Well, I was going to try and do this in “time delay”, but figured I’d cover the Berlin conference as it happens, and then go back to our visit to Ukraine afterwards.
I was one of three CEOs nominated by U.S. Secretary United States Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, Penny Pritzker, to represent our country on the newly created Business Advisory Council (BAC) for the G7’s Ukraine Reconstruction effort.
The conference in Berlin brings together the donor nations and other critical partners to determine how to best support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.
The BAC includes CEO and senior leaders from the UK, the EU, Netherlands, Japan, S. Korea, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France, 3 from Ukraine, and 3 from the USA–McDonald’s, Northrop Grumman, and Logistics Plus.
Our aim is twofold, I believe. 1. To help Ukraine better improve/westernize “business conditions” so that more Western companies will invest, and 2. To help let Western businesses know that conditions in most of Ukraine (even with the war going on) are relatively safe and that you can do business there now. You don’t have to wait until this war ends to invest.
The council is run by Dr. Christian Bruch, Chairman and CEO of Siemens, the giant energy firm (and energy is one of the key needs in Ukraine that needs to be addressed.) More on that later. Smart. Well-spoken. Thoughtful. He runs a tight ship and is much younger than I pictured him (he’s in the first picture below).
Seems to me that Dr. Bruch is the right guy to lead this effort from the beginning.
Excited to be working with him and with the team.
More to come.
Onward!!
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