Experts Strengthen Albright Stonebridge Group's Global Reach

Hakan Akbas, Steven Bipes, Brian Healy & Nigel Thompson Continue Firm's Expansion

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Apr 05, 2012, 11:00 ET

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG), a global strategy firm, today announced the addition of four new senior advisors – Hakan Akbas, Steven Bipes, Brian Healy and Nigel Thompson. Akbas will focus on leading ASG's commercial activities and advising clients on business expansion opportunities in Turkey. Bipes will support clients of ASG's Brazil practice as they look to seize growth opportunities. Healy and Thompson will advise the firm's biopharmaceutical clients on economic and regulatory issues around the world.

"Hakan Akbas, Steven Bipes, Brian Healy and Nigel Thompson will be invaluable additions to our global team," said Anthony Harrington, President and CEO of Albright Stonebridge Group. "Their years of experience in government and in the private sector will amplify our ability to help our clients understand – and succeed in – a changing global marketplace."

ASG's new global team members include:

Hakan Akbas, also Managing Partner at Global Dealings Group, will be based in Istanbul and Washington DC. As Senior Director at ASG, Akbas will focus on leading ASG's all commercial activities and advising clients on business expansion opportunities in Turkey. At Global Dealings Group, Akbas oversees this emerging market-focused advisory firm's consulting and business development services for investors and corporations. Previously, Akbas was President of Corporate Strategy & Business Development at Sabanci Holding, a European conglomerate. He brings to AGS more than twenty years of global P&L experience in retail, high-tech, financial services, cement, energy & power, renewables, IT services in in USA, Europe, China, Turkey and the Middle East.
Steven Bipes, most recently Brazil-US Business Council Executive Director, has joined ASG as Senior Advisor, based in Brazil. As Senior Advisor, Bipes will support ASG clients as they look to seize growth opportunities in Brazil. At the Council, Bipes has led the principal bilateral business organization through a period of extraordinary growth in programs and membership, which has given him a unique understanding of the Brazilian government and business sectors. Previously, Bipes served as Senior Director of International Policy for the American National Standards Institute, where he was responsible for the coordination of U.S. policy development and participation with international and national standards and conformance bodies in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Brian Healy, former Vice President, Policy and Communications at Merck, has joined ASG as Senior Director. He will help build ASG's expertise in global health care and biopharmaceutical market issues. Throughout thirty years as an international executive at Merck, Healy established its Economicy Affairs department, which focused on market access, pricing and reimbursement, health economics and policy. For over twenty years he also managed Merck's Centre for European Government Affairs in Brussels. Presently, he continues to operate both in Europe and the U.S.
Nigel Thompson, former Executive Director, Economic and Development Strategy at Merck and currently President of Parks Pharma Consulting has joined ASG as Senior Director. He will advise the firm's biopharmaceutical clients on regulatory issues around the world. During his more than thirty years at Merck, Thompson focused on pricing and economic strategy across global markets.

About Albright Stonebridge Group

Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG) is a global strategy firm chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger and Senator Warren Rudman. The firm is headquartered in Washington, DC, with team members in Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul, Kampala, Madrid, Moscow, New Delhi, Stockholm, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney and beyond. ASG has worked in more than 70 countries on six continents. The firm is also affiliated with, and a principal owner of Albright Capital Management, an emerging markets asset management firm. For more information, please visit: www.albrightstonebridge.com.