AUSTRIA: NOMINEES FOR PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 001524 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/P (BEHRMAN) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAID PREL SOCI XF XI ZR ZP CN PU MV SO AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIA: NOMINEES FOR PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT REF: STATE 112468 VIENNA 00001524 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. In response to reftel, Post submits the following nominees for the Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit: ¶2. Yavuz Kuscu. Kuscu is the current owner of TVG Consulting GmbH & TVG European Air Alliance. He is also the President of the Austro-Turkish Trade Association. TVG was established in 1974 and has focused its services on international investment consultations. The company has strived to promote cooperation in investment opportunities between Austria and foreign partners for many years, especially in the emerging markets of Turkey and Russia. ¶3. Kenan Gungor. Gungor has become an international expert on integration and diversity, as well as an advisor to the Austrian Federal Government and several Austrian state governments. He began his involvement in the field of immigration in 1981. In 2000, he founded the Health Networks of Turkish Migrants research division at the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel. At Basel, he conducted studies, professional coaching, and innovative pilot projects in the priority areas of integration, participation, and urban development in German speaking countries. In 2002, he became the manager of the integration development model for the Upper Tyrol region of Austria. In 2007, he became the head of the social analysis firm Difference. The firm focuses on diversity management in the city of Vienna, specifically in the areas of integration, participation, urban sociology, conflict, and violence analysis. The organization specializes in social transformation processes within societies which are increasingly influenced by immigration, integration, and diversity. ¶4. Mouddar Khouja. Khouja studied computer science at the Technical University in Vienna, and has lived in Austria since 1985. He is now the personal adviser to Anas Schakfeh, president of the official Islamic Faith Community of Austria. He is the co-founder of the Initiative of Muslim Austrians. He has represented the Islamic Faith Community in the Austrian Parliament and has worked with the political parties in Austria and the Federal Government on issues related to legal equality for Muslims. He has also lectured on subjects involving integration, migration, and racism. Khouja also co-founded a platform for inter-religious meetings in Vienna and a forum of Abrahamic religions in Austria. ¶5. Attila Dogudan. Dogudan is the most prominent entrepreneur in Austria with a Turkish background. He was born in Istanbul in 1959 and is the son of a Turkish restaurant owner and a Viennese mother. At the age of ten, he moved to Vienna. In 1981, he established the catering company Do&Co, three gourmet restaurants and a party catering service. Since 1987 his company has catered for LaudaAir and since 1992 for major events such as the Formula 1 race. The company went public in 1998 and opened logistics centers in New York in 1999 and in Miami in 2000. ¶6. Semih Caliskan. From 2004-2009, Caliskan was the head of wholesale operations of Colt Telecom Austria. Since Nov 2009, he has taken over as the new CEO of the Austrian subsidiary of Colt Telecom. COLT is an award winning and leading provider of data, voice and managed services to business and government in Europe. ¶7. Hikmet Ersek. Ersek, born in Istanbul, earned a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Economics, Vienna, Austria. He began his career at Europay/MasterCard from 1986 until 1996, after ending his professional career as a basketball player. Before joining Western Union in 1999, Ersek worked at GE Capital from 1996 - 1999. Then, in 1999, he joined First Data Corporation, the former parent company of Western Union, as the regional vice president of the Southern Europe region, later taking on the Central and Eastern Europe regions as well. Since 2004, Ersek has worked in Vienna as Western Union's executive vice president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific Region. He was recently appointed as Global CEO of Western Union and will soon be moving to the Western Union headquarters in Denver, CO. ¶8. Huseyin Tutuncu. Tutuncu is the owner of Kent Restaurant, a thriving and expanding Turkish restaurant in Vienna (Website: http://www.kent-restaurant.at/bg/page/index.h tml). ¶9. Mehmet Kocak. Kocak is the owner of Etap, one of the most popular Turkish restaurants in Austria, which hosts numerous events and caters to many businesses. Since 1999, Etap has expanded to four additional locations, including the Etap Event Center with a 600-seat VIP area. ¶10. Gursel Erel. Eres is the owner of Bentour Austria, a branch of Bentour International. Bentour Austria is a leading tourism company connecting Austria to Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, and Greece. Erel began his business career modestly with the help of his father's small pension, and now runs a highly successful operation. He founded Bentour Austria, which employs 23, in 2003. VIENNA 00001524 002.2 OF 002 ¶11. Atil Kutoglu. Kutoglu has become an internationally recognized, high-end clothing designer. Based in Vienna, the "Atilkutoglu" label has been a status symbol in Austria for almost two decades. Kutoglu's clothing company began as a small operation in rural Turkey. In the early 1990s, his designs became popular in the U.S. and Europe, and he later moved to Austria.