John Kancans

Regional Co-Director, Tri-State Area

John (Jānis) is a businessman and attorney with over 30 years of broad experience in business, financial products, and law, who is adept at fusing his extensive knowledge to develop effective business strategies and solutions. His many years on Wall Street embedded a deep knowledge about banking, securities, private equity, and real estate with proven ability to fashion comprehensive business plans for multiple business growth strategies. As a former prosecutor and commercial litigator, he has a good appreciation about how courts legally interpret and enforce contracts, written transactional material, business laws and regulations. John also has proven expertise in global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance having served as Global Head of AML for US Bank, GE Capital, and Head of Deutsche Bank Asset Management AML in the US.

He currently serves as the CEO and founder of Baltam, LLC – “The Baltic American Business Bridge.”  Baltam is adept at identifying, analyzing, and arranging business opportunities for Baltic businesses seeking to enter the US market as well as U.S. businesses seeking to enter the Baltic market. Baltam provides a holistic business strategy encompassing business, finance, and law. Baltam also has a large proprietary database of U.S. and Baltic businesses, investors, and professionals that are utilized to help Baltam clients grow.

John is a presenter and advisor at BAJ Accelerator sponsored by the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and Silicon Valley Bank, the largest start-up bank in the US. BAJ fashions business strategies and obtains investments for start-ups. He has also been a frequent presenter at business conferences.