About

Luba Gerasimov, CEO

Luba brings twenty-two years of strategic communications, multilingual narrative analysis, quantitative and qualitative social analysis in multiple industries, business development & operations, market development, and consulting experience domestically and internationally to Umberto. Luba's research interests include national identity, narrative, and policy formation, including how narratives in mainstream and social media are used to militarize identity and spread propaganda and misinformation. She also studies specific social group narrative formation and dissemination, including at times of war, public health, and disaster communication, and narratives on social media and their effect on the resilience or alienation of specific communities and health inequities in maternal populations. Luba is certified in Community Health Work for Violence Prevention and is completing her BA degree in Anthropology, specializing in Medical Humanities, Russian Studies, and Forensic Studies. She is a member of AAA, APHA, WAPOR, and AAPOR.

Elie Samokhvalov, Chief Visionary Officer

Elie offers over twenty years of extensive experience in strategic communication, media analysis, IT, AI, ML, algorithms, financial research and planning, venture capital, and business development. Elie holds an MPA, an MBA degree, and MS degrees in Finance and in Computer Science. He is also a Level III candidate in the CFA Program. His research, including, Detecting Shifts in the Performance of the Sentiment Classification Algorithm Using Twitter Feed Related to a Public Company, investigates the ability of well-established Statistical Process Control Techniques to efficiently monitor the performance of a Machine Learning classification algorithm and signal a possible deterioration of such performance. A timely and justified reaction to such signals may decrease the overall cost of maintaining the algorithms. He brings a fresh, multidisciplinary, global perspective to the Umberto Group, which is paramount in a modern environment.

Susan Bulluck, Business & Government Relations

Susan is an internationally acclaimed expert with multiple spheres of specialization, including public policy; domestic and international governmental & business relations; IT R&D; public policy, narratives, and public sentiment analysis; census data analysis and mapping; and campaign consulting for referenda, candidates, and organizations. In addition, Susan has extensive experience in social and statistical research methods & public opinion polling, media monitoring, and analysis. For decades much of her work has been in representation, public policy, and governmental relations building bridges between governmental units, business to government, and government to business and constituencies. Her background includes numerous local, state, national, and international clients. She holds a BA/BS in History, Political Science, and Social Work, a graduate degree in Public Administration and the Law, and an MS in Social Work. Susan is a member of WAPOR, AAPOR, and IPAC and president of the Wrightsville Beach, NC, Chamber of Commerce.

Vadim Chernik, CTO

Vadim is a seasoned Software Developer and Full Stack Engineer with over twenty-eight years of experience geared towards the creation of business value through design and development of IT products, solutions, and disruptive innovative technologies for everyday business needs. Self-motivated and highly ethical, with dynamic problem-solving skills, delivering maintainable and user-friendly solutions.