The sixth General Meeting of the EBC (now IBC) in 2003 was held at the invitation of Gazprom in Moscow. In his welcome speech to the AGM participants Dr. A. Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom noted the growing influence of the EBC in the international arena developing practical cooperation mechanisms between private business communities of East and West. The steady growth of the Congress’s membership base – in 2003 the Congress had 72 member-companies from 19 countries, testified to further development of the organization as strong international institution.
The following International Conference on “Energy policy in a transforming Europe” attracted more than 200 delegates from all over the world. Mr. Gennady Ustyuzhanin, Deputy Energy Minister of the Russian Federation; Mr. Reinier Zwitserloot, Chairman of the Management Board of Wintershall AG; Dr. Stuart McGill, President of Exxon Mobil Gas and Power Marketing Company; Mr. Stanislav Tsygankov, Head of Gazprom International Relations Department; Dr. Hans-Joachim Frank, Director of Scientific Research Department, Deutsche Bank AG; academician Mr. Anatoly Dmitrievsky, Director of the Institute of Oil and Gas Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Mr. George Kowalski, Director of the Industry, Energy and Enterprise Development (UNECE). The conference was moderated by Mr. Jean-Marie Dauger, Senior Executive Vice President of Gaz de France.
A brief overview of the energy market state and its dynamics in a transforming Europe and effective communication strategies between business and government institutions regarding trends on energy market have been addressed at the conference.
Upon resignation of Dr. Sergey Semenov at the end of 2002, Ms. Nadezhda Doniy was elected to the post of Executive Secretary of the European Business Congress e.V. A former Gazprom employee Ms. Doniy stood at the origins of the creation of the organization. She made an important contribution to the EBC establishment, managed, and organized main events of the Congress. Ms. Doniy remained EBC (IBC) Executive Secretary until the end of 2017.
