Office of External Relations
October 3, 2019
Not in this format, but I have written about the U.S.-Russia Business Council and its promotion of business with Putin’s anti-American regime before. I believe I first wrote about these gatherings when the Obama Administration had called for isolating Russia because of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea.

What was most upsetting at that time was that while calling for isolating Russia Obama Administration officials were speaking at USRBC gatherings. Hello! This was isolation? What signal was that sending? I wasn't really asking - we all know the message.

I do note happily that no current U.S. Government official is listed as participating in this event.

But do note the sponsors that anxiously play nice-nice with Russia despite the international – and, of course, domestic -- thuggery of Putin’s regime.

Ah, business is business - - - for some. To me it is a disgrace!

Ambassador Thomas Pickering to Speak at
USRBC's Annual Meeting Gala Dinner
November 7, New York

Dear Council Members and Friends:

We are pleased to announce that the Honorable Thomas R. Pickering, Career Ambassador and Vice Chairman of Hills & Company, will be our featured speaker in a conversation moderated by Jill Dougherty, Global Fellow at the Kennan institute during USRBC's Annual Meeting Gala Dinner on November 7 at the Morgan Library and Museum. Ambassador Pickering will discuss the state of U.S.-Russia relations in today's changing world and examine potential areas for future cooperation and competition.

Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering is the Vice Chairman of Hills & Company, which provides consultancy services on a wide variety of international activities. Ambassador Pickering's career as a U.S. diplomat spanned five decades, and he holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service, and has received the Distinguished Presidential Award and the Department of State's highest award, the Distinguished Service Award. He served as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador to the United Nations, and Ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, Nigeria, Jordan, and El Salvador. After retiring from the State Department in 2000 Ambassador Pickering joined the Boeing Company, where he served for five and a half years as Senior Vice President for International Relations. He also served as President of the Eurasia Foundation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
Jill Dougherty is a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute and an expert on Russia and the former Soviet Union. In her three-decade career with CNN she served as Foreign Affairs Correspondent, based in Washington, D.C., where she covered the State Department. Ms. Dougherty previously served as U.S. Affairs Editor for CNN International; Managing Editor of CNN International Asia/Pacific, based in Hong Kong; and CNN's Moscow Bureau Chief and Correspondent. From 1991 to 1996 she was CNN White House Correspondent. After her distinguished media career, in 2013-14 she was a Fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where she pursued research on Russia's mass media. She is currently a Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Other Annual Meeting Speakers include:

  • Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman, Committee on Financial Markets, RF State Duma
  • Sergey Aleksashenko, Former First Deputy Chairman, Central Bank of Russia; Former Chairman, Merrill Lynch 
  • Anatoly Antonov, RF Ambassador to the United States
  • Joseph Damond, Executive Vice President, International Affairs, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
  • Alexander Ivlev, CIS Managing Partner and Deputy Markets Leader, Central Eastern and Southeastern Europe & Central Asia, EY
  • Andrey Nikitin, Governor, Novgorod Oblast
  • Vasiliy Osmakov, RF Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade
  • William Reinsch, Scholl Chair of International Business, Center for Strategic and International Studies/Former Member, U.S. and China Economic and Security Review Commission
  • Sam Rizzo, Director, Trade Policy, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
  • Andrey Slepnev, General Director, Russia Export Center

VENUES

Annual Meeting - November 7th & 8th
Kimpton Hotel Eventi
851 6th Ave, New York, NY

Gala Dinner - November 7th
Morgan Library and Museum
225 Madison Ave, New York, NY

AGENDA

To view the preliminary Annual Meeting agenda, please click here >>

REGISTRATION

USRBC Members

Annual Meeting and Gala Dinner: $1,495

Gala Dinner Only: $500

Non-Members

Annual Meeting and Gala Dinner: $1,995

Gala Dinner Only: $800


ROOM BLOCK
The USRBC has reserved a block of rooms for Annual Meeting participants at the Kimpton Hotel Eventi at the discounted rate of $409 per night (plus tax). To reserve your room in the room block, please use this link . Please note that the room block expires on October 7th and reservations made after that date may be subject to a higher rate.
VISAS
Given the extended wait times to receive visas to travel from Russia to the United States, we encourage Annual Meeting participants who need a U.S. visa to begin the application process as soon as possible.

SPONSORSHIP
Please contact Randi Levinas at randi.levinas@usrbc.org or 202.739.9196 for details as to how your company can support USRBC and the 2019 Annual Meeting.

We look forward to seeing you in New York in November.
‌

Bob McConnell
Coordinator, External Relations
U.S.-Ukraine Foundation’s Friends of Ukraine Network

rmcconnell@usukraine.org
SUPPORT THE U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION'S
2019 ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGN
You can also support the U.S. - Ukraine Foundation's mission by sending a contribution by mail to:
U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, 1090 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005.