We are experienced trade and investment professionals that promote, develop and integrate companies and technologies into the US and European markets. Specific areas of expertise include:
- cultivating technologies and early stage companies coming out of the scientific-technical ecosystems
- designing programs to nurture and support innovation and accelerate the migration of ideas from the lab to practical commercial application
- connecting innovation ecosystems
We are located in one of the leading world centers of entrepreneurship and innovation in Boston/Cambridge and have strong ties with Silicon Valley and Europe.
OUR TEAM
The principals in the Russia Innovation Collaborative have extensive trade and business development experience, as follows:
DANIEL SATINSKY
Daniel Satinsky is a founding Partner of the Russia Innovation Collaborative. He is primarily responsible for developing and managing RIC’s extensive network of Russian regional, institutional and commercial partners. For more than 20 years, Daniel has been engaged in market entry for both Russian and U.S. companies, provided thought leadership on Russian-American economic issues, and built practical business networks through his consulting practice at B.E.A. Associates.
Daniel has extensive experience in U.S. company entry into the Russian market and Russian company entry into the U.S. market, both as a direct participant and as a consultant through B.E.A. Associates. One of his first projects was market research and operational planning for Rustel, a U.S. joint venture with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs that was one of the first companies providing satellite-based international phone service in the Russian regions. He was a founder of InTC Service, a business center in the city of Yaroslavl. Consulting assignments have included assisting Star Software, a Russian software outsourcing company to establish operations in the U.S.; advising Globecomm Systems, a U.S. satellite telecom company in its negotiations with Russian partners; market research for Hewlett Packard on specialized printers for the Russian market and U.S. market entry for RPI, a Russian oil and gas consulting company.
Daniel is a recognized authority on the Russian business environment, particularly the current focus on building a knowledge-based economy. Most recently, he was one of the principal authors of a study of worldwide innovation best practices and their application to Russia that was done under the auspices of the New York Academy of Sciences and entitled Yaroslavl Roadmap 10-15-20. He has also served as the executive editor of Russian Petroleum Investor and Caspian Investor, analytic journals that reported on the energy sector in Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Other publications include Buyer’s Guide to the Russian IT Outsourcing Industry, “Industrial Giants, Entrepreneurs and Regional Government-The Changing Business Environment in the Yaroslavl’ Oblast 1991-98,” in Regional Russia in Transition; Studies from Yaroslavl’ and Yaroslavl Business Directory. He has also been an active speaker at conferences, seminars and roundtables on topics related to Russian business.
Daniel is an established leader in building active networking ties between Russian and American business circles through his extensive network of institutional and personal connections. In the 10-year period in which he was the president of the U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England, he organized the first presentation of Russian software engineering companies in New England, facilitated a working relationship between RUSSOFT, the Russian professional software association and the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, and organized a celebration of the 200-year anniversary of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia involving the Governor of Massachusetts, the Senate President and the U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Currently, he is a “Connector” with Boston World Partnerships, board member of the Fletcher Alumni Club of Boston, board member of the Ballets Russes Cultural Partnership, board member of the M.N. Adamov Fund for the Blind, and member of the Boston Committee on Foreign Relations.
Daniel holds a Master of Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from James Madison College of Michigan State University.
CYNTHIA BOUTHOT
Cynthia Bouthot is a founding Partner of the Russia Innovation Collaborative, where she designs programs to nurture and support innovation and accelerate the migration of ideas from the lab to practical commercial application; as well as developing appropriate cluster strategies and propositions that allow optimal penetration of new markets. Cynthia is also President of the Collaborative Innovation Group, an organization focused on providing companies, governments and economic development agencies with the tools and methodologies to establish successful product offerings, develop efficient routes to market, and build image and brand.
Prior to this, Cynthia was head of UK Trade & Investment’s Innovation and R&D programs, where she worked across the US to leverage innovation hubs more effectively. For 6 years, Cynthia was Consul and Head of Trade and Investment at the British Consulate-General where she led a team focused on international business development in the biotech, medical device, healthcare, renewable energy, software, and communications sectors. Cynthia cultivated a wide variety of stakeholders including fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, technology transfer and commercialization offices, healthcare organizations, and regulatory bodies. She tapped into Boston’s innovation ecosystem and effectively aligned it with the UK’s offering.
Cynthia also has broad experience in both the public and private sectors. She directed management systems for the Massachusetts Port Authority and headed up the trade and investment office for the State of MA in London. While In the private sector, Cynthia spent a large part of her career leading change initiatives and implementing challenging technology programs. Cynthia was Global Lead of Business Readiness for EMC’s Oracle ERP implementation, a company-wide system and process-restructuring program. And as Director of Industry Consulting at Benchmarking Partners she worked with a range of public and private clients on technology change initiatives.
Cynthia regularly speaks to audiences and moderates panels on innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship as well as international economic development. She has many professional affiliations including being named a mentor in the Boston University Kindle mentoring program where she educates faculty, students, and alumni on early stage business formation and enhancing entrepreneurship. Cynthia also works with many universities including Boston College, on highlighting possible career paths for entrepreneurs. Cynthia is involved with hospitals and healthcare organizations promoting connected health as a means to increasing quality and access of healthcare while decreasing cost. She has worked closely with Partner’s Healthcare for the past 6 years and was one of the driving forces of the formation of the European Connected Health Campus based in Belfast Northern Ireland with the aim of sharing best practice of healthcare IT policy and practice throughout Europe.
Cynthia began her career with Honeywell Bull in finance and auditing. She holds a BS (magna cum laude) from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management with a major in Finance and a Masters degree in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University.
ADVISORY BOARD
The overall mission of the Russia Innovation Collaborative is to accelerate the transition of Russia to a knowledge-based economy through promoting best practices by local government, enabling universities to take a leading role in innovation and assisting startups to reach maturity by finding financing and markets. RIC’s activity in Russia is focused primarily in the Russian Regions through an expanding network of partner organizations beginning in Novosibirsk, Perm, Tomsk and Kazan.
The RIC Advisory Board is a critical element of success in achieving this mission, particularly in commercialization of technology and supporting startup companies. RIC’s network in Russia acts as a funnel to direct new companies and technologies for review by our Advisory Board. The purpose of this evaluation is to provide expertise on the commercial prospects for the technology or company in international markets. Its ultimate goal is to contribute to the construction of successful and profitable Russian companies.
Below are the founding Advisory Board members of the Russia Innovation Collaboartive.
Evgeny Zaytsev, Founder, Helix Ventures
Cedric Francois, Founder, Apellis Pharmaceutical
Don Dodge, Developer Advocate, Google
Vinit Nijihawan, Managing Director, Boston University Technology Development
Richard Kivel, Chairman, MIT Enterprise Forum
Richard Golob, Chairman and CEO, GGA Software Services, LLC
Alexey Eliseev, Maxwell Biotech Fund
Preston Haskell IV, Chairman, PPH Group