Please join the Fletcher Russia and Eurasia Program and the Office of Career Services (OCS) for a conversation with Jeff Erlich, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Kazakhstan. Since 2008, AmCham has provided opportunities for members and government officials to engage in an ongoing open dialogue on information, ideas, and experiences doing business in Kazakhstan. Moreover, AmCham’s advocacy and reform mandate has led to 20 internal working groups that focus on improving the business environment in Kazakhstan, as seen through their trade and customs, healthcare reform, foreign investment, and technology and innovation groups. 

Jeff will discuss how Kazakhstan balances economic relationships with China, Russia, and the United States. He will also provide an overview of how Kazakhstan views U.S. investors and how AmCham can better advocate for a healthy investment climate in Kazakhstan for American businesses. 

We encourage you to read in advance AmCham’s Autumn 2024 Issue on Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry and its Summer 2024 Issue on Kazakhstan’s digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI). For more information about AmCham in Kazakhstan, you can learn more about its work and various opportunities here. 

Please register via the following Microsoft Form to attend the event in person or let us know if you would like to attend virtually. Please contact us with any questions you might have about the event or if you would like to submit discussion questions for the speaker in advance. Breakfast will be served at the beginning of the event. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Jeff Erlich, director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan, works to improve the business climate for more than 200 member companies. He first came to Kazakhstan in 1998 as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Baikonur. After, he joined the Eurasia Foundation and became president of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia when it spun off. Jeff has also served on the boards of KIMEP, Spoon Foundation, and the Kazakhstan Community Loan Fund. Before that, he worked as a journalist in Washington. From 2019 to 2024, Jeff was a senior social performance advisor for Chevron, helping define and execute strategy for win-win engagements with stakeholders and communities in the United States and abroad. From 2014 to 2019, he was deputy head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation’s long-term mission in Ukraine, supporting a wide range of efforts across the OSCE’s political, military, economic, environmental, and human dimensions. Jeff holds master’s degrees from The Fletcher School and the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor’s degree from The American University. He speaks Russian and some Kazakh, Spanish, Ukrainian and Thai.