Tzvetanka Mintcheva – Chairperson
CEO and Chairperson of the Management board of UniCredit Bulbank
Tsvetanka Mincheva has over 20 years career path at UniCredit Bulbank. She started as an intern at the bank in 2001. Over the years she experienced a wide range of executive and managerial positions within the Retail Banking network and Head Office team. In September 2013, she was appointed as a Head of Retail Division, and a Member of the Management Board of UniCredit Bulbank. In 2017 she was appointed as a Head of Global Banking Services Division successfully implementing multiple strategic and transformation projects. From March 2020 till June 2021 she holds the position of Deputy CEO of UniCredit Bank Romania.
Tsvetanka Mintcheva has a degree in economics and an MBA in international business of Italian MIB School of Management.
In March 2022, Tsvetanka Mincheva was appointed as a Deputy Chairwoman of the Management Board of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria.
Since September 2021 she is a member of the Management Board of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and currently is Chairwoman of the MB of the organization.
Since June 2022 Tzvetanka Mintcheva is the Chairperson of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria.
Dr. eng. Boriana Manolova
CEO of Siemens Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Ukraine
Dr. eng. Boriana Manolova is the CEO of Siemens for Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Ukraine, world leader in the electrification, automation and digitalization. Her professional career path begins in the Employment Agency under the Ministry of Labor. Soon after she is appointed Regional director of the Foreign Investment Agency seated in Ruse. Between 1998 and 2007 she manages successfully the Bulgarian business of Atlas Copco Lifton, part of the Swedish group Atlas Copco – leader in solution for mining, energy and construction industries.
Boriana Manolova has a Master degree in Corporate Finance from the Business Academy in Svishtov, a Master degree in Micro-electronics and Doctor degree in Energy management in the industry from the Ruse University.
She is the Chairperson of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, deputy-chairperson of the Management board of the Confederation of the Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria as well as a member of the Management Board of Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology.
In 2014 Dr. Manolova was elected Mrs. Economy by the respected Economy magazine.
Boriana Manolova was the founder of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and Chairperson until June 2022.
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h3″ extra=””]Gergana Ivanova[/heading]
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h4″ extra=””] Founder and partner at The Smarts Advertising Agency, as well as in the other three companies in the communications group: IQMedia Media Agency, PR Agency Paragraph 42, and producer of studio Shoot!. [/heading]
Gergana Ivanova has more than 20 years experience in the Bulgarian communication industry. Her career starts at the early stages of advertising and she develops to a managerial post in a large international agency. In 2008, together with her colleague Rado Bimbalov, they start The Smarts, an independent creative agency that is now among the market leaders. Over 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, Nestlé, Degus, Dimitar Madzharov, Sugar Factory, Sopharma , Billa and many others. The The Smarts Group supports free of charge a number of causes in three main areas – the protection of children with disabilities, the fight against smoking and the development of performing arts in Bulgaria.
In 2017, The Smarts launch the official start of Practice, a training and inspiration program in the communications field. From 2018 Practice is open to external audiences and is successfully established as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas in the communications industry.
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h3″ extra=””] Irena Tsakova [/heading]
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h4″ extra=””] Authorization and Legal Activities Director, Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech EAD and Dundee Precious Metals Krumovgrad EAD [/heading]
Irena Tsakova is a Master in Engineering Chemistry and Environmental Monitoring, Control and Health. She began her professional development at the Environmental Protection Department in Kremikovtzi and continued to build on her experience in the mining and processing industry at Chelopech Mine from 1999.
Irena has been honing her professional skills and growing in the hierarchy of the Canadian Dundee Precious Metals, which through its Bulgarian companies develops the Chelopech underground mine and the Ada Tepe deposits in Krumovgrad.
With her experience as an ecologist, Health, Safety and Public Relations Team Leader and Operations Director Irena knows the management and organizational process in depth. Excellent communication skills, sensitivity to the balance between the interests of various stakeholders and the focus on the achievement of goals provide her with an advantage in solving the complex cases in the implementation of company’s project in Krumovgrad – the first mine for the past 40 years.
Irena is selected as one of the most inspiring women in the world’s mining industry for 2015. In her work she seeks and creates opportunities for women to be engaged in a relatively unpopular for women field, such as the mining industry.
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h3″ extra=””]Lidiya Shuleva[/heading]
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h4″ extra=””]Managing Partner Business Intellect [/heading]
Lidiya Shuleva is the Managing Partner Business Intellect The company offers professional services and products, which facilitate our clients to increase considerably the return on their investments in the spheres of investment support, public affairs services and acquisitions advisory.
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h3″ extra=””]Maya Peycheva-Takeva[/heading]
[heading icon=”” type=”standard” size=”h4″ extra=””]Country HR Manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise[/heading]
Maya Peycheva-Takeva has more than twelve of progressive HR experience in several industries. She has started her career with an internship in the public sector and after a short moved to the FMCG industry joining the HR team of Nestle. In 2008 she continued her career at British American Tobacco developing through several HR roles while supporting the company through organizational transformations and holding as a last the role HR Manager for Bulgaria.
Miglena Ouzunova-Tsekova
Senior Human Resources Director and member of the Leadership team of A1 Bulgaria
Miglena Uzunova-Tsekova has been in the human resources field for 20 years and the last 12 years she has been in charge of the overall management of people in the telecommunication company, while from several months the company’s administration has been assigned under her leadership.
In March she was elected Chairman of the Managing Board of the Bulgarian People Management Association.
Miglena has a Master’s degree in English philology from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ” with specialization “Mass Communications” and holds an MBA degree from Erasmus University, the Netherlands. She has specialized in “Strategic Human Resource Management” at Cornell University in New York, and has recently completed a coaching program at Columbia Business School, also in New York.
Milena Dragijska
CEO of Lidl Bulgaria
Milena Dragiyska has been managing Lidl Bulgaria since 2007, when the chain started on the Bulgarian market. Her career in Lidl Germany began as a regional sales manager for the Stuttgart and Karlsruhe regions, then she continued her professional development at the headquarters of Lidl, where she was responsible for various international projects for Lidl International.
She is a member of the Management Board of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Maya joined Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HP at that time) in 2015 and after changing local and regional positions she has taken on the role of Country HR Manager of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Bulgaria as of February 2018 responsible for both legal entities of the company in country – the Sales organization and the HPE Global Delivery Bulgaria Center. As a Host Manager, Maya is also overseeing the EMEA HR Hub located in Sofia, which delivers complex and diverse HR activities for EMEA and worldwide.
Dora Strezova-Nikolova
General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Adria
Dora Strezova-Nikolova is a highly accomplished business leader, currently serving as the General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Adria responsible for business operations in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia. Coca-Cola HBC Adria is a member of Coca-Cola HBC Group, the world’s industry leader in sustainability (DJSI) which includes 29 countries and serves 715 million consumers.
With over 20 years of corporate experience in multinational companies, she has worked in diverse markets and functions across Europe, including various commercial and leadership positions at the 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 served as CEO in Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus.
Dora’s expertise in FMCG is bolstered by her background in entrepreneurship and consulting, where she has served as a mentor and coach. These experiences have equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the FMCG industry, making her a versatile and knowledgeable expert in this field. Dora holds a Master of Science degree from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and is fluent in three languages. She is married and has two daughters.
Passionate about investing in projects and people, Dora devotes significant energy to advancing and making a difference in women’s leadership. Her dedication to advancing women’s leadership is reflected in her membership in the Professional Women Network Vienna, her position on the Management Board of IAB Bulgaria, and her membership on the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria.
Rumiana Valkanov, PhD.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy MT EAD
Rumiana Valkanov is owner and chairman of the Board of Directors of one of the oldest and well established energy trading companies in Bulgaria – Energy MT EAD.
She has gained rich professional experience, during the years before the formation of Energy MT. She had held various managing positions in Dow Jones Telerate, Reuters, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria, Bulgartabac, Bulgartransgas, Solarpro Holding. She has served as Chairman of the Association of traders with energy in Bulgaria (ATEB) as well.
Mrs. Valkanov has a master’s degree in Automatics and Electronics from the Technical University in Sofia and a master’s degree in Finance from the University of National and World Economy and since 2020 has had a PhD. in Economy and Management.
Since 2019 Rumiana Valkanov has been a member of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and in June 2022 she was elected as Executive Board Member of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria.
