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Andrew (Andy) Prozes is a business executive with a track record of effective leadership. He has founded, grown and led small and large organizations to generate above market growth and profits.
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Andrewprozes – Business Executives Andrew (Andy) Prozes is a business executive with a track record of effective leadership. He has founded, grown and led small and large organizations to generate above market growth and profits. He has extensive experience in information technology and services and is recognized as an expert in the development of information-based workflow solutions. He currently invests in and serves on the boards of directors of a variety of companies, primarily in the information technology industry, as well as nonprofits and think tanks. Heritage ndrew (Andy) Prozes has deep family ties to Estonia, as both of his parents were born in Tallinn, and he maintains a strong connection to Estonia today. Andy’s mother tongue is Estonian, and he holds Estonian citizenship, along with Canadian and U.S. citizenship. He is actively exploring ways to promote information and technology businesses in Estonia. Andy and his wife participated in the “Friends of Estonia” program as guests of President Toomas Ilves and recently assisted Estonian delegations traveling with Taavi Rõivas, the prime minister of Estonia to the U.S. to advocate for investment in Estonian technology, including banking and cybersecurity innovations. Andy’s grandparents lost everything after the Russian invasion of Estonia at the beginning of World War II. During the German occupation that followed, Andy’s father refused to join a Nazi youth organization and was sent to a labor camp to build fortifications in preparation for a second Russian invasion. After much hardship, Andy’s parents decided to flee Estonia in September 1944. Their boat, headed for Sweden, developed a leak and was sinking when it was spotted by the German coast guard, and they were taken to Kempten, Germany. After the war they were relocated to the Estonian displaced persons camp in Geislingen, Germany, where Andy was born in 1946. The family immigrated to Canada two years later. His parents’ focus on education and the future enabled them to achieve their goal of building a better life. Andy’s father served as a public works superintendent and worked on the Ontario hydroelectric dam project in Niagara Falls and many highway bridge projects. Letters arrived from Estonia telling painful stories, partially blocked out by the censors. To help alleviate their relatives’ hardship, Andy’s family sent shoes and clothing – but they first had to Andrewprozes Business Executives
take new items down to the muddy pond, because any gifts that appeared clean and new would be intercepted. As the Cold War intensified, Andy’s father frequently railed against those who had no respect for the rule of law or the rights of others. He instilled in his son a strong belief that the rule of law is the fundamental building block of a fair and just society. This conviction would influence Andy throughout his career. His current involvement with organizations focused on international anti- money laundering and credit card fraud prevention are examples of his commitment to promoting technologies that help uphold the law. Andy has been a long-time member of The Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank and public policy group with a mission to promote constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs, primarily in the Atlantic community. During recent years, Andy has actively encouraged eastern European initiatives at the Council, including studies of the Ukrainian crisis, and supporting the President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, in his efforts to promote Estonia’s digital leadership as a model for other nations. Andy serves on the organization’s Executive Committee and Compensation Committee. Previously, Andy served on the board of the Central Eastern European Legal Institute in Prague, which provided guidance to developing nations, including post-Soviet countries as well as Iraq, to implement new constitutions and legal systems to support fair, transparent and judicial systems through the rule of law. While CEO of LexisNexis, Andy helped co-found the global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking (gBCAT). The organization’s mission is to mobilize the power, resources and thought leadership of the business community to end human trafficking, including all forms of forced labor and sex trafficking. Companies represented on the board include Carlson, The Coca Cola Company, Delta, Ford, Microsoft, LexisNexis, NXP and Travelport. Since 2009, Andy has served on the board of the National Executive Services Corps, a nonprofit organization enabling retired executives from the private sector to provide consulting services to nonprofits in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, allowing them to operate more efficiently and strategically. As a past board member of the Bruce Museum and Reed Elsevier, Andy organized sponsorship of three exhibits for the museum: “Reclaimed” an exhibit celebrating the partial recovery of artwork from the Nazis, “Fakes and Forgeries: The Art of Deception” an exhibit revealing the strategies and techniques of successful forgers, and “Jan Van der Heyden” commemorating the 425th anniversary of Elsevier publishing imprint. Andy and his wife, Laura, work together to establish and advance business and not-for-profit enterprise relationships. They formed the Live/Work/Walk Foundation to define and advance initiatives related to healthy community design and live/work/walk districts, such as the Congress for the New Urbanism’s Health Districts initiative and Financing Walkable Urbanism initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Regional Plan Association, Urban Land Institute, LOCUS/Smart Growth America and other organizations. Andrewprozes Business Executives