Speakers 2023 I day

Jarosław Stawiarski

An experienced self-government official and politician.
A graduate in history at the Humanistic Department of the University of Marie Curie Skłodowska in Lublin, an alumnus of postgraduate studies in management.

He was a teacher, headmaster, councillor and a deputy mayor in his hometown Kraśnik. Member of National Parliament for 4 terms. He had served as the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, where as the Vice-Minister had been responsible mainly for financial support of sports infrastructure. Under his management about half a billion PLN was annually spent on new sports facilities. He also supervised the National Stadium, the Central Sports Centre and the Institute of Sport. He is a member of the bureau of the European Committee of Regions and the president of the Presidential Council for Self-Government.

On 21st November 2019 elected for the Marshal of the Lubelskie Voivodeship. Passionate about sport both in private and professional terms, always present at the most important sports events. Supports Polish national teams in different disciplines.

Elżbieta Witek

Between 2015 and 2017 she was a member of the Council of Ministers, Head of the Political Cabinet of the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson. From June 2019 she held the office of Minister of Interior and Administration.
On 9 August 2019 she was appointed Marshal of the Sejm.

MARIUSZ BŁASZCZAK

He is a graduate of history at the UW Department of History. He also graduated from the National School of Public Administration and completed postgraduate studies – Local Government and Local Development and Management in Administration.

Since October 31, 2005, he served as head of the Prime Minister’s Office. In March 2007, he was appointed by Polish President Lech Kaczynski to the position of Minister – Member of the Council of Ministers. In the 2007 parliamentary elections, he won a parliamentary seat on behalf of the Law and Justice party. In the 2011 and 2015 elections, he won re-election.

Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration from 2015-2018, and Minister of National Defense from January 9, 2018.

On June 22, 2022, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Committee for National Security and Defense Affairs.

PRZEMYSŁAW CZARNEK

In 2001, he graduated from the Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administration of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. He received his doctorate in law in 2006 and his postdoctoral degree in 2015. He is the author of dozens of monographs and scientific articles. He specializes in constitutional law. He is a professor at the Catholic University of Lublin.
From 2015 to 2019, he served as Voivode of Lubelskie Voivodeship. In 2019, he won a mandate as a Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Poland for the ninth term, winning more than 87,000 votes.
On October 19, 2020, he was appointed Minister of Education and Science.

PAWEŁ JABŁOŃSKI

He is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at UW and the School of Spanish and European Law at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha and UW. From 2008 to 2015, he worked in law firms. He is an attorney, a member of the Warsaw Bar Association; in 2016-2018, he served as Deputy Disciplinary Ombudsman of the Association. From 2018, he was an advisor to the Prime Minister and then Deputy Director of the Department for Coordination of International Projects in the Prime Minister’s Office. Since 2020, he has been the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Republic of Poland for the Three Seas Initiative. He is also a member of the Council of the Central Europe Institute.

Miko Haljas

Miko Haljas joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia in 1995. Over the years he has held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence of Estonia. He started out as a desk officer for United States and Canada, then was posted to Estonian Embassy in Helsinki, Finland and Washington D.C., United States.
Miko Haljas has worked as the Director of Security Policy Division and as Director General of Security Policy, International Organizations and Transatlantic Relations Department. As the Director of Security policy Division in 2003-2006, and NATO desk officer before that, Miko Haljas was also involved in the accession process of Estonia to NATO. In the years 2016-2017 Miko Haljas served as Undersecretary of State for Defence Policy in Estonian Ministry of Defence and in 2017-2019 as the Director of Security Policy and Transatlantic Relations Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was part of the Estonian 2017 EU presidency team.
Miko Haljas has served as an Ambassador of Estonia to Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, based in Budapest, in 2006-2010, Ambassador to Turkey, Azerbaijan and Lebanon, based in Ankara, in 2012-2015, Ambassador to Egypt, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Arab League and African Union, based in Cairo, in 2019-2022. In August 2022 he started to serve as Ambassador of Estonia to Poland.

Gediminas Varvuolis

Between February 2018 and October 2021 Mr Gediminas Varvuolis served as the Ambassador of Lithuania to Japan. From Tokyo he was also accredited to New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines as well as ASEAN & Asia Europe Foundation. Before coming to Japan, from 2013 to 2018 he served as ambassador of Lithuania to Belgium and from Brussels was also accredited to Luxembourg and Algeria.

After graduating from the Faculty of History at Vilnius University and the Institute of Political Sciences in Paris, Mr Varvuolis entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in 1995. His assignments in Lithuania‘s diplomatic service included positions of Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO and Director of the Transatlantic Cooperation and Security Policy Department, Head of Crisis management and NATO divisions, Lithuanian Embassy in France.

Mr Varvuolis is awarded with Medal for the civilians „for merits“ of the Ministry of Defence of Lithuania (2011), Order for Merits to Lithuania, the Cross of the Knight (2004) and French National Order of Merits, (Chevalier de l‘ordre national du Mérite) (1997).

Andrzej Jaworski

Founder and President of the Chamber of Commerce and Commerce of the Food Market, which brings together over 120 entities from the agri-food sector, from April 2022 a member of the Management Board of PZU Życie, and from May 2022 the President of the Management Board of PZU Zdrowie. Previously, in the years 2016-2017, he was associated with the PZU Group, in which he was a member of the Management Board. He successfully managed large enterprises, including m.in as President of the Management Board of the VRG Group, Member of the Management Board of Krajowa Spółka Cukrowa SA, President of Stocznia Gdańsk SA. Since 2016, he has been the chairman of the Council of the John Paul II Institute of Remembrance and Identity. Member of the Sejm of three terms, chairman of the Public Finance Committee.

DARIUS UŽKURAITIS

Colonel Darius Užkuraitis started his military career in 1990. During his service time he has been fulfilling different jobs attactical, operational and strategic level. He has graduated Lithuanian military academy, Baltic Defence College, NATO Defence College Senior Course 113 and Institute Des Hautes Études De Defense Nationale Senior Armaments Course SERA 29. He is a certified NATO planner, operations assessment SME and PRINCE II Practitioner. Colonel Darius Užkuraitis has been serving as COS/DCOM at the “Iron wolf” BDE for 2 years, then 3 years as “Iron wolf” BDE Commander. He has spent 4 years at Lithuanian Land Forces HQ as Head of G3 division (OPERATIONS and TRAINING) and also has more than 5 years’ experience working at the Lithuanian MOD as Capability planner and National armament director. Colonel Darius Užkuraitis has NATO ACO experience as he spent 7 years serving at NATO Operational level HQ. 2010-2013 he was leading Integrated Advisory Team (NATO CAG equivalent) at JFC Brunssum including deployment to ISAF mission as JFCBS LNO to ISAF HQ in 2012- 2013. From August 2017 till August 2021 Colonel Darius Užkuraitis has been serving at JFC Brunssum again, but this time as Operations assessment brunch head (Joint Assessment Division). Since August 2021 he has been appointed as NATO ENSEC COE director.

Lieutenant general WIESŁAW KUKUŁA

Lieutenant general WIESŁAW KUKUŁA ( born 16 March 1972 Czestochowa) started his military career in 1992 as an Officer Cadet in Military Academy of the Signal Corps in Zegrze.
In 1996, after being promoted to 2nd lieutenant he served in units of 1st Special Forces Regiment, where he held positions from platoon leader to company commander. In 2003 he was deployed with Iraqi Freedom Operations to Iraq, at the same time he successfully completed Military University of Technology, and acquired Master Degree in electronics and telecommunication. In 2006 he was appointed to POL Special Operations Forces Command. One of his responsibilities was programming the development of Special Forces. In 2012 was designated to the position of the Commander of Special Forces Group. In 2016 he was appointed to the position of Commander of Territorial Defense Forces. On 29th November 2016 Polish President Andrzej Duda nominated Wiesław Kukuła as Brigadier General, and two years later in September 2018 he was nominated to the rank of Major General. In January 2020 general Wiesław Kukuła was handed an appointment letter for the second term of office as Commander of Territorial Defense Forces. On 5th of November 2021 he was nominated to the rank of Lieutenant general. On 6th of February 2023 President Andrzej Duda designated Lieutenant general KUKUŁA to the position of General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces.

Brigadier General Dariusz MENDRALA

He assumed the position January 5, 2021. He simultaneously performs a function of the Special Representative of the Minister of National Defense for the investments stemming from the Polish-American Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Over the course of his military career Brigadier General Mendrala has held a plethora of positions associated with planning, programming and budgeting as well as finance and logistics and has a proven track record in defense resource management. Brigadier General Mendrala was promoted to the first officer rank in 1997 after successful completion (magna cum laude) of a 4-year specialized educational program and military training at the Military College of Logistics. After that he began his professional military career as a Senior Logistician in the Central Clinical Military Hospital in Warsaw, where he served until 2001. Then he served in a wide range of assignments within various organizational elements of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (J5, J8 Directorates), MOD Budget Department and the Resource Section of the Polish Delegation to NATO (Brussels, Belgium). After his return to Poland in 2016 he was assigned to the Strategic Defense Review Team as a Chief Coordinator for Defense Planning Matters. This was followed by the appointment to the position of the Deputy Director of the MOD Budget Department, which he held until the end of 2020 with a one-year educational break (granted for a period of studies at the National Defense University in Washington, USA). Brigadier General Mendrala received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Military College of Logistics in 1997, his Master’s Degree from the University of Economics in Poznań in 1998, and a Master’s of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School – National Defense University in 2018 (Washington DC, USA). He graduated from the latter with honors and received the Ambassadors’ Award for Outstanding International Fellow. He is also a graduate of Postgraduate Studies in Defense Resources Management at the National Defense University (Warsaw, Poland) and Postgraduate Studies in European Regional Development run by the University of Warsaw (Poland). In 2011 he also successfully completed the 11-week International Defense Management Course organized by the Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, CA, USA) as well as NATO Senior Officer Policy Course run by the NATO School Oberammergau (Germany) in 2021 .

Michał Mulawa

Graduate of the Political Science at the University of Marie Curie-Skłodowska (local government and local politics) as well as post-graduate studies in social communication psychology at the Faculty of Psychology (UMCS). He completed numerous courses on programming and acquiring external funds, among others from the European Union, OSCE, EEA, Swiss mechanisms and the so called “ambassador” funds.
Expert in programming regional and local development. Member of Regional Assembly of the Lubelskie Voivodeship (2 terms). He was an advisor to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, director of Chancellery of the Marshal of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, university lecturer, plenipotentiary for acquiring external funds as well the spokesman of the Mayor of Krasnik.

Krzysztof Golubiewski

A graduate of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) and received a Master of Business Administration at the WSB University in Wrocław. From 2001 he worked in PKO Bank Polski as a Director of the Network and Process Optimization Department, then he became the Director of the Administration centre. From 2016 he is involved in the program „Od papierowej do cyfrowej Polski” (from paper to digital Poland), implemented by the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Development. He is a member of the Council of Experts in IT with the Minister of Health. He works together with the Institute for Market Research, Consumption and Business Cycles in the area of projects connected to „Polska Cyfrowa” (Digital Poland) and „”Opieka Zdrowotna” (Health Care). He participated in the following projects, Constitution for Business, Program for combating tax fraud and increasing cashless turnover. In July 2018 he took the position of Member of the Management Board of PKP S.A. In 2021, he completed Postgraduate Studies in Corporate Finance Management at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).

Dr Robert Perkowski

Mr. Perkowski conducted Ph.D. in Economics at the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Marketing and Management as well as the Faculty of Finance and Banking at the Independent University of Business and Public Administration in Warsaw. He also completed a post-graduate course in Management Analytics at ORGMASZ Institute of Industry Organisation and Management. His research articles concern subjects of virtual enterprises and digital technologies. Between 2006 and 2018, he served as Mayor of City Zabki and in 2017 was elected as President of the Polish Local Governments Association.

Artur Soboń

Associated with the City of Świdnik local government and then Member of Parliament of the Republic of Poland. From 9.01.2018 successively Secretary of State in the Ministry of Investment and Development, Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, Ministry of State Assets, where he served as Government Plenipotentiary for the transformation of energy companies and coal mining, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Development and Technology. On 24 January 2022, he was appointed Secretary of State at the Ministry of Finance.

Katarzyna Suchcicka

For 15 years associated with the energy sector, and more specifically with renewable energy sources. A graduate of engineering studies abroad and economic studies in the country. She has an international experience in managing and building effective teams. She actively participates in Polish energy transition.

Jarosław Kwasek

He started his professional career in 2001 in the Capital Group of Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. He gained experience in administration, in particular in the management of company assets, their restructuring and in the field of audit and control, among others in the PKP S.A. Group, the Polish Armaments Group and the Polish Mining Group, where he created new company structures. Since 2017, he has been associated with the Military Property Agency in Lublin. Prior to his appointment as President of the Management Board of PGE Dystrybucja S.A., he was employed as Director of the Administration Department in 2020.

Dariusz Dumkiewicz

Mr Dariusz Dumkiewicz is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the Marie Curie Sklodowska University in Lublin, from which he graduated in 2002 with a degree in law. He has also completed postgraduate programme in “Project Management and EU Law” organised by UMCS and the Lublin Development Foundation. In 2018 he completed his Master of Business Administration degree at the Lublin University of Technology.

Mr Dariusz Dumkiewicz has 16 years’ work experience in leading development and investment projects. From 2002 to 2006, he was employed in managerial positions at the City Council of Lublin, where he managed EU-financed projects. In 2006 he took on the role of advisor to the Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and an expert on the Development of Eastern Poland in the Ministry of Development. In 2007 he took the position of Director of the Department of Strategy and Development in the Marshall’s Office of the Lublin Province. He was responsible for negotiations with the European Commission and financing strategic infrastructure investment projects for the province. Since 2008 he was a Member of the Management Board, Vice-President of consulting firms that provide advice to enterprises, primarily in the energy sector. In 2016 he took on the position of Director of the Lublin Branch of PSG sp. z o.o., the distributor of natural gas in the Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo Group. On 15 October 2018 he assumed the position of Vice-President of the Management Board in charge of Development at LW Bogdanka S.A.

Jacek Janiszek

He has been associated with Zakłady Azotowe in Puławy since 1996. He has gone through virtually all career levels there. He has been working on the management board of Grupa Azoty Puławy – with a short break – since 2016.
From May 4, 2020, he is the vice president of the management board. Currently, he is responsible for such areas as: investments, energy, support, logistics and trade.
He knows the puławskie zakłady very well. Constantly takes care of it development. He is the originator of many valuable investments that have been made or are in the process of being made.

Remigiusz Nowakowski

From 2018 as the President of the Management Board at DISE Energy think-tank. In 2016-2021 vicepresident at Pracodawcy RP. In 2018-2020 CEO at PILE ELBUD SA. In 2016-2019 Member of the Board of Directors at EURELECTRIC. In 2015-16 – CEO at TAURON Polska Energia SA, chairman of the Board at TAURON Dystrybucja SA and Head of Strategy Committee at PKN ORLEN SA. In 2008-2015 and 2020 Executive Director at Fortum, Heating & Cooling, Poland and Baltics.

IVAN ANUŠIĆ

Croatian politician, currently serving as County Prefect of Osijek-Baranja County in his second term.  In 1991 he joined the armed forces in the Homeland War. Until 1995 he went through battlefields in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and was after awarded with the Homeland War Memorial Medal and with a number of commendations and awards.  Having been retired from the 3rd Guards Brigade in 2003, he served as mayor of his home municipality Antunovac from 2005-2017, leading Antunovac to become one of the most successful municipalities in Croatia. He was elected three times as Member of Croatian Parliament, the last time in 2020, when he won the third largest number of preferential votes in Croatia. As County Prefect, he places a great accent on infrastructural projects and measures to stimulate the economic activity and growth of the County, mostly financed through EU funds.

Łukasz Lewkowicz

Dr Łukasz Lewkowicz – Political scientist. PhD in humanities in the field of political science. Assistant professor at the Department of Political Thought of the Institute of Political Sciences and Administration at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. Senior analyst in the Department of the Visegrad Group of the Institute of Central Europe. Research interests: historical and contemporary Polish-Slovak relations, Slovak foreign policy, functioning of the Visegrad Group and the Three Seas Initiative, cross-border cooperation in Central Europe, political communication, geopolitical thought. Intern at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bratislava. He completed research internships in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Author of numerous scientific articles and books, including author’s monographs: Euroregiony na pograniczu polsko-słowackim. Geneza i funkcjonowanie, Lublin 2013; Federacja Rosyjska w polityce wewnętrznej i zagranicznej Republiki Słowackiej (1993-2020), Lublin 2020; Współpraca transgraniczna państw Grupy Wyszehradzkiej: uwarunkowania, struktury, perspektywy, „Prace Instytutu Europy Środkowej” 2020, no 13.

Prof. dr hab. n. med. Elżbieta Starosławska

Specialist in Clinical Oncology and Radiation Therapy. Director of the Saint John of Dukla Cancer Centre of the Lublin Region since 2006. Regional Consultant in Clinical Oncology and Head of the Department of Clinical Oncology since 2002. Member of the Scientific Policy Committee at the Ministry of Education and Science. Awarded with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester by Pope Benedict XVI.

Violeta Labazyuk

From 2005 to 2006, she worked as a sales manager of the private enterprise “Agroprom”. From 2006 to 20212, she worked as a manager of banking services for individuals at the Volochysk branch of PrivatBank. From 2013 to 2020, Marketing Director of Vitagro Group of Companies LLC. In 2012, she headed the charity foundation of Serhii Labazyuk “We are close”, the purpose of which is the systemic development of Khmelnytskyi. In 2022, she earned a master’s degree in «Public Management and Administration» at the Leonid Yuzkov University of Management and Law in Khmelnytskyi.

On December 7, 2020, in accordance with the decision of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council of the eighth convocation, she was elected as the Head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council.

Urszula Sokołowska

Journalist, TV presenter. A graduate of the Faculty of Journalism at the University of Warsaw. She has been associated with Polish Television since 2017. Currently running news services on the air – TVP Info, TVP3Info and TVP3 Białystok.

Magdalena Czelej

 Married, with two children, Jakub, aged 26, and Wiktoria, aged 24.

She graduated from the University of Business and Administration in Warsaw. The owner of the company “Agma” Building and Industrial Materials. Co-owner of the company “DAREX” Producer Koszul Sp. z o. o. Sp. K. and the “LONDYN” Shopping Center in Kraśnik.

Implements the project “Revitalization of Larch Manor” in Kranik.

The leading activity of DAREX is the production of shirts, which she has been running with her husband for 27 years. Her husband, Dariusz Czelej founded a tailor shop 30 years ago where he started the production of men’s shirts.

She deals with designing new patterns, searching for fabrics, marketing, and production management.

She creates her productions for men who value prestige, elegance, and comfort.

They have the most modern machine park in the Lublin region. The products can be identifid by their rich variety, high-quality materials, and unique design. The company’s advanatge is the systematic and frequent introduction of new collections

PAWEŁ LEWANDOWSKI

Undersecretary of State for Digital Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office. He is a manager with experience in regulation, innovation and digital policy. He is a graduate of UKSW, the Warsaw School of Economics and the Polish Institute of International Affairs. He completed the Executive MBA program organized by Stanford Research Institute International and Queen Hedvig Academy in Innovation Management.

MICHAŁ KANOWNIK

President of the Board of the Digital Poland Association, which has been active in the market for 18 years. Member of the Council for Digitization under the Minister of Digitization. Affiliated with Digital Europe, an organization of Europe’s largest ICT sector associations, where he serves as a Board Member. He is the initiator of nationwide debates related to issues of digitization, cyber security, 5G and amendments to laws such as copyright, tax, environmental protection and public procurement. Long-time manager in the consumer electronics and IT industry, actively involved in the development and promotion of the digitization process in Poland. He effectively supports substantive and reliable discussion in the areas of companies – members of the Cyfrowa Poland Association, which are a significant part of the RTV and IT industry investing in Poland.

ROBERT BOGDANFFY

He is a Public Affairs (PA) specialist with over 9 years of international experience, ranging from working for NGOs to strategic communications and lobbying for Fortune 100 companies in sectors such as defense, ITC, energy, automotive, agriculture, foreign affairs, FMCG, strategic investments and public assistance. His professional experience is backed by extensive knowledge of due diligence, anti-fraud systems, complemented by an in-depth knowledge of the business and regulatory environment in Romania.

ŽYDRŪNĖ VITAITĖ

She is co-founder of Women Go Tech, a successful mentoring program encouraging women to choose careers in ICT and engineering. Supported by international and local companies, the program aims to steer women toward their careers in the technology industry by 2024, with a special focus on refugee women from Ukraine. Žydrūnė Vitaitė is a speaker at various local and international events  on the topics of women’s empowerment, gender equality, women in technology, the role of men in gender parity, community building, youth engagement and business development.

IGNACY ŚWIĘCICKI

Previously, he was employed at the Ministry of Digitization, where he worked on European telecommunications regulation, including the relationship between OTT providers and telecom operators and international roaming. He also participated in the development of regulatory impact assessments for new legislation and guidelines for conducting impact assessments in the government legislative process. He gained analytical experience at the think tank demosEUROPA – Center for European Strategy. He graduated in economics from the University of Warsaw.

LUCIA Colníková

Her responsibilities include leading SME digitization projects from the research and management levels and increasing external networks. She gained experience during almost 10 years at GLOBSEC, where she was responsible for various projects, including coordinating the President’s strategic agenda, organizing events in Slovakia and abroad, communicating with stakeholders from different sectors, coordinating the office in Banska Bystrica and several other locations.

Łukasz Grabowski

He graduated from Warsaw School of Economics with a degree in international economic relations. He is the winner of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) scholarship at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He is the alumnus of the first edition of the Energy Academy organized by the 2065 Foundation Lesław A. Paga. He has gained professional experience working, among others at Polish Oil and Gas Company, Deutsche Bank Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, PwC Office in Warsaw, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Warsaw and STTAS, a UPS company, an advisory and consulting company in the area of international trade.

Bogdan Łukasik

President of the Management Board and Co-owner of Modern-Expo Group, an international holding, that is leader in the retail industry in Central and Eastern Europe, employing over 2.5 thousand employees, distributing its products to over 65 countries and supplying equipment to the largest retail chains, which includes 12 branches located e.g. in Paris, Berlin, London, Dubai. An active social activist, mentor, multiple expert and panelist at the largest events for the retail sector. Since December last year, Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Lublin.

Konstantin Bekos

Konstantin Bekos has been working for ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, Austria’s official trade promotion organisation of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, for more than 35 years. After serving as a Commercial Attaché for Poland, the UAE, the Sultanate of Oman and Germany, he became the Austrian Commercial Counsellor for Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jemen. Within the last decade he was the Austrian Commercial Counsellor for Turkey and Georgia and worked in Austria as the organisation´s Regional Director for Southeast Europe. Currently Mr. Bekos serves as the Commercial Counsellor for the Austrian Embassy in Warsaw, where he is supporting Austrian companies on the Polish market and strengthening the business ties between Poland and Austria.

Matej Hojnik

For almost 20 years Matej Hojnik is working as an entrepreneur and business developer. He is specialized in food processing and packaging industries. He regularly advises a broad range of companies in internationalizaton and growth. He is skilled in mergers and acquisitions. His expertise has been internationally recognized and he has been working in several companies. He has gained several EU funded projects. Curretly, he is active as a president of Business Club Triglav-Rysy and is active in supporting Slovenian and Polish companies in developing their business abroad. He has acquired knowledge through different roles starting from establishing and growing his own company.

In this process, he gained skills in business development, product innovation, and label and market development. Particularly, he is developing own business following main business trends, including circular economy and sustainable business transformation. Additionally, he gained master degree in entrepreneurship which helped in deep understanding of entrepreneurship processes and business development.

For several years he has deepening his knowledge of sustainability concept and transferring his expertise in building new businesses and supporting entrepreneurs in different stages of their development.

Monika Cegnar Jurjević

A graduate of international business at the DOBA Business School in Maribor, Slovenia, previously a student of Polish philology and comparative literature at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Zagreb. Winner of the Rector’s Special Award and the Scholarship of the City of Zagreb.

She has several years of experience in economic diplomacy gained at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Zagreb. She helped carry out the largest Polish greenfield investment in Croatia, where she was the first employee of Press Glass d.o.o. for three years she managed the entire administration in the company’s investment process. Currently, she supports the internationalization of Polish enterprises in Croatia.

Roman Matys

Ukrainian economist, entrepreneur, marketer and investment expert, human rights activist. President of the International Investment Office Foundation. Head of the Investment Policy Department of the Administration of the Lviv Region in 2016-2021. 

Author of the strategy “Lviv Region – Factory of Europe”, on the basis of which over five years it was possible Author of the strategy “Lviv Region – Factory of Europe”, on the basis of which over five years it was possible Oblast and create about 75,000 jobs.

PHD hab. Mieczysław Ryba, prof. KUL

Mieczysław Ryba, Ph.D., historian, prof. WSKSiM, researcher at the Catholic University of John Paul II; for several years head of the Department of the History of Political Systems of the 19th and 20th centuries; currently – the Department of the Spanish World, Politics and International Relations. President of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia prof. Czesław Strzeszewski in Lublin. In 2007–2011, he was a member of the College of the Institute of National Remembrance. , re-elected in 2022, and continuing to hold the position in question.  From November 2020, a member of the Advisory Team at the Ministry of Education and Science. On November 11, 2015, he was awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for outstanding services in disseminating knowledge about the recent history of Poland, for achievements in scientific and didactic work. Currently a member of the Chapter of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

He was a long-term councilor of the city of Lublin (deputy chairman of the City Council for eight years). Currently, vice-chairman of the Parliament of the Lubelskie Voivodeship.

Piotr Regulski

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Grupa Azoty Pulawy and Director of Corporate Governance and Legal Services at Grupa Azoty. Legal counsel and manager with many years of experience in the area of corporate governance with particular emphasis on companies with State Treasury. He actively participates in strategic projects of the Capital Group Grupa Azoty .

Robert Zapotoczny

Co-author of the Act on Employee Capital Plans.

Political scientist and economist. A graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Silesia. He completed MBA studies at the Lublin University of Technology and postgraduate studies in health insurance at the University of Economics in Katowice.

He has many years of experience in the insurance sector. Having previously worked as a sales director in the leading insurance companies on the Polish market, in 2016 he became a member of the inter-ministerial team working on the Act on Employee Capital Plans in the structures of the Polish Development Fund capital group.

Currently, while managing PFR Portal PPK, he is responsible for promoting long-term savings under Employee Capital Plans (PPK).

He comes from Silesia. In his free time he enjoys traveling and deepening his interest in history.

phd Tomasz Heryszek

2016-2019 vice-president of commercial affairs, since 1.06.2019 president of the management board of Węglokoks SA, member of the Supervisory Board of PGG SA, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Inter Balt in Gdańsk, member of the Social Economic Council at the Silesian Voivodeship. For many years, he has been combining business activity with academic work, he is an assistant professor at the University of Silesia, he also cooperated with the WSB University in Poznań, he has over 20 years of experience in working in management boards and supervisory boards of companies and economic organizations.

Marcin Majerowski

2016-2019 vice-president of commercial affairs, since 1.06.2019 president of the management board of Węglokoks SA, member of the Supervisory Board of PGG SA, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Inter Balt in Gdańsk, member of the Social Economic Council at the Silesian Voivodeship. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Organization and Management of the Silesian University of Technology and the Collegium of Management and Finance of the Warsaw School of Economics, where in 2005 he defended his Ph.D dissertation in economics. He also graduated from Markets in Foreign Trade at the Warsaw School of Economics, Company Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Warsaw and an Executive MBA at the Institute of Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Participant of two Post-MBA programs: Academy of Leadership of the French Institute of Management and Strategic Financial Management. For many years, he has been combining business activity with academic work, he is an assistant professor at the University of Silesia, he also cooperated with the WSB University in Poznań, he has over twenty years of experience in working in management boards and supervisory boards of companies and economic organizations.

Zdzisław Sokal

Zdzisław Sokal, born in 1958. A graduate of the Main School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw (now the Warsaw School of Economics). In the years 1990-1992 he was a co-owner of a trading company. In the years 1992-1994 an associate of the consulting company Effect Sp. z o.o. In 1994, he took up banking issues and started working for Kredyt Bank SA, where he was responsible for loan restructuring. In the years 1994-1996 he was the Financial Director and head of the Analsis and Consulting Office of Kredyt Bank SA – Bankowy Dom Handlowy Sp. z o.o. For the next two years, he was the Chairman of the Management Board of Prospector Sp. z o.o., one of the first insurance brokers in Poland.

In the years 1997-1998 he was the Chairman of the Management Board of SKK Finanse Sp. z o.o., where he created training programs for the use of banks, insurance companies and Companies.

For the next 4 years he was a member of the Management Board and Financial Director of Dyrekcja Eksploatacji Cystern Sp. z o.o. In the years 2002-2004 he was a member of the Management Board of the Stołeczne Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej SA, where he was responsible for the preparation and implementation of the process of transforming a municipal enterprise into a commercial law company as well as its organisational and financial restructure. In the years 2004-2006 he was the Chairman of the Management Board of SKK Finanse Sp. z o.o. From January 2006 to March 2007, he worked for PKO BP SA, initially as an advisor to the Chairman, and from July 1, 2006 as the Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the Bank supervising the Accounting and Settlement, Risk and Debt Collection Area. From 2004 to 2007, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of Stołeczne Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej SA. In the years 2006-2007 he was the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Kredobank SA Ukraine.

In 2007-2013, he was a member of the National Bank of Poland(NBP) Management Board responsible for accounting, financial stability, IT and security. Representative of the Chairman of the National Bank of Poland for ethics. He managed the process of separating Banking Supervision from NBP and transferring it to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. Member of the Accounting Standards Committee at the Ministry of Finance. NBP’s representative at the Central Bank Governors Club of the Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries. Member of the Supervisory Board of the International Bank for Economic Co-operation in Moscow.