You're reading: AmCham taps Hunder for presidency

After six months of searching, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has appointed British-Ukrainian Andy Hunder as president, the business association said in a statement.

His appointment to head the organization with more than 600 members takes effect on April 15. It comes at a time when the 44-year-old native Londoner will have to balance the various interests within the group while lobbying the broad interests of Ukraine. The members include small- and medium-sized businesses and big foreign investors, as well as companies owned by the nation’s few yet still powerful oligarchs.

Hunder’s selection also is in stark contrast to his last chosen predecessor.

Californian Bernard Casey’s dismissal was announced by the group’s board after less than a year on the job in October for unspecified reasons. A Kyiv Post examination of Casey’s Facebook posts dating to 2009 found that he endorsed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and regarded the EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych as a Western-sponsored coup.

Born to Ukrainian parents, Hunder is considered a strong advocate of responsible business and a patriot of Ukraine and its international partners. He led the Ukrainian Institute in London since 2010 while handling government relations for law firm Sayenko Kharenko in London and Kyiv. He had done the same at the Magisters law firm. He also spent 12 years in Ukraine working in public relations for mobile operator UMC, now MTS, and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

“I think that Hunder is an excellent choice for the chamber. The obvious focus of business associations at these times is providing for a meaningful dialogue with the state,” his former employer, Michael Kharenko, co-founding partner of Sayenko Kharenko said in an emailed message. “We appreciate the contribution Hunder made into shaping and setting the standards for Sayenko Kharenko’s government relations practice, which is now fully operational and successful”.

Hunder used the Ukrainian Institute as a platform to voice his support for the EuroMaidan Revolution.

“It beggars belief that in…Europe, an acknowledged beacon of civilization and equality, 45 million people must bear the injustices imposed on them by a corrupt and self-absorbed kleptocracy,” he wrote on the Ukrainian Institute’s website on Dec. 20, 2013. “The idea is that Ukrainian society, at its most organic and fundamental level, has demonstrated its refusal to accept kleptocracy as a form of government.”

During the uprising, Hunder was integral in organizing numerous rallies in support of the peaceful uprising. They included those outside the London residence of Ukraine’s richest businessman, Rinat Akhmetov, urging him to step up and stop the bloodshed in Ukraine since he was an ally of Yanukovych.

Another rally was held next to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s home calling for sanctions on Ukrainian oligarchs and protection of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Hunder also gave more than 100 live interviews on Ukrainian current affairs as director of the institute, including to the BBC, CNN, Sky News, Bloomberg TV, ITV, Al Jazeera and others.

Speaking to the Kyiv Post by phone in London, Hunder said he was “very happy and delighted to be going back to Ukraine…I’ve been very much focused on Ukraine; it’s a challenging time, most for the opportunities, especially for the investment climate.”

“The board of directors is pleased to appoint someone with Andy’s experience and expertise as the new president of the American Chamber of Commerce,” chamber chairman Graham Tiley said.

“Following a rigorous selection process we are confident that Andy will lead this successful organization to continuously strive for improvements in the overall business climate in Ukraine.”

In his new role, Hunder is charged with growing the organization in being the leading voice of the business community in Ukraine. He will be responsible to lead the business association during a challenging time advocating for the adoption of legislation and reforms in line with international standards, as well as bringing the world’s best practices and innovations into doing business in Ukraine.

Hunder succeeds Taras Kachka, who has been interim president since November 2014 and who will continue as the chamber’s vice president of policy. Hunder studied philosophy and theology in Rome, Italy, and speaks fluent English, Ukrainian, Russian and Italian. He is married and with his wife has two sons.


Kyiv Post editor-at-large Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected]. Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner contributed to the article.