Senior Advisors
Honorable Richard A. Gephardt
Mr. Gephardt is both an equity shareholder of Convalt and advisor of ACO. Mr. Gephardt is also President and CEO of Gephardt Government Affairs. He provides strategic advice to clients on issues before the House, Senate and Executive Branch in the federal government. Mr. Gephardt has brought successful resolution for clients on issues related to negotiations, crisis management, and strategic communications. He represents a broad array of Fortune 100 clients on Capitol Hill and before the Administration, in addition to serving as public spokesperson for clients on coalitions to bring about policy solutions to healthcare reform and climate change. Mr. Gephardt served for 28 years in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 2004.
In his role as Leader, Mr. Gephardt emerged as one of the leading strategists of the Democratic Party’s platform and chief architect to landmark reforms ranging from healthcare, pensions, education, energy independence and trade policy. He was elected to serve as House Democratic Leader for more than 14 years, as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003. Mr. Gephardt was a colleague in the House to 49 currently serving U.S. Senators and members of the Executive Branch. He enjoys strong bipartisan relationships in the House of Representatives, serves as a trusted advisor to senior officials in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and has counselled numerous CEOs during negotiations with labor. He has been featured in national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, Roll Call, The Hill and Time.
Ambassador Ulric Haynes
Ambassador Ulric Haynes, Jr. is a senior advisor at ACO. Ambassador Haynes is a graduate of Amherst College (1952) and of The Yale Law School (1956). He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. His professional background encompasses the worlds of business, government, and academia. The Ambassador’s business background includes serving as a Partner of Spencer Stuart and Associates, as President of Management Formation, Inc., and with the Cummins Engine Company as Vice President for Management Development, Vice President for the Mid-East and Africa, and Vice President for International Business Planning. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of American Broadcasting Companies, Rohm and Haas, HSBC Bank USA, ING ReliaStar Insurance Company of NY, INNCOM, and Pall Corporation. In addition, he has been a Visiting Lecturer at the Harvard Business School and Stanford Business School.
Most recently, he retired as Dean of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University where he also served as Executive Dean of University International Relations. Ambassador Haynes’s government service includes positions with The NY State Department of Commerce, the US Department of State, and the staff of the National Security Council. He also served as an Administrative Officer with the European Office of the United Nations. From 1977 to 1981, he was American Ambassador to Algeria, culminating his tour of duty as one of the negotiators for the release of the American Embassy hostages in Iran. Among the organizations of which he is a member are the Council on Foreign Relations, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and The Atlantic Council. He is also the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees for his public and community service. Currently retired, the Ambassador is periodically an Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Rollins College and the University of Central Florida. He is a Visiting Distinguished Scholar at the University of Central Florida and at Florida Southern College.
He is also a lecturer and contributor to various publications on matters of United States foreign policy. A resident of Florida, Ambassador Haynes is married to the former Yolande Toussaint and has two children, Gregory and Alexandra.
Bertil Tiusanen
Bertil Tiusanen, a senior advisor at ACO is currently a Director General and CEO at Lanekassen, the Norwegian State Education Loan Fund in Oslo, Norway. Mr. Tiusanen also serves on the board of Respect Europe of Sweden AB that offers market-leading services and tools within sustainable development and climate, and in SIVA- The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway. Mr. Tiusanen is also Chairman of the Board in CBRE-Atrium a real estate services company in Norway. Mr. Tiusanen was previously a board member at Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy company, served as president and chief executive officer of Protegrity, Inc., a leading provider of privacy solutions and was previously acting president and chief executive officer of Vattenfall AB, the largest public utility in northern Europe, with assets of more than $10 billion. From 1990 to 1992, he was senior vice president for finance and a member of the executive board at Procordia AB, a Swedish conglomerate.
Before that he was executive vice president and CFO at Pharmacia AB, a leading pharmaceuticals and biotechnology firm. Mr. Tiusanen has served on the boards of several Swedish companies including serving on the board of JM AB, one of the largest construction companies in Sweden, and was previously chairman of JP-Bank. He is a graduate of the Gothenburg School of Economics.
Harry Koponen
Mr. Koponen is a sector advisor to ACO covering Information Technology, Telecom and Media. Mr. Koponen is a prominent Finnish business leader and an experienced management turn-around specialist with cutting edge experience in the telecommunications industry. He is currently working with Rovio Mobile looking after a physical part of the business at Rovio (Angry Birds), licensing, merchandising, public relations and retail operations. Mr. Koponen has served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Tele2 AB from August 18, 2008 to February 18, 2010 and oversaw a period of increased focus on profitability.
Mr. Koponen has also served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and General Manager of Wataniya Telecom in Kuwait (now National Mobile Telecommunications Co. (K.S.C.) from 2004 till 2008. Prior to his role at Wataniya Telecom, Mr. Koponen served as the President of TeliaSonera International Operations of Teliasonera AB since October 7, 2003 and served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Sonera Corporation (former Telecom Finland) from October 1, 2001 to July 1, 2004. Mr. Koponen had also served as its Deputy Chief Executive Officer responsible for the Corporate Unit Marketing, Products and Services at TeliaSonera HQ. Mr. Koponen held various positions at Hewlett-Packard from 1989 to 1994. Before that, he served as the Chief Planner and an Office Manager at Oy Shell Ab. Mr. Koponen serves as the Chairman of Tecnotree Oyj, has been a Director of Tecnotree Oyj (formerly, Tecnomen Lifetree Oyj) since 2008 and a Director of Stonesoft Corp., since 2011. He is a member of the Board of AinaComm OyJ (one of the regional operator in Finland) and has been a Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors at Tele2 Netherlands Holding N.V. since May 29, 2009.
Mr. Koponen served as a Director of Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, as a Director of Sonera Corporation since October 1, 2001 and Digia Oyj since March 3, 2008. He holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree and a Doctor of Economics h.c. from the University of Jyväskylä. Alexandra.