Meeting of the Business in Varna and the Region

Ivan Portnih

Mayor, Varna Municipality

Ivan Portnih is Mayor of Varna Municipality since July 2013, to the present. Master of "International Economic Relations" at the Universiyt of National and World Economy, Master of Business Administration at the Institut de la Francophonie pour l’Administration et la Gestion, General Manager of Grand Hotel Varna Resort & Spa – 2001 – 2013. Municipal Councilor and Deputy – Chairman of the Municipal Council Varna – October 2011 – June 2013.

Eng. Hristo Ivanov

Deputy-Mayor, Varna Municipality

Eng. Hristo Ivanov become a Deputy-Mayor in 2013. His main duties are to coordinate and observe all activities connected with implementation of infrastructural projects and capital programs of Varna Municipality. Eng. Ivanov has gained a rich experience as a General Manager of Cherno More AD, Deputy General Manage of "V&K" - Varna, Deputy General Manage of Municipal Enterprise "Investment Policy". He has graduated Professional Technical School in Varna, Economical University and among with the others has a professional qualification from Medical University of Varna and "Varna Free University".

Mladen Ivanov

Director of Municipal Enterprise "Parkings and Blue Zone"

Ognyan Georgiev

Editor, Capital

Yuri Katanov

Member of the Association of Commercial Building Owners in Bulgaria, CEO of Landmark Holdings and Executive Director of its parent company Alfa Finance Holding

Yuri Katanov is CEO of Landmark Holdings and Executive Director of its parent company Alfa Finance Holding. Yuri Katanov has more than 10 years of experience in M&A, corporate finance, deal structuring and funding, including real estate transactions. He has been involved in some of the key real estate projects and deals in Bulgaria and the region, the relevant process management and the execution and subsequent strategic management of assets.

Axel Konrads

Executive Director, Devnya Cement AD

Plamen Katzarov

Manager of TUI Bulgaria, Regional Manager of TUI Destination Experiences for Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia

Ulrich Heppe

Chief Executive Officer, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management AD, Varna Airport

Ulrich Heppe has more than 16 years of experience in the airport and financial services industry. Since September 2015, Ulrich Heppe has occupied the position of CEO of Fraport Twin Star Airport Management AD, the operator of Fraport’s Black Sea airports in Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) in Bulgaria – gateways to the country’s main tourist region. Before joining Fraport Bulgaria, Ulrich was the CEO of Fraport AG’s Senegalese subsidiary Daport SA in Senegal from 2012 to 2015. Ulrich has been a member of Fraport’s management contract team in Saudi Arabia and acted as interim CFO at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh in summer 2012. Prior to his role of CEO Daport SA, Ulrich was responsible for managing, identifying and analyzing international airport investments and co-operation opportunities for Fraport AG. Before joining Fraport in 2007, Ulrich started his career as a financial analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Investment Bank in Frankfurt in 2001 and worked as vice president for Avenue Capital, a London-based private equity group. Born in 1971, Ulrich graduated from University of Bayreuth, Germany, where he studied law and business administration. He is a German law qualified lawyer and spent one year studying law and economics at the University of Dakar, Senegal, during 1994/1995.

Svetoslava Georgieva

Executive Director and Member of the Administrative Board, Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria EAD

Petar Ganev

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Market Economics (IME)

Petar Ganev is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Market Economics (IME) in Sofia, Bulgaria. His interests are in the fields of growth and the business cycle, fiscal policy and the role of government, regional development, free markets and inequality. He is also studying the history of the Austrian School of Economics. Mr. Ganev served as Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Macroeconomics Association in 2016-2017. He has rich experience in public policy debates and is author of numerous articles in Bulgarian media. Mr. Ganev is also responsible for the educational initiatives of IME.

Elena Bakalova

Member of MB and Executive Officer, Societe Generale Expressbank