Transatlantic Growth Forum: Ohio and the West Midlands

Alina Harastasanu

Director, European Business Development, JobsOhio

Alina Harastasanu leads the European business development efforts at JobsOhio across all the nine targeted industries ranging from food and agri business to advanced manufacturing. She engages daily with European companies in different stages of their internationalization plans towards the U.S. Prior to coming to the U.S., Alina worked in Italy as a consultant on projects funded by the European Commission.

Her experience spans across the whole EU space andmultiple industries. Before joining JobsOhio she worked for an Ohio based tier 2 automotive supplier. Her position involved hedging risk deriving from trade agreements, tariffs, political elections, Brexit, the Belt and Road initiative etc. Originally from Romania, Alina graduated from the University of Bucharest with a bachelor’s degree in political sciences.

She holds a master’s degree in geopolitics and international security from University of Rome “La Sapienza” and an MBA from The Ohio State University with an International Business major. Alina has been living in Columbus, OH since 2013 and is proud to call it “HOME”

Ian Grubb

Chief Finance Officer, Aurrigo

Ian qualified with Deloittes in Birmingham in 1993 and moved into industry. He has worked in an array of industries and business sizes from banking with TSB plc, leisure with First Choice plc through to SME businesses in entertainment distribution, food manufacture, import/export and automotive. He is now CFO for Aurrigo International plc and was part of the executive board that listed the business on AIM in September 2022

Vesko Petkov

Partner, Forvis Mazars

Leveraging the unique integrated global partnership structure enables Vesko to coordinate the delivery of engagements by multi-disciplinary teams working closely together to provide holistic solutions with a focus on quality and high standards. This setup enables us to provide first-class service to businesses looking to expand to the US. His clients see him as a trusted advisor and the team progress their careers enjoying working on exciting complex projects. 

Before joining Mazars in 2013, Vesko spent 5 years at a Big Four practice at Brindley Place and has worked in London in private equity and a global listed group. 

He has a first-class honors degree in International Business and Economics from Aston Business School. In addition, he is a qualified chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor, a fellow of the ICAEW, the CIOT and ATT and an Executive Member of the Global Public Interest Entity Tax Group.

Main areas of expertise

Vesko is an executive member of the Global PIE Tax Group. He implemented the global set-up of the global Pillar 2 (15% global minimum tax) BEPS 2.0 Task Force and is the UK Head of Automotive & Manufacturing).

 

 

Nick Watson

UK director , OCO Global

Nick Watson is OCO Global’s UK Director.  He is an experienced trade and investment specialist, providing strategic consulting services to companies entering new markets. He also advises public sector organisations on their trade and investment strategy.

Nick began his career in financial markets and has been actively involved in the establishment of two SMEs. He holds a first-class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and a Master’s in the Theory of Public Choice