ZINAIDA ZLATANOVA

Head of the Representation of European Commission in Bulgaria

2001- 2007 Director of the European Affairs and Relations with IFIs Directorate Council of Ministers

1998 – 2001 Head of Department, European Integration Department Ministry of Environment and Water

1998 Chief Expert, International Cooperation and European Integration Department Ministry of Environment and Water

Master in Law, Sofia University "St Kliment Ochridski"

***

SERGEI IGNATOV

Minister of Education, Youth and Science, Bulgaria

*** 

TRAYCHO TRAYKOV

Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Bulgaria

 ***

NIKOLAI NANKOV

Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Bulgaria

***

 
MARKUS REPNIK

Country Manager for Bulgaria, World Bank 

 ***

LAZARINA STOICHKOVA

Member of the BD of Road Infrastructure Agency, Bulgaria

***

YELENA FILIPOVIC

Advisor for international cooperation, Ministry of transport and maritime affairs, Montenegro

Yelena Filipovic is an advisor for International cooperation and European Integration in the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro. Before that she has worked in a private sector as a PR manager in Korean PR company Rainbow.

Ms Filipovic have a master's degree in International relations. M.Sc. in Moscow in University RUDN in 2003.

HORIA HAHAIANU

Chief Executive Officer, Romanian Power Grid Company - Transelectrica

***

ILIAN VASSILEV

Energy expert, Bulgaria

***

FILIZ KATMAN, Assist. Prof. Dr.

Director at Energy Politics and Markets Research Center, Istanbul Aydin University, Turkey

Born in 1976 in Dikili/Izmir. Holds BS degree on Economics (conducted in English) from Istanbul University Faculty of Economics; MA degree on Political Science and International Relations (conducted in English) from Marmara University Social Sciences Institute, PhD degree on International Security and Terrorism at Turkish Military Academy Defense Studies Institute, with dissertation title “HAMAS: Politicization of a Terrorist Organization”. Holds certificates from Yale University Program on War, Conflict and Order, NATO International School, NATO Center of Excellence on Defense Against Terrorism, Bahcesehir University Strategic Research Center. She worked in international organizations and civil society organizations as Deputy Secretary General, Project Coordinator etc. Currently, Katman is Director at Istanbul Aydin University Energy Politics and Markets Research Center. She is recipient of several awards and scholarships on personal and project basis in international arena. She participated in different official delegations of Turkey to abroad. She has articles on energy policy and energy security, terrorism, security, political violence, cyber threats, Turkish foreign policy, Caucasus, NATO, geopolitics. Katman is co-author of, “Cyber World in Triangle of Crime, War and Terror” book with Chapters titled Cyber Threat Infrastructure and Tools and Cyber Threats in International Law. She is the Editor of a book on global climate change, environment and energy; and also author of books on Politicization of HAMAS. She speaks English (advanced), French (basic), Chinese (basic). She served in the executive boards and international relations committees of AIESEC, ARI Movement, Bahçeşehir University School of Government and Leadership Think-Tank, Diplomacy Turkey.

***

 Stream 2: INNOVATIONS

JOHN GABRIEL GODDARD

Economist, The World Bank, USA

John Gabriel Goddard is an economist in ECA’s Finance and Private Sector Department. After joining the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2006, he worked in operations and regional studies on competitiveness and technological capacity in ECA, and with the Africa region’s Energy Group. Prior to joining the World Bank, he held positions with Paris Dauphine University and the Cournot Centre in Paris, and was a consultant for the UN-ECLAC and UK-based firms. He holds a masters and doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford and a bachelor's degree in economics from CIDE in Mexico City.
 
***

VESSELA SHARANKOVA

General Manager, Fullcharger Bulgaria

Vessela Sharankova is working in the field of advertising since 1997 and has her own advertising agency. She has a significant experience in public relations, graphic design and film production. Some of the biggest companies operating on the Bulgarian market are among her clients. Vessela Sharankova holds a Master degree in Corporate Governance from University of National and World Economy and specialized in media planning and strategies and internal audit.
 
***

ALEN POPOVICH

Marketing Manager, Social Me, Bulgaria

Alen Popovich is CEO/ Co-Founder and Marketing Manager at Social Me. Social Me is a leading company for Social Media Marketing in Bulgaria. They offer to their clients holistic solutions for their best presence in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+. Alen Popovich creates successful advertising campaigns for some of the biggest companies operating on the Bulgarian market - Ariana Brewery, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Super–Max, Absolut Vodka Bulgaria, Technopolis, Nikon, Activia by Danone, Chivas Regal Bulgaria, Chupa Chups, X Factor Bulgaria, RaiffeisenBank Bulgaria and many more.
 
***

KAMEN KOLEV

Deputy Chairman, Bulgarian Industrial Association 

He has been working in BIA for 24 years, consecutively occupying the positions of a senior expert, Director and Director General. Since 2005 he has been a Vice President of BIA and supervises the branches of Industrial Development, Investments and Economic Analysis, EU funds and Better Regulation.He is a Member of the Monitoring Committee of the SAPARD and ISPA programmes; of the operational programmes “Competitiveness”, “Regional Development” and “Administrative Capacity”. 

He graduated from the Technical University in Sofia in the specialty of technical system and has defended a candidate dissertation “Doctor of Financial Analysis”. He has specialized in USA, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland in the field of industrial analysis, public and private partnerships, public commissions, evaluation and financing of investment projects and others. He is a licensed appraiser of the American Association of Business Appraisers.

 Stream 3: ICT

Marta Arsovska-Tomovska 

Deputy Minister of Information Society and Administration of Macedonia

Completed secondary education at the “R. Ji. Korchagin” High School and acquired the title of graduate engineer at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Skopje. Completed post-graduate studies in economy at the state Faculty of Economy in Skopje and presently is working on development of master's these at the topic “Modern trends in electronic commerce (mobile and social marketing) and consumers’ satisfaction”.
In the past fifteen-year working practice she held leading positions in the UNET (manager of the first Internet service provider in the Republic of Macedonia), Ultra Computing (commerce and marketing manager) and ORKA (chief designer), and acquired competences such as: general management, finance management, human resource management, product/service development management, sale and purchase (public procurement), marketing, project management in public sector, user support of public sector, Internet technologies and electronic communication, innovative development technologies, digital media, system integration, designing complex information systems, etc.

***

VALERI BORISSOV

Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, Bulgaria

***

IVAN DIMITROV
 
Head of Hub North Balkans Fixed Broadband & Convergence, Ericsson

He has an experience record with projects and engagements in the Broadband Access/FTTx and Mobile Backhaul areas both from technical and commercial aspects.

Ivan Dimitrov has more than 10 years experience in the Telecom market in Bulgaria, as well as on the Balkans.

***

KARIM TAGA

Managing Director, Artur D. Little, Austria

Karim Taga is Managing Director of Arthur D. Little Austria. He specializes in telecommunications and is a member of the TIME (Telecommunications, Information Technology, Media and Electronics) practice. He is also head of the TIME practice in Austria. Karim received a Master of Science Degree in 1989 from the Ecole Supérieure de l'Energie et des Matériaux, Orléans France with a master thesis accomplishment at the University of California Berkeley. While a research assistant at the Vienna University of Technology he developed an infrared fiber optical sensor. He received his Ph.D. in 1992 followed by an MBA in International Business from the Webster

***

NICOLAE VARVARA

President, NEC Eastern Europe, Romania 

*** 

Stream 4: INVESTMENTS

BORISLAV STEFANOV

Executive Director, Invest Bulgaria Agency

Borislav Stefanov is the head of InvestBulgaria Agency. Before joining InvestBulgaria Agency Mr. Stefanov was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Moscow. Before BCG, he spent two years in DaimlerChrysler in Dubai as a logistics coordinator between the distribution centers in the Middle East and Europe.
Mr. Stefanov holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of International Management Degree from Regents Business School (London), and a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and History from the American University in Bulgaria. He was a president of Eastern Europe Association at Harvard and a member of the clubs for strategic consulting and entrepreneurship. He is a member of Mensa International.

***

ARISTOMENIS SYNGROS

Executive Chairman, Invest in Greece Agency

Aristomenis Syngros was appointed Executive Chairman of Invest in Greece Agency in January 2011. He has long years experience in Siemens, in senior management positions in Greece, Germany, Hungary and Vietnam. He was part of the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee. From 2005-2010 he was General Manager of the global NGO Transparency International Greece, making it one of the most active NGOs with significant institutional interventions internationally. Aristomenis Syngros is a member of several professional associations.

He studied Business Administration and Economics in Germany.
 
***

BOYAN YANKOVIC

Deputy Director, Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA)

Mr. Bojan Jankovic is the Deputy Director of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA), a Government Agency dedicated to supporting investors and Serbian companies. Before being appointed as the Deputy Director (October 2007), Mr. Jankovic worked as FDI Advisor for the company for three years on some of the largest projects in Serbia. The list of clients he worked with includes companies like Ball Packaging, Asahi Glass Company, JTI, Siemens, Delphi automotive, Leoni, NCR and many others. Prior to SIEPA Mr. Jankovic spent three years working with the international leader in detergents and cosmetics business Henkel.

Education wise, Mr. Jankovic holds a BBA degree from Institute Franco American De Management, Paris (2001) and an MBA on the European University in Belgrade (2005). He is currently a scholarship attendee of the Cotrugli Executive MBA program. He is a certified assessor and validator of small and medium businesses and holds EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) certificate.

***

TSVETAN SIMEONOV

Chairman, Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Tsvetan Simeonov is Chairman of Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry since June 2009. Before heading the Chamber Mr. Simeonov was a Vice president for 12 years, beginning his career as a lawyer in 1981 at the commercial register of BCCI. He holds a Master degree in law from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.

GIOVANNI LEONE

Chairman of the BD, Unicredit Factoring, Italy

From May 2009 Giovanni Leone is Chief Risk Officer of UniCredit Leasing AD. He has been working for UniCredit Group since 1993 in the field of credit, business management of a branch and network, also in factoring. Before joining the UniCredit Leasing AD, Giovanni Leone is in Bulgaria seconded in Bulbank AD as UniCredit Group representative in Credit and Risk Management and later is Head of Credit and Risk Management Division. Deputy Chief Risk Officer, Chairman of the Credit Council of UniCredit Bulbank AD; Member of the Credit Committee of UniCredit Bulbank AD; Chairman of the Board of Directors of UniCredit Factoring AD. Before starting in UniCredit Group, Giovanni Leone has long years experience in banking and finance in Italy in the credit area, factoring and leasing.

***

ATANAS GERMANOV

Festo Production EOOD, Bulgaria

Atanas Germanov is a Finance Manager at Festo Production EOOD since 2010. His prior professional career includes positions as Finance and Administration Director at Renault Nissan Bulgaria, Manager Budgeting&Fin.Analyses at Carlsberg Bulgaria and Head of Treasury,Costing, Audit at Nestle Bulgaria AD

Mr. Germanov holds MBA from the University of Economics – Varna and qualified ACCA.

***

MARTIN GANEV

Active BG, Bulgaria

Mr Ganev was Executive Director of CSIF AD from 2007 to 2009. During this period he was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Despred AD. In the period 1999 - 2007 he was First Deputy General Director of Economy and Finance at Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD and from 2000 to 2008 he was member of the Board of Directors of PIC Lukoil Bulgaria AD. In the period 2001 – 2002 he was member of the Board of Directors of Lukoil Neftochim Bourgas AD. From 1993 to 1999 Mr Ganev worked as Corporate Finance Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Currently Mr Ganev occupies management positions in other private companies and participates in the management of non-profit organizations. Mr. Ganev is a member of Board of Directors of Bulgaria Economic Forum since 2009.

Mr Ganev holds MBA in Economics at Moscow International Relations State University and qualified ACCA by the standards of England and Wales.
 
***

MARIUS CHANEA

Board Director for Venture Connect, Romanian Forum for Start-Up Investors

- Born 1968, master in electronics engineering at the Bucharest University 1992
- Started as entrepreneur 1993 developing companies such as Flamingo, FIT, VikingProfil, in Romania and in other CEE countries (Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, etc.)
- Serial entrepreneur and business-angel with successful exits, ranks in fortune Romanian surveys Capital Top 300 and Forbes Top 500
- Included in Top 10 businesspeople 2004 by Ziarul Financiar, the VIP Magazine award for the Romanian business superlatives 2006, award for best Romanian serial entrepreneur 2008 by Target Magazine, award for Entrepreneurial Vision 2010 by Biz Magazine etc.
- Board Director for Venture Connect (Romanian forum for start-up investments); supports youth organizations e.g. AIESEC, JCI, Leaders; lecturer at various conferences on entrepreneurship, IT, online; honorary member, JCI;
- President of the Romanian Association for the Online Stores (ARMO)
- Entrepreneurship Professor, CEU Business School EMBA program and Maastricht School of Management EMBA program
- Co-organizer, Schoolforstartups Romania, the 1st Romanian independent entrepreneurship school
- Author of “Entrepreneurship”, the first Romanian book of its kind
- One of the “dragons” in the Arena Leilor TV series, the Romanian format of the Sony Pictures “Dragons’ Den” business-show
- More info at www.ghenea.com

***

D-R KLARA DOBREV

Executive Director, Altus Group, Hungary

Dr. Klára Dobrev is an experienced lawyer and economist, with special expertise in public finances, EU integration, and public administration. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Altus Group. Having been born and raised in Bulgaria, Dr. Dobrev obtained degrees in law at the Eötvös Lóránd University of Budapest, and economics at the Budapest (Corvinus) University of Economics, specialising in EU and international affairs.
Between 2002 and 2004 Klára Dobrev was Vice President of the National Development Office (NDO), the institution responsible for the management of EU development Funds in Hungary. Her responsibilities included setting up the IT management and monitoring system used by all authorities and state agencies managing EU structural and cohesion funds in Hungary. Within the NDO, she was responsible for publicity, public relations and social consultation – the partnership process accompanying the elaboration of Hungary’s first National Development Plan. In parallel, she works as assistant professor at the Law Faculty of the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, teaching public finance law.

***

MARCO MONTEKI
 
President, Italian Commercial Chamber, Italy

***