Marc Holtzman

Marc Holtzman is Chairman of Meridian Capital HK, a private equity firm with investments in natural resources, real estate, food, agriculture and transportation. Meridian has offices in Hong Kong, London and Moscow. Mr. Holtzman was the first Secretary of Technology for the state of Colorado and served as President of the University of Denver. He currently resides in Hong Kong.

Business

Prior to joining Meridian, Marc Holtzman served as Vice Chairman of Barclays Capital and ABN Amro Bank. Previously, as co-founder and President of MeesPierson EurAmerica (a firm which was acquired by ABN Amro) and as Senior Adviser to Salomon Brothers, he lived and worked in Eastern Europe and Russia from September 1989 until October 1998.

In addition, Mr. Holtzman currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of FTI Consulting (NYSE); as a member of the Board of Directors of Sistema JSFC, Russia's largest publicly listed investment company (London Stock Exchange); as a member of the Board of Directors of The Bank of Kigali, Rwanda's largest commercial bank; and on the Board of Directors of Indus, an Indian oil and gas company listed on the London AIM.

University of Denver and Colorado Secretary of Technology

From 2003 through 2005 Mr. Holtzman was President of the University of Denver where he was responsible for the development of the Rocky Mountain Center for Homeland Security. The University of Denver has approximately 10,000 students and includes the Daniels College of Business which, during Holtzman’s tenure, was ranked by The Wall Street Journal as being among the world’s top fifty MBA programs.

Previously, Mr. Holtzman served in the Cabinet of former Governor Bill Owens as Colorado’s first Secretary of Technology. In addition, Mr. Holtzman was Chairman of Colorado’s Information Management Commission and Co-Chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Science and Technology. Mr. Holtzman helped guide Colorado’s economic transformation into a fully diversified technology hub. During his tenure, Colorado was consistently ranked first among the fifty states in having the highest percentage of technology workers per thousand in the nation. In 2006, Mr. Holtzman was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Colorado Governor.

Drawing on almost two decades of political and public service in the United States, Mr. Holtzman has developed close relationships with a wide range of leading governmental and political leaders around the world. Former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski asked Mr. Holtzman to co-found and serve as a member of the Board of Directors of "Poland for Europe", a non-partisan, non-profit group which was instrumental in promoting Poland’s early entry into the European Union. On January 24, 1999, President Kwasniewski presented Mr. Holtzman with The Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit - Poland’s highest civilian honor for his service to the country.

On August 29, 2005, in appreciation for his contribution to the development and improvement of relations between The Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan, then Prime Minister (and now President) Rustam Minnikhanov of Tatarstan awarded Mr. Holtzman the Russian Medal, In Commemoration of Millenary of Kazan.

To further assist with the development of Central Asia's financial sector, Mr. Holtzman was appointed in January 2007 by Kazakhstan's then Prime Minister Karim Massimov to serve on the Board of Directors of Kazyna---the nation's sovereign wealth fund from 2006---2008. In addition, Mr. Holtzman served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the United States Space Foundation from 2004---2010.

Mr. Holtzman is widely recognized as a leading authority on economic and political developments in Eastern Europe and Russia. As a frequent guest lecturer, Mr. Holtzman has advocated the process of continued market reforms and democratization before audiences including the World Economic Development Congress and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and has appeared as a guest on CNN, ABC News, Sky News, the British Broadcasting Corporation’s BBC World and CNBC among others.

Philanthropy

Marc Holtzman (2006).

Mr. Holtzman was co-founder of the Denver School for Science and Technology, a charter high school that claims the highest percentage of minority and under-privileged students of any charter high school in Colorado. Mr. Holtzman was instrumental in persuading The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to make the initial seed contribution and led the effort to fund the school.

Mr. Holtzman and his wife Kristen are passionate about their work with the Point Foundation---a UK based charity which supports Rwandan orphans and is a longtime supporter and former Trustee of the Colorado Animal Rescue Shelter.

Early career and education

Mr. Holtzman previously served as Executive Director of Citizens for America, former President Ronald Reagan’s national issues advocacy group. In the 1980 Presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan appointed Mr. Holtzman Executive Director of his Pennsylvania campaign, the youngest person to ever run a state-wide campaign in a US presidential election. Mr. Holtzman was nominated by President Reagan in 1989 to the Peace Corps National Advisory Council. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Lehigh University.

Personal

Mr. Holtzman and his wife Kristen reside in Hong Kong with their two daughters and son.

External links

• Race for Colorado Governor
• Marc Holtzman, Secretary of Technology