Since 2008, Marchmont has been responsible for organizing the “Business Leaders Investment Forum”, a monthly event held in key regional capital cities across the RF. This event brings together scientific innovators, business owners, investors and political leaders – together with a wide range of expert speakers from Moscow and abroad - with the aim of promoting regional manufacturing investments into modernization. Marchmont’s General Partner for the 2010 program “Innovation for Business” is the Russian Venture Company, (RVC), and Official Sponsors include; RUSNANO, UBS Bank, the US Russia Center for Entrepreneurship, Hellevig, Klein & Usov, LLC, and others.

Mr. White is an expert in the field of early stage innovation project commercialization and was appointed in 2006 as one of the five private sector members of the US Russia Innovation Council on High Technologies, (ICHT), a Presidential Commission focused on developing policy proposals for the Russian government aimed at promoting Russia’s innovation economy and improving commercial business ties between the US and Russia technology sectors. Mr. White is also a member of the Independent Directors Association, (IDA), and Marchmont also holds membership in the US Russia Business Council (USRBC), the Russo British Chamber of Commerce, (RBCC) as well as many other regional Trade Associations.

From 1998 to 2005, Mr. White was Director of the Quadriga Central Russia Regional Venture Fund (CR RVF), a USD $50.0 million private equity fund financed by the EBRD and the German KfW. He oversaw the implementation of numerous successful investment projects during this time, including Nizhpharm, now part of the STADA Group, Bridgetown Foods, a top FMCG snack food producer, and Multiflex, the leading flexible packaging producer in Russia. Other co-investments made by the CR RVF included; ROC, ERA Trading, Speech Technology, Pekar and Morion electronics.

Between 1995 and 1998, Mr. White worked in the Corporate Finance Division of Price Waterhouse Coopers, where he was specifically seconded as a Senior Advisor to the Russian Privatization Center (RPC) and its Volga Vyatsky branch division in Nizhny Novgorod. Mr. White was responsible for training 22 Russian consultants in three provincial regions of Central Russia on the development of a self sustainable investment advisory center for SME businesses seeking market expansion and growth capital.

Between 1992 and 1995, Mr. White worked as an advisor to the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Administration and the “EPI center” think tank, where he focused his efforts on developing post privatization SME development programs, and establishing one of Russia’s first training centers dedicated to emerging entrepreneurs. This work resulting in numerous new company formations and helped to establish the region as a leader in Russia’s reform process and conversion from a command to a market driven economy.

Prior to arriving in Russia, Mr. White worked from 1985 to 1992 at ABN/Amro - LaSalle Bank, in Chicago, IL, in various management positions in Strategic Planning, Cash Mgt and M&A. Mr. White holds an MBA in Finance & Int’l Business from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (1990), Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and a BA degree in International Economics from Stetson University (1985), DeLand, FL. Mr. White lived full time in the city of Nizhny Novgorod and is married with two children. Shot...

He is a specialist in: strategic and business planning; investment consulting; project management; optimization of business processes. anti-crisis management; financial management; management accounting and reporting; market research and analysis, improving of corporate operational management systems.

Prior to joining Marchmont in 2008, Mr. Pigalov worked between 2006 – 2008 as the Director of the Center for Organizational Development and Internal Consulting at the Nizhegorodsky Fat & Oil Factory, one of the largest food producers in Russia. While in this full time “seconded” position, Mr. Pigalov was responsible for developing the long term strategic development of the enterprise in preparation for a specific M&A strategy being implemented by the company owners.

Between 1998 - 2006, Mr. Pigalov worked as the Director of the Economic Marketing and Management Division of the Volga-Vyatsky Consulting Center, a privately owned consultancy where he was responsible for leading a full time team of consultants on all consulting engagements. Between 1996 and 1998, Mr. Pigalov was trained in specific consulting methodologies through a British Know How Fund financed Technical Assistance program, in cooperation with the UK office of Price Waterhouse and the Russian Privatization Center (RPC) office in Nizhny Novgorod, where he was responsible for adapting western accounting principles into Russian management accounting systems at fast growing SME and medium sized regional enterprises.

Prior to starting his consulting activity Konstantin Pigalov worked from 1980 to 1996 as a scientist at Institute of Applied Physics of Russian Academy of Sciences. Mr. Pigalov received his MBA degree from the Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia in 1996. In 1994 he participated in the “Business for Russia” program, an international exchange program which placed him in Philadelphia, USA. Mr. Pigalov lives full time in the city of Nizhny Novgorod and is married with two children. Shot...