Managers
Harvey Sawikin co-founded Firebird in 1994. He is a lead manager of Firebird Fund, Firebird New Russia Fund, Firebird Republics Fund and Firebird Avrora Fund. Before founding Firebird, he was a clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals and an M&A specialist at the prominent law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Harvey is a graduate of Columbia University (Magna Cum Laude) and Harvard Law School (Cum Laude), where he was a manager of the Harvard Law Review. He is a member of the New York State Bar.
Ian Hague co-founded Firebird in 1994 and is a lead manager of Firebird Fund, Firebird New Russia Fund, Firebird Republics Fund and Firebird Avrora Fund. He is a recognized expert on politics and investment in the former Soviet Union who has published and lectured frequently. Ian travels in the region over four months per year and specializes in the discovery of new investment ideas. Ian was born in 1961 in Eugene, Oregon and graduated from Wesleyan University with a BS in Russian Language and Literature (1984), has a Masters in international Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (1989) and did graduate work at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute (1990-1992). Ian serves on the boards of the Bank of Georgia where he served until recently as Chairman of the Compensation Committee, SDM Bank (Moscow), NBD Bank, Iberia Real Estate (Tbilisi) and Global Gold. Ian speaks Russian and French besides English.
James Passin joined Firebird in 1999. He co-founded and manages Firebird Global Fund, Firebird Global Fund II, and Firebird Mongolia Fund. He is a former editor at investment newsletter Taipan. James is a graduate of St. John’s College, where he majored in philosophy and classical literature. James serves on the board of directors of several Mongolian and Canadian companies, including Shariin Gol JSC (MSE: SHG), BDSec JSC (MSE: BDS), National Investment Bank of Mongolia, Vanoil Energy Ltd. (TSXVX: VEL), Vangold Resources Ltd. (TSXVX: VAN), as well as Maghreb Minerals PLC (AIM: MMS), a UK mineral exploration company.