OREANDA-NEWS. June 28, 2012. Mr. Alex Munteanu (Dragon Capital, Ukraine) and Mr. Halil Kuuluk (Intekno, Turkey) were appointed Chairmen of the Business Advisory Council, a position formerly held by Mr. Rahmi Koc (Koc Holding, Turkey) and Mr. Muhtar Kent (Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Coca Cola Company, USA).

The Business Advisory Council for Southeastern Europe and Eurasia (BAC SEE) is an independent, international network of business people and investors who voice the views and concerns of the business community on the challenges and opportunities facing the broader region. A select group of highly profiled members, BAC SEE serves an advisory role to policy makers from governments, regional initiatives, local business communities, European institutions, development organizations and IFIs.

“I’ve been a cheerleader for Southeastern Europe for a long time, led and managed several investments in Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and other emerging markets and am proud to be associated with this council for many years. It’s a big honor for me to become its Chairman now”, says Mr. Alex Munteanu, Managing Director, Private Equity, Dragon Capital. BAC members work closely with Europe’s eastern neighbors and those regions where the private sector is eager to build new bridges of cooperation with Europe and the international community.

One of the outgoing Chairmen of the Business Advisory Council, Mr. Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and CEO of The Coca Cola Company, reflected on the challenges and opportunities the current crisis poses to the regional governments. “We cannot let a crisis go to waste” – he said, addressing the current situation in Greece.

The BAC SEE was established in 1997 with the aim to mobilize cross-border business cooperation in the Balkans and to facilitate trade and investment. The organization takes pride in developing practical cross-border initiatives in fields such as border crossing and trade facilitation (World Bank’s USD 72mTTFSE project), capacity building for the public sector (EPA project), e-governance (establishment of SEE Center for e-Governance Development), and rail transport (Cargo 10 train, linking Ljubljana and Istanbul three times more often, in less than 50% of the 2008 travel time).