Senior Advisor and Consultant
Jim Barkas
James M. Barkas is the founder of BNI Group, which offers a flexible array of services to corporations and banks, ranging from counsel on offset/countertrade planning and implementation to the attraction of foreign investment into emerging markets. Previously, Mr. Barkas was a Director at Newcourt Capital, who was responsible for structured trade financial and industrial participation. As an advisor to banks, the UNDP and major corporations, he advised on how offset operations could be a tool for business trade and project development. For the World Bank, he advised on investment promotion programs for Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, and the Emirate of Ras al Khaima(UAE). During his earlier career in banking, he was a Vice President in Trade Finance and offset/countertrade, as well as a credit and lending officer. He specialized in Japanese Trading Companies and East European banks, as well as companies servicing multinational corporations. Throughout his career in international banking, Mr. Barkas has contributed to articles on trade finance and alternative financing mechanisms, and has lectured at numerous trade conferences around the world.
Mr. Barkas is a graduate of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, andholds MA and MA LD degrees from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy. He also conducted professional research under contracts with Harvard, MIT, and Fletcher.
He is fluent in English, and can read Russian, Croatian, Serbian, and French