Juris Lazdins

Juris Lazdins has over 30 years of experience in contracts, finance, information technology, and international business development. He is currently VP of Business Development at Selbre and EC America. Juris will serve on iiGrowth’s Business Advisory Council and focus on advising iiGrowth on serving the Technology and Commercialization market. Juris is a founding member of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce in the Americas. He has a BS degree in radio, film and television from Grand Valley State.

Steve Messner

Steve Messner has over 25 years of experience in finance, general management, operations, and strategy. He has extensive experience as a leader in professional services firms, most recently as CEO of a contract research organization (CRO) serving pharmaceutical/biotech companies and NIH. Prior to this, he was CFO and COO of two rapidly growing government contractors. Steve received a BA and an MS in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University, an MS in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Steve will serve on iiGrowth’s Business Advisory Council, helping the company assist clients with financial management, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and due diligence.

Uldis Osis

John Bryant

John Bryant is a retired public sector executive with over thirty years of experience in information technology and information systems automation. John has also worked to support emerging and medium sized business in maturing their technology operations as a strategic advisor to corporate executives. While in the public sector, John managed many large IT infrastructure assignments including directorship of multiple data centers; manager of field deployment and oversight for desktop, server, facility wiring, and staffing; and manager of e-Business portfolio application development, web services delivery, and business function coordination (120 line/field organizations, 500 people, and $90 million dollar budget). John was put in-charge of the US Postal Service’s troubled internal “.com” program, which he successfully reorganized; renegotiated contract performance with out-sourced developers; and then launched the site to the public. John has expertise in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), capital planning and investment justification of technology, and enterprise architecture. John has a BBA in International Business from the University of Texas at Austin. John will serve on iiGrowth’s Business Advisory Council, helping the company assist clients in developing Information Technology (IT) Services, partner relationships, and develop US market entry strategies.

Krista Altok Tassa

Krista Altok Tassa has over 25 years of experience in International Marketing and Management. She is the Managing Member of MobileNOW! a provider of digital permit and mobile payment solutions. It is the sole U.S. distributor for technology developed by Estonian based NOW! Innovations. Krista is also the President of the Estonian American Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She advises clients on investment opportunities, joint venture formation, market entry strategy, sales, and distribution channel development. Krista also works with Baltic companies and government agencies to present seminars, conferences, and trade show exhibitions promoting Baltic products and services in the U.S. She has direct experience in client development, business plan analysis and contract negotiations. Her company has been cited by Forbes magazine for its key role in facilitating one of Estonia’s largest privatization projects. Krista has a Masters in Fine Arts, Arts Administration and a Bachelor of Music Administration from Temple University. She has also studied International Business & Finance at New York University and French at the University of Sorbonne. Krista will serve on iiGrowth’s Business Advisory Council, helping the company assist clients in building their international brands and leveraging brand recognition and business partner relationships with US firms, US and EU market entry strategy and growth.

Michael Chervenic

Michael Chervenic helps companies and governments function more effectively in the ever changing global economy. He draws from over twenty years of experience as a marketing executive, research engineer, entrepreneur, and professional consultant to address complex strategy, product management, technology, and finance problems. As managing director of Stokes Evans, he is intimately involved in developing and implementing the market and operational strategies and capital restructuring necessary for companies to emerge stronger after the current recession. He is also facilitating elements of the United States Coast Guard Modernization to ensure all ships, boats, electronics, and computer systems are properly aligned to support mission requirements. Mr. Chervenic managed supply chain, commercialization, and marketing initiatives for Bayer, Dow, DuPont, BASF, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, Novell, and 50 other chemical, materials, health care, and high technology clients in over 15 countries as a senior leader with PRTM and Celerant Consulting. He has spoken on supply chain collaboration, business innovation, and information technology at Wharton, Duke Fuqua School, and other universities and industry associations.
Mr. Chervenic earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Rochester and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Penn State. He holds a Top Secret security clearance from the Department of Defense. He will serve on iiGrowth’s Business Advisory Council, helping the company assist clients in developing creating and executing innovative international business and supply chain strategies.

Eriks Rusis

Eriks Rusis has over 20 years human resources management, general management and business development experience in multi-national, cross-border environments in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Japan and the USA. He has extensive experience in helping Latvian firms establish or expand their presence in other countries. As CEO, Eriks opened operations in Russia and Germany for a large Latvian construction group. Serving as Business Development Manager he established offices in Stockholm, Tokyo and Berlin for a leading Latvian bank. Most recently, Eriks served as a director of the integrated solutions provider Lattelecom. He is now based near London in the UK. Eriks earned an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a B.A. from the University of Washington. He will serve on iiGrowth’s Business Advisory Council, helping the company assist clients in developing European export and import strategies.