Bia de Salles was born a citizen of the world. Although she grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she has always had a bird's eye view of her place in the world. The great grand-daughter of a former Brazilian President and the grand-daughter of Senators, she traveled from her earliest years, staying with her mother’s relatives from the Italian nobility or visiting her Ambassador Uncle in Europe. At the age of 14, Bia was sent to an International girls boarding school for languages and finishing skills in a town near Geneva, Switzerland. It was there that she became a polyglot to make other polyglots envious: In addition to her native Portuguese, Bia is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, French and German, and has a basic knowledge of Dutch, Japanese, Hebrew and Chinese. She is a lifelong learner, with an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Partnership with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. She also has a degree in Law from Mackenzie University in Sao Paulo, and has studied Marketing, International Affairs and Human Resources at various places. People are drawn by her positive energy and have always been interested and inspired by her generous soul.
All Globonders are “well-connected” by definition but Bia takes that term to a whole new level: Some years ago, Bia introduced Kirstin to her friend "Martin" at the Harvard Club Dinner the night before an HBS Latin American conference at which Globond was a VIP guest. The next day Kirstin realized that "Martin" was none other than serial entrepreneur, billionaire and philanthropist Martin Varsavsky who was the event’s keynote speaker. In the summer of 2000, Bia called Kirstin from India to tell her about her new friend, a Wall Street Journal reporter named “Daniel” whom she had met in China. She insisted that Kirstin set up a conference call to tell him about Globond which was still in its prelaunch phase. “Daniel” and Kirstin exchanged friendly emails about being mutual friends of Bia, and planned to have a conference call. The call never took place because “Daniel” was kidnapped and later murdered in Karachi, Pakistan. Bia's “new friend” turned out to be none other than Daniel Perl, the American journalist who had served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the WSJ and was stationed in Bombay to interview Richard Reid, the journalist that was investigating the Taliban.
Kirstin met Bia for the first time before Globond was officially established, on one of Kirstin’s visits to Brazil. Before, they had even met, Bia insisted that Kirstin stay at her beautiful penthouse in Sao Paulo, and. A year after they met for the first time, Bia, who had been born privileged, left all of her possessions behind in Brazil and came to the United States alone to make it by herself. She moved back and forth between the East and West Coast in a number of positions until she finally settled down to build a life in Palm Springs, California.
During the summer of 2001 Bia called Kirstin from Hong Kong to give the good news that she had finally been sponsored by Morgan Stanley and was relocating to NY. Her official start date for her new job in The World Trade Center was September, 10, 2001... the next day, Kirstin was inundated with phone calls and email from concerned friends and family asking if Bia was alive. Kirstin learned that Bia had been on her way to work that morning when the planes hit the Towers . She spent the next few months in New York City with other shell-shocked friends helping one another to get through the crisis.
Still Bia didn't give up and Kirstin picked her up from Logan Airport 3 weeks later and dropped her at The Leonx Hotel for an interview with the board of a Private Equity Team in Boston. 14 days later she started working as an Investors Relations Manager for a Boutique Private Investment Bank in Los Angeles, where she got her sponsorship and later her green-card. She is now married to Ata Yazici, a graphic designer from Instanbul and they have two children, Lorenzo and Annalise. They live in Palm Springs, California where she has served as the Marketing Officer for Desert Commercial Bank in Palm Desert and as the Events Promoter for EventNet in the Palm Springs region.
Bia is currently part of the Women Leaders Forum in the Coachella Valley and serves on the Board of the Center of Leadership and Partnership Studies with Dr. Riane Eisler, PHD. She is an Ambassador to several local Chambers of Commerce and has worked with the World Economic Forum in DC, India, China and Davos, Switzerland. She previously worked at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at the Harvard Business School, where she invited companies to attend their various Summits, and also served as a panel mediator. Bia spent 3 months experiencing life at an Ashram in India and lived in Southeast Asia for some time.
For more about Bia or to view her resume check her website at: http://www.biadesalles.com/ For more about Globond because the world is huge please visit: http://globond.com/
Paul H. Granger
Paul H. Granger defines himself as “a businessman’s lawyer.” Paul was born in Worcester, MA and raised in a small town in Central Massachusetts called Leicester (his 93 year old Dad still lives there). He’s lived in the Boston area ever since attending law school in Boston.
Paul started his law career as an environmental lawyer with one of the Massachusetts state agencies, and then jumped into the business world when he joined Arthr D. Little, where he was in charge of global contracting and also served as an Export Control Officer. AD Little was a fascinating place to work, filled with many unique and very talented colleagues involved in very diverse work across many disciplines. At one point the Company operated its consulting business from 50 offices in 30 countries, and the nature of Paul’s responsibilities exposed him to many cultures and ways of doing business, an experience that continues to benefit him and his clients to this day. He remains friendly with many ex-ADLers through a large, well-organized Alumni Association.
After a stint as an independent attorney, Paul signed on as General Counsel for Motion Technology, Inc., where he managed all aspects of the company's corporate legal matters, including corporate governance, litigation, intellectual property, real estate, and contracts.
He is now an attorney in the Boston office of Greenberg Traurig, which ranks as the 7th largest U.S. law firm by American Lawyer. Paul sees his practice at GT as just a continuation of what he’s been doing throughout his career, i.e. being a “businessman’s lawyer” and bringing many years of experience to bear when addressing client issues, whatever their nature. He has owned small businesses, including a franchise operation, and managed his own law practice, so he also understands the practical aspects of running a business. He tries to apply as pragmatic and holistic an approach as possible to client concerns, taking into account how resolving a specific issue might impact the overall operation of the business. This approach, coupled with GT's remarkable depth of talent across every conceivable legal discipline, provides Paul’s clients with a unique and powerful resource. He hopes in the year(s) ahead to be able to provide substantial benefit to Globonders around the world.
While his practice covers "business law" generally, his one sub-specialty that should be of interest to US-based Globonders involved in international commerce is compliance with US export laws and regulations. Ever since the tragic events of 9/11, sensitivity to fighting terrorism has resulted not only in the implementation of additional legislation, but also in a significant increase in enforcement of existing laws and regulations, including tougher penalties for violations. It has become a complex area of the law that applies to all US businesses who export any type of commodity and/or technical data. Many people are surprised to learn that the various regulations apply to more than just "high tech", and in fact apply equally to "low tech" or "no tech" items. He would be happy to help any Globonders to better understand their obligations in this area.
Paul has two children, Lisa and Mark. Lisa is a graduate of Merrimack College and has joined the working world. Mark is in his third year at Roger Williams University, and has just returned from a semester in Florence, Italy. Paul is an avid golfer and skier, and he enjoys music of all types, as well as selective cooking.
Christian Hunt
Christian Hunt is a 43-year-old Belgian national residing in Brazil since 2004. He is a Partner at Alothon Group LLC, a Latin American private equity firm investing in mid to late stage buyouts mostly in Brazil (ex Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank Latin American private equity team). He also maintains interests in privately owned companies active in real estate development, wind power, information technology, services to individuals and the agribusiness.
Until 2004 Christian was Chief Executive of Europe Unlimited SA, a Brussels-based firm specializing in connecting European growth companies with venture capital and private equity investors.
Christian was previously Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the EMDS Group, an international graduate recruitment consultancy, which had the majority of Fortune Global 500 companies as clients. Among other things, Christian led the corporate expansion of EMDS into 15 countries across Europe, Asia and North America, through joint-ventures, acquisitions and green-field operations. In 2000, he co negotiated the merger of EMDS into Diversified Agencies Group, a division of Havas.
Christian is a supporter of social venturing and an advisor to NESsT, an international organization committed to reducing systemic poverty and social exclusion through the development of social enterprises. He is a promoter of high growth entrepreneurship and as such, served on the board of Entrepreneurs for Growth from 1998 to 2005, as its President from 2002 to 2004.
Christian is a Chartered Director and Fellow of the Institute of Directors in London. He holds an A.S. in Commercial Sciences from ICHEC Brussels Management School and a PgC in Corporate Direction from Leeds Business School. He is an O.P.M. alumnus from Harvard Business School. Christian is a member of YPO since 1997 and of LIDE since 2008. He is fluent in French, English and Portuguese, and reads some Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch.
Porto Alegre, August 2008
Brett King
Brett King is the founder of the International Academy of Financial Management (http://www.aafm.org/), a global professional association dedicated to improving the skills and careers of financial specialists. In just the last 6 years King has been directly responsible for the global growth of the Academy with membership spanning 145 countries, and growth exceeding 200,000 members and affiliates. King also owns a successful niche consulting operation based in Asia (UserStrategy www.userstrategy.com), which consults for world-class brands on customer interaction, and he is in the process of launching a new book entitled BANK 2.0 – Surviving Sub-Prime by Building the Total Customer Experience.
Although not an academic King has lectured regularly on MBA programs such as the Australian School of Business and Macquarie Graduate School of Management’s MBA series. Brett was also awarded an honorary chair professorship with the China Management Institute in 2002. As a professional keynote speaker, King has presented at conferences in more than 25 countries for organizations like Forbes, The Economist, United Nations Development Program, Financial Times, DTT Fast 500, The Asian Banker Retail Excellence Program, Leaders in Dubai, Terrapin, IIR and others. He currently is an international judge for The Asian Banker (Retail Banking) Excellence Awards, Middle-East Retail Banking and the Middle East Business Achievement Awards.
King has advised many of the world’s leading firms and institutions including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, UBS, CSFB, EmiratesNBD, NBK, BNP Paribas, ADCB, IBM, General Motors, Cathay Pacific, and others.
King previously led Modem Media/Digitas’ (NASDAQ:DTAS) regional business in Asia as Regional Managing Director, and prior to that was the Regional Director of the E-Business Service-Line for Deloitte Consulting (Asia-Pacific-Africa). King qualified as a national finalist in the Achaeus Institute entrepreneurship program (1998.) He maintains residency in Dubai, Hong Kong and Melbourne.
Masuda Sultan
Masuda Sultan is an Afghan-American who had dedicated her professional life to the development of Afghanistan and Afghan-American relations.
Initially, In 2001 Ms. Sultan assisted international media organizations covering Afghanistan including CBS and CNN. At this time she ran Women for Afghan Women (WAW), an international organization which advocates for the inclusion of women in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. At WAW she organized women around Afghanistan to give input into the constitution in its drafting process.
Ms. Sultan moved on to conduct research and training for Harvard University, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Institute of Peace, Inclusive Security, Hunt Alternatives Fund, and Radical Funds.
In recent years, she has worked in the areas of investment promotion, economic development, and business planning. In 2006 she founded Insight Consulting, an Afghan firm providing strategic consulting services to international investors and donors. Insight Consulting facilitated the largest private investment in Afghanistan when Etisalat, a U.A.E. based telecommunications company entered the market as the fourth GSM provider.
She currently serves as an advisor to the Ministry of Finance in Afghanistan. In this capacity, she provides technical assistance to the Government of Afghanistan on behalf of donor nations in the areas of public administration reform, private sector strengthening, privatization, and capacity building.
Ms. Sultan holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, where she studied business and government relations. She is an advisor to the Afghan Business Council in Dubai, Arzu Rugs, and the Business Council for Peace.
She is also fluent in Pashto, an Afghan local language. Her memoir, My War at Home, was published in early 2006 by Simon & Schuster.
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