MICHAEL
YANNEY, 75, is Chairman of the Investment Manager. He has over
40 years of investment, banking and business experience. Mr. Yanney has
significant
experience in the development and operation of agribusiness projects
in Russia and other countries of the Region, having been involved in a
total
of more than 40 agricultural related projects in the Region. In 1978,
a company controlled by Mr. Yanney successfully developed 10,000 hectares
of soybean farms in the Crimea, Krasnodar and Stavropol during a
three
year project. He was also involved in the operation of a large cranberry
farm in Pinsk. In addition, Mr. Yanney worked with Valmont, Inc.
in the development of an irrigation equipment manufacturing plant in Rostov-na-Donu
and also assisted the John Deere Company in licensing the manufacture
of
soybean harvesting equipment to the Ministry of Agriculture of the
former Soviet Union. He was the principal leader in a major wheat production
project
in Russia, which was coordinated with several Western European agribusiness
corporations. Mr. Yanney has dealt directly with or is acquainted
with each of the Soviet and Russian ambassadors to the United States since
1978
and with the Ministers of Agriculture and Food as well as many leaders
in the Kremlin. Through his activities, Mr. Yanney has developed
numerous in Region business and government contacts and has gained extensive
knowledge
of both the importation and exportation of agricultural equipment
and products to and from the former Soviet Union.
Mr. Yanney served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Burlington Capital Group, formerly America First Companies, since its founding in 1984 until 2008. BCG is a financial services firm in Omaha, Nebraska that manages public and private investment funds that have raised, financed and managed assets over $10 billion since 1984. From 1977 until the organization of the first such fund in 1984, Mr. Yanney was principally engaged in the ownership and management of commercial banks. From 1961 to 1977, Mr. Yanney was employed by Omaha National Bank and Omaha National Corporation, where he held various positions, including the position of Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the holding company. Mr. Yanney also has served or currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Level 3 Communications, Inc., Tetrad, Inc., America First Apartment Investors, Inc., and Omaha State Bank. He also served on FreddieMac’s Advisory Board until FreddieMac went public. Mr. Yanney retired from the board of directors for BNSF, Forest Oil Corp. and Freedom Enterprises. Mr. Yanney is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Wisconsin University Graduate School of Banking.
LISA Y. ROSKENS, 43, is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the General Partner and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Burlington Capital Group. Under Ms. Roskens leadership, the Burlington Capital Group was restructured from solely an investment management firm to an organization with operating businesses that have ongoing opportunities for growth and revenue stream. Through her guidance, the Company has entered new markets and pursued successful business ventures that incorporate the strength, talent and skills of the Company’s associates. Prior to joining the Investment Manager in 2000, Ms. Roskens served as Managing Director of Twin Compass, LLC and was the Director of Business Development at Inacom Corporation. From 1995 to 1997, Ms. Roskens served as Finance Director for the U.S. Senate campaign of Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Ms. Roskens was an attorney with the Kutak Rock law firm in Omaha, Nebraska from 1992-1995, specializing in commercial litigation. Ms. Roskens also serves as a member of the board of directors of Cantera Partners, L.L.C.
ROBERT PEYTON, 64,
is President of the General Partner and Vice Chairman of the Investment Manager.
Mr. Peyton joined the Investment Manager in 1994 and he has since
overseen the investment of the Predecessor Funds, Agribusiness Partners
International, a $100 million OPIC-enhanced private equity investment
fund devoted to investments in consumer related companies primarily involved
in food and agribusiness sector in the Region. In addition to the
Predecessor
Fund responsibilities, Mr. Peyton has served as President of the
Burlington Capital Emerging Markets Group, President and Chief Executive
Officer of
Cantera Partners, a global food aid development company, and most
recently, President and Chief Executive Officer of BCG Solutions, a joint
venture
startup company involving patented technology utilizing ozone gas
as an anti-microbial agent in food safety and home health care markets.
Mr. Peyton’s previous experience includes 17 years with Cargill, Inc. and ten years with ConAgra, Inc., holding management positions with both companies where he was instrumental in the strategic planning and business growth and development in a variety of food production, processing and trading businesses. He also has been involved extensively in the marketing and distribution of various agricultural and food products in the Region. He has also been active in the development of and on the Board of several portfolio companies in the Region. Mr. Peyton recently served as Chairman of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, a Denver-based organization focused on creating business opportunities for Russian and American companies. Mr. Peyton is a graduate of Kansas State University.
IRINA RUKHADZE, 44, is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Manager. During 2004-2008, Mrs. Rukhadze was the General Director of Chicken Kingdom, formerly Chicken Kingdom (a Predecessor Fund investment). She was also President and CEO of Golden Rooster LLC and General Director of Kurinoye Tsarstvo Management (KTM) companies. Ms. Rukhadze joined API in 1997 as Financial Controller. In this capacity, she was directly involved in monitoring API’s investments in Russia and CIS, representing over 30 legal entities. In 2001, she was promoted to the Senior Investment Officer position and took overall responsibility for Golden Rooster. From 1990 to 1997, Ms. Rukhadze held various senior finance positions with D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, a global advertising agency, SITEX Group of Companies, an international trade and investment company, and EDN/Sovintel, a U.S.-Russian joint venture in satellite telecommunications (now Golden Telecom, a Russian telecommunications provider). Ms. Rukhadze earned a Diploma in Economics from the Moscow State University.
MICHAEL DRAPER, 43, Chief Financial Officer of the Investment Manager, joined the company in April 2004. Additionally, Mr. Draper serves as a Director of Cantera Partners, LLC and BCG Solutions, LLC. Mr. Draper was formerly with Transgenomic, Inc., a publicly traded bio-tech company, from 2000 to 2004 where he served as CFO and previously as Controller. From 1997 to 1999, he was Vice President of Accounting and Finance at Midland Systems, Inc. (MSI Systems Integrators). MSI provides computer hardware and networking solutions and services to customers throughout the Midwestern United States. Mr. Draper also spent eight years in public accounting with the firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP from 1989 to 1997. Mr. Draper holds a degree in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Nebraska and is a Certified Public Accountant.
GEORGE KRAUSS, 68, is a Managing Director of BCG and served on the Board of Managers of the Predecessor Fund. Until 1997 Mr. Krauss was a Partner of Kutak Rock, a national law firm with 400 lawyers in 16 offices throughout the United States. Mr. Krauss then remained Of Counsel to the firm until 2006. From 1983 until 1993 Mr. Krauss served as Managing Partner of Kutak Rock. In 1997 Mr. Krauss became affiliated with BCG. In addition to his legal education and experience Mr. Krauss has a Masters of Business Administration and is a registered Professional Engineer. In addition to numerous private boards of directors, Mr. Krauss has served on eight public boards of directors three of which he continues to serve on at the present time including: MFA Financial, Inc., which is listed on the NYSE, and inforGROUP, Inc., which is listed on the NASDAQ. In addition Mr. Krauss is on the Board of Manager of BCG, that is the general partner of America First Tax Exempt Investors, L.P., which is also listed on the NASDAQ.
