 | Young CEOs hold summit in Moscow |
Young CEOs from all over the globe gathered in Moscow in October to share their experiences on private entrepreneurship and map out strategies for the future
November, 2003 - Moscow temporarily became the center for young business owners and/or CEOs from all over the world in mid-October as two international organizations fostering the cause of businesspeople younger than 40 converged on the Russian capital for a four-day high-level conference dedicated to entrepreneurial issues.
The exclusive event – an annual regional conference for over 100 members of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization (YEO) and the World Entrepreneurs’ Organization (WEO) – was the first of its kind in Eastern and Central Europe since the demise of communism in 1990.
Founded in 1987, the YEO and its alumnus the WEO, built on the principle that one learns the most from those who share similar experiences, have grown into a global entrepreneurial community, providing peer-to-peer networking and huge resources dedicated to fostering private entrepreneurship across the globe, the YEO officials said.
Brien Biondi, the YEO’s CEO for the past seven years, told TRJ that during this period YEO grew from 1,000 to 5,000 members, city and country membership rose from 40 to 140 cities and from six to 35 countries, respectively.
“Russia is vital to the YEO because it has huge, yet untapped business opportunities, making it a good place to be for the organizations. Second, Russia’s membership has made the YEO a bigger, and therefore, a stronger network,” he added.
The YEO and WEO are a community of peers committed to the development of private entrepreneurship, Biondi said. “And, an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur anywhere, irrespective of his/her location, nationality, religion, political ideologies, race and other factors,” he added.
Not-a-free-for-all club, the YEO and WEO have stringent membership requirements which ensure only those meeting specific criteria can become “YEOers” and “WEOers,” as the organizations’ select few affectionately call themselves all over the world. “To become members of YEO,” Biondi said, “potential applicants recommended by current members must be less than 40, founded or co-founded, own or co-own a business or be majority shareholders of companies with gross annual revenues of not less than $1 million.” For the WEO, members are mainly graduates of the YEO, are at least 40 years old and are either owners or majority shareholders in companies with gross annual revenues of at least $7 million, he added.
Biondi also spoke highly of the Moscow chapter, which joined the YEO only in February this year. “Russian entrepreneurs have been fabulous,” he said. They have been actively engaged in the organization’s activities since February. The knowledge gained in this period has helped them generate new entrepreneurial ideas that have boosted their businesses, created new job opportunities, and improved the economy in general, he added.
Victor Sedov, director of the Moscow-based U.S. Russia Center for Entrepreneurship, said membership has boosted entrepreneurial activities among members. “In February, there were just four members in Moscow, but now we have 11. At this rate, we are on course to hitting our target of enlisting 25 members in 2003,” he noted. For a comparison, France, with a much longer YEO history has just 20, he added.
 Mikhail Kurpiyanov, president of the YEO’s Moscow chapter, also noted their “fantastic progress” over the past six months. “The fact that this high-level conference is taking place this year in Moscow, the organizations’ newest and youngest member, also testifies to the rapid growth and deepening co-operation between the chapter and its parent companies.”
Dmitri Agarunov, director of Gameland, a publishing company, said the atmosphere in the YEO provides a unique moral and psychological support that family members cannot provide. “Here, in the organization among peers, one feels he is not alone,” he added.
Christian Courbois, general director of WestPost, a postal- and courier-services company, said he is currently in talks with the YEO executives to open a branch in St. Petersburg. “We want to establish a chapter because it will give members the opportunities to meet with their business peers and develop business contacts in all YEO member countries,” he said.
Author: Christopher Kenneth
Source:
The Russia Journal (¹84)
back
|
