There’s a changing of the guard at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
Jorge Zukoski, the man who has been synonymous with the organization’s phenomenal growth in the last 15 years, is leaving as president. Bernard Casey is his replacement. Both are Americans with MBAs.
Casey will be inheriting an organization that has grown to 633 members with more than 50 employees.
Zukoski and his wife, Courtney, will be starting a second life – awaiting the birth of twins, the couple’s first children. He will make his home in St. Augustine, Florida.
Zukoski has been a fixture in the expatriate community and is a familiar face to those at the highest levels of Ukraine’s government. He’s a well-liked, affable, and an energetic networker who probably could have kept his job for many more years to come, but simply decided he needed a change. Both he and Courtney want to be closer to their parents and also have time to one themselves.
He arrived in Kharkiv as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1996. He got the Chamber job in 1999. It wasn’t much of a prize back then. “When I took over the chamber; they handed me a shoebox full of change. We had one employee and that was it. They (the board of directors) said if you build it. We will take care of you.”
Now it’s one of the “largest and most effective chambers in the world,” he boasts.
While Ukraine’s business climate remains near the bottom of international rankings, Zukoski has been around long enough to remind everyone of the improvements – incremental as they might seem – in areas of tax, regulation and customs, among others.
One of the keys to his strategy is to “work with whoever is in power,” Zukoski said. “We’re apolitical. We don’t care who’s in power. We want predictability and stability.”
The progress has translated into an improved economy and personal standard of living for many Ukrainians, certainly by the standards of 1996 when so many were mired in a struggle to survive. Then, Ukraine lacked modern retail shops, good hotels, fast internet and other conveniences now taken for granted.
The ongoing standoff between the government and protesters is not helping business, Zukoski said, but he believes the crisis will pass and it will end up being “a blip on the radar screen.”
“This is part of a country going through a difficult transition,” Zukoski said. “Shaking 70 years of Soviet legacy has been incredibly painful for Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.”
As he puts it, “there’s so much more to do, so many more exciting projects to be done.”
That task will fall to Casey.
He realizes he’s coming in at a challenging time because of the EuroMaidan protests, in their 72nd day on Jan. 31.
“As someone who loves the wonderful people of a great nation, my heart breaks when I see the crisis out on the streets,” Casey said. “I hope there will be a peaceful solution soon that brings healing and unity to the people of Ukraine.”
He also sees opportunities in many sectors – information technology, manufacturing, aerospace, agriculture and others, if the government takes the right steps. Ukraine “can’t count on bailouts from Russia and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) forever,” Casey said.
He expects to have a good relationship with other business associations, such as the European Business Association, the British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council.
“We’re all focused on the same thing, bringing a free market economy to Ukraine, implementing business and economic reforms, attracting foreign and direct investment,” he said.
He’s got lots of experience in the region, including work in Russia and Ukraine. Most recently, he worked as the chief executive of UkrWindEnergo, a wind energy producer in Crimea.
When he heard about the Chamber presidency coming open, Casey said, “I jumped at the opportunity. I said ‘that’s something I’d love to do.’ It’s a great opportunity, privilege and a huge responsibility.”
Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner can be reached at [email protected]
