Pierre Mellinger
Managing Director, Head of Central and Eastern Europe Private Equity
Chief Executive Officer, New Europe Fund Manager
AIG Investments, Warsaw

Based in Warsaw, Mr. Mellinger has overall responsibility for AIG Investments' private equity activity in Central and Eastern Europe as well as being one of the senior managers of the global AIG Investments practice. Mr. Mellinger joined AIG Investments in early 1998. He oversees the investment strategy and portfolio management policy for AIG New Europe Fund I (NEF I). He was instrumental in raising NEF I and has been directly involved in the sourcing, evaluation, execution, monitoring and exits of the NEF I portfolio as well recruiting and training the NEF team. Mr. Mellinger is also a member of GEM II’s Investment Committee for non-Asia deals. Mr. Mellinger has extensive experience in investments, finance, and management for more than 25 years, including almost 20 years in direct investments. Prior to joining AIG Investments, he was co-Head of the Financial Institutions Team at EBRD where he played a leading role in the setting up and development of this department and in particular its equity portfolio. Mr. Mellinger was also a Director, Head of Business Development and Deputy General Manager of the mortgage bank with Banque Sovac, a US $10 billion total balance sheet consumer finance, leasing, mortgage finance affiliate of Lazard Freres. Prior to that position, Mr. Mellinger was a senior officer at the French Minister of Finance in charge of export credit finance and financial relations with Central and Eastern Europe. In this capacity, he was responsible for the analysis and recommendation of export credit coverage in CEE and was directly involved in the financing of the Euro-Siberian pipeline, a US $10 billion project. Mr. Mellinger, a graduate of the French Ecole National d’Administration, holds a degree in Economics from Paris University, a Law Degree from La Sorbonne, as well as a degree in Political Science from Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Paris.

Dr. Geza Szephalmi
Director
AIG Investments, Budapest

Mr. Szephalmi joined AIG Investments in 1998.  Since 2006 he is Head of the Budapest Office, which covers Hungary, the Czech Republic and the former Yugoslav Republics.  Dr. Szephalmi is also Chairman of the Ethical and Professional Standards Committee of the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HVCA), and member of the OECD Business Advisory Board.  Dr. Szephalmi has served on the Boards of TriGranit and Waberer and was Vice Chairman of the International Energy Charter Transit Group.  Prior to joining the NEF team, Dr. Szephalmi worked as a Director of Central Europe Trust and served as the Chairman of HVCA and Magyar Hirlap, Hungary’s leading newspaper group. Mr. Szephalmi graduated in Law and Political Science from ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary and has completed courses in International Business Transactions in the University of Innsbruck, Austria and International Corporate Law in Bristol University, UK, Faculty of Law.

Doina Popescu
Director
AIG Investments, Bucharest

Mrs. Popescu joined AIG Investments in 1998 and is heading the Bucharest office. She originated, played a key role in investing, monitored and served in the Board of Directors of NEFs and GEMs investments in Astral Telecom, Orange Romania, Luxten Lighting Company, UTI Group, Digital Cable System as well as negotiated, executed M&A and exiting some of those investments. She specialized in services, security, telecom, CATV and media, manufacturing, construction and materials, food processing, FMCG and retail.
Before joining the NEF team, Mrs. Popescu worked as an Investment Officer with the Danube Fund, part of the Greek Alpha Group, covering the Balkan Region. Prior to that Mrs. Popescu had 8 years of management experience in engineering, software and advertising. Mrs. Popescu holds an MBA in Finance from a joint program of McGill University / HEC Montreal, a M.Sc. in Engineering and a M.Sc. in Computer Science and Mathematics.

Rossen Hadjiev
Director
AIG Investments, Warsaw

Mr. Hadjiev joined AIG Investments in 2000 and has focused on deals in telecommunications, cable television, financial services, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. He played a key role in structuring, negotiating and monitoring several investments in CEE, including Orange Romania, Orange Slovensko and Bulgarian Telecommunications Company. He also played a key role in sourcing, closing and monitoring the Jet Finance International investment. Mr. Hadjiev currently serves on the Board of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company and in the past served on the Boards of Astral Telecom, the leading Romanian CATV operator and of Jet Finance, the leading Bulgarian consumer finance company. Mr. Hadjiev has more than nine years of private equity transaction and management experience in CEE.

Mr. Hadjiev has a BA in Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria and holds an M.BA from IESE Business School (Spain). He was an exchange MBA student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College (NH, USA).

Michal Gontar
Director
AIG Investments, Warsaw

Mr. Gontar joined AIG Investments in 2000. Mr. Gontar specializes in the financial services sector. In this capacity Mr. Gontar originated and significantly contributed to closing of the Ultimo deal. Mr. Gontar was also instrumental in closing the Jet Finance transaction. Serving on the Board of both companies he assisted them in arranging funding, which is indispensable for fast growth in the financial services sector. Mr. Gontar has also worked on monitoring TriGranit and ECI. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Gontar was employed as manager at Schroders, where he worked primarily on major Polish privatization transactions as well as cross-border M&A deals involving Polish companies. From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Gontar worked in ABN AMRO Structured Finance in Warsaw. Mr. Gontar holds an MA in philosophy from Catholic University of Lublin (1991) and an MBA from University of Warsaw / University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1994).

Jakub Wojtaszek
Investment Officer
AIG Investments, Warsaw

Mr. Wojtaszek joined AIG Investments in 2001 and has focused on deals in the manufacturing, IT and transport & logistics. Prior to joining the NEF team, Mr. Wojtaszek worked as an Associate in Corporate Finance Department of Arthur Andersen and as an Analyst in two private equity funds. Mr. Wojtaszek holds an MA in finance from Warsaw School of Economics (Poland).

Silviu Pruna
Investment Officer
AIG Investments, Bucharest

Mr. Pruna joined AIG Investments in 2002 and has focused on deals in the CATV, pharmaceuticals, building materials, retail and business services. Prior to joining NEF Team Mr. Pruna had 5 years of business experience in the private sector. Mr. Pruna holds a MBA in Finance from a joint program of University of Ottawa / HEC Montreal / Economic Academy of Bucharest, a master degree in International Relations and a degree in Chemistry.

Artur Haze
Director
AIG Investments, Warsaw

Mr. Haze joined AIG Investments in October 2008 as a Director, working out of the Warsaw office. During 2001-2008, Mr. Haze was the President of a pharmaceutical distributor in Poland which he developed to become the leading company and sold it to Tamro/Phoenix in 2006. During 1997-2001, Mr. Haze was an investment officer in a Swedish private equity company called Oresa Ventures. He established offices in Moscow and Warsaw and completed several transactions in the healthcare and business services sectors. Between 1995 and 1997, Mr. Haze worked as a management consultant for Arthur Andersen in Sweden and was predominantly involved in M&A and restructuring of mid sized private businesses. He has a MSc in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Uppsala in Sweden.