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Speakers from top world companies:
Innowave Summit 2019
Innowave Summit 2019 is one of the most significant hi tech conferences in South-Eastern Europe focused mainly on digitalization of business and the public sector.The main accent is put on innovations in the fields of marketing, sales, e-commerce and all the other sectors. The event will take place on 18 and 19 October and the accent will be put on speeding up the digital transformation of the Bulgarian economy, strengthening the partnerships in Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, and also the partnerships with European and global digital pioneers and leaders. To turn Bulgaria into a leading digital and innovation hub – this is the common vision shared by the organizers of the event and the network that supports them. The main goal of the event is to encourage the creative and innovative thinking and create favorable conditions and environment in which participants to be able to exchange information about successful business models, experience and the best practices. Innowave Summit 2019 is being organized with the support of Startup Europe (an initiative of the European Commission). Together with the European Commission and Startup Europe we will select and promote 300 European StartUps with the best perspectives for development and 20 European ScaleUps with best perspectives for development before them.
MEET OUR PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
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MARIYA GABRIEL
19 october 2018
Business hall
09:00 - 09:30Opening and Welcome Address
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:45 - 10:15Women in tech in Western Balkans
Mariya Gabriel is the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society since July 2017. The overall objective of her overarching portfolio aims at the full realization of the Digital Single Market. Her strategic vision has consistently placed European citizens at the center of the policies, helping them acquire digital skills to succeed in the digital transformation process. She has focused her efforts on putting forward an ambitious digital programme in the context of the next MFF, investing in HPC, AI, cyber security, but also the creative, audio-visual industries and media, bringing benefits to all European citizens. She has extensively engaged with external EU partners to enhance digital cooperation, in particular with the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region. Mariya Gabriel served as Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to July 2017. Being the EPP Group Vice-President, she tackled issues related to EU enlargement, Mediterranean region, Middle East and Africa and focused on priorities, e.g. security, migration, women issues. Mariya Gabriel also has considerable achievements in the area of the EU visa policy - she is the EP rapporteur on 1/3 of all EU visa liberalisation agreements. She was awarded twice the prestigious prize "MEP of the year" - in 2016 for the Development category, and in 2013 for the Gender equality category. She is the 2018 winner of the prize "Tecnovisionarie" awarding excellence in research, technology, innovation, and business. In 2017 she was honored with the Royal Spanish Order of Civil Merit for her contribution to the foreign relations of the country and 2016 - with the Columbian Order of San Carlos for merits to the country in international relations and diplomacy.
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Michael Leander
20 october 2018
Business hall
09:30 - 10:207 critical marketing tactics for sustainable growth
Michael Leander is an accomplished digital marketing entrepreneur and an award-winning marketing speaker with a global footprint. A recognized thought-leader in "martech" and marketing innovation for growth, he has delivered great experiences to audiences in 51 countries on 6 continents. This has earned him a reputation as a “great marketing speaker and marketing trainer”. He currently heads up Markedu - an innovative marketing training institute headquartered in Portugal with local operations in Europe, East Africa and Iran. Michael Leander is also the principal data-driven marketing consultant at GIDMA - a boutique data-driven marketing consulting firm helping companies grow.
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Andrew Weld-Moore
19 october 2018
Business hall
13:30 - 14:00Bring your Business to the World
19 october 2018
Business hall
17:40 - 18:10Digital Marketing trends Discussion panel
Andrew Weld-Moore is Head of Digital Business for the CEE region at Facebook’s Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters in Dublin and oversees general management responsibilities while serving as a cross functional liaison, working with product, engineering, sales, business development, marketing and finance to drive Facebook’s most important strategic priorities within the region. He joined Facebook after a number of years at UTV Radio, where he was responsible for strategic sales & marketing policies, driving revenue across the company’s portfolio of radio stations. In that role he helped build UTV’s radio network into one of the largest in the UK/IRE marketplace. He also sits on the board of UNICEF Ireland.
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Fahim R. Kibria
19 october 2018
Business hall
09:30 - 10:20Value Driven Marketing
19 october 2018
Business hall
17:40 - 18:10Digital Marketing trends Discussion panel
Dr. Fahim R. Kibria is also working as exclusive Business Director worldwide for Professor Philip Kotler, the one & only re-known Guru of marketing whose books are taught in all the business colleges & universities around the globe. Lately, they together launched Kotler Business Program in collaboration with Pearson Education UK, in 35 + countries (to-date) around the world. Prior to joining Kotler Impact Inc., he worked as marketing management consultant with Prof. Philip Kotler. As Director on the Pan-American desk, his primary role in providing consultancy to both private and public sectors. Prior to that, he worked as Director Strategy & Business Development at Philip Morris, spearheaded the firm`s Global Products Development strategy firstly out of Albany-NY, and then in Toronto, where he moved to redefine the Canadian business. Fahim is also involved in marketing consultations to companies worldwide, while assisting for corporate governance assessments and improvement plans in NAFTA, SAARC, SAFTA & ASEAN.
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JOHN TSCHOHL
20 october 2018
Business hall
11:10 - 11:55The Service Strategy: A Competitive Advantage
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:30 - 18:10Ecommerce Trends Discussion panel
Called the “Guru of customer service” by USA today, Times and Entrepreneur magazine, John Tschohl is a internationally recognized service strategist and President of service quality institute, the global leader in Customer service. For the last 34 years he has solely focused on helping organizations drive a service culture and create a customer experience through his technology built on practicality, simplicity and common sense. With his credibility and focus on empowerment and the power of the social media he has the ability to emotionally communicate the power of the service strategy from Top executives to the total workforce. Tschohl is dynamic, hard hitting, and inspirational. He will create an emotional Buy-in using measurable data that CEO’s respond to. His books are recognized and highly esteemed by Senior executives as the most powerful must-reads in Customer Service. John’s message is based on common sense built around his 44 years in speaking, designing training programs and developing a high performance workforce. He is featured on major television shows from Good Morning America, CNBC and PBS to USA Today’s cover story, newspapers, radio stations, and magazines from almost every corner of the world. John’s technology and books are translated in 11 languages, represented in over 45 countries, and 90 percent of Service Quality Institute’s business is international.
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Dr. Wolfgang Mertz
20 october 2018
Business hall
09:00 - 09:30Digital Transformation - Entering the Era of Big Data Analytics, AI & Machine Learning
Wolfgang holds a PhD on computer aided engineering. In his more than 25 years in the IT industry he held various technical and strategic positions. He focuses on understanding the verticals’ specific processes and trends, needs and applications. Wolfgang then links this knowledge to the IT product’s features and capabilities in order to achieve the best results for the customers. In his current role as CTO for EMEA in Dell EMC’s Unstructured Storage Team (UDS) he specializes mainly on life sciences, healthcare, HPC and currently also on automotive and manufacturing. Wolfgang also follows the immense transformations IT is currently undergoing; this especially includes the new capabilities data lakes, big data analytics and Artificial Intelligence / Deep Learning offer.
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Nancy Nemes
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:45 - 10:15Women in tech in Western Balkans
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
10:35 - 11:05Connected Life & Diginauts - visual, augmented and mixed reality in the 21st century
Nancy Nemes is a tech trendsetter with 20 years of global experience in high tech across Europe, USA, Canada and South America. Nancy is the founder of Ms.AI - Artificial Intelligence for and with women. Until recently, she was heading up Google's Hardware business in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Prior to that, she spent 15 years at Microsoft leading up IOT in its early days, Digital & Consumer Marketing, Business Development and Sales for various products and services. In recent years, Nancy has pioneered, implemented and optimized the impact of mobile, digital, and social aiming at enriching people lives through smart connected devices and services.
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Vasil S. Denchev
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:40 - 18:10The Future of Tech Industry Discussion panel
20 october 2018
Business hall
16:10 - 16:40Quantum Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Vasil S. Denchev is the Chief Quantum Software Architect of the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at Google. He received his PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University. Vasil`s PhD research gave impetus to the founding in 2013 of the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab by pioneering important techniques allowing for the successful application of quantum annealing to statistical machine learning and computer vision problems. Currently Vasil is studying the computational effects of quantum tunneling and many-body delocalization via experimentation with existing quantum processors as well as distributed large-scale numerical simulations of various quantum and classical computational models. Most recently, in recognition of his overall contributions to the computing sciences, Vasil received the prestigious John Atanasoff Award from the President of Bulgaria.
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George Roter
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
15:35 - 16:05Democratizing Speech Technologies through Open Innovation: Mozilla Common Voice
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:40 - 18:10The Future of Tech Industry Discussion panel
George Roter is a Director on Mozilla`s Open Innovation team. Based in Berlin, he is responsible for a company-wide crowdsourcing function and developing global community initiatives that engage thousands of contributors. Prior to Mozilla, George was co-founder and CEO of Engineers Without Borders Canada, a leading innovation, advocacy and talent development NGO.
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Cüneyt Erpolat
20 october 2018
Business hall
15:10 - 15:40Ecommerce trends in B2B
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:30 - 18:10Ecommerce Trends Discussion panel
Аppointed as Country Manager of Alibaba.com, one of the largest e-commerce portals in the world, Cüneyt is responsible for all business processes and stakeholder relationship management of Alibaba.com in Turkey since May 2013. Cüneyt Erpolat graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University and started his career as Product Manager at Xerox. He then worked as Channel Manager at Microsoft between 2000 and 2002, as Head of SME Department at Avea between 2002 and 2007, and as one of Anadolu Yatırım`s founding partners in 2007 serving as investment consultant. Erpolat, who served as Sales Director in Datamarket for one year in 2010, became Sales Director of Grenke Turkey between 2011-2013.
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DRAYTON BIRD
Drayton Bird is one of the most important figures in the field of direct marketing and advertising for the last 25 years, with 52 years experience in the field of online and offline marketing. In 2003, “Chartered Institute of Marketing” designates Drayton Bird as one of the 50 specialists in the world who have shaped the development of today`s marketing. He has worked for some of the biggest brands worldwide – Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, P & G, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen. In various capacities – mostly as a writer, Drayton has helped sell a variety of products – from Airbus aircraft to the Peppa Pig animation. He has written 6 books, out in 17 languages, one of them “Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing” has been a bestseller for all years since 1982. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards numerous times.
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BAS LANSDORP
Bas is CEO and co-founder of Mars One, a not for profit foundation with the goal of establishing a permanent human settlement on Mars. To prepare for this settlement the first unmanned mission is scheduled to depart in 2020. As CEO of Mars One, Bas is responsible, among other things, for investor relations, public outreach and for the initial contacts with potential suppliers, sponsors and partners. He is a persuasive and enthusiastic public speaker, presenting about Mars One about once per week at all sorts of events. Bas is an entrepreneur with an engineering background, interested in visionary technological business cases. Bas Lansdorp speaks at events and conferences on all continents. He is a born entrepreneur with a passion for ambitious projects. He speaks about his experience as co-founder and CEO of Mars One: making the impossible possible.
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BOJIDAR KRAPCHEV
He Leads Amazon’s partner team in 50 countries in Central Europe to grow and develop the most customer centric Partner Ecosystem in order to help customers in their Cloud journey. The Central region spans from Switzerland to Turkey, South East Europe, Russia and CIS. He was also a Senior Business Development Manager Dynamics Ax at Microsoft from 2015 to 2016, Member of the board of LLP Group from 2000 to 2013 and Managing Partner at LLP Dynamics SEE from 2011 to 2014. Leading Microsoft Dynamics (NAV, AX) partner in Central and Eastern Europe. LLP Dynamics is part of LLP Group.
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FLORIN FILOTE
Mr. Florin Filote is the head of eMAG Marketplace for more than two years. His former experience in companies such as Selgros (major cash&carry retailer) and Ecopack undoubtedly helps him to overachieve the eMAG Marketplace growth agenda. During his supervision the platform is about to develop to an impressive 10000+ participating sellers in the region till the end of the year. Now Florin Filote is ready to share what does it take to attract so many partners and how to scale a platform to such level. eMAG was founded in 2001 by Romanian entrepreneurs and is the local e-commerce market leader. The company has a strong presence in Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland which makes it one of the top e-tailers in the CEE region. For all these 16 years eMAG focuses and invests in constantly improving customer shopping experience. Clients benefit from added value services, such as 30-days return policy, opening the parcel at delivery, 24/7 call center, Pick Up and Return Service, loan financing through eCredit, or mobile app access. At eMAG customers can find a wide range of products, from IT, mobile phones, domestic appliances, electronics, books to children articles, auto parts and accessories, home and garden or sport equipment.
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Klaus Beetz
20 october 2018
Business hall
14:00 - 14:30Digitizing the manufacturing value chain
Klaus looks back on more almost three decades of industry experience in software and system engineering, including five years of international delegation to Eastern Europe. Over the years, he gathered extensive intercultural experience in numerous international projects involving multicultural cooperation, especially on the European level. Among other duties, he was a member of the board of trustees at the European Software Institute (ESI), member of the executive board of Digital Europe (DE) and member of the steering group at the Eureka cluster ”Information Technology for European Advancement” (ITEA). Just recently he was elected to the board of the Alliance Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI). He joined Siemens in 2002 and was heading the Global Technology Field “Software and System Engineering” and responsible for the worldwide research and technology transfer of innovative engineering technologies for software intensive systems and digital technologies. Now he is responsible for external collaboration in Research, Development and Innovation at the Siemens Corporate Technology. From 2011 to 2015 he was delegated as Director for Business & Entrepreneurship at the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT Digital within the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and from July 2016 to December 2017 he was Interim Chief Operating Officer at EIT Food with overall responsibility for the ramp up of the operations of EIT Food.
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KRASIMIR VALCHEV
Krasimir Valchev has extensive experience in the field of financing of the education, evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of the European pre-accession programs.In 2002, he started work at the Ministry of Finance, and from 2003 to 2009 he was an expert in the State Expenditures Directorate, which is involved in planning, implementing, analyzing and evaluating budget expenditures. Krassimir Valchev participated in the development and implementation of sectoral and budgetary policies. From September 2009 until February 2017 he was Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Science. From April to May 2017, he is Head of Department at the Local Government Financing Directorate at the Ministry of Finance. Elected Minister of Education and Science on May 4, 2017 directly involved in the activities of regulating delegated budgets, preparation of costing standards, allocation of resources in the system, drafting of normative acts, etc.
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Paolo Ruggeri
20 october 2018
Business hall
14:35 - 15:05Value through people
Paolo A. Ruggeri is a founding partner of OSM International Group www.osmconsultgroup.com, a USA based management consulting company with existing offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia, offering unique analyzing tools and business development methods with proven results for over 25 years. OSM International Group can sustainably improve any kind of business operations, no matter the market, economic conditions, or business cycles. Paolo`s TED speaker. Paolo is an expert in leadership and people development. His books on the subject have been translated into several languages and have become best sellers in Europe and the Americas
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Stiliyan Zaporozhanov
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:00 - 17:30eCommerce Sales Bot Automation
Stiliyan Zaporozhanov is a co-founder of Zapomedia - Digital Marketing Company which specializes in building and successfully promoting their own Ecommerce brands. For the last 7 years in the digital marketing industry, he has been developing skills and gaining experience in Facebook marketing, conversion rate optimization, funnel building, branding, and eCommerce. Also, he is Partner & Chief Marketing Officer at CloudCart - All-in-One Marketing Enhanced Ecommerce plafrom.
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Ivan Portnih
19 october 2018
Business hall
09:00 - 09:30Opening and Welcome Address
Ivan Portnih is Mayor of Varna since July 2013. He has a Master degree in International Economic Relations from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, also he is Master of Business Administration from the Francophone Institute of Administration and Management. Portnih specializes in hotel management at Cornell University, USA. He is formal General Manager of Grand hotel Varna Resort & Spa (2001 – 2013). Ivan Portnih has command of French, English and Russia
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Ian Moyse
19 october 2018
Business hall
14:40 - 15:10How to address the changing buyer
19 october 2018
Business hall
17:10 - 17:40How to approach increased customer expectations in 2018
19 october 2018
Business hall
17:40 - 18:10Digital Marketing trends Discussion panel
Ian Moyse, has over 25 years of experience in the IT Sector, with nine of these specialising in security, 12 years in cloud and over 20 years of channel experience. Ian is Sales Director at Cloud Telephony Provider Natterbox. He was named #1 on the top 100 cloud influencers list in 2017 through 2015. In 2015 he was named 46th most connected on LinkedIn Worldwide and awarded a Linkedin Power Profile as a top 10 Influencer in the UK technology sector.
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Michael Roberts
19 october 2018
Business hall
16:10 - 16:40Kill the Marketing Machine: Reengineering your Communications around Customer Success
19 october 2018
Business hall
17:40 - 18:10Digital Marketing trends Discussion panel
Michael started his career as a digital marketer and quickly became a thought leader on B2B Marketing trends in Australia. He is passionate thinking about how data and artificial intelligence is helping brands to deliver more personalised messages across every channel. He is an energetic communicator, speaking at Salesforce World Tour, Dreamforce and the B2B Marketing Leadership Forum in Australia. Michael is also passionate about #EqualityForAll, founding Salesforce`s interfaith group, Faithforce globally.
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Pascal Condamine
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:30 - 10:00Challenges of Running a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
12:00 - 12:30Investors Discussion panel
Pascal is Project Evangelist Europe with Indiegogo helping project creators to connect with the resources that Indiegogo has put in place to develop successful campaigns. Pascal loves to chat about projects with future campaigners and his experience in various fields such as molecular biology, webmarketing, ecommerce, and crowdfunding have given him a broad entrepreneurship mindset and open minded approach.
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Jens Lapinski
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
14:05 - 14:35Evaluating Early Stage Ideas
Jens is an early stage investor. He is CEO & Founder at Angel Invest Ventures and invests in ten European B2B startups per year. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Techstars, where he managed four programs and invested in 40 companies, which have raised $50m+ in aggregate. In 2015 he launched the Berlin office, which in 2017 became the most active office of the global Techstars Network.
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MARC WESSELINK
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
11:30 - 12:00Startupbootcamp Evaluating Early Stage Ideas
Serial Entrepreneur, started 12 companies in FMCG, Home Electronics, Healthcare, E-Commerce, HR and Finance. Because of this, he has an in depth knowledge on many fields which can help entrepreneurs to maintain a 360 degree view on their business. He is a motivator, business coach, critical optimist. With his skills and experience, he is currently in charge of selecting Startups for the Accelerator programs in Amsterdam and helping the alumni from Startupbootcamp Amsterdam with the execution of their business. He is also co-founder of Startupbootcamp Africa with programs in Johannesburg & Cape Town.With his entrepreneurial experience, Mark advises managers and entrepreneurs to let their company grow faster and helps them establish a solid infrastructure. After founding and having bootstrapped 12 companies and failed 4 times, he is definitely an experienced entrepreneur with an international focus. After interviewing hundreds of startups as Selection & Alumni Manager at Startupbootcamp, he went on to co-found Startupbootcamp Africa.
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Robert Neivert
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
14:35 - 15:05What are VC`s looking for
Robert is a venture partner at 500 startups focusing on B2B enterprise software and a veteran of nine companies. Twice as CEO, and multiple times as CFO, COO, and heads of sales and marketing organizations. Рreviously held the position of Executive in Residence at Quest Venture Partners. Robert is also mentor and advisor for Cardinal Ventures, Stanford iFarm, and Stanford`s Treehacks program as well as an executive advisor for over 15 funded startups.
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Marius Ghenea
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
16:10 - 16:40Determining the true value of a business idea and How to catch the unicorn
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:40VC Discussion Pannel: "Investing in Innovation"
Marius is serial entrepreneur and business-angel with successful investments in many CEE countries, ranks in Forbes fortune Romanian survey. He is Co-Founder at VentureConnect and SchoolforStartups Romania, president of the Romanian Association of Online Stores. Also he is the author of “Entrepreneurship”, first Romanian entrepreneurship book, one of the Romanian Dragons from the TV show Dragons’ Den; Co-organizer of the BusinessDrive mini-MBA program, professor of Entrepreneurship. Marius is awarded with “Investor of the Year Romania 2016” by Central European Startup Awards.
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Neil Thubron
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
15:10 - 15:40You Can Achieve Any Big Goal
Neil works with individuals and companies to enable them to achieve more in their business and personal lives. He does through 1:1 mentoring and coaching, key note speeches, organising team strategic planning and break through events. He is the author of Yu Can - Achieve any Big Goal using the 7P formula for success. In this book Neil describes how he discovered and applied the 7P formula through his experience in the military, business and extreme sports.
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Björn Weigel
19 october 2018
Business hall
15:35 - 16:05European innovation – status and main challenges
Björn Weigel has worked with business development and economic growth for over twenty years. He co-authored The Innovation Illusion, Yale University Press, recognized as one of the Financial Times Best Business Books of 2016. He’s an independent investor, board member, strategic advisor and manager.
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Nuno Varandas
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
13:30 - 14:00#GiveFirst business model
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
12:00 - 12:30Investors Discussion panel
Nuno leads F6S partnerships with the European public sector that deliver growth to tech founders and tech startups. He has a passion for driving growth in the European founder and startup ecosystem through F6S` 1 million tech SMEs and partnerships with public and private entities throughout Europe. Prior to F6S, Nuno had technology leadership roles at Allianz, Bosch, eneida and the IPN Accelerator
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Monica Miteva
19 october 2018
Business hall
11:35 - 11:55The next industrial revolution. How e-commerce is transforming B2B
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:30 - 18:10Ecommerce Trends Discussion panel
Monica runs the Marketing and Sales Department at DHL Express Bulgaria. She has been working hard to position the company as a strategic partner for corporate, small and medium-sized businesses, particularly start-ups and online retailers.
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Norman Winarsky
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:10 - 09:40The Story of Siri and Predictions of the Next AI Breakthroughs
Norman is past President of SRI Ventures at SRI International, a world-leading research institute founded by Stanford University in 1946. He has been a founder and leader of SRI’s venture strategy and process, which has resulted in more than sixty ventures worth over $20 billion. Norman helped create and build companies ranging from artificial intelligence, natural language, and computer vision, to medical devices, robotics, and nanotechnology. He was a co-founder and board member of Siri, which was spun out from SRI in January 2008 and acquired by Apple in April 2010. Siri has become a worldwide phenomenon, establishing the breakthrough market category of virtual personal assistant.
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Gary W. Whitehill
Gary W. Whitehill is the founder of Entrepreneur Week and The Relentless Foundation. He is a relentless entrepreneur and driven philanthropist with a footprint on four continents; broad experience spanning entrepreneurship, M&A, business turnarounds, and Fortune 100 board directorships. In 2009, Gary began leveraging his global rolodex of accomplished leaders and innovators to build the largest network of Entrepreneur Weeks in the world. Currently, the global platform resides in 11 cities and 4 continents, providing knowledge, resources, relationships, and access to capital to early-stage entrepreneurs and business owners. Since its inception, Entrepreneur Week has convened more than 5,000 entrepreneurs, representing more than $8 billion in revenue and continues its expansion into 25 cities and 14 countries. Furthermore, the platform made history in both 2011 and 2012 as the first institution, aside from the President of the United States, to usher delegations of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and investors to other continents to advise Heads of State, Prime Ministers, and Presidents, which included Chile and Greece. A visionary in structuring the macro-level dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems, Gary has published more than 10 articles for industry-leading publications such as the Harvard Business Review, Inc. and Time Magazine, and delivered over 50 presentations to audiences around the World on many topical facets of entrepreneurship. Gary is also an investor in 8 companies spanning multiple verticals, including consumer products, outdoor-advertising, print, and technology. Philanthropically, Gary is driven by his desire to ensure every continent maintains a global competitiveness within the entrepreneurship space. He seeks to build a framework for teaching every child the tenets of entrepreneurship inside K-12 classrooms by 2030. This mission persists within the establishment of The Relentless Foundation, commenced in 2009. Gary also plans to expand upon this vision by implementing entrepreneurship-based curricula into schools across major cities around the globe within the next two decades. Driven to promote innovation in large corporations, Gary played an instrumental role in architecting the first Fortune 50 Entrepreneur-in-Residence program at Dell. He also resides as a member of the AOL Small Business Board of Directors, Astia Global Board of Directors, Dell Entrepreneur-in-Residence Advisory Board, and Holcomb Nature Farm Board of Directors. In 2011, Gary represented the United States at the Young G20 Summit in Paris, France, advising Heads of State on innovation in technology and communication. He was recently nominated to represent the United States at the G8 Young Global Leaders Summit in Chicago, Illinois held in May 2012.
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Dirk Lubbers
20 october 2018
Business hall
10:35 - 11:05Digitalizing Urban Tourism
Dirk is a former Managing Director at Heineken International. Under his supervision, Heineken Experience has more than doubled the number of visitors in five years and is now one of the biggest attractions in Amsterdam. Throughout his time at Heineken International Dirk is well-known for his enthusiastic Heineken spirit with heart for the business and people. Studied at the University of Nijmegen, Corporate Sciences/Business Studies. Dirk reads many (preferably historical) books, plays soccer, tennis and jogs. Dirk loves to sing along with Frozen, likes the Rolling Stones and INXS. Manipulating and teasing people are his most favourite activities. Since 2017 year Dirk is CEO at Tourism Group Holding.
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Aaron Hedges
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:40 - 18:10Information meeting for NE Preaccelerator
For the last seven years Aaron Hedges has worked on every part of the API lifecycle. As an engineer he designed and built the Vimeo API. After that he transitioned to Product Management to continue working on the design, developer experience and business needs of Public APIs.
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Denis Rothman
19 october 2018
Business hall
10:35 - 11:05Boosting e-business with Blockchain artificial intelligence
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
10:35 - 11:05Boosting e-business, advertising, and tourism with Artificial Intelligence Smart Grids
Denis Rothman, is the author one of the first Artificial Intelligence Cognitive NPL Chatbots. He also designed Automated Planning Systems and Artificial Intelligence software for corporate industries and online solutions.
Author of the book "Artificial Intelligence by Example". -
Hristo Stoyanov
Hristo Stoyanov manages the business development activities in Bulgaria of the European Investment Fund. He joined the EIF office in Sofia as mandate manager in 2011 responsible for the operations of a Bulgarian holding fund providing EU Structural Funds through SME-focused financial instruments including guarantees, start-up accelerators and venture capital. He is member of the Board of Directors of JEREMIE Bulgaria – company, acting as an umbrella fund with diversified portfolio of private equity funds and risk-sharing commitments to local credit institutions. Prior to joining the EIF, Hristo managed M&A advisory projects at Forem Consulting in Sofia. He holds a MBA degree from University of Notre Dame in the USA.
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Jamie Williams
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
14:40 - 15:10A Conversation on Internal and External Ethics in Strategic Leadership
After becoming an All-American Football and Basketball player at Nebraska University, Dr. Williams played professional football and earned a NFL XXIV Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers. Following football, Dr. Williams embarked on a career that included work in the film industry as a writer, director, screenwriter and actor. Jamie is most known for his role as a writer, technical director and actor in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday. Along the way, he achieved both a Master Degree in Mass Communication and a Doctorate Degree in Education and Leadership. Jamie’s startup, Ymotion, creates everything from commercials, graphic design, music videos, web development, illustration/animation and social media presence. All of its “creatives” have degrees in Fine Art, and its clients mostly represent Fortune 500 hundred companies.
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Lloyd Waldo
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:00 - 09:30Silicon Hell: How to Ruin Startups.
Hailing from San Francisco, California, Lloyd Waldo, the self-proclaimed “3rd most-famous American in Prague,” is a Partner at StartupYard, and resident Copywriter and Community Manager. Lloyd brings many years of professional writing and speaking experience to StartupYard, as well as an eye for defining the unique voice of a young company. Lloyd is a frequent speaker and panelist at startup and tech events throughout Europe, and he is a mentor at GjirafaLab, Kosovo’s first ever incubator for tech startups, and Numa, a leading tech accelerator in France. In 2014, he joined Gjirafa, a StartupYard startup, as a member of the Advisory Board.
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Hélio Vogas
20 october 2018
Business hall
12:00 - 12:30Safe Danger: Bolder Innovation While Risking Less
Hélio shared his leadership concepts from local meetup groups to the United Nations headquarters in Vienna, Austria. From student organizations that foster entrepreneurship to audiences composed of CFO`s of Fortune 500 companies. He uses eye-catching demonstrations, humorous interactions with the audience and high energy moments to drive the message home and make it memorable and inspired action.
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Mike Doherty
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
11:25 - 11:55Building that Startup Ecosystem
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
12:00 - 12:30Investors Discussion panel
Mike Doherty, the founder of Doherty & Associates, has a long history of business development, strategy, and planning. Mike has launched and managed several ventures personally, so he understands the challenges of managing day-to-day operations while remaining focused on growth opportunities and the bottom line. He has also worked as an investor and a lender and therefore recognizes the demands and expectations these parties bring to the mix. Mike’s clients benefit from both perspectives.
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Pavel Šafařík
19 october 2018
Business hall
14:05 - 14:35Product Performance Intelligence
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:30 - 18:10Ecommerce Trends Discussion panel
Pavel’s fast, innovative thinking in Product Management from ROI Hunter’s infancy and leadership as Product Development Leader are one of the things what has moved ROI Hunter from a small Facebook marketing platform to one of the premier tools of its kind. His main focus is in new product development, business evaluation and creative growth that will help to shape the future of digital advertising.
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Larry Biehl
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
14:00 - 14:30Creating a charitable Culture - How it benefits your community, business and YOU
Larry Biehl graduated Stanford University. After developing his own business in Silicon Valley, he starts helping young entrepreneurs to do the same. For over 50 years, he is a financial advisor and investment manager for different startups all over the world. He is the founder of Interculture foundation which finances the project Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Center.
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Thomas P. Offner
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
16:10 - 16:40Startup Europe
With 20 years experience in the startup and digital industry (and having started his first venture in 1998), Thomas is bridging the gap between the corporate and the start-up world. He has built and managed several successful startup programs, for example the P7S1 Accelerator ProSiebenSat.1) and the MS Spacelab (Media Saturn Holding) as well as working as an active venture capital investor for SevenVentures and Intel Capital. Furthermore he is the founder of one of the world’s most relevant startup competitions (Forbes Magazine), the SevenVentures Pitch Day (7VPD.com). The business management graduate also held management positions in numerous European companies, such as Intel, Audi and Siemens and has successfully founded and/or developed several Internet start-ups, including his first venture, Media Service Group, in the late 90s, fatfoogoo (successfully sold to Digital River) and also Groupon in Austria and Switzerland as co-founder (IPOed).
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Jacob Burenstam
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:35Startup legends
Jacob is a social entrepreneur and co-founder & CTO at Just Arrived, a service that helps immigrants in Sweden find a job, earning him a spot on 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Social Entrepreneurship. He previously worked in Med Tech building a patient recruitment platform named on the Top 100 Global Red Herring list, counting several of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies amongst its customers. He's also been in e-commerce working with some of Sweden’s top fashion brands helping them deliver new, exiting and engaging experiences. Jacob is an avid Open Source advocate and built Just Arrived as open source software.
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RUMEN ILIEV
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:40VC Discussion Pannel: "Investing in Innovation"
Rumen Iliev is a Partner of LAUNCHub since May 2012. Mr. Iliev manages the application process, the pre-selection and the portfolio relations. Previously, he had his own business consultancy practice focused on solving business issues and helping companies and their management in achieving business goals. During his professional career, he has held various senior expert level positions at some of the biggest multinationals in Utilities and Insurance in the CEE Region. Interested in Entrepreneurship, Startups, Venture Capital, Investments and focused on building connections with the relevant people in the startup / entrepreneurial ecosystem that can help early stage companies achieve their goals.
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MIlen Ivanov
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
12:00 - 12:30Investors Discussion panel
Milen Ivanov was born in Silistra and has been a serial entrepreneur in various business areas over the past 15 years, mainly related to Marketing and B2B services. He has experience as an investor, employer and manager in spheres including advertising, event management, internet projects and business services. He has several awards - "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" 2003, "Creativity Award and Innovation" at the WYBA World Finals in Istanbul, one of the 40 younger innovators under 40ty who are changing Bulgaria according to a Darik radio contest. Founder and Chairman of CEO Club Bulgaria - the largest informal network of top managers and entrepreneurs in Bulgaria.Some of the companies he founded and run are JordanSheppard Executive Search, Horizons Recruitment, Gift.bg, Bulgarian Indoor Advertising, Sponsio. He is the author of the book: How to find a better job in Bulgaria?Since 3 years he has been the Director of The Founders Institute for Bulgaria, the world`s largest Academy of entrepreneurs and a startup incubator at the level of an idea with headquarters in Silicon Valley, and CEO of Angels Club, the angel club for investors who helps Young start-up companies to develop their business.
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DESIGAN CHINNIAH
Desigan Chinniah is the Director of Open Innovation & Emerging Technologies atMozilla, the makers ofFirefox. As a seasoned firestarter, Dees drives strategy and outreach forMozilla technologies thinking about Web Next. He is a champion for all things open internet. Dees possesses a Swiss Army Knife of talents including being a veteran Dot-Com Firestarter and Futurist, a Non-Exec Advisor, an early stage Startup Mentor as well Board Member. Most recently he's been assisting Mozilla'sEmerging Technology andOpen Innovation groups explorations into the Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality, Voice/Speech, Internet-of-Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Bots space. Prior to this, Dees has worked within the world wide web as a Designer, Developer, Technical Evangelist, Product Architect, Community Manager & Business Development professional for 15+ years, including check-ins atAsk Jeeves,Skype,BBC,eBay,PayPal,Gumtree andMozilla Labs.
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Yordan Zarev
Yordan is an investment professional with experience in M&A and corporate finance. He began his career in Forem Consulting, where he worked on buy and sell-side transactions. After an internship with the investment banking team at HSBC (London), he joined EuroHold Group, a publicly listed financial institution in Bulgaria. He ultimately became the head of investment banking of Euro-Finance Bulgaria, part of EuroHold Group, the most established local investment intermediary and led several strategic acquisitions, capital raisings, public listings, divestments and deal structurings in a variety of sectors. Before joining NEVEQ as an investment manager, he headed business planning and development at Philip Morris International (Bulgaria affiliate). Yordan holds a BA in Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria and is fluent in English.
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Boyan Benev
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:40VC Discussion Pannel: "Investing in Innovation"
Boyan is a digital and social entrepreneur. Financed by Google, his company SHYN develops experimental software for the media industry while his project Rise aims to develop a model for sustainable rural community development.
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Nikola Stojanow
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:40VC Discussion Pannel: "Investing in Innovation"
As a multi-national Business Development Executive with experience working in Germany, Eastern Europe, MENA, and the Asia-Pacific region, Nikola Stojanow is the go-to person for Strategy and Business Development. He is currently CBDO of æternity blockch ain and founded æternity Ventures with the vision to support the development and future of the blockchain ecosystem globally.
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Miroslav Dimitrov
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
11:10 - 11:25Technologies for the Intelligent Enterprise
Miroslav is a professional business consultant with a broad international experience. His consulting background along with his passion for innovative technology has led him to join SAP. He helps business partners and key customers to leverage disruptive technology trends in order to create effective strategies for growing their business - from optimisation of current business processes to the creation of new concepts and models for running business critical operations. Miroslav holds BSc degree in Economics from New Bulgarian University and is currently finishing his MBA at COTRUGLI Business School.
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Temelko Dechev
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:40 - 18:10The Future of Tech Industry Discussion panel
Temelko Dechev is CEO at Prosperamo. A company that helps firms, businesses and corporations advance through their critical issues and hidden business opportunities via three key arms: Prosperamo Legal (Law Firm), Prosperamo Strategy (Sales & Business Development Unit) and Prosperamo Academy. Temelko is also the founder and CEO of ExpandX, a marketing agency providing digital, creative and web solutions for local and foreign businesses. He is also Business Advisor at few BlockChain projects. Mr. Dechev previously worked as Branch Manager for one of the biggest real estate companies in UK, Martin & Co Group. For 2 years the stock portfolio of the London Bridge office he managed increased to circa £35m. As Management Consultant he worked on projects with clients from a leading Telecommunication Conglomerate operating in the DACH region, major global companies with operations in the Manufacturing, IoT, Banking and the Automotive sectors such as DAIMLER, T-Systems, Vodafone, Salesforce, Reiffeisen and others. He was also involved in Sales, Business & Strategic Development projects with International companies at LatAm and EMEA markets, been a delegate at the 15th World Business Dialogue, YTILI Fellow at the US Department of State, TEDx speaker, Featured on Forbes and Bloomberg, Founding & Board member of JCI – Worldwide Federation of Young Leaders & Entrepreneurs. He has delivered many business trainings, workshops & masterclasses in UK, Portugal, USA, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Turkey, Germany, Serbia, Romania and Austria.
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Dr Mel Gill
Legendary Psychotherapist and Counselor, he is also the Master Clinical Hypnotherapist who trains and certifies Clinical Hypnotherapists around the world, under the umbrella of the American College of Applied Psychology as it’s visiting Professor of Motivational Psychology. He is also one of the world’s leading experts in Personal Development and a Mentor’s Mentor and Coach’s Coach to countless Speakers, Trainers and Business Owners around the Planet. He is President of the Master Trainer Institute of New York since 1989. He is an internationally recognized Business and Blockchain Expert and one of the world’s foremost Consultant in the areas of Branding, Marketing, Training, Creativity, Product Development, International Trade and is best known as a Private Corporate and Personal Advisor and Coach to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. A serial Entrepreneur, Investor and Philanthropist Inventor of Innovative Energy Systems, Water Purification Systems and now working with NASA on new Technologies and on the Rocket Propulsion Systems for the Mars Mission, Dr Gill is turning his attention towards innovations in Blockchain Technology, Fintech and Artificial Intelligence. As of this writing he is awaiting the approval of a Patent Application on a new Cross Blockchain Intelligent Communications System that will allow all Blockchains to seamlessly “Speak” to each other and to “Learn” and “Evolve” from errors. This innovation will also become the wire-frame on which all software can be built for the next-generation of Quantum Computers. Dr Gill also has several Patents still pending on Advanced Space Propulsion Systems, Cybernetic Neural Nets, Magnetic Motors and Generators, Solar Desalination Technology and Suggestopedia.
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Peter Iliev
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:30 - 18:10Ecommerce Trends Discussion panel
Peter Iliev is a co-founder and CTO of Cloudcart - All-in-One Marketing Enhanced Ecommerce plafrom. For the last 13 years he has been developing skills in the Ecommerce industry while building websites, stores and platforms for clients around the world. His main goal is to create innovative ecommerce tools that will help merchants sell more.
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Andy Szekely
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
16:45 - 17:10How to approach opportunity and choice
Andy Szekely is the founder of Bootcamp University and has over 21 years on Romanian training & coaching market, as an innovative writer, speaker and business coach. He delivered speeches in Romania, on the same stages with ones of the top world speakers (John Maxwell, Robin Sharma, Martin Lindstrom, Bob Proctor, Dr. John Gray, Brian Tracy, Dr. Oz, s.o), but also in most European countries, China, USA and Canada. As a pioneer on Romanian market for open seminars for personal development and leadership, he had more that 3,000 live sessions and trained over 40 Romanian speakers that now have entrepreneurial businesses, and had more that 1,400 graduated participants in Bootcamp University.
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Konstantinos Tovil
20 october 2018
Business hall
17:30 - 18:10Ecommerce Trends Discussion panel
Kostas has 16 years of experience in retail banking with focus in consumer finance and cards in companies operating successfully on several South Eastern European markets. He started his career in Citibank and has held executive positions in EFG Eurobank in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. He is highly experienced in managing deposits, investment products and transactional banking. He had a leading role in establishing and managing the Affluent Banking Division in two banks. Kostas holds a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Business Administration from Middlesex University and a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry from Kingston University. He is also a member of the UK Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Prof. Anna Nedyalkova,D.Sc.
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
16:40 - 17:00Digital Education for Economic Growth and Social Inclusion
Prof. Nedyalkova, D.Sc. is a distinguished scientist and lecturer in the field of social management, and also a supporter of the modernization of Bulgarian higher education. In 1991 she is among the founders of Varna Free University (VFU) “Chernorizets Hrabar”, and consecutively holds the academic positions of Head of Department, Vice Dean, Dean, and Rector. As of April 2013, she is President of the university. As a scientist and a lecturer, she successfully combines teaching, research, and implementation of new educational and information technologies in teaching. Prof. Nedyalkova has done specializations in prestigious international universities, such as Leeds Metropolitan University, the University of Surrey – Gilford, Great Britain, the Free University of Brussels etc. In her field of scientific interests, she has published monographs, studies, textbooks, articles, and papers, presented at international conferences. “Globalism, Regionalism and Anti-Globalism” is published in 2005, co-authored with the internationally renowned scientist Sigmund Bauman. Prof. Nedyalkova is the founder of the Bulgarian Association of Private Schools and its Chair until 2013. She is an active member of Bulgarian and international professional organizations and associations. For her active public work, for her significant contribution to the preservation and development of the scientific and artistic potential of Varna, for her work in the fields of science, education and culture and for her contribution to free speech, Prof. Nedyalkova has been presented with a number of honorary national and international awards, amongst which are the Order "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" - first degree, the President’s Badge of Honor, Honorary citizen of the cities of Varna and Smolyan, the Varna Prize, the “Human Resources Manager” national prize, the “Buditel” Award, Doctor Honoris Causa of Almamer University in Poland etc. Prof. Nedyalkova is the first Rector of a Bulgarian university who has received full membership in the Club of the Rectors of Europe. She is a member of the European University Association, of the International Informatization Academy at the UN, of the Board of the Black Sea Universities Network, of the International Organization of Management and Economics Lecturers and is an honorable member of the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria.
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Boyan Moskov
19 october 2018
Business hall
17:40 - 18:10Digital Marketing trends Discussion panel
Боян е собственик на дигитална агенция Interactive Orb. Заедно с екипа му са работили и работят със стотици онлайн магазини, фитнес инструктури и коучове по личностно развитие от България и чужбина, някои от които са най-големите компании у нас - Зора, Спорт Депо, Адрес - Недвижими имоти. Управляват над 1 000 000 рекламен бюджет. Боян е собственик и на 2 онлайн магазина. Успешно развива онлайн академия за маркетинг обучения и е преподавател в магистърска програма по Дигитален Маркетинг към ВУЗФ.
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Anelia Pergoot
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:45 - 10:15Women in tech in Western Balkans
Anelia is a former Managing Director of LEM Bulgaria, IDT Bulgaria and AMIS Bulgaria. 20 years of her carrier she spent at management positions in Microelectronic companies in Belgium. From 2004 on, she was starting and supervising companies for Development of Integrated circuits in Bulgaria. In 2010 her company won the nomination of The most Innovative company in Bulgaria. She is an invited speaker in conferences focused on Industry 4.0, Horizon 2020 and is nominated Quality Manager of the year in Belgium. The last year she acts as an Interim Manager and supports the Digital initiatives and start-up companies in Varna and the region.
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Justine Toms
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
09:45 - 10:15Women in tech in Western Balkans
Justine Toms is one of the leading experts and entrepreneurs in the field of online medias and online marketing. Founded and manages the web agency ABC Design and Communication from 1998 and online media group “Az media” from 2001, including the web sites Az-jenata.bg, Az-deteto.bg, Ludi Mladi and others. From June 2011 the media group is part of the portfolio of Investor.bg. Justin Toms is founder and organizator of the competition for best bulgarian site and best internet impact “BG Site” from 1999 till now. Author of 10 books with topics online media and marketing, web influence. Specialist in the field of interactive advertising, internet media planning, email marketing and Web 2.0. Long-standing trainer and lecturer of seminars and corporate trainings with topics such as medias, PR, marketing and internet advertising in Bulgaria and abroad.
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Plamen Borisov
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
11:10 - 11:25Innovation process in Solvay Sodi - challenges and transformation
Plamen Borisov is Production Director of Solvay Sodi and Affiliates that provide the necessary raw materials and energy. With almost 30 years of experience in the production of Soda ash, he has been managing over the past years the planning and production of the three main products of the plant - light and dense soda ash, bicarbonate. He is also part of the team, which more than 15 years ago laid the foundations of Solvay Sody`s innovation process and carried out the transformation of the project in the last years.
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Miroslav Bogdantsaliev
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
12:00 - 12:30Investors Discussion panel
Мирослав Богданцалиев е завършил магистърска степен по Математика, специалност Управление и информационни технологии, в Югозападния университет „Неофит Рилски“ в Благоевград, България. В Обединеното Кралство пристига през 2000г. и оттогава неизменно живее и работи в страната. През първите няколко години се ангажира самостоятелно в различни проекти за строителство на сгради. Първата си компания - Авалон Билд (Avalon Build), стартира с много ограничен първоначален капитал през 2005г. Оттогава досега бизнесът на компанията се развива с изключително нарастващи темпове и днес фирмата работи по мащабни проекти в строителния сектор, като е поставила в своето портфолио няколко сериозни награди: “ТОП 50 на строителните компании от югоизточна Англия” на списание „БИЛД“, „Определящото за света 2016г.“, „Най-доброто от интериора за 2016г.“ Бизнесът основан от Мирослав Богданцалиев има безупречна репутация за надеждност, почтеност, цялостност и качество на услугите, и е една от най-добре познатите и търсени строителни фирми в Лондон и югоизточна Англия. През последните години Мирослав Богданцалиев стартира самостоятелно или в партньорство, няколко нови бизнес проекта в областта на строителството, недвижимата собственост и инвестиционната сфера. Голяма част от тях достигат седем цифрени обороти и се развиват стабилно и перспективно. През 2017 г. Мирослав създава Международен Бизнес Алианс.България – първата социална мрежа на международния бизнес с българско участие.
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Rune Sovndahl
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
15:55 - 16:10Sucess In Eastern Europe - why startups from Bulgaria will thrive
Rune Sovndahl, is a co-founder and CEO of Fantastic Services - an international brand that combines technological innovations with bespoke customer care to deliver services for the home, office and garden. Rune Sovndahl, who is Danish, moved to London almost 20 years ago to study for a BA (Hons) in Business Information Systems Design in South Bank University. Following completion of his degree, he was accepted onto a graduate programme with British Telecom. In 2003 he also established the European Young Professionals committee in London and was involved in its website`s creation as well as in the recruitment of more than 200 new members. Most recently he worked for lastminute.com as Head of SEO. Fantastic Services currently has offices on 3 continents - Europe (United Kingdom and Bulgaria), Australia and North America (USA). Over 1,500 experts deliver 40,000+ services to Fantastic clients each month. The company employs around 500 specialists responsible for web design, mobile applications, online and marketing optimisation, sales and more.
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Irie Meltzer
Irie Meltzer is an experienced business executive, specializing in International / global sales and Marketing in the financial and high-tech sectors. Currently he serves as Director, Business Development, Central and East Europe at OrCam Technologies. Irie Meltzer is managing the company`s strategy and business in Central and East Europe and responsible for regional distribution channels. Prior to his current position at OrCam, he was Director sales and marketing at Investment Bank in the assets and wealth management division. Irie holds a BA in International Business from The IDC in Herzlyia. Irie is proud to represent truly breakthrough assistive technology that enables people to achieve increased independence.
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Raz Peleg
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
12:30 - 12:40Smart Cities
Raz Peleg is an expert in international business development, lives in a Suburban village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. His first encounter with the Automotive world was within Kamor Motors, BMW importer for Israel at the time, as a Sales Director. Since 2010 Raz holds Managerial positions in Mobileye Vision technologies, a Word leader in manufacturing of Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) Currently he holds the position of Sales Director for East EU. Raz is Also in charge of the Arab world market within Mobileye. He uses his English, German and Arabic for this responsibility. Raz is known for his Human oriented business skills and general leadership attitude.
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John Derbyshire
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:40VC Discussion Pannel: "Investing in Innovation"
Dr. John Derbyshire is the Product Lead for hubii AS and has been working with the company since their ICO in August 2017. He holds a PhD from the University of Manchester in Philosophy, where he worked previously, and has two other degrees from the University of Nottingham. Specialising in probabilistic resource distribution, John has over ten years of experience in the field of systems design – notably its practical and social applications. A creative and engaging public speaker, John is currently leading the development of hubii`s decentralised oracle which will provide a trustless method for entering data on to the blockchain. Aiming to solve the data availability problem, this project will also provide the final layer of security for hubii`s Ethereum scaling solution product – nahmii.
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Svetoslava Georgieva
19 october 2018
Innovation hall
17:10 - 17:40VC Discussion Pannel: "Investing in Innovation"
20 october 2018
Innovation hall
10:00 - 10:20Equity instruments supporting innovation and start-ups in Bulgaria
Svetoslava Georgieva has strong international experience in the field of finance as well as in the European institutions. She spent several years working in investment banking and equity investments in London. Following this, she joined the European Commission in Brussels where she gained experience in EU economic governance and key financial sector reforms in the aftermath of the crisis, while working on bank restructuring in Greece, Slovenia and Italy. Svetoslava Georgieva graduated in Economics and finance from University College London with a specialization in Moscow and completed a Master’s degree in the French business school ESCP Europe in Paris.
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Arta Shehu Zaimi
Arta Shehu Zaimi is the co-founder of Labbox and jCoders Academy. Both of her startups are focused in solving the problem of the quality of education, using technology. jCoders Academy offers a learning environment for coding and robotics that promotes equitable and lifelong learning and inspires a changemaker attitude starting from ages 8 to 18. Today jCoders has 5 centres in Kosovo with around 800+ students. jCoders offers a supplementary curriculum that will enable schools to integrate and teach technology in their classrooms. The experience in jCoders, led Arta and the team in developing a hardware solution to use while teaching electronics and programing. Labbox proved to improve the learning curve and increase experimentation for teachers and students as well. Her experience consists of 9 years in development and software architecture, with 4 years in education. She pioneered in offering the possibility to teach kids ages 8+ STEM in Kosovo and was awarded numerous honors of success during her working career, including the Gold Medal from the Western Balkans Summit held in London this year. Arta is committed in contributing to the improvement of education in Kosovo and the region as she strongly believes that the quality of our education is a critical aspect in individual and collective success.
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Dimitar Vasilev
Dimitar Vasilev is Chairman of the Bulgarian Business Forums and Executive Director of Webest Ltd.- a digital marketing company. He is part of the Digital Leaders Network of the World Economic Forum. Dimitar is a full member representing Bulgaria in the European Startup Network and a member of the Governing Boards of Varna European Youth Capital and National Representation of the Bulgarian Start-up Entrepreneurial Community. President of Round Table Bulgaria and Member of the Board of Directors of Round Table Varna. He strives to encourage the entrepreneurial and personal development of young people in every effort.
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18-19 october 2019 Bulgaria
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