise is strengthened by diplomas of Master of Law (Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University), MBA (Steinbeis University Berlin), LLM (University of London) and ADIT (UK Chartered Institute of Taxation), as well as other professional certificates. Following almost six years in the international private clients team of PwC Switzerland, I joined Angles as a partner in October 2019.

Oleg graduated from universities in Ukraine and the UK, has been practicing in Ukraine for 8 years, specializing in international corporate and tax law, finance, investment and IT law. In 2018, he founded Stron, a law firm specializing in corporate and tax structuring, legal support of financial and investment projects, as well as in IT law.

Experience in:

· Corporate and tax structuring of holdings and groups of companies, mergers and acquisitions
· Raising debt financing according to the LMA standard
· Transactions to raise direct investment in equity capital
· Ensuring the business is working according to the requirements of applicable law (Compliance procedures), when entering new markets and passing financial monitoring
· Transactions with derivative financial instruments (derivatives) according to ISDA standards
· Public offering of securities on stock exchanges in the EU (stocks, bonds), including securitization
· Obtaining financial licenses

He is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, French, Japanese, Chinese.

After studying economics in St. Gallen, Roger Zulliger started his career as treasurer at various subsidiaries of Siemens AG. Later, in the rank of a director, Roger Zulliger was responsible for portfolio management and capital market transactions.

In 1992 he founded Accuro with two partners. Roger Zulliger leads the Accuro Group with all its subsidiaries as President.

Senior Partner K.A.C. Group, Director of the Law Firm “Prime”
Education: higher legal
Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English, German
Attorney, certificate No. 211
Securities Specialist, Certificate No. 22955-T
Asset Management Specialist, Certificate No. 027807-U
Graduate of the Free School of Economics, 2016
Member of the Union of Lawyers of Ukraine, since 2001
Member of the Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, since 2004
Member of the Bar Association of Ukraine, since 2006

Dr. Justine Scerri Herrera is a Managing Partner at MK Fintech Partners which Maltese entity forms part of ‘Michael Kyprianou & CO. LLC’ group. Incidentally MK is Top ranked in The Legal 500 and according to Gold Magazine is the 3rd Largest in size in Cyprus.

Her areas of expertise include Fintech, Blockchain, Crypto and investments sectors. Justine mainly deals in advising and licencing for issuers and service providers falling under the Maltese Virtual Financial Assets Regulations (crypto & blockchain), Investment Services Act (Capital Market players, Capital Raising etc) and Financial Institutions Act (EMI, PI). Justine’s love for fintech and decentralisation sprouted 5 years ago while conducting her Doctoral and Masters Thesis’s focusing on jurisdiction in cyberspace and the rise of technology. Justine’s past work experiences gives her the ability to apply her diverse knowledge in a holistic way.

Previous work experiences include; working for a Top Tier Investments Firm (Exante), an international Bank and also a leading criminal law firm. Besides having completed a Doctorate in Law, Justine has other academic accomplishes including a course she followed with the Malta Stock Exchange in ‘Securities and Trading’ and a course in ‘Virtual Financial Assets’. Justine is also a true academic at heart and in her spare times often publishes research on various reputable sites and speaks at events worldwide. Her favourite quote is ‘knowledge is power’.

Constantinos Theophilou is the Managing Partner of A.CHR. THEOPHILOU LLC member of THEOPHILOU SERVICES GROUP having its main offices in Limassol Cyprus providing a range of comprehensive, quick and high-quality legal and corporate services to local and international clients specializing in Litigation, Corporate and Fiduciary services, Shipping, Contracts and Real estate related services as well as second Citizenship and Residency acquisition programs in all major jurisdictions, offered with loyalty, confidentiality, care and attention within a professional environment.

Constantinos is renowned for his efficiency as well as for his professionalism, loyalty, confidentiality, always aiming at serving the interest of the client best.

He focuses on the business aspect of the group as well as consulting business owners and HNWI’s, deals with corporate matters and corporate structures, contracts and civil disputes resolution through mediation and out of court negotiations, is a specialist in the field of second citizenship and permanent residency programs.

Constantinos is a member of:

–  Cyprus Bar Association since 2007.
–  International Law Firms Association, (ILF).
–  BNI (Business Network International).
–  Chaine Des Rotisseurs Cyprus.
–  The European Knighthood of the Wine (Ordo Equestris Vini Europae).
–  Cyprus Motorsports Association.

Dr. Irina Francken-Medvedeva has been trained as a scientist in physics and mathematics for many years in Moscow where she has obtained her PhD. After a successful career she has retired from her research and university job in 1993 by starting a new phase in her study and business. She has been actively involved in the IN Fiduciary Services’s business since 1994. In 2012 she obtained the Diploma in International Trust Management from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and was registered as an official Russian interpreter with the Supreme Court of Singapore.

From 1994 she was involved in the international trade providing management and administration in reviewing and preparing sales and purchase contracts. She provided compliance advice to trading companies on regulatory requirements, internal policies and formulation solutions to support ongoing business activities and expansion.

From 1998 Irina works as a director of IN Fiduciary Services Limited a company offering private international trustee services from its offices in New Zealand and Singapore to clients internationally. She specialises in services to Asian business ladies who want to structure their assets so as to best look after the next generation.

Irina is a full member of STEP, a registered professional trustee with the NZ Trustee Association (RT), a member of the International Tax Planning Association and an associate member of the Singapore Trustees Association. In the service year 2012/13 Irina is a Director of the Rotary Club of Singapore in charge of the International Service committee. She is directly involved in a number of charities throughout Asia. She also is a member of the Fundraising Institute New Zealand (FINZ) specialising in assisting her clients in making the right and most effective charitable donations.

Sergey Zhuykov – Managing Director of Blackshield Capital. An expert in banking, over 10 years. 5 years devoted to the financial sector, wealth management. He worked and lived in London. PhD in Economics.

Artem focuses his practice on white-collar crimes, compliance and global investigations. He has a unique experience as a senior investigator within Military Prosecutor’s Office and as a senior detective within National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. This experience allows him to effectively protect interests of clients before law enforcement agencies within criminal proceedings.

Areas of practice:

· White-collar crimes
· Compliance
· Anti-bribery compliance
· Investigations
· Cross-border investigations

Orest focuses on criminal cases with international element, anti-bribery compliance work, and internal investigations.

He advises major Ukrainian and international blue chips across the wide range of industries on white-collar crime issues, FCPA, UKBA, anti-corruption compliance, internal investigations, government investigations, enforcement actions, litigation.

He represents high-profile individuals and legal entities in criminal investigations, disputes with regulatory and law enforcement authorities, advises on legal security for business and protection from raider attacks.

Practice Areas:
Compliance and Anti-Corruption
White-Collar Crime

Industry Sectors:
Banks & Financial Services
Oil & Gas
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare
Real Estate & Construction

Membership and activities:
International Bar Association (IBA)
Ukrainian Bar Association, Deputy Head of the Committee on Criminal and Criminal Procedural Law

Dmitriy’s professional activity started in 1995 with background in law and economics with successful realization in the areas of tax, contract law, investment activity, finances and securities. In 2005 Dmitry Mikhailenko launched his own tax practice which successfully developed into a law firm OMP Tax&Legal, later renamed to Crowe LF Ukraine, member of Crowe Global (2017). Dmitry Mikhailenko is known as an all-round lawyer with thinking outside the box. He is author of several draft laws on tax issues, 5 books, more than 500 publications, a speaker of more than 500 conferences and other events on professional issues.

Dmitry actively participate in the work of public councils of the Ministry of Finance, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Tax and Customs Policy, he is President of Association of Tax Advisors, the Chairman of the tax committee at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and advisor to the IT Committee of the European Business Association.

Tetyana Savchuk is a leading specialist with practical experience in the field of audit and accounting. She has a deep fundamental and practical knowledge of tax law. Often engaged as an independent accounting and auditing expert. Thanks to her experience in both government agencies and commercial structures,Ms.Savchuk knows and understands the best legal pathways that lead to successful outcomes .

Education:
– Taras Shevchenko Kiev National University , accounting and auditing, diploma with honours, 1998.

– Academic degree/academic title: Doctor (Candidate) of Economic Sciences (Ph.D), 2012

Qualification Diplomas:

– Certified auditor
– Diploma DipIFR
– Diploma of SAR

Experience in accounting and auditing: 17 years of auditing practice

Bilichak Khrystyna is the Leading Expert on Asset Management and Tax Planning. Being the Executive Director of PROFINVEST Asset Management Company, she controls the process of management of more than 15 investment funds, establishing and implementing the best possible investment mechanisms and business organization models.

Khrystyna started her legal practice as a lawyer at Prokopenko and Partners Law Firm; she is an advocate and has worked at INVESTKAPITAL Asset Management Company for a long time. Having held the different positions, she obtained valuable and great experience in investments and legal support of the business processes.

For the recent years, she has been successfully ensuring engagement of the clients of Asset Management Company into various investment projects; she has conducted business corporate structuring with involvement of the investment funds. She has a good practice in solution of the most complicated tasks at the financial and stock markets of Ukraine, valuable and considerable experience in cooperation with the Ukrainian developers and development companies.

Director of COSA, Director of the Bureau for Combating Commercial Crimes and Corruption ICC Ukraine.

Pavel is the founder and CEO of COSA. He has assembled a team of highly qualified system analysts who are now forming the core of COSA. At the head of this team, Pavel conducts research on regional risks in post-Soviet countries and other foreign countries, conducts comprehensive reputation investigations using numerous international sources and participates in internal corporate investigations for global corporations and large Ukrainian enterprises.

Before heading COSA, Pavel worked as a senior analyst at an analytical company. In this position, he led projects on a comprehensive due diligence audit and the study of political risks in the Russian Federation and Central Asia.

Pavel was a senior manager at a company providing consulting services to foreign enterprises involved in international trade. His area of ​​responsibility included the initiation and support of interstate commercial transactions, as well as information and analytical support for international tenders. Among the largest projects in which Pavel participated at that time, one can single out the entry into the CIS market of a large Asian chemical enterprise, which lasted for a year, as well as an analysis of the risks of entering the Latin American market and tender support for a European manufacturer of personal protective equipment.

Pavel represents COSA on the ethics committee of the All-Ukrainian Integrity and Compliance Network (UNIC). He is also a member of the Association of Corporate Security Professionals of Ukraine (APCBU) and the International Society for Corporate Security (ASIS). In addition, he represents COSA in the Anti-Corruption Working Group and Compliance Club of the American Chamber of Commerce.

Over 15 years of professional experience in fiscal and corporate law, M&A and corporate reorganization, joint ventures and various investment projects, tax and legal audit in different industries, including pharmaceutics, FMCG, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, real estate. Consulting on national and international taxation, tax structuring, transfer pricing.
Author and speaker at practical workshop on transfer pricing and international taxation.

Viktoriya Fomenko is a Counsel of Tax and Customs Practice. The main areas of Viktoriya`s specialization are tax and customs law, including domestic and international taxation, cross-border tax and corporate structuring and business planning, structuring of foreign investments as well as tax and customs litigation.

With more than 18 years of experience, Viktoriya has a vast experience in advising a number of big international companies, Ukrainian companies and foreign companies’ subsidiaries in Ukraine. The scope of Viktoriya’s activities covers advising on all tax and customs issues faced by the clients, tax planning of operations and tax structuring of businesses including international jurisdictions, conducting independent review of the tax accounting and consulting on individual taxation plans. Viktoriya has successfully represented a number of clients in tax and customs litigations and has assisted with realization of a number of investment projects.

Anna has over 12 years of experience in providing services to Ukrainian and international companies, and is one of the leading experts in the field of transfer pricing (TP). Since 2013, Anna has been successfully accompanying companies in various sectors of the economy, providing support in the preparation of transfer pricing documentation, a master file (global documentation), justification of a pricing methodology, development of a pricing policy, a strategy for concluding an agreement on preliminary agreement on pricing with regulatory authorities, as well as company support when checking the transfer pricing.

Anna participates in a working group that advises the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on improving the transfer pricing legislation in Ukraine.