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The International Council for Small Business (ICSB) is an organization dedicated to providing knowledge, information on new developments, and useful resources to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to inspire growth and profitability.
Anuj Mehrotra, Ph.D., is the dean of the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB). Under Dean Mehrotra’s leadership, GWSB has reimagined graduate business education through its modular and flexible offerings, which feature industry-driven certificates that can be used to create customizable master’s degrees. This innovative design allows the school to proactively respond to the shifting demands of business education. The school has also made changes to its undergraduate offerings by launching new bachelor of science degrees in business analytics and information systems as well as creating a business major for non-business school students. GWSB has also invested in making its programs more accessible through online education. Dean Mehrotra is credited with engaging the alumni and the business communities through innovative programs that focus on student success and lifelong learning. In 2019, alumni giving increased 20 percent and GWSB significantly improved in both national and global rankings while realizing substantial growth in graduate student enrollment.
Prior to coming to GWSB in July 2018, Dr. Mehrotra was at the (now) Miami Herbert Business School where he served as senior vice dean, vice dean for faculty development and research, the Leslie O. Barnes Scholar and professor of management science. He also served as the school’s interim dean, vice dean of graduate business programs and executive education, vice dean for faculty affairs, and chairperson of the Department of Management Science. During Dr. Mehrotra’s tenure as interim dean, the school was successfully re-accredited by AACSB, its graduate degree programs grew in enrollment, and the school’s fundraising grew by 70 percent year-over-year. He led the launch of online and hybrid degree programs that helped realize a 70 percent growth in graduate enrollment over a five-year period. Concurrently, the school’s degree and non-degree programs earned recognition among the best in various rankings.
Dr. Mehrotra’s research interests are in large-scale optimization and interdisciplinary applications. His research has been published in top-tier academic journals, including Management Science, Mathematical Programming, Naval Research Logistics, and the Informs Journal on Computing. He has been invited to present his research at national and international meetings, and he co-edited a book as well as a special issue of Discrete Applied Mathematics on computational methods for graph coloring and its generalizations. He has also co-chaired several conferences on optimization and related application areas. Dr. Mehrotra has worked with more than two dozen Fortune 500 companies, and his previous experience includes visiting positions at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and at the T.J. Watson Research Center.
Dean Mehrotra received his doctoral degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, his master’s degree from Virginia Tech, and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.
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Managing Editor, Journal of the International Council for Small Business (JICSB) and ICSB Board member.
A seasoned entrepreneur, advertising and marketing professional, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez has more than 35 years of professional experience working in different industries, from advertising agencies to retail marketing to banking and health services. He holds a BS in Advertising and an MBA and DBA from USIU/CETYS University. He is a founding partner of Simó-Bosch Consulting, a business development and strategic services firm. Currently, he is a full-time entrepreneurship professor and researcher at CETYS University Graduate School of Business. Dr. Alvarez has been mentor in several incubators, like MindHub and Endeavor. He is the president of the Mexican chapter of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), where he also serves as a voting board member. His academic research is focused on business innovation, experiential learning, organizational development, change management and entrepreneurship finance.
Mr. Abouelazm is the Chairman of Tamweely Micro Finance company. Board member of ICSB and President of ICSB Egypt.
Previously Mr. Aboelazm was the vice Chairman, CEO and co-founder of Tanmeyah Micro Enterprise Services before he divested his interest as the company was acquired by EFG-Hermes in a historical transaction that witnessed the highest value of a MF company in Egypt.
Mr. Abouelazm has accumulated 25 years of experience in banking, finance, economic development and investment finance. Mr. Abouelazm was earlier the Deputy Director of the German Development Bank (KFW) in Egypt.
Mr. Abouelazm is recognized as one of the main resource executives in Egypt in the field of management of financial service companies, policy structuring, operational management and corporate structuring.
Mr. Abouelazm has participated in the formulation of the National Micro Finance Strategy for Egypt and is a lecturer on Entrepreneurship development, financial services delivery and Management. He is recognized as a reference in the field by various financial institutions and service-providers. He is also an angel investor in a number of start ups and mentor to a number of entrepreneurs and advisor for Fin tech startups.
Mr. Abouelazm received a B.A in Economics from the American University in Cairo in 1993 and an AUC Masters Degree in Development specializing in Commercialization and Development of Micro Enterprises in 2004.
Mr. Abouelazm is a board member of the International council for small business (ICSB) , President of the Middle East Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (MCSBE).
He is a Board Member and Member of the restructuring committee, HR and MF committee of Nasser Social Bank. Mr. Abouelazm is also a board member of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA).
Hermawan Kartajaya, the President of World Marketing Association, is one of the “50 Gurus Who Have Shaped The Future of Marketing” appointed by The Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom (CIM-UK).
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Chairman of the Board at International Council for Small Business (ICSB) & CEO CHROME
Dr. Ki-Chan Kim is a Professor of Management at the Catholic University of Korea.
Professor Kim envisions a world where SMEs and established companies work in partnership.
Professor Kim teaches various MBA tracks including Humane Entrepreneurship, Platform Strategy, and Korea Management (K-Management). He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University and before that, he served as the Dean of the Business School.
Professor Kim advised numerous startups, SMEs, as well as more established enterprises such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motors. He continues to advise these companies – for them to achieve a sustainable business model and eco-system. He believes with the right humane partnership model, the business will attract the most qualified workers, which will bring longevity to the industry.
More recently, Dr. Kim served as the Chairman of the Innovation Economy Division at the National Economic Advisory Council (NERC) for the President of South Korea, as well as the President of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and much more.
During his presidency at the ICSB, Professor Kim emphasized the happiness of employees in small and medium enterprises. From his extensive research in the automotive production line, he has found an undeniable connection between the worker’s satisfactory level of work and commitment to the product. Hence why Professor Kim estimates Employee’s dedication level as the ultimate asset of the company. With Dr. Kim’s initiatives (along with ICSB colleagues), the United Nations have declared June 27 as the UN MSMEs Day.
Dr. Kim’s most recent publication: “The Joy of Innovation (2019)” has been selected as the National Book Award of South Korea, King Sejong Book Collection 2020. The book highlights how businesses can stay competitive through innovation in a fluctuating market.
Winslow Sargeant is the Senior Advisor for Globalization and Head of Capital Markets for Genaesis. In this role, he syndicates opportunities with unaffiliated third-party capital partners – both domestically and internationally – facilitating optimized valuations and deal structures. He is also incoming Chair of the Board with the International Council for Small Business (ICSB).
From 2017-2020, Dr. Sargeant served as the President-Elect and Senior Vice President for Development and ICSB Vice President for Partnerships, respectively. During his tenure, he has work to educate government and non-profit organization leaders on what is required to build sustainable ecosystems for small businesses. With ICSB, he worked with select group to nations for the establishment of the Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized (MSMEs) ratified by the United Nations General Assembly on April 6, 2017. Dr. Sargeant help organized the annual Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) forum at the United Nations, held since 2017. From 2010 to 2015, he was the Chief Counsel for Advocacy with the United States (US) Small Business Administration (SBA)Office of Advocacy. Appointed by the President of the United States (POTUS) and later confirmed by the US Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. From 2006 to 2009, he was the managing director at Venture Investors, LLC (VI), and early stage venture capital firm, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and $200M under management, VI invested in innovative research from leading universities in the upper Midwest. From 2001 to 2005, he was the program manager for the Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR) program Electronics topic in Industrial Innovation, a new office in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Engineering Directorate. The SBIR program invests more than $100M per year in seed and early stage technology companies.
Analia Pastran, Founder and Executive Director of Smartly Social Entrepreneurship on the SDGs, New York and Buenos Aires.
Smartly is a social enterprise leading the way in coordinating action to communicate and localize the SDGs within the private and public sectors, in Latin America and beyond. It holds three international awards.
Mentor in the Program, Women in Public Policy of Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, Cornell University, New York. Analia was awarded with the Entrepreneurial Leadership award by International Council for Small Business (ICSB) in Salerno, Italy. Professor of Transnational Policy, Political Communication and Strategy & Geopolitics in the Catholic University of La Plata, Argentina. International Speaker. She worked also as the Director of Communication of the International Council of Small Businesses (ICSB), was a consultant at CIFAL Global Network, the Network of Training Centers affiliated to UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research).
Katia Passerini, Ph.D., a nationally recognized knowledge management scholar with extensive higher education experience, has been appointed Provost and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Seton Hall University. Passerini currently serves as the Lesley H. and William L. Collins Distinguished Chair and Dean of the Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University.
Vicki Stylianou is the head of advocacy and policy at Institute of Public Accountants, Australia as well as an ICSB Board member.
Scholar, educator, writer, ecosystem builder, entrepreneur. Consultant to entrepreneurship educators globally, to academics globally, and to world’s best entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, Norris Krueger is proudest of championing entrepreneurs and innovators. How do we grow an expert entrepreneurial mindset? How do we grow a bottom-up entrepreneurial ecosystem? (Both often in the face of entrenched interests.)
Dr. Krueger has worked for and been honored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and its landmark ESHIP program, the International Council for Small Business, Academy of Management, OECD, EU, ILO, UN, and for cities, states and countries worldwide. Locally, he proudly champions the Idaho Women’s Business Center, VentureCapital.Org, the Idaho Rural Growth Initiative and more. Learn more at www.norriskrueger.com and on social media @entrep_thinking.
Skye Blanks serves as the Junior Project Manager for the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), and specifically assists in the Knowledge Hubs (KHubs) project, which are institutions or networks, dedicated to capture, share and exchange development experiences with national and international partners in order to accelerate development for micro-small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). He also specializes in the ICSB’s Entrepreneurship certificate programs . In addition to being a project manager, Skye is pursuing a BA in International Affairs with a concentration in International Development from The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and he is also pursuing a minor in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the GW School of Business. Before dedicating his work towards the ICSB, Skye worked abroad as a Research and Development Intern for the Barcelona based NGO, Asociación Bienestar y Desarrollo.
Tammy Nguyen recently graduated from San Diego State University, receiving a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. While attending SDSU, she worked with the Lavin Entrepreneurship center as the event coordinator to plan and run the California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference two years in a row. Tammy was also the Program and Mentorship coordinator for the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program that has been geared towards providing students from all over the campus entrepreneurship courses, skills, tools, and a valuable network to help develop future and current entrepreneurs. Outside of school, Tammy is President of Streets of Hope San Diego, a non-profit organization that provides food and resources to the homeless weekly. She also volunteers by running 4-6 business events yearly with Awaken Church’s Pathfinders Team.
Hannah Gilroy is a Project Manager at the International Council for Small Business. She works in collaboration with the rest of the ICSB staff within the realms of Marketing, website design and function, and ICSB’s research journals. Hannah has worked with ICSB since the onset of the 2020 global pandemic.
In addition to her work with ICSB, Hannah runs a collaborative writing company, called Writing You, through which her team works with clients on visioning plans using her skills in motivational interviewing, writing, and editing.
Kyle Lyon is the Junior Project Manager at the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), and primarily oversees membership, registrations, and financial activities for the ICSB. In addition to his duties, Kyle is a junior currently pursuing a B.A. in Marketing with a minor in communications at the George Washington University School of Business. Before dedicating his work towards the ICSB, Kyle served as a Legislative Intern for the Office of Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester.
