Dr. Eng. Boryana Manolova is CEO of Siemens Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Ukraine, a world leader in the fields of electrification, automation and digitalization. She started her professional career in the Employment Agency at the Ministry of Labour, after which she was elected Regional Director of the Foreign Investment Agency with its centre in Ruse. Between 1998 and 2007 she successfully managed the Bulgarian business of Atlas Copco Lifton, part of the Swedish Atlas Copco Group – the world’s leading provider of solutions for the mining, energy and construction industries.

Boryana Manolova holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the Svishtov Academy of Economics, a Master’s degree in Microelectronics Engineering and a PhD in Industrial Energy Management from the University of Rousse.

In addition to being the Chairperson of the Board of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, she is the Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria and a member of the Board of the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology. In 2014, Dr. Manolova was elected Miss Economics by the prestigious magazine Economics.

Boryana Manolova is the Chairperson of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria from the establishment of the organization until June 2022.

Vanya Manova has been working in the banking industry for over 25 years and started at Mastercard in 2008 as Client Relationship Manager. She has been a long-time partner of key fintech innovators in the market in the areas of mobile wallets and P2P account fund sending, the penetration of crypto in everyday payments in the physical world, e-identity solutions and smart payments in urban everyday activities. This enables it to contribute to positive change at all levels of the ecosystem, to new public-private partnerships, to improve the regulatory framework, the business environment for the fintech sector and to support innovation, education and the implementation of digital products and solutions in the ESG – environmental, social and responsible policies.

Gergana Ivanova has over 20 years of experience in the Bulgarian communications industry. Her career started from the initial levels of advertising and developed to a management position in a large international agency. In 2008, together with her colleague Rado Bimbalov, they founded The Smarts, an independent creative agency that is now one of the market leaders. During her many years of experience, Gergana has worked for a number of major Bulgarian and foreign advertisers and their brands including British Airways, Unilever, Hoffmann La Roche, Unicredit Bulbank, Mtel, Electrolux, Ariana, IKEA, Nestle, Gradus, Dimitar Madjarov, Zaharni Zavody, Sofarmasi, Billa and many others. The Smarts group also supports a number of causes in three main areas – the protection of disadvantaged children, the fight against smoking and the development of performing arts in our country.

In 2017 The Smarts officially launched Practice, a programme of learning and inspiration in the field of communications, since 2018 Practice has been open to external audiences and has successfully established itself as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas in the communications industry.

Jacqueline Tsocheva joined the Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria team in 2018 and has more than 18 years of experience in corporate communications, government relations and communications with institutions and media, corporate social responsibility and employer branding in international companies and organizations in a range of sectors – media, education, FMCG, human rights organizations, and a number of markets – in the Balkans and Europe.
Her interests focus on creating and managing partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organizations, businesses, media, institutions and opinion leaders, as well as on current trends in advocacy and attitude change, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, and community building. Jacqueline holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Public Relations from Sofia University. Kliment Ohridski. She has undergone a number of international trainings related to development trends in diplomacy and strategic advocacy, media and brand identity building, ESG, changing public attitudes, etc.

Darina Stoyanova is a business leader with a significant contribution over the past 30 years to the entry and success in Bulgaria of several large international companies, as well as to the establishment of responsible practices in the business sectors in which she has worked. She is one of the initiators and founders of the Detergent Business Association in Bulgaria, the Food and Beverage Association in Bulgaria, the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria. She is a member of several Bulgarian and European organizations with important public activities promoting a responsible, diverse and inclusive business environment. She is the founder of the “School for Leaders: Inspire (yourself)” initiative, whose mission is to support the personal development and career guidance of students.

Darina Stoyanova is CEO of Prestige – one of the leading companies in the food industry in Bulgaria. Previously she was General Manager of Henkel Detergents for Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Albania and President of Henkel Bulgaria.

Zoya Paunova is Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Sweden in Bulgaria. She holds a Master’s degree in Pharmacy from the Medical Academy in Sofia with a dedication and love for science and innovation in the field of medicine and technology. With a business background from INSEAD and specializations in the UK, Sweden and the USA, with three decades of extensive professional experience as General Manager of AstraZeneca Bulgaria, a leading bioscience company. She is one of the founders of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum, the Bulgarian-Swedish Chamber of Commerce, the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Resuscitation Council. She is a member of the board of UWBB, SweCham, Teach for Bulgaria, Bulgarian Council for Resuscitation. Zoya Paunova is an active participant and partner in activities related to prevention and early diagnosis of socially significant diseases, education, preservation of rich cultural and historical heritage, sustainable development.

Irena Tsakova has a Master’s degree in Engineering Chemistry and Environmental Monitoring, Control and Health. She began her professional development in the Environmental Protection Department at Kremikovtzi and has continued to build on her experience in the mining and processing industry at the Chelopech mine since 1999.

Irena improved professionally and grew in the hierarchy of the Canadian Dundee Precious Metals, which through its Bulgarian companies develops the underground Chelopech mine and the Ada Tepe discovery in Krumovgrad.

With her experience as an ecologist, health, safety and public relations team leader and operations director, Irena has an in-depth knowledge of the management and organisational process. Excellent communication skills, sensitivity to ensuring balance between the interests of different stakeholders and a focus on achieving objectives give her an advantage in solving the complex cases of the implementation of the company’s project in Krumovgrad – the first mine in 40 years.

Irena was selected as one of the 100 most inspiring women in the global mining industry in 2015. In her work, she seeks and creates opportunities for women in a relatively unpopular field for women, such as the mining industry.

Miglena Uzunova-Tsekova has been working in the field of human resources for 20 years, and for the last 12 years she has been managing the overall people management activity in the telecommunications company, and for several months now the administration of the company has been under her leadership.

In March, she was elected chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Association for People Management.

She graduated in English Philology at Sofia University with a specialization in Mass Communications and completed an MBA program at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. She specialized in Strategic Human Resource Management at Cornell University in New York and recently completed a coaching program at Columbia Business School, also in New York.

Rumyana Valkanov is the owner and chairman of the board of directors of one of the oldest and most established electricity trading companies in Bulgaria – Energy MT EAD.

Rumiana Valkanov has extensive professional experience, in the years prior to the establishment of Energi MT EAD.In 2010 she held senior positions at Dow Jones Telerate, Reuters, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria, Bulgartabac, Bulgargas, Solar Pro Holding. She has also served as Chairman of the Electricity Traders Association of Bulgaria. She holds a Master’s degree in “Automation and Electronics” from TU – Sofia and a Master’s degree in “Finance” from UNWE, and since 2020 she has a PhD in “Economics and Management”.

Since 2019, Ms. Valkanov is a member of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, and in June 2022 she was elected a member of the Board of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria.

Dora Strezova-Nikolova is a very successful business leader, currently General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Adria, responsible for business operations in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia. Coca-Cola HBC Adria is a member of the Coca-Cola HBC Group, a global industry leader in sustainability (GILS), which includes 29 countries and serves 715 million consumers. With over 20 years of corporate experience in multinational companies, she has worked in various markets and functions across Europe, including various commercial and leadership positions at Danone Group and The Coca-Cola Company. Prior to joining Coca-Cola HBC, Dora was CEO of The Coca-Cola Company in Bulgaria and during her tenure at Danone she was CEO in Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus.

Dora’s expertise in FMCG is supported by her background in entrepreneurship and consulting, where she has served as a mentor and coach. This experience has prepared her with a comprehensive understanding of the FMCG industry, making her a versatile and experienced expert in this field. Dora holds a master’s degree from St. Kliment Ohridski” and is fluent in three languages. She is married and has two daughters.

Because of her passion for investing in people and projects, Dora devotes significant energy to advancing and changing women’s leadership. Her dedication to the advancement of women’s leadership is reflected in her membership of the Professional Women’s Network Vienna, her position on the Board of IAB Bulgaria and her membership of the Women in Business Council Bulgaria.

Ms. Maya Peycheva-Takeva has extensive experience as a human resources professional. She started her career with an internship in the public sector and joined Nestlé’s Human Resources Department not long after. In 2008, she continued her career at British American Tobacco where she held various positions in Human Resources. During this period, she assisted the company to go through organizational changes. Her most recent position was Human Resources Manager for B.C. She joined Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2015. Since then she has changed several positions locally and regionally. He then took over as Human Resources Manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Bulgaria. Since February 2018, he has been responsible for two of the company’s structures in the country simultaneously – the Sales Department and the Global Supply Center Bulgaria.

Ms Milena Dragiyska has been managing Lidl Bulgaria since 2007, when the chain entered the Bulgarian market. Her career at Lidl Germany began as Regional Sales Manager for the Stuttgart and Karlsruhe regions, after which she continued her professional development at Lidl headquarters, where she was responsible for various international projects for Lidl International.

Lydia Shuleva is a business and financial consultant with more than 30 years of experience. Through individual and group coaching, team building and specialized seminars, Lydia Shuleva helps CEOs or management teams identify the strategic steps to success.By providing coaching services, she is committed to helping her clients develop their potential both personally and in business. In addition to her work as a business and financial consultant, Lydia has served as CEO of Albena Invest Holding, where she was involved in the restructuring and management of over 20 subsidiary companies in various sectors of the economy. From 2001 to 2009 she was Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Minister of Economy, Member of the European and Bulgarian Parliaments. She has worked as an advisor to the Ukrainian government on EU association issues. Since 2009 she has been a member of the Board of Governors of the United Nations University, which includes 16 research institutes from around the world. He is currently Chairman of the Specialized Committee on Economic Development of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.