People

Jaroslawa Z. Johnson

President and CEO of WNISEF

Jaroslawa Z. Johnson was appointed WNISEF President and CEO effective January 1, 2015. Ms. Johnson directs, oversees and provides overall management for the WNISEF program activities and remains a member of the Fund’s Board of Directors in addition to her role as President and CEO.

Ms. Johnson was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the U.S. as a child. She is a graduate of Goucher College and University of Wisconsin Law School, where she was editor of the law review and earned a J.D. in 1977. After law school, she served as law clerk to Chief Judge Thomas E. Fairchild, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and practiced corporate law with several Chicago law firms.

She is a founding member and former chairperson of America Ukraine Business Council, which sponsored the first American visit of a Ukrainian president in 1991, and she organized the first Ukraine-U.S. Trade Conference for American companies in 1992. She
was appointed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton to the Board of Directors of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund in 1994, serving as an active member of the Board since its inception.

Andrii Sorohan

VC Director

Andrii leads WNISEF’s early-stage investment arm u.ventures and covers investments in technology startups from education technology (EdTech) and the future of work to AI and consumer tech. Andrii brings his entrepreneurial and management consulting experience from Tech, Financial, Media and Public sectors. He received MA in Applied Economics from Kyiv School of Economics and holds honors BA degree in Economic and Mathematical Modelling. Andrii focuses his work on deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management. He has lived around the world, from San Francisco and Washington D.C. to Ottawa and Tallin and in free time enjoys cycling and kayaking.

You can contact Andrii at [email protected]

Bogdan Svyrydov

Investment Director

Bogdan brings considerable investment banking and scouting experience in the technology space to his role as Venture Director. As an investment banker, he advised some of the leading tech companies across Emerging Europe on M&A and fundraising transactions. In parallel, he was an active startup scout for Earlybird Venture Capital.

In addition to sourcing new investments for u.ventures and overseeing its portfolio, Bogdan is involved in sourcing and developing technology investments for Horizon Capital, a growth-focused private equity investment firm with over $1.1 billion under management.

Bogdan holds a Master’s degree in Investment and Finance from the University of Westminster, London, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv.

Please contact Bogdan at [email protected]