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Vesselka Consulting

The Range of Possibilities

Competences & Practice

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.

I founded Vesselka Consulting with a group of likeminded specialists in 2010 in the

belief that a more effective method of designing and implementing sustainable,

economic development and investment projects was possible through more flexible

planning and implementation coupled with longer time frames to assure

sustainability. This philosophy evolved from our specialists’ decades of hands-on

experience in h a wide array of private sector and emerging market development

issues.

Vesselka has the ability to bring together professionals from diverse disciplines and

with complementary skills. We are committed to a sustainable approach to all our

projects. Although privately held, our collegial structure actively reinforces this

approach and holds the firm accountable to its own people for its independent

approach, and to its social and corporate responsibility.

We work with a vibrant blend of people with very different perspectives and from

many cultures, functioning together, learning from each other and sharing their

knowledge and ideas. They take advantage of the skills networks within the firm that

allow a group effort among colleagues who may be on opposite sides of the world,

but are working on the same or similar projects.

We appreciate and encourage out-of-the-box thinking that often results in solutions

that that may not have been immediately obvious. We welcome the opportunity to

exceed your expectations. For more information please visit our web site at

www.vesselkaconsult.com.

Richard A. Shepard

Director

Message from the Director

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THE CLIENT’S INTERESTS COME FIRST

We believe that the client’s interests come first. This means delivering better value than the client expects. It does not mean doing whatever the client asks.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

Our specialists are expected to exhibit professional conduct at all times and to show respect for local cultures and customs without compromising integrity.

INDEPENDENCE

We encourage independence while focusing on the client’s goals to make them a reality. Independence means that we may disagree at times, because not being able to disagree destroys independent thought and prevents trying new ideas and solutions.

RESULTS

We think you should be able to see success. That’s why we don’t just write reports but combine our recommendations with model implementation as proof of concept. The results are tangible and quantifiable.

FLEXIBILITY

Your needs come first - because if you don’t succeed, neither do we. Because we offer small-firm speed, efficiency and flexibility, we can adapt to serve your unique needs and deliver results.

PARTNERSHIP

Our business is based on a spirit of trust and a shared commitment to realize your success.

SUBSTANCE

Informed decisions rely on accurate, fact-based information. To ensure you receive consistently superior value, we employ proven methodologies, data, analytics and deep industry knowledge in avenues of our work.

STRUCTURE

A building without a robust foundation will ultimately collapse. Each project is unique and we do not believe in “kits” because in our experience they don’t work. We have worked on projects large and small in many political and social environments and know how to create a custom blueprint that shows you where to go and how to get there on time and on budget.

VALUES & PRINCIPLES

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Brian Mau, Management and Local Development Advisor Mr. Mau is an experienced training, education and community development expert based in Dubai and is currently on assignment to oversee a national anti-corruption office for the United Nations Office in Baghdad. Earlier in Tajikistan he was the Acting Director, Economic and Environmental Issues of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He has implemented programs for the World Bank-funded National Institute of Management and Administration in Kabul as the Faculty Manager to train and mentor instructors for the Management Department. Under a contract with USAID Mr. Mau was the Manager of a community outreach and capacity

building project in twelve provinces of Afghanistan and was the Field Program Officer for the central highlands region. Mr Mau has also been the Visiting Lecturer in Political Science for the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic and was an Assistant Professor, MBA Faculty at American University – Central Asia in Bishkek. Between 2005 and 2009 he was the Associate Director/Manager of Planning and Reporting for the Aga Khan Foundation (University of Central Asia), Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan where Mr. Mau created and managed an implementation plan to launch new professional and vocational schools in five remote sites and prepared proposals for similar programs in Afghanistan and Egypt. Mr Mau joined Vesselka as an independent advisor in 2010.

Mick Mullay, Management Advisor

Mick Mullay is Vice President – Eastern Europe and Central Asia for the Echo Group, a consulting firm specializing in business education and training, SME development, and Public Private Partnership development in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He has over 20 years of international experience leading projects and providing short-term advisory and training assistance. He has consulted and trained multiple businesses and government leaders and worked closely with over 50 education institutions in establishing management and small business support programs. Mr. Mullay has played a key role in establishing NGOs and education associations and worked with national ministries and agencies tasked with improving legislation and policies and the

delivery of public services. During these efforts, he has created strategy and guided stakeholder communication programs that helped establish partnerships between governments, education institutions and international businesses such as Microsoft, Chevron, Citibank, Kraft Foods, KPMG, and others. Mr. Mullay has been advising Vesselka since 2010.

Dr. Paul K. Dezendorf, Education and Technical Advisor Dr. Dezendorf is a Member and Trustee of Sustainable Rural Development International, Limited a UK Not-for-Profit established by Vesselka Consulting Ltd. Professor Dezendorf is an accomplished academic and practitioner with over sixteen years of university teaching and staff work. He is a Fulbright Scholar and conducted nineteen grant-funded trips to Russia, Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Grand Turks & Caicos Islands, and Slovenia. Professor Dezendorf has authored and co-authored over fifteen journal articles, eight book

KEY SPECIALIST ADVISORS

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chapters/case study publications; four teaching manuals and forty-eight national and international presentations. His private sector work includes ten years of general management and divisional staff positions with major cable television companies and was responsible for starting up or turning around cable systems in markets including Boston, Hartford, St. Louis, New York State, and locations in North and South Carolina. He has over five years of public administration work assisting with creation of a new regulatory unit in the State of New Jersey Utilities Commission including drafting regulations, ordinances, and policy statements.

Recently he has acted as a consultant to the Urals Academy of Public Administration Professor Dezendorf holds a PhD in Philosophy, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior from the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. He received a Masters of Social Work from the University of South Carolina, an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Rutgers University and his BA from Drew University. He has advised Vesselka since 2012.

Latif Jina, Middle East and Gulf Business Advisor

Mr. Jina is Member and Trustee of Sustainable Rural Development International, Limited a UK Not-for-Profit established by Vesselka Consulting

Ltd. Mr. Jina is the Managing Director of el. Advisory in the United Arab Emirates. He has extensive experience in international development with over 14 years of demonstrated achievements working with international agencies, government and the private sector in strategy, management, financing and assessment. Mr Jina was Senior Advisor, Strategy and Partnerships for the Aga

Khan Development Network, University of Central Asia based in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. His background includes in-depth skills and experience in institutional development, WATSAN, environment, and education. He holds degrees in Civil Engineering from McGill University and an MA in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins, School of Advanced International Studies. He has significant field experience in Central and South Asia, Egypt, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Barbados, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. He is fluent in English and French and proficient in Kacchi, Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu. Mr Jina joined as the Middle East and Gulf region advisor to Vesselka in 2012. He is member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta; Society of College and University Planners, Canadian Association for Study of International Development.

NATALIYA TKACHENKO, MANAGER OF DEVELOPMENT Ms Tkachenko has over fifteen years’ experience as a business, marketing and human resources manager working with international clients and offices in the United State and Great Britain. As the Senior Project Development Manager for an international school in Kyiv specializing in English language training and work & travel programs to the United States and the UK, she developed and implemented a Ukraine sales network with universities and private partners to maintain and increase sales and worked with a local tax firm in Ireland to handle US claims for students. She worked closely with the Ukrainian Tax, Education and Tourism Ministries on regulatory and licensing matters. Additionally, Ms. Tkachenko managed HR activities, designing and

implementing a sales manager and teacher bonus system and worked with outside counsel to draft client and project contracts and handled corporate and individual client relations; tailored and presented course and cost structures to corporate and individual clients and developed an English language curriculum for Ukrainian corporate clients. She was principal liaison with the UK and US embassies in Kyiv. Prior to joining Vesselka she was Development Manager at The Bridge School in Odessa where she was

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responsible for establishing and managing all international projects related to education and tourism. Currently she leads the Black Sea Sustainable Rural Tourism Program and has presented the program at the annual meeting of The International Eco-Tourism Society in California, conducted workshops with partners in Turkey and Ukraine and organized the annual membership meeting in Kherson, Ukraine in 2015. She works closely with the World Wildlife Fund – Turkey, Union for the Promotion of Green Tourism of Ukraine and is a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. She holds an advanced degree in Chemical Technology in Fibers from the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design and speaks Russian, Ukrainian and English. Ms. Tkachenko has worked with Vesselka since 2010.

RICHARD SHEPARD, DIRECTOR

Mr. Shepard has over 35 years’ experience as an attorney and executive with multi-national corporations including International Paper and Shimizu Development Corporation and with USAID, MCC and World Bank development interventions. Beginning in 1994 he has provided advice and led teams in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana on a wide array of matters. Between 2003 and 2005 Mr. Shepard provided due diligence and legal advice to international investors in Ukraine. From 2006 until 2009 Mr. Shepard was the Director of Legal Affairs for the Aga Khan Foundation’s University of Central Asia dealing with the central and local governments of the Republics of Kazakhstan,

Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. He founded Vesselka Consulting in 2010 which sub-contracted to implement a software solution for a private registry at The Pearl, Qatar. Vesselka then entered into a sub contract to support the IGN France implementation project for land reform in Uganda quickly followed by a subcontract with ILS/Manatron and Thompson Reuters for the USAID Land Reform Project in Tajikistan. He currently works with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and NIRAS, Finland on government capacity building project in Palestine. He holds a BA degree from Drew University, a JD from New York Law School, studied Russian at Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and Turkish at the Shafak Language Center in Dushanbe.

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SELECTED RECENT PROJECT SUMMARIES

The following summaries represent some of our recent assignments.

LAND ADMINISTRATION PROJECT II,

PALESTINE 2014 – current

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland and

NIRAS, Finland

Lead the technical advisory and support activities and

review and promote regulatory changes in strategies,

institutional and organizational reform for the

Palestinian Land Administration. Develop a PLA-wide

monitoring and evaluation plan, Corporate Strategy and

integrated HRD Strategy and five year training plan.

Assist PLA Directorates with planning, training and

implementation. Assist overall capacity building efforts.

SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT

INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, UK

Vesselka is one of three trustees to this hybrid non-

profit based in the UK which incorporates for-profit

models within a development context. The mission of

SRDI is to establish financially sustainable social

enterprise ventures within its mandate of sustainable

economic development for rural areas. The first of its

programs is the Black Sea Sustainable Rural Tourism

venture. Vesselka Consulting is the manager of all

programs on behalf of SRDI.

THE BLACK SEA SUSTAINABLE RURAL

TOURISM PROGRAM, 2012 – ongoing

Secretariat:

World Wildlife Fund–Turkey; Vesselka

Consulting Ltd.

National Offices:

Küre Mountains Ecotourism Society,

Azdavay, Turkey

Chaika Eco-Tourism Resort, Hola

Prystan, Ukraine

The Black Sea Sustainable Rural Tourism Program is a

dual track effort combining for-profit and development

components to create a unique, regional system of

interconnected communities around the Black Sea. It is

implemented by Vesselka Consulting under contract to

Sustainable Rural Development International in the UK.

The governance structure is composed of a Secretariat,

National and Community offices concentrating initially

in Ukraine, Turkey and Georgia. The Secretariat is

currently composed of Vesselka Consulting and World

Wildlife Fund – Turkey. Vesselka manages all

commercial aspects, including destination development,

marketing and booking arrangements. Community

membership is based on Global Sustainable Tourism

Council criteria and commissions are entirely traveller

based with a special fund set aside for community

development.

WORLD BANK COMPETITIVENESS

PROJECT, REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

2014 - 2015

Conduct a feasibility study to determine the optimum

location and business structure for a secured

transaction registry.

USAID LAND REFORM PROJECT,

REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN 2011 – 2013

With International Land Systems and

Thomson Reuters - Manatron

Provided the Land Policy and Legislative Advisor to the

project aimed at reforming the land administration and

management of farms in Tajikistan. Worked closely with

the President’s Administration, Ministries of Agriculture,

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Justice, the National Bank and Land Committee, the

team successfully drafted and helped to enact a new

Land Code that for the first time memorialized the right

of farmers to buy, sell and otherwise transfer land use

rights. Additional legislation included a new Law on

Cooperatives and Mortgage Law with accompanying

regulations. Workshops for farmers and lawmakers

were implemented to institutionalize the reforms.

THE PEARL, DOHA, QATAR PRIVATE

REGISTRATION SOULTUION 2010 –

2011

Vesselka Consulting Ltd. sub-contract

with International Land Systems, Inc.

Provided the team leader for the development and

installation of a private registration solution for The

Pearl, Qatar, a new city under construction by United

Development Company which was designed for more

than 40,000 residents and commercial clients. The IT

design and software was required to comply with the

forms and regulations of the Qatari Registry as part of a

public-private partnership. The system has been

operating successfully since the end of 2011.

CORPORATE RELATIONSHIPS, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS & BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

The International Ecotourism Society, Corporate Member

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Corporate Member

Maximpact - Member

Sustainable Rural Development International Limited (UK) Trustee Member

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SERVICES We concentrate our work in three broad areas: Sustainable Development, Corporate and Government Governance and Capacity Building and Land Policy and Administration. Within these three areas our expertise lies in sustainable tourism, rural community development, restructuring and streamlining government and private sector entities and land policy and administration reform.

Feasibility Planning

We create the map. Before investing too much time and money into a project, analyzing the concept is the first, and sometimes the last, step. We will look into economic, political, social, technological, scheduling and other factors. Our objective is to provide you with a complete range of possible negative and positive outcomes of the project and the risks and costs involved so that you can make an informed decision on whether to proceed or change your focus.

Project Planning

Once a decision has been made to proceed, we will take the approach selected and turn it into a project plan. We know that project plans based solely on forecasting from past experience can lead to failure because variables that did not occur are normally never considered. Our project plan will detail goals, objectives, methodology, and anticipated results in a measurable and fair way. We will tailor a budget to achieve results. Most importantly - we will involve you in the planning.

Project Experts

Our experts can work independently or as part of your team, or any combination of the two, based on your plans. We will not propose more specialists than necessary and back-up our field team through an integrated support network.

Project Implementation

We follow-through on implementing your project, monitoring progress and identifying variables to adjust the implementation as necessary but always with our eye on the target. We believe in mitigating the effects of unknown or ignored variables.

We have a formidable specialist capability with experts’ on-call, allowing us to meet the high technical demands of customers for project design, review or implementation for almost any task.

We review all proposed needs prior to accepting any assignment and if we feel that the project is outside our sphere of knowledge or capacity to plan or implement successfully, we will not undertake the project. However, we will do our best to help you find someone who can.

5 St. Johns Lane, London, England EC1M 4BH | Phone: +44 207.549.3662

info@vesselkaconsult.com | www.vesselkaconsult.com