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Board of Directors
Mike Zafirovski
Mike Zafirovski is President and Chief Executive Officer of Nortel Networks Inc., a global leader in innovative communications and services that is enabling the transformation of businesses around the world. Mr. Zafirovski, 52, is a 30-year business veteran with impressive global experience at two of the world's highest profile corporate innovators - General Electric and Motorola.
Prior to his current role at Nortel, Mr. Zafirovski was President and Chief Operating Officer of Motorola, Inc. from July 2002 to February 2005, where he was a key player leading the company's re-emergence in innovation, market share gains and significant profitability improvements of all of its six businesses. He joined Motorola in June 2000 to lead its mobile devices business, which, during his tenure, returned to profitability and increased market share through the introduction of exciting new products and the Moto branding campaign.
Before his leadership positions at Motorola, he spent 25 years at General Electric (GE), including 13 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of five GE businesses in the industrial, financial services and insurance businesses. Prior to that, he held a number of increasingly senior positions in finance, auditing, marketing and strategy/business development at various GE businesses.
Mr. Zafirovski holds a B.A. in mathematics from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. In 2002, Edinboro University awarded him with an honorary doctorate degree. A native of Macedonia, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2004.
Mr. Zafirovski serves on the Boeing Board of Directors . An active member of civic and business communities, he serves on several professional, educational and non-profit business organizations, including The Canadian Council of Chief Executives, The Economic Club of Chicago and the Macedonian Arts Council. He and his wife Robin are the national chairs for Duke University's Parents' Committee. They have three sons.
John Bitove
John Bitove is a Canadian businessman and noted sportsman. He is the Chairman, CEO, and controlling shareholder of Obelysk Funds, the Priszm Canadian Income Fund, Scott's Real Estate Investment Trust, and Canadian Satellite Radio (which owns XM Satellite Radio in Canada). He is also the founder and driving force behind the S'Cool Life Fund, a charitable entity for public schools across Canada.
Mr. Bitove was the volunteer President of the City of Toronto bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. He was the founder and co-owner of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association franchise, as well as the Air Canada Centre
Lou Naumovski
Lou Naumovski is the Vice President, Commercial and General Director, Russia, for Kinross Gold Corporation. In addition to being responsible for the management of the representative office in Moscow, Lou is the lead on new business development in Russia, and heads Kinross' government relations and liaison division.
Mr. Naumovski joined Visa International in August 2000 as General Manager of Visa's Russian office. He was responsible for the development of Visa's business in Russia and the eleven other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, relationship management with Visa's Russian and CIS Member banks, and management of Visa's Russian office. Mr. Naumovski was based in London, England since January 2006. He was also responsibile for Strategy and Business Planning across the Visa CEMEA Region.
From 1992-2000, Mr. Naumovski was a member of the Russia Team of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where he spent five years as Resident Representative and Senior Banker in Moscow. During his time in the Moscow Resident Office, he was responsible for maintaining the Bank's relations with the Russian Government, for liaison with the foreign investment community, and for screening, appraisal and monitoring of the Bank's projects in Russia.
Mr. Naumovski has degrees in economics and political science, history, and international relations, with a specialization in Russian and Soviet affairs. He spent the first 12 years of his professional career as a diplomat and trade commissioner for Canada. His assignments in the Canadian Department of External Affairs and International trade included postings in Moscow, Atlanta (Georgia), Baghdad (Iraq), and as Deputy Director for Trade and Investment Development with Eastern Europe and the USSR, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Mr. Naumovski was born in Bitola, Macedonia and is married with two children. In addition to English, Mr. Naumovski is fluent in Russian, Macedonian and French.
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Susan Niczowski
Susan Niczowski knew her calling early in life. She started her business in the basement of her parent’s house, where she and her mother, Francis, – thinking 15 years ahead of their time – made home replacement dinners years before it became fashionable. In 1991, Susan started Summer Fresh Salads Inc., and at that time, the company focused all of its attention servicing the local Toronto market with , prepared salads creations..
Over the years the company has grown to offer a full line of prepared salads, home meal replacement solutions, dips, appetizers and fresh soups. Since its inception, Summer Fresh Salads Inc. sales has grown in leaps and bounds; a growth of almost $10 million in 3 years, reaching over $41 million in 2005. Summer Fresh has grown today from a Toronto delivery system to a company recognized across Canada and in the USA.
Ms. Niczowski’s background – a B. Sc. in chemistry with a minor in mathematics from the University of Toronto – attracted her to the food industry. She started her career as a Microbiologist at Maple Leaf Foods and was quick to realize that her calling would allow her to make fashion out of food. Her entrepreneurial skills, her willingness to succeed, and her attention to detail is what made Summer Fresh Salads an almost guaranteed success. Her achievements have led to numerous awards: recognition as the 9th best businesswoman in Canada; a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year; and a listing for Summer Fresh in Canada’s Top 50 Best Managed Companies.
Dr. Cento Veljanovski
Dr. Veljanovski is Managing Partner of CASE ASSOCIATES and Associate Research Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London. He is a well-known economist with thirty years experience as an adviser to companies on competition, and regulatory and communications economics. He has been a Director of several management and economics consulting firms and an economics research institute.
Dr. Veljanovski specializes in the economics of competition and regulation. He has assisted lawyers and companies in responding to investigations by the EC Commission under Articles 81 and 82, and the EC Merger Regulation, national competition authorities, national regulatory authorities, and in court proceedings in EU Member States and other countries in Europe and Australia and North America.
Dr. Veljanovski has provided economic assistance in a number of the world’s largest mergers including Carnival/P&O Princess Cruises, MCI/WorldCom, Vodafone/Manessmann, Seagrams/Polygram, AOL/Time Warner, Telia/Telenor, and Telia/Sonera.
Dr Veljanovski has had a distinguished academic career. He was educated in Australia and the United Kingdom, holding several degrees in law and economics (B.Ec. (Hons), M.Ec., D.Phil.).
Venko Gligorov
In 1991, Venko Gligorov founded Login Systems, a computer consulting and engineering company based in Skopje, Macedonia. In 2002, Login Systems successfully partnered with a US- based venture capital fund SEAF/Macedonia. The profitable union allowed the fund to obtain a minority co-ownership position in the company. Today, Login Systems is a leading regional ICT distributor with revenues up to $10 million (USD). Its product portfolio includes world renowned brands such as Microsoft, HP, Cisco/Linksys, Nortel, Motorola, Intel, Veritas and Dynamics Nav, as well as its own products and services such as Web Architect, and call center services. With over fifty employees, Login Systems serves more than 350 retailers with over 5000 end-users in the territories of Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.
In 2000, Mr. Gligorov initiated and founded MASIT, the Macedonian Association of Information Technology. He was also a very active member of the “e Macedonia for All” committee which was led by the late Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski. In 2004, he was elected President of Macedonia’s leading business network, the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce. Mr. Gligorov is currently enrolled in a post-graduate studies program at City College University of Sheffield. He is also a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the University of Sheffield in Thessaloniki and a member of the Business Week Market Advisory Board.
John Bitove Sr.
John L.N. Bitove, C.M., is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Bitove Corporation and is a Member of the Board of Directors of many companies.
In 1949, at the age of twenty-one, Mr. Bitove opened his first restaurant in Toronto, a fourteen-stool restaurant called “The Java Shoppe”. It soon became the forerunner of a successful chain of restaurants. Throughout the 1960’s his devotion to the restaurant fixture business resulted in a very successful expansion; he developed, constructed, financed and, in some cases, operated over one hundred and fifty restaurants in the greater Toronto area.
In 1968, he joined the Board of Goldale Developments Ltd, a large developer of residential homes, shopping plazas and industrial parks.
Together with his children, in 1983 he founded York County Quality Foods Ltd., a company that successfully tendered on the food and beverage concessions at North America’s fourth busiest airport, Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
In 1986, Mr.Bitove founded CitiDome Corporation. Mr. Bitove was on the committee that designed and built – CitiDome was part of the building consortium – the Toronto SkyDome, the world’s largest retractable roof stadium. He also acquired the “fine dine” rights at the new SkyDome. York County Quality Foods and CitiDome Corporation were amalgamated to form the Bitove Corporation in April of 1987.
In 1989, Mr. Bitove received Canada highest civilian honour when he was made a member of the Order of Canada. He devotes much of his time and efforts to charitable projects on behalf of the University of Western Ontario, Toronto General Hospital, Canadian Macedonian Place, North York Centre for the Performing Arts and ProAction, Cops and Kids.
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Mitre Kutanovski
Mitre Kutanovski is the President and CEO of the Mitre Group Inc. a company that consists of: Crown Financial Advisors; Mitre Group LLC. Broker Dealer; Classic and Crown Mortgage Solutions; Crown Tax and Business Services; Crown Insurance Group; Crown Travel Agency; and the weekly radio program Voice of Macedonia.
After graduating form Purdue University, Mr. Kutanovski spent a few years working as a supervisor for United States Steel. In 1979, he joined Investors Diversified Services out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1984, IDS was acquired by American Express. He remained with American Express 27 years until his retirement in 2004. At American Express he was responsible for the greater Chicago Market as a Group Vice President. He led many initiatives at American Express; leader of diversity for the company, leader of the philanthropic 0rganization for AMEX, and leader of the restructuring of its sales leadership team He was also the first to pilot the Group Vice President Role in 1990.
Mr. Kutanovski was born in Struga, Macedonia and immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. He and his wife, Sophie, whom he met in college, have two children, Alexander and Katherine.
