US-Ukraine Business Council-Jaresco

Natalie A. Jaresko, Managing and Founding Partner, Horizon Capital

Natalie A. Jaresko is one of the co-founders of Horizon Capital and serves as its Managing Partner since March 2006. Currently Horizon Capital manages two funds, Emerging Europe Growth Fund and Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), with over $280 million under management. Ms. Jaresko manages Horizon Capital’s fundraising, strategy, and develops and maintains relationships with current and potential limited partners.

Simultaneously, Ms. Jaresko serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of WNISEF, a position which she has held since February 2001. In a variety of positions at WNISEF since 1995, she has been setting long-term business goals, managing operations and investing in Ukraine and Moldova on behalf of WNISEF. She has personally led transactions in the industrial goods sector and supervised transactions in the retail, FMCG and financial services industries. Ms. Jaresko’s broad experience in both the private and public sectors enables Horizon Capital to successfully navigate complex business environments, while maintaining its focus on building profitable market leaders in a wide variety of industries.

Prior to joining WNISEF, Ms. Jaresko worked at the U.S. Department of State. From 1992 to 1995, she served as the first Chief of the Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Prior to her post with the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, Ms. Jaresko served in various economic positions at the State Department in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Jaresko has over eighteen years of professional experience in the region, primarily in Ukraine. She is a U.S. citizen fluent in Ukrainian, and received her Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government in 1989. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois in 1987 and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Ms. Jaresko received the Order of Princess Olha award from the President of Ukraine in 2003 for her contributions to the Ukrainian economy, and is a member of President Yushchenko's Foreign Investors Advisory Council and the Advisory Board of the Ukrainian Center for Promotion of Foreign Investment under the auspices of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.