Giorgi Tsikolia was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the Embassy of Georgia to the United States in August 2015. From October 2016 until January 2017, Mr. Tsikolia served as Charge D’ Affairs at the Embassy. As a DCM, Mr. Tsikolia is responsible for the daily operations of the Embassy, the largest Georgian diplomatic mission in the world. Supporting the Ambassador, Mr. Tsikolia manages economic, political, public relations, and administrative teams, leading engagement to US business community, Administration, members of Congress, and academia. Prior to his posting, he was the CEO of “Enterprise Georgia”, the Georgian Entrepreneurship Development Agency. As CEO of “Enterprise Georgia”, Mr. Tsikolia was responsible for the establishment of the first major government institution mandated to facilitate private sector development through a variety of financial and technical support mechanisms, as well as export support. In addition to overseeing the agency’s daily activities, Mr. Tsikolia played a critical role in introducing and developing the Government initiative “Produce in Georgia” aimed at supporting SMEs and export-oriented companies. To date, under the initiative 350 mln USD of private investments went to the Georgian economy and 13,000 jobs were created. From 2011 until 2014, Mr. Tsikolia worked as a First Deputy CEO at “Invest in Georgia”, the Georgian National Investment Agency, the nation’s main state investment promotion arm and as a Director of Investment and Export Policy at Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. During his tenure at “Invest in Georgia”, 120 mln USD of foreign direct investments were committed to various industries across the Georgian economy. Prior to entering public service, Mr. Tsikolia worked as a CEO at number of startups and lead sales and marketing teams in multiple industries. Mr. Tsikolia earned a master’s degree in international relations from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international economic relations from Moscow State Open University and a business administration diploma from British Columbia Institute of Technology. In addition to his native Georgian, Mr. Tsikolia is fluent in English and Russian. He is married and has three children.