American Business Association of Russian Professionals

By D. Popov (translated from Russian)

The organization of Russian professionals is able to serve as a bridge to success in business; this was the topic of the last AmBAR (American Business Association of Russian Professionals) conference, which took place at the end of March at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. The seminar was centered on success stories – the events that may never have taken place if it had not been for a group of business enthusiasts who united professionals from Russia/CIS in the Silicon Valley two years ago.

Three of these technological success stories were in the spotlight during the last event. The first one to share was Oleg Kujikov, one of the founders of AmBAR, who recently gave up his job at Intel Capital to head up the Russian division of IBS Group. According to Kujikov, the next step in AmBAR’s development and growth is a division of AmBAR in Russia, which he claims will take place by the end of this year. In his video interview, the alumnus from Wharton School of Business mentioned a group of Russian professionals that – just like him – had studied and gained experience in the United States and then moved back to Russia to utilize their new skills. In his words, the market for high tech in Russia is not large, but is quickly developing.

The next success story was told by a few professionals present at the conference. In November 2004, BiPar Sciences Inc., a pharmaceutical company working on the development of a cure for cancer, received many investments from several venture funds, including one of the oldest firms in the Silicon Valley – Asset Management Company. One of the company’s directors, Evgeny Zaytsev, an immigrant from Altai and a graduate of the Stanford School of Business, commented on how a deal between these two firms represents the efficacy of an organization such as AmBAR. He was introduced to BiPar executives at one of the club’s seminars at Stanford University that took place in 2004. According to one of BiPar’s founders Tom White, funds provided by Asset Management Company will help the revolutionary and long-awaited medicine against cancer establish its niche in the business market.

However, the story that captured the audience was that of Dmitri Balin, Irena Balina, and Igor Bekelman – the founders of DB Best Technologies, who also met at one of AmBAR’s conferences. This classic story of success included three elements: advanced technology, the selflessness of three executives in working without pay for its realization, and the ability to organize the developmental process. Recently, DB Best’s technology of the migration of databases was acquired by Microsoft, a computer industry giant.

AmBAR believes that more of these success stories will occur in the future amongst high technology professionals brought together with the help of AmBAR. One of the main events that the club plans to hold this year is the Silicon Valley Open Doors Conference. Participants of this conference will include professionals from Russia. The “Most Promising Russian Software Company” award will be given out by AmBAR for the second time.