Fintech Summit 2021

Kalin Hristov

Deputy Governor, Head of the Issue Department and Member of the Governing Council, Bulgarian National Bank

szKalin Hristov has been Deputy Governor, Head of the Issue Department and Member of the Governing Council, Bulgarian National Bank since October 23, 2009. Elected on July 29, 2015 by the 43rd National Assembly for a second 6-year term, as of 24 October 2015. Mr. Hristov was born in Pleven. He has a master's degree in macroeconomics, University of National and World Economy, Sofia. Author of numerous independent publications in the country and abroad in the field of macroeconomics, monetary policy, currency board, economic and monetary union and the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, as well as co-author of articles and publications on economic and financial topics.

Nina Stoyanova

Deputy Governor, Head of the Banking Department and Member of the Governing Council, Bulgarian National Bank.

Nina Stoyanova is Deputy Governor, Head of the Banking Department and Member of the Governing Council, Bulgarian National Bank., elected on July 29, 2015 by the 43rd National Assembly for a 6-year term. in the period 2007-2015 she was a Chief Lawyer, Director of the Legal Directorate at the BNB. At that time he was also a member of the Legal Committee of the European System of Central Banks. In September-December 2006 he was a legal adviser at the European Central Bank in the Legal Services Directorate under a short-term employment program in the European System of Central Banks. In the period 2004-2015 she was a legal advisor on the board of the BNB Printing House, from 2001 to 2004 she was a member of the Board of Directors of the printing house. From 1994 to 1999 she was a legal adviser in the Directorate. Legal "of the central bank, and until 2006 - senior legal adviser.

Vladimir Savov

Deputy Chair in charge of the Insurance Supervision Division in the Financial Supervision Commission

Vladimir Savov holds a Master's degree in International Economic Relations from the University of National and World Economy, followed by an MBA degree from the London Business School.
In the period 1993-1998 he worked at UniCredit Bulbank as a Manager in the Correspondent Banking Department. From 2000 to 2003, Vladimir Savov worked as a senior equity analyst in the Russian subsidiary of Swiss investment bank UBS, and from 2003 to 2006 he was Deputy Director and subsequently Director of the Research department of Uralsib Capital Bank, where he was responsible for the analysis of banking and consumer sector. In the period 2006-2009 he was Director of the Research Department at Credit Suisse, Moscow, and from 2009 to 2013 he was Managing Director of the Analytical Department at Otkritie Financial Corporation.
In January 2014, Vladimir Savov was elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria for a 6-year term as a Member of the FSC board, supporting the policy of analysis and risk assessment of financial markets, improving supervisory practices and protecting the interests of investors, insured and the socially insured persons. During this period, he consecutively performed the duties of Acting Deputy Chair in charge of Investment Supervision and Acting Deputy Chair in charge of Insurance Supervision.
From February to July 2020 Mr. Vladimir Savov held the position of Director of the Regulatory Policy and Strategy Department of the Astana Financial Services Authority, the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Center, Kazakhstan.
In July 2020 Vladimir Savov was elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria as a Deputy Chair of the FSC in charge of Insurance Supervision, for a 6-year term.
He speaks English and Russian.
 

Bozidar Djelic

Managing Director, Head of Lazard for CEE, CIS, Greece and Turkey

Managing Director, Head of Lazard for CEE, CIS, Greece and Turkey, Bozidar Djelic advises countries, corporations and financial institutions on their development programs, financing options and strategic transactions.Mr. Djelic has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors across transition countries, including eight years as a senior member of the Serbian Government. He was Deputy Prime Minister between 2007 and 2011.
He is currently advising a Serbian bank on its sale, the Croatian government on its oil assets, SG for the sale of its Slovene and North Macedonian subsidiaries, a Chinese infrastructure player for a highway concession in Romania, the shareholders of the new Istanbul airport on their financing options, a Turkish-owned gold mine in Africa on its refinancing, an international miner for its lithium assets in Serbia
 

Ivo Prokopiev

Bulgarian publisher and entrepreneur, founder and co-owner of A Data Pro, Alfa Finance Holding and Economedia Publishing Group

Ivo Prokopiev is a Bulgarian publisher and entrepreneur with strong commitment to public and social affairs. He is founder and co-owner of three Bulgarian groups of companies – A Data Pro, Alfa Finance Holding and Economedia Publishing Group.
Economedia (www.economedia.bg) is the leading quality press publisher in Bulgaria. Ivo Prokopiev co-founded the company in 1993 and was the first Editor-in-chief of the main newspaper Capital for seven years. Currently the media group owns more than ten brands, among which are the only business daily (digital) - Capital Daily, the influential weekly Capital, business portal Capital.bg and the leading news site Dnevnik.bg. Economedia employs over 100 journalists and 160 people in total.
A Data Pro (www.aiidatapro.com) has been founded in 1997 as spin off from Economedia. The company has developed as unique niche outsourcing partner for projects in data management and content origination to the world’s leading business information providers (Dow Jones, Thomson Reuters, Lexis Nexis, Bloomberg and others). A Data Pro operates 24/7 in 27 languages from two locations - Bulgaria and Singapore. The company employs over 400 young professionals.
Founded back in 1999, Alfa Finance Holding (AFH) (www.alfafinance.bg) is a private equity-style investment group of over 10 companies with extensive experience in financial services, real estate, renewable energy and e-mobility. The group is involved in projects in Bulgaria and Central and Eastern Europe (Hungary, Northern Macedonia, Romania, Poland, Greece). The strategy of AFH is to invest, develop and exit its holdings in the mid- to long-term horizons. Recently, the group has refocused its efforts and capital from traditional sectors and business models to digital platforms for financial services, clean energy, electrical cars charging stations (www.eldrive.eu) and electrical cars sharing (www.spark.bg).
Solarpro (www.solarpro.bg) is the renewable energy division of Alfa Finance Holding, regional leader in solar energy and solar related services like generation, engineering and construction (EPC), operations and maintenance (O&M), balancing and trading of power. Solarpro has a record of successfully completed projects for over 500 MWp installed capacity in 12 countries all around the world. The group manages assets of over 400 million euro and employs over 500 people.
Over the last 25 years of transition in Bulgaria, Ivo Prokopiev has been involved in a number of key reforms and projects in both the public and private sectors. He was involved in the currency board introduction and banking sector restructuring, pension reform strategy, media self-regulation and many others.
Between 2006 and 2010 Ivo Prokopiev was elected as the first Chairman of KRIB (the Confederation of employers and industrialists in Bulgaria), the biggest business association.
Ivo Prokopiev was Honorary Consul of Canada in Bulgaria for three mandates during the period 2010 - 2019. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia and an Executive MBA from INSEAD.

Petia Dimitrova

Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board of Postbank

Mrs. Petia Dimitrova is Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board of Postbank (under the legal name Eurobank Bulgaria AD). She joined the team of Postbank in 2003 as Country CFO for the eight affiliated companies of Eurobank EFG Group in Bulgaria. In 2005 was appointed Procurator of the Bank. In 2007 she was appointed Executive Director and Member of the MB of DZI Bank. After the legal merger of DZI Bank and Postbank she became Executive Director and Member of MB of the unified bank. In 2012, Mrs. Dimitrova became Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board of Postbank.
Under her leadership, Postbank completed in just a few years two successful deals, the acquisition and integration in a record short-term time of Alfa Bank - Bulgaria Branch, followed by Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. They are another step to strengthen its position as a systemic for the bank market and to expand its customer base.
Mrs. Dimitrova began her career in 1996 at the Consular Department of the US Embassy. Then, in 1998-2003, she worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers as Senior Manager and Senior Auditor.
She is a chartered accountant, qualified ACCA member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in London, UK. Mrs. Dimitrova has an Executive MBA in General Management from the University of Sheffield, UK and holds two Master Degrees in Finance and Banking and Tourism from the University of National and World Economy and Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. In addition, she is a graduate of ALBA Leadership Development Program, Harvard; holds a Certificate of Merit from Georgetown University Leadership Seminar, Washington D.C. and graduated Management and Social Development of NGOs at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and University of Macedonia, Greece. She also holds certificates for successful completion of the program "Harvard Business School - YPO Presidents' Program" in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Mrs. Dimitrova has acquired her professional qualifications in UK, Greece, Holland, Belgium, USA and Bulgaria, and has participated in various prestigious international trainings, seminars and conferences.
Mrs. Dimitrova is a Member of the Management Boards of "Atanas Bourov" Foundation, "Borica" AD, Endeavor Bulgaria Association, the International Banking Institute, associate member of the Management Board of CEIBG, the University Council of the American University in Bulgaria, as well as  Member of the Industrial Advisory Board - CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. She also is a Member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Member of the Young Global Leaders Forum, part of the World Economic Forum, Member of the Gerson Lehrman Group Accounting Council London, UK, Fellow Member of the Chartered Management Institute, UK and Cofounder of the Public Council of Women in Business.
Mrs. Dimitrova has received many awards, including the prestigious recognition "Mrs. Economy" in "Mr. and Mrs. Economy" competition organized by CEIBG and Economy Magazine (2018, 2015); award by "Atanas Bourov" Foundation for Banking and Financial Management (2017); the Special "Banker of the Year" Awards by Banker weekly in 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015 and 2012; "Woman of the Year" in Business category by Grazia magazine (2014); two Silver Stevie Awards – "Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East and Africa" and "Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Services with up to 2,500 employees" (2013); "Banker of the Year 2012" by Banker weekly; "Mrs. Economy 2012" for her contribution to the development of the banking sector; one of the Young Global Leaders honorees for 2012, distinguished by the Forum of Young Global Leaders part of the World Economic Forum; International Faculty Distinguished Alumni Award from The University of Sheffield (2011); Businesswoman of the Year (2010); the Grand prize in the Bulgarian annual contest for young managers "Next generation" (2009) by Capital weekly; and many others.
Under her leadership Postbank won nearly 100 prestigious international and Bulgarian awards, including gold in "Excellence in Customer Centricity or Customer experience" category in one of Europe's most prestigious competition in the banking sector – The Retail Banking: Europe 2019 Awards. Also "The Best Retail Banking in Bulgaria" award in 2018, 2019 and 2020 from the London-based World Finance Magazine, "Bank of the Year" 2019 at the Annual Bank Awards, Best Employer Awards, and many more.
 

Mariela Atanasova

Head of the Private Individuals Business Division at Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria)

Mariela Atanassova is one of the drivers of the digital transformation in Raiffeisenbank. She is responsible for a number of products and services, including the digital banking channels, which help customers to manage easily their money. Mariela is an avid fan of innovation in everyday finance and a fan of the convenience delivered by the new technologies. She is the head of the Private Individuals Business Division at Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria)

Goran Angelov

Founder and CEO, IBS Bulgaria

Goran Angelov is the founder and manager of IBS Bulgaria (IBS), one of the leading IT companies in the country with a focus on the financial industry, analytics solutions and system integration. IBS is currently implementing key projects in leading banks related to digital transformation, PSD2 regulation, infrastructure modernization and information asset management. Goran Angelov has an engineering degree in production automation. He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of information and communication technologies and participation in a number of successfully implemented large-scale IT projects for business and the public sector.

Miroslav Vichev

Chief Executive Officer, BORICA

Miroslav Vichev  is a Chief Executive Officer of the payment and card operator BORICA. He has over 30 years of experience in the field of information technology for the banking sector. Before joining the company, he held a number of leadership positions - Head of "Applied Systems" at the Bulgarian Postbank, Director "Management Consulting and IT" at Deloitte & Touche, Head of "Consulting Department" at Microsoft Bulgaria, IT Director at HVB Bank Biochim, CEO of DSK Bank. He was also a member of the Supervisory Board of the "DSK Rodina" pension company, member of the Board of Directors of the "Cash Service Company AD" and a member of the Board of Directors of OTP Bank (Russia), Deputy CEO of "Information technologies and Operations" of OTP Bank (Hungary). In 2021 Mr. Vichev has been awarded as "Manager of the year" in the most prestigious business contest in the country. He is a former graduate of the Technical University of Sofia.

Tamas Hak-Kovacs

Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of DSK Bank

Mr. Tamas Hak-Kovacs is Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of DSK Bank, since November 2020. Previously, since 2012, he has been Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of JSC OTP Bank, the Ukrainian subsidiary of OTP. Before that Mr. Hak-Kovacs worked as Chairman and CEO of the Commerzbank subsidiary in Hungary (2000-2007). From 2007 he led the Commerzbank subsidiary in Moscow and from 2010 headed a division of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Commerzbank.
Mr. Tamas Hak-Kovacs graduated from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences, MA in Finance and Accounting. He also studied at the University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, Germany, at the University of Vienna, Austria and at the International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland. Since 2004 he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
 

Caroline Clare

Head of European Banking, Wise (formerly TransferWise)

Caroline Clare is the Head of European Banking at TransferWise. 

Adnan Ahmed

Head of Strategy, Starling Bank

Adnan joined Starling in 2018 from PwC where he now shapes Starling's strategy. He is involved in Starling's capital raising, international expansion, M&A and other strategic projects.

Filip Genov

Co-founder and Managing Director, F27

25+ years in banking, innovations and technology, Founder & MD of Sophia Lab, the leading digital transformation and acceleration think tank in Southeast Europe
Founder & MD of the first banking & FinTech VC operation in the Southeast Europe
Founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the FinTech and InsureTech Summit, the biggest industrial forum in the Southeast Europe
Member of the Vienna Initiative, CEE&lead expert on financial instruments for innovative and fast growing companies
Co-Founder of the Strategic Center for Artificial Intelligence for Southeast Europe, based in Sofia
Served on the Executive Committee of the Factors Chain International and Strategy and R&D aide to the Executive Committee of CEDEC
Created and managed three 500+ million euro financial businesses
MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics and Political Science and HEC Paris

Vanya Manova

Mastercard manager for Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo

Vanya Manova is responsible for the development and implementation of Mastercard's local strategy, including maintaining the growth of card and electronic payments in both markets, introducing Mastercard innovations and technology solutions, and establishing stable partnerships with key customers, government and the public sector. After 20 years of experience in the banking sector, Vanya Manova joined the Bulgarian team of Mastercard in 2008 as a Customer Relationship Manager. In recent years, she has managed the company's representative office in Bulgaria and worked for the positioning of Mastercard as a strategic partner of business, government institutions and regulators. It also launches and supports the development of contactless payments in Bulgaria and Macedonia - an area in which Mastercard is the undisputed leader in both markets.

Ivan Hadzhov

Manager Business Development Digital, Mastercard Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Kossovo

Ivan Hadjov has more than 11 years of experience with digital solutions across various sectors –fintech, online games and gambling. His career in Mastercard started in 2017 as a Business Development Manager - Digital Products. Ivan is responsible for developing strategic partnerships and delivering the right technology to the public and private sector in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Kosovo. He supports banks, fintech companies, merchants and governments to achieve their goals using the latest Mastercard technologies including: e-commerce solutions, digital wallets, mobile payments, digital identity and cyber security solutions.
Ivan is the regional representative of Mastercard ID Service and works closely with the global team and local partners to execute the digital identity initiative in Republic of North Macedonia and the region.

Petr Baron

CEO of TBIF (TBI Bank)

CEO of TBIF (TBI Bank) with 20+ years of progressive experience in executing banking strategic initiatives, digital transformation and business evolution. He is an angel investor in high-growth business start-ups for fintech, technology, e-commerce. Using a blend of entrepreneurial strategies and transactional experience to contribute to the start-up ecosystem. TBI Bank is one of the most efficient and profitable banks in Southeastern Europe, focused on consumer lending, merchants and SMEs, building its success through customer focus, innovation, phygital banking, and fintech mindset.
 

Nicola Yankov

Managing Partner at Expat Capital and Chairman of the Board of Expat Asset Management

Nicola Yankov is the Managing Partner and Founder at Expat Capital - the largest independent asset management firm in Bulgaria.
In the 15 years since its founding Expat grew into a well-known brand internationally, with clients from more than 30 countries and global market reach. The company is the only ETF provider from Central and Eastern Europe. Its funds are traded in London, Frankfurt and Sofia. It strives to offer optimized cost-effective solutions in niche categories with first-mover advantage.

Jose Saloio

Manager of BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Bulgaria

Jose Saloio is the manager of BNP Paribas Personal Finance, SA, Bulgaria branch. His entire career has been associated with Europe's leading consumer lending company BNP Paribas Personal Finance, part of the BNP Paribas Group, where he began working after graduating from the prestigious Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris with a degree in Information Systems.
For almost 20 years, Mr. Saloio has held various international positions such as: Manager of BNP Paribas Personal Finance in Bulgaria, Chief Operating Officer of BNP Paribas Personal Finance for Central and Eastern Europe, Regional Risk Management Director for Poland, Ukraine, China, Turkey, Serbia, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, Risk Management Manager in Romania.
As a manager, Jose Saloio is focused on developing innovative financial products and progressive solutions for a multi-channel approach to customers. It is also dedicated to the development of cooperation between BNP Paribas Personal Finance with fintech companies, startups, retailers and online retailers. His vision and ambition are for each client to get the best possible experience in working with the bank and to feel it as a trusted partner in various life situations.
The manager of BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Bulgaria speaks French, Portuguese and English. He is a dedicated skier and in his free time he practices Bulgarian folk dances.

Elitsa Ivanova

Head of the Finance practice at CMS Sofia

Elitsa Ivanova is a dual English and Bulgarian qualified partner in the International Finance team of CMS and head of the Finance practice at CMS Sofia, with more than 15 years of professional experience in the sector. She has been advising clients active in the CEE and CIS on a variety of transactional, restructuring and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on syndicated lending. 
Elitsa brings in-house experience having been seconded in leading financial institutions in London and Amsterdam. In 2012/2013, she completed a secondment at UniCredit Bank AG, London Branch as part of their CEE Loans Syndication Team and in 2014, another secondment at Deutsche Bank, Amsterdam Branch, working on structured commodities and trade finance transactions as part of their Loan Documentation team. 
Elitsa regularly acts as lead counsel on complex cross-border English law-governed financing transactions for a variety of clients including commercial banks, international finance institutions and corporates. She has advised payment services businesses and fintech companies on a number of financings and on regulatory matters in Bulgaria, including setting up their operations in the country.

Lyuben Belov

Managing partner Launchub Ventures

A co-founded Net Info in late 1998 and lead it as CEO until 2007 to reach # 1 position on Bulgaria internet media market with our brands Gyuvetch and ABV.bg. My greаtest achievement was building a high profile team that succeeded to create a sustainable business with 80% reach on target market and 50% market share (in terms of revenue).
Currently, I am helping run LAUNCHub Ventures (Launch Hub) is a SEED fund with EUR 27M under management focused on investing in the "digital domain"- consumer internet, e-commerce, digital media, mobile in the SEE region. We are aiming at helping young and upcoming entrepreneurs disrupt industries- the ones that we want to see mostly changed- finance, entertainment, education among others.
Specialities: Although holding a degree of law from Sofia University I feel much better in online media and internet services business

Srdjan Mahmutovich

Co-founder at Kriptomat

A tech enthusiast at heart, loves all things tech. During my studies of criminal justice and law I found my real passion in internet and online product management. Built a successful B2B digital marketing agency with 40 employees and coworkers. Developed a project called Platformax - an inside sales platform for sales teams, now present in 16 countries around the world. Have been engaged mostly in management, business development and product development roles in the last 10 years. Former archery champion.

Nir Netzer

Founding Partner, Еquitech

Nir is a FinTech Innovation Strategist, FinTech Transformation Advisor and a keen leader of the Israeli FinTech ecosystem.
Nir is an expert Strategic and Financial Consultant, advising FinTech companies, global financial institutions, institutional and private investors, regulators and governmental entities on FinTech investments and digital transformation processes.
Nir is a seasoned manager and speaker, frequently curating and hosting FinTech events, moderating professional panel discussions and delivering keynote performances in local and global FinTech Summits as well as serving as a desired FinTech lecturer in several Academic institutions.
Nir is a certified CPA, holds a B.A in Accounting and in Law as well as an MBA Specializing in Financing and Financial management.

Kalin Radev

CEO and founder of Software Group

Kalin Radev is the CEO of Software Group, a global technology company specialized in digitalization and integration solutions for institutions that provide financial services. He brings 25+ years of professional experience in IT, 20+ of which in banking, financial inclusion, and microfinance. Kalin has extensive international experience leading strategic projects in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. His expertise has been crucial for carrying out more than 100 projects around the globe, focused on developing IT strategies and designing solutions that drive digital transformation and enhance efficiency. Kalin is Chairman of the Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber and co-Chairman of Endeavor Bulgaria’s Board of Directors.

About Software Group:
Software Group is a global technology company specialized in digitalization and integration solutions for institutions that provide financial services. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, it currently serves a worldwide client base from 9 regional offices located in Australia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines and the USA. Some of Software Group’s customers are organizations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MasterCard & MasterCard Foundation, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank, Asia Development Bank, 7 of the 10 biggest Microfinance networks, Asia Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), Allianz Bank Bulgaria, Atlantic Bank, Bank South Pacific, Commercial International Bank Egypt, and others.
 

Victor Stoyanov

Head of Remote Service & Digital Channels of UniCredit Bulbank

Before joining UniCredit Bulbank he worked for Postbank, holding different positions, primarily within Retail Banking. His professional expertise includes development of digital channels, digital payments and innovations, product & business development, project & portfolio management, leasing business development, underwriting and customer segmentations.

Krasimir Krastev

Founder and General Manager of RPA Consulting

Founder and General Manager of RPA Consulting, the first Bulgarian full-service Robotic Process Automation company. A business process expert with 4 years of automation experience and 10 years overall in process design and implementation in the corporate sector. Krasimir is leading the process optimization and corporate consulting division of RPA.bg, helping businesses through every step of their complete automation transformation. Before that he’s had over 10 years of management experience in the process and project management area in large companies and the public sector.

Uri Yarden

CEO and Founder of USA-Mortgages.com

Entrepreneur & tech Investor focused on disrupting traditional real estate financing with a lot of data, tech and a group of amazing people

Elad Stefansky

CEO of The Bridge

Elad Stefansky is CEO of The Bridge - FinTech Growth Hacking Agency 
Marketer, growth hacking expert and creative director

Harel Falk

Vice President of Sales & Business Development at Solitics

Harel Falk, Vice President of Sales & Business Development at Solitics
A seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in business development, sales, marketing and sales process creation and implementation.
Over 10 years of experience in the SaaS world, Internet online advertising and technology fields.
 

Anthoni Trenchev

Co-founder and Managing Partner of Nexo

Antoni Trenchev is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of leading digital financial institution Nexo.
Prior to entering the blockchain space in 2013, he studied Finance Law at King’s College London and Humboldt University, Berlin, proceeding to work in the hedge fund industry. He then turned his attention to fintech, becoming Chief Innovations Officer at one of Europe’s major fintech groups.
He was a member of the leadership team that launched the Nexo platform in April 2018, shortly after the company raised $52.5 million during a private token sale. Nexo has since processed more than $20 billion for over 1 million users across the globe and currently manages more than $5 billion in assets.
Antoni served as a Member of Bulgaria’s Parliament between 2014 and 2017, advocating for progressive legislation to implement blockchain solutions for e-government services, most notably e-voting and storage of databases in a distributed ledger.

Kiril Boshov

Chairman of the Management Board of Eurohold Bulgaria AD

Kiril Boshov has over 25 years of experience in senior management positions in the field of finance, telecommunications and insurance.
Mr. Boshov is Chairman of the Management Board of Eurohold Bulgaria AD, Executive Director of the insurance subholding Euroins Insurance Group AD, as well as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Investment Intermediary Eurofinance AD.
Kiril Boshov is a member of the Board of the Association of Bulgarian Insurers, a member of the Board of Directors of Endeavor Bulgaria, a member of the Board of the Association of Industrial Capital Bulgaria (BICA) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the National University of Bulgaria. and world economy. "He holds a master's degree in Accounting and Control from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia. Fluent in English and Russian.

Ivaylo Glavchovski

Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of UniCredit Consumer Financing Bulgaria

Ivaylo Glavchovski joined UniCredit Bulbank`s team in 208 as a Head of "Information technologies" after seven years in Microsoft. Three years later he became Head of "Global Banking Services" Division in UniCredit Bulbank.
From August 2014 untill January 2018 he is  Head of "Global Banking Services" Division in UniCredit Bank in Russia and after that he took the position Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of UniCredit Consumer Financing Bulgaria.
 

Borislav Dikov

Head of Digital Banking Department at Postbank

Borislav Dikov is a Head of Digital Banking Department at Postbank
He has more than 14 years of professional experience in banking sector at different positions in some of the leading and biggest banks in Bulgaria.  In Postbank he is in charge of some of the biggest and most important projects regarding creation and development of the modern digital banking channels and implementation of new functionalities. He also has a project management experience related to implementing web and mobile banking applications, instant payments and open banking.  He is passionate about new technologies, innovations, great ideas and financial services of next level.

Daniel Doderlein

CEO and Founder of Settle Group

Daniel Doderlein is a fintech pioneer and top 200 European fintech influencer. He has over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in the fields of IT, product development, advertising and financial services. Daniel is an awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014 by the Norwegian Venture Capital Association, on the Google Cloud Advisory Board and a fintech contributor at Forbes. He is the CEO and founder of Settle Group - a Norwegian financial technology company with an EU wide e-money license, which provides the pan-European mobile payment service named Settle. Settle launched in Bulgaria on March 8th 2021 in local partnership with Management Financial Group (MFG).

Ina Ilieva

Legal and Business Launch Expert, MFG Investments

Ina Ilieva is a legal and business launch expert at MFG Investments – a group of angel investors united around the idea of offering financing for bold and effective business ideas. The people behind MFG Investments are the founders of one of the most successful financial companies in Bulgaria. Management Financial Group is a holding company bringing together companies in the non-banking financial sector with more than 14 years of history in Central and Eastern Europe. MFG Invest has a portfolio of successful and attractive investments such as ebag, Payhawk, LogSentinel, Tiger Technology, Infinno, NewPay, Boleron, Settle, ONDO. Ina has extensive knowledge of corporate, financial and commercial law and a Law Master’s Degree from Sofia University. She has worked on different projects in MFG since 2011.

Svilen Stanchev

Director of Sales, IBS Bulgaria

Bozhidar Bojanov

Founder of LogSentinel

Founder of LogSentinel, an information security innovation company. Software engineer and architect with 15 years of experience. Former e-government adviser to the Council of Ministers. Blogger and frequent speaker at technology conferences.

Yuval Ziv

Managing Director, Digital Payments at Nuvei

Yuval Ziv, Managing Director of Digital Payments at Nuvei, is responsible for identifying, establishing and maintaining the Nuvei’s strategic alliances to facilitate the company’s global growth strategy in digital payments, with additional focus on leading the global commercial teams.
Yuval is the former Managing Director of SafeCharge International Group Limited, where he also held a seat on the board of directors. His diverse background and holistic approach to strategy was significantly instrumental to SafeCharge’s successful IPO in 2014 and subsequent acquisition of the company by Nuvei in 2019.
A high-tech industry veteran and sought-after conference speaker, Ziv’s achievements in international online payments spans over seventeen years of financial and IT industry experience. With vast knowledge of global payments, processing technologies, industry regulations, and payment culture, Ziv continues to harness success in the international online payments industry.

Konstantin Bezuhanov

Chief Executive Director, Evrotrust Technologies

Konstantin Bezuhanov is Evrotrust Technologies' Chief Executive Director. Konstantin’s background is in finance and technology. He is passionate about digitalisation, fintech and how technology revolutionises current economic models.
Evrotrust provides next generation Digital Identity and Qualified trust services to enable digital transformation processes in the private and public sector. Among its clients are many financial institutions, which use the solution to enable remote and complaint business processes.

Georgi Georgiev

Software Development Manager at Smart IT

Georgi Georgiev is a seasoned IT professional with over 10 years of experience in software development and providing technological solutions for the business in the sectors of Risk Management, Insurance and Financial.
His main responsibilities at Smart IT, the technology hub of MFG, are to provide the business with the technological solutions that meet the companies’ needs and growth strategy. As Software Development Manager at Smart IT he forefronts a team of talented software architects that leads the digital transformation of the companies within MFG.
 

Nedeljko Milošević

Enterprise Sales Lead, South East Europe, Infobip

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, graduated on Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, Serbia and obtained master’s degree in Communicology. His professional career counts 10+ years with strong experience in Business Development, Sales Management, Strategic Partnerships and Telecommunications. Currently responsible for managing sales operations and regional division team of South East Europe at Infobip, global leader in provisioning CpaaS and SaaS digital communication platforms. Particularly, focused on Finance industry and optimization of digital Customer Experience.

Teodor Radonov

Head of EIB Group office in Bulgaria

Teodor Radonov is Head of the EIB Group office in Bulgaria since March 2021. Structured finance specialist with over 8 years of previous experience working for the European Investment Fund (EIF), dealing with securitization and guarantee products, covering a wide range of jurisdictions inside and outside the EU. He has been involved in the structuring and implementation of a number of the EIF financial instruments in Bulgaria. He also worked in a variety of analytical roles in the financial field.
He is fluent in English, French and Spanish and holds a degree in finance from the University of Sophia Antipolis in France.
 

Ralitsa Karamfilova

Strategic Development Manager, LIREX

Ralitsa Karamfilova is the Strategic Development Manager of LIREX, one of the leading system integrators on the European market with the highest expertise in the field of information and communication technologies. With 30 years of experience in the high-tech industry, LIREX is leading the way in implementing comprehensive solutions and professional services for organizations from various industries, both in the corporate and public sectors. Ralitsa is part of the company’s management team for the last 10 years and on her present role, she is focusing on the overall development of the company in the long run, as well as building a consistent vision and approach in Lirex's Marketing and Sales Departments. Ralitsa holds a bachelor degree of Business administration from the  Univerity of Washington, USA and an Executive MBA from the American University in Bulgaria.
 

Juliyan Lesev

Chief Technology Innovation Officer, LIREX

Juliyan has over 20 years of experience in enterprise system engineering with focus on the practical implementation of the new and emerging IT technologies, as well as helping business and IT to understand each other. He is enriching  IT teams by giving them the ability to respond to the business requirements, as well to the requirements to business and thus providing the enablement of meeting business objectives. Some of Juliyan’s specialties include SDDC, resilience, Network, Compute, SAN, Linux, Solaris, Storage and more.
 

Miroslav Kamenov

Business Partner Finances & Business Launch, MFG Investments

Miroslav Kamenov has over 20 years of professional experience in the fields of accounting, taxation, internal and independent financial audit, managerial finance. He is a certified accountant and registered auditor.
Miroslav has held various positions in Bulgarian and international companies and is an experienced CEO with a demonstrated history in the financial services industry. He is behind the development of various successful projects within the group of MFG and has a leading role in MFG Investments consulting the launch of new businesses.
 

Daniel Nicolescu

CEO and Co-Founder of Symphopay

Experienced executive with solid track record of managing businesses in electronic payments and internet platforms. Daniel was involved in key positions in RAV Antivirus (acquired by Microsoft in 2003), Avangate (acquired by Francisco Partners in 2014) and GECAD ePayment/PayU(acquired by Naspers in 2010). Starting with May 2015, Daniel is CEO and Co-Founder of Symphopay, a payment platform that integrates acquiring banks and loyalty programs in one single POS, so that every transaction evolves into an engaging customer shopping experience.
 

Gergana Stoitchkova

Program Manager at Eleven Ventures

Gergana is Program Manager at Eleven Ventures, one of the most active VC funds in the SEE region, where she’s heading the Visa Innovation Program – a fintech-focused innovation program. She’s also part of the fintech investment team, leveraging her experience in the field. Previously Director, Gergana is also still actively involved with the Bulgarian Fintech Association, which she helped building from the ground up. She holds BSc in BA from LMU in Munich and MSc in Finance from Bocconi University in Milan.
 

Saso Bende

Solutions business consultant, Canon CEE Gmbh

Aleksander Bende is a business consultant for document solutions at Canon CEE and has 18 years of B2B experience. Next to responsibility for market development for Canon Information Management solutions in the CEE region, his responsibility activities includes pre- and after-sales consulting in the field of data and document management, for document processing solutions and for the optimization of business processes and data capture.

Nikolay Stanchev

Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of Generali Insurance AD

In 2010, Mr. Stanchev joined the Generali family through the company GP Reinsurance EAD, where he obtained the role of Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Management Director. In this role, he was responsible for the Finance, Accounting and Reinsurance units. In 2014, Mr. Stanchev took on the role of Chief Operating Officer and once again Chief Risk Management Officer at GP Reinsurance EAD. He also became part of the Board of Directors. He was responsible for the Finance, Accounting, Reinsurance, Human Resources and Administration units. Only two years later, in 2016, Mr. Stanchev obtained the role of Executive Director and Chief Risk Management Officer at GP Reinsurance EAD, and only a few months later during the same year, he becomes Chief Executive Officer and Chief Risk Management Officer at GP Reinsurance EAD. In 2018, Mr. Stanchev accepted a new challenge and took on the role of Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at Generali CEE Holding BV, where he is positioned in Prague, Czech Republic. There, he helps and assists the Chief Executive Officer of Generali CEE Holding BV in managing the activity of Generali in Austria, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. In October 2020, he took on the position of Head of Strategy for Austria, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia at Generali CEE Holding BV. He participates in the definition and control of the strategy execution and the set goals for the companies of Generali in Austria, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. In December 2020, Mr. Nikolay Stanchev is chosen for the position of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of Generali Insurance AD.
Mr. Nikolay Stanchev has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of National and World Economy in Accounting and Control. In 2007 he obtains a professional degree in Accounting from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). He is a member of the organization since August 2014. In 2012, he also obtains a Master’s degree from the University of National and World Economy in Insurance and Social Work, with a focus on Insurance. Mr. Stanchev also has a certificate in insurance from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Alexis Pantazis

Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hellas Direct

Alexis Pantazis is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hellas Direct. Prior to Hellas Direct, he was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs where he led principal investing and new strategic initiatives for the firm in the European investment management field. A former strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, he also worked for Miramax Films in New York and the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission in Brussels. Alexis is a Fulbright and British Chevening Scholar, a Robert & Diane Levy Fellow and an Endeavor Global Entrepreneur.

Ioannis Kotsianos

Chairman, Allianz Bulgaria Holding

Ioannis Kotsianos is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Allianz Bulgaria Holding. He started leading Allianz Bulgaria in 2019 and under his management, the company carried out a complete digital transformation of the business.
He has over 23 years of experience in insurance, finance, risk management, forecast modeling and new product development, and has been with Allianz for the past 13 years.
He is a graduate of mathematics at Brown University Providence in the United States and is a certified Actuary and Risk Analyst at the Society of Actuaries, Schaumburg, Illinois.
 

Eduard Tsvetanov

Founder of Patterns Technology

Eduard Tsvetanov is the founder of Patterns Technology - an on-demand tech business consultancy operating in Central and Eastern Europe. Previously, he was Revolut's Country Lead for Bulgaria, where he grew the market for the fintech giant to achieve a 20x increase in Revolut's user base in 1.5 years. Eduard began his career at the heart of Europe's largest public affairs group, Burson-Marsteller. After gaining professional experience in the UK, Belgium and Brazil, he returned to Bulgaria in 2017. Eduard is also heading the "Mobile Banking" Chapter at the Sophia-Lab think-tank.

George Roukov

Director of International Expansion at Credissimo

George has an extensive background in strategy and business development formulation and implementation, with more than 17 years of international experience across Europe and LatAm, holding various C-level positions. Since 2016 he is leading the global expansion of Credissimo and successfully led the efforts to enter, develop and manage the operation in Poland, North Macedonia and Colombia. George holds a Bachelor Degree in Financial Management from the University of Wolverhampton (UK).

Shaun O'Keeffe

Senior Marketing Manager, Marqetа