Levan, left, and Samson Pkhakadze, brothers who represent the modern generation of Georgian business, have brought high quality service and products to the marketplace.

The Pkhakadze brothers, Samson and Levan, are 29 and 31 years old, the first generation of businessmen to come of age in the new private enterprise Georgia. They operate the largest retail chain of service stations in the nation, licensed for 25 with 18 in business in choice locations in and around Tbilisi and already twice as large as the closest competitor.

But what they are most proud of is their high quality service. “Within just two years of operation we became the largest company because we provide high quality service and excellent products. Our customers are nearly all the embassies in this country, all the ministries, the Parliament of Georgia and many small and large businesses.”

With their experience in consumer business and with an impressive line-up of degrees in higher education, Samson (who studied at Georgetown and earned an MBA from Harvard) and Levan (a banker, with study in the United States and degrees from Tbilisi State University) represent the future of Georgian business.

“What we most need now–besides reform in government is foreign investors. And investors need to be able to have managers on the ground who know what they are doing,” says Samson Pkhakadze who spent two years during his recent study at Harvard talking about this issue with friends and making new contacts. “I have two projects in my pocket now and I want to start implementation of them but I would never move forward without foreign investment,” adds the thoughtful young business executive.

“We are giving good-paying jobs to Georgians and that is also something that is critically important. We feel good about that and we want to do more,” adds Levan, the second of two practical Georgians of the new generation.