PBN•London has a new "Commander." Trevor Barton, formerly a partner at a leading U.K.-based law firm and an officer in the Royal Navy, joined the firm in January as Vice President and Managing Director of The PBN Company Limited, UK.

Trevor is in charge of the firm's London office and oversees client management and new business development throughout Europe.

"The PBN Company's strategic business focus is a perfect match for my deep-seated professional and personal interest in Russia, Ukraine and the entire region," explains Trevor. "Very few organizations in London have such a depth of expertise working both with European companies interested in investing in the region and with companies from the region seeking access to Western capital and government decision-makers."

Trevor's interest in Russia began when he served in the Royal Navy. He was an officer in the Submarine Service, and also qualified as a Russian interpreter. One of his roles was to act as the personal interpreter for British admirals during a number of high-profile visits by British warships to Russia and visits by the Russian Navy to UK ports. He retired from the Royal Navy as a Lieutenant Commander in 1989, when he decided to pursue a career in law.

Having obtained a law degree before he joined the Royal Navy, Trevor completed his legal training at the College of Law in Guildford. He joined the international law firm Clyde & Co, where he became a partner and chairman of the firm's Eastern European Committee. During his 14 years at Clyde & Co, he advised a wide range of clients, including exporters, export credit insurers, maritime and trading companies, banks and other financial institutions.

For six years, Trevor lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he established and managed Clyde & Co's Russia office. After returning to London in 2000, Trevor spent 15 months on secondment to the U.K. Government's Department of Trade & Industry, where he helped to formulate and deliver the Government's strategy to promote Russia as an export market.

Trevor's involvement in Russia-related matters also includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the CIS Advisory Group of International Financial Services, London. Fluent in Russian and with a working knowledge of French and German, he frequently speaks to audiences in the UK about investing in Russia and related business and legal issues in the region.

Joining Trevor in PBN's London office are Tom Blackwell and Julia Kalcheva.

Tom became part of The PBN Company in November as a Senior Account Manager providing strategic financial and corporate communications counsel to Western European and CIS clients from the London office. For three years as Director of Research for Eastern Europe & CIS for the Adam Smith Conferences, Tom supervised research efforts on key industrial and financial sectors in the region. In particular, Tom brings to The PBN Company an in-depth knowledge of the retail, metallurgy, energy, real estate and the automotive sectors in Eastern Europe and the CIS.

Before joining the Adam Smith Conferences, Tom's employment took him to the far reaches of the former Soviet Union. For the Union of Councils, he investigated incidents of human rights abuses in Belarus, and he worked as an editor for the United Nations Development Program in Ashgabad, Turkmenistan. Tom has a Masters degree in Russian Interpreting and Translation and, like many of his PBN colleagues, speaks a number of other languages, including French and Serbo-Croat.

Julia Kalcheva, Associate Account Manager, completes the PBN•London team. A native of Ukraine, Julia has been with PBN since February 2003 and provides research, analysis and media relations to our CIS and European clients. She has a background in marketing and business analysis in the energy, intellectual property, telecommunications and investment management sectors. Julia is also an accomplished linguist, speaking fluent Russian, Ukrainian, English and Spanish.

"PBN•London is an exceptionally talented group of individuals who provide superior strategic advice and guidance to our clients," says PBN President Susan Thurman. "Our London staff is a perfect compliment to our impressive team of global communications professionals that provide high-value, senior-level corporate positioning, reputation management, government relations and strategic communications services to our corporate, government and nonprofit clients."

Email Trevor: trevor.barton@pbnco.com
Email Tom: tom.blackwell@pbnco.com
Email Julia: julia.kalcheva@pbnco.com