Jaroslawa Z. Johnson

Jaroslawa Z. Johnson was appointed UMAEF President and CEO effective January 1, 2015.

Ms. Johnson directs, oversees and provides overall management for the UMAEF program activities and remains a member of the Fund’s Board of Directors in addition to her role as President and CEO.

In 1991, she co-founded the America Ukraine Business Council, serving as its founding member and former chairperson. She played a pivotal role in fostering economic ties between the U.S. and Ukraine, including sponsoring the first American visit of a Ukrainian president in 1991 and organizing the first Ukraine-U.S. Trade Conference for American companies in 1992.

She was a pioneer in representing American companies seeking to expand into Ukraine and Eastern Europe, helping establish the legal framework for U.S.-Ukraine business relations. Notable transactions include:

• Abbott Laboratories – Obtained GOU approval for diagnostic equipment
• AES Corporation – Advised on the sale of interests in Ukrainian power distribution companies AES Kyivoblenergo and AES Rivneoblenergo
• Bank of Cyprus – Guided the sale of a Ukrainian bank
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – Arranged a US$50 million unsecured loan to Ukreximbank
• Export-Import Bank of the U.S. – Facilitated financing for iron ore mining equipment in Ukraine
• Gruma International – Managed acquisition of two corn milling companies and oversaw post-closing corporate and labor law issues
• 3M – Conducted FCPA compliance reviews of operations in Ukraine and Russia
• IFC/Megabank – Supported debt and equity recapitalization of the bank
• Philip Morris – Managed the acquisition of a factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine
• Kraft Foods – Facilitated purchase of a confectionery plant in Trostianets, Ukraine
• McDonald’s – Registered the business and advised on opening the first McDonald’s in Kyiv, including import arrangements prior to sourcing domestic suppliers
• Monsanto – Negotiated a contract dispute with Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture
• OMV Petrom (part of an ExxonMobil-led consortium) – Negotiated a 50-year production sharing agreement for oil and gas exploration in the Skifska field in the Black Sea
• OPIC – Advised on additional investment in Platinum Bank; managed a lengthy dispute resolution over a political risk insurance claim with the Ukrainian government
• Turkcell – Provided counsel on corporate restructuring and participation in the Ukrtelecom privatization process
• Vanco Energy – Negotiated a production sharing agreement for deepwater exploration and production in the Black Sea’s Prykerch area
• Wizz Air – Managed corporate, labor law, and tax litigation matters, including aircraft leasing issues

Ms. Johnson’s legal practice during her career also included roles at prestigious firms such as Reuben & Proctor, Isham, Lincoln & Beale, Hinshaw, Altheimer & Gray, and Chadbourne & Parke.

She was appointed by the U.S. President to the Board of Directors of Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund in 1994, serving as an active member of the Board since its inception.

Prior to her appointment as President and CEO of UMAEF in 2014, Ms. Johnson was managing partner of an international law office in Kyiv, Ukraine, which she launched in the early 1990s.

Ms. Johnson’s extensive international corporate practice included counseling corporations in many countries on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financing transactions, project finance and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance in the US and Central and Eastern Europe.

Over the course of more than two decades of international corporate legal work, Ms. Johnson advised many Fortune 500 companies and other Western multinationals on cross-border transactions with Ukraine.

During her many years as an international corporate attorney in Ukraine, Ms. Johnson was consistently recognized by international legal directories as a leading lawyer in Ukraine’s corporate, banking and finance and energy sectors.

In August 2016, Ukraine’s President awarded Jaroslawa Z. Johnson a Commemorative Medal on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence in recognition of her contribution to Ukraine over more than two decades.

Ms. Johnson was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the U.S. as a child. She is a graduate of Goucher College and University of Wisconsin Law School, where she was editor of the law review and earned a J.D. in 1977. After law school, she served as law clerk to Chief Judge Thomas E. Fairchild, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and practiced corporate law with several Chicago law firms.