Kwaku Agbottah
Mr. Agbottah has extensive experience in international business development in the US, Europe and West Africa. Mr. Agbottah is: Managing Director of Stanberry Realty Ghana Limited, Vice President of Stanberry International Inc., a US-based real estate company developing commercial and residential properties in Ghana, Managing Director of E-Centres Limited, a business process outsourcing company focused on investments in outsourcing operations and facilities in West Africa and Managing Director for Infotech Solutions Ghana Ltd, an information technology company in Ghana. Mr. Agbottah’s corporate management experience includes ten years workforce training and placement experience as a board member which resulted in his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Private Industry Council of Austin & Travis County, Texas (US). Mr. Agbottah has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas – Austin
Francis Carter
Mr. Carter is President of Uberrimae Fidei Insurance Company Ltd. After underwriting at Lloyds of London for 10 years he moved to Bermuda in 1971. Mr Carter has 40 years experience in insurance / reinsurance industry. His career spans from underwriting at Lloyds of London to becoming an integral part of the creation of the Bermuda Reinsurance Market where he has underwritten Alternative Risk Protections, Catastrophic Coverage and Financial Reinsurance Products including Credit Upgrade Instruments. He has also been instrumental in the formation, structuring and design of Segregated Account Companies. Other executive positions held include: President of Independent Brokers Ltd., Vice President of Independent Management Ltd., President of Alcyone International Investments Ltd., President of Heritage Properties Ltd. and Director of Aeolus Holdings Limited.
Gary Coppedge
Gary is the President of International Business Connection, Ltd. Co. He is a foreign development specialist who provides expertise in startup operations and expansion in international markets including market analysis, target market identification, feasibility studies, risk management, financing and joint venture negotiations, planning and implementation. He has over 20 years construction management related experience for energy projects including projects in Brazil, Mexico and other parts of Latin America. In addition to his role as President of International Business Connection he is a member of the Board of Directors for Western Heritage Bank, CEO of Hacienda’s at Grace Village Dementia Facility, CEO of Circle 7 Development, LLC and the Founder and CEO of Promus Energy, a sustainable energy consulting firm.
Dee Davis
Mr. Davis is the founder of Energy Capital Advisors, LLC, a Houston based advisory firm focused upon emerging markets. Prior to the formation of Energy Capital Advisors,, Mr. Davis served as the Director of International Business Development of Torch Energy Advisors, Inc. He also held the position of Portfolio Manager for certain of its institutional clients during his tenure with Torch Energy. Before joining Torch Energy, he was an officer and financial manager in both publicly and privately held companies engaged in the upstream oil and gas industry and was responsible for the commercial and investment banking relations, financial reporting, acquisition financing and risk management. Mr. Davis holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Steve Dong
Mr. Dong has over 25 years of experience in high technology, engineering and construction companies. At Dravo, he was involved with utility, private and public projects in the US, Middle East and Taiwan, with capital budgets totaling over $10B. He has built consulting practices, software products and businesses at McDonnell Douglas/EDS, Intergraph, CGE&Y and other firms to serve government and commercial clients. He has delivered solutions to clients in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He has an MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a Bio medical option from the City College of New York.
Robert Kaplan PhD
Dr. Kaplan currently serves as president and CEO of Beacon Consulting Group and several real estate related development entities. He is the former chairman and CEO of Kidder Enterprises Inc., a director (1977 to present) and corporate advisor to National Holdings Ltd (a mortgage firm based in Canada), former senior vice president at Drexel Burnham Lambert, a former professor of business administration at University of Iowa and University of Vermont. In addition he has served as Advisory Member (Beige Book) for the San Francisco Federal Reserve Board.
Christopher Smith
Mr. Smith is the main principal at CB Smith & CO., a private investment banking firm with a focus on domestic and international investment banking covering technology; telecommunications; commercial real estate; venture capital and structured finance. Mr. Smith worked on Wall Street for 22 years and was the former head of fixed-income sales and investment banking for HSBC in which he oversaw a staff of forty salespeople and investment bankers. Mr. Smith was a fixed-income specialist at Tucker Anthony, Chemical/Chase Securities and Lehman Brothers.
Enrique Vilatela
Mr. Vilatela is Managing Director of Proyectos Estratégicos Integrales (“PEI”), an investment banking firm located in Mexico City, Mexico. From 1975 to 2000 he pursued a professional career in the financial sector in Mexico. He started his career at Nacional Financiera in the area of International Transactions. Afterwards, he was head of the Department of Finance and International Affairs at the Foreign Trade Bank of Mexico (Bancomext). In 1989, as General Director of External Credit at the Ministry of Finance, and later as General Director of Public Credit, he participated in the negotiations involving Mexico’s external debt. During his time at the Ministry of Finance, he was in charge of the design, organization and implementation of Mexico’s successful return to the international money markets,.. He has been a member of the board of several companies and commissions He was also a member of the Mexican negotiation team for NAFTA.
Presley E Werlein, III
Mr. Werlein is president of Werlein & Harris P.C. a certified public accounting firm specializing in tax planning, compliance and business & individual financial consulting. He is responsible for overall management of the firm which grew from five people in 1978 to twenty-three people currently. During his business career, Mr. Werlein has served as President of Executive Wall Concepts Inc. and of Noise Reduction Technologies Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Directors, the chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee of American Spectrum Realty Inc. He is a member of AICPA, Texas Society CPA’s and the University of Texas Health Science Center – Development Board (UTHSC). UTHSC operates all University of Texas health operations and educational facilities in Houston including among others, the medical and dental schools. Additionally, he served 15 years on the Board of Trustees for The Kinkaid School, a private college preparatory school for grades kindergarten through high school in Houston. He is the current Treasurer of the University of Texas Health Science Center Political Action Committee, a prior member of the Finance Committee of Harris County Department of Education Foundation and currently a member of the E-Business Task Force of Associated General Contractors of Houston.