Energy and Power Conference

Alexander Pulev

Minister of Innovation and Growth

Alexander Pulev was born on February 5, 1981 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He holds a Master's Degree in Finance from Oxford University and a Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems and Finance from the University of Maine, USA.
He has worked as a Director of Investment Banking at the UniCredit banking group for four years and as a Principal Banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for six years and was Manager at Ernst and Young.
He also worked in international companies such as Citigroup Global Markets, Brown Brothers Harriman and General Electric.
Alexander Pulev has many years of experience in project financing and transaction structuring ranging from equity investment to syndication of hybrid and senior debt. He managed a portfolio of Bulbank start-up companies and was coordinator of the EBRD's venture capital program for the Balkans.
He was appointed by President Rumen Radev interim Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications from September to December 2021.
Alexander Pulev was appointed member of the Caretaker Government on 2 August 2022.

Prof. Dr. Ivan Ivanov

Chairman of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission

Angelin Tsachev

Member of the Board and Executive Director of ESO EAD

Angelin Tsachev graduated the Technical University of Sofia in 1999 with a degree in Electronics and Automation. For a period of 5 years, he was the head of Substations division of the Electrical Installations Department in Targovishte. In 2011, he joined Trafoelectroinvest, an enterprise within the National Electric Company (NEK), where he employed his expertise as the head of department engaged in the construction of power lines. Following the splitting of ESO from NEK and its establishment as a separate company, Trafoelectroinvest became part of the structure of the independent transmission operator. Angelin Tsachev kept working for the development and quality maintenance of the national electricity transmission grid as the head of Investor Control department within the Investor Control and Site Preparation division of ESO. Since February 2018, he is the Executive Director and member of the Management Board of Elektroenergien Sistemen Operator.

Karel Kral

CEO of Electrohold Bulgaria Group

Karel Kral was born in the Czech Republic in 1974. He graduated in Economics from the University of Pilsen. He has worked in the financial consulting, telecommunications, information technology and energy sectors in the Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Hungary and Albania. In 2009 he became part of the management team of CEZ Group, and in January 2013 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of CEZ Group in Romania. In 2015 he was named CEZ's regional manager for Bulgaria. After Eurohold acquired CEZ’s assets in Bulgaria on July 27, 2021, Kral became CEO of Electrohold Bulgaria.

Radoslav Ribarski

"Continuing the Change" Party

Energy project specialist Radoslav Ribarski is the leader of the list of candidate MPs of "Prodaljavame promiyanata" in Stara Zagora.
His interest in innovative technologies leads him to renewable energy projects. Started up his career building wind farms and photovoltaic plants. Today, Ribarski develops a number of international energy projects at "Energoremont-Galabovo" JSC. The company specializes in production and construction of boiler equipment for thermal power plants. Radoslav is also the commercial director of a Bulgarian company specializing in the production and construction of desulfurization installations and industrial equipment for removing and cleaning flue gasses and fluids.
He graduated from the "Romain Rolland" State University in Stara Zagora, and received his higher education at the University of National and World Economy with a major in "International Economic Relations". His master's degree is in International Project Management.

Ivaylo Mirchev

"Yes, Bulgaria" Party

Ivaylo Mirchev is an economist and marketing director in two Bulgarian IT companies. He was elected as a deputy in the 45th, 46th and 47th National Assembly, and in the 47th National Assembly he was the deputy chairman of the committee on energy and a member of the committee on internal security and public order. He also participated in the temporary commissions for the inspection of "Lukoil"; on the memorandum with Gemcorp and on natural gas.
He notes that working in the parliamentary majority that installed the government between December 2021 and August 2022 was difficult, and working in parliament, during an economic, health and geopolitical crisis, was even more difficult. In 8 months, he introduced 13 bills.

Georgi Samandov

Coalition "Bulgarian Rise"

Georgi Atanasov Samandov is a Bulgarian politician and engineer from the "Bulgarian Rise" party. Member of Parliament from the "Bulgarian Rise" coalition in the 48th National Assembly. He is one of the partners in the energy trader Most Energy Gas. He was the Director of "Energy Markets" at Most Energy.
He graduated from Academician Lyudmil Stoyanov Language High School in Blagoevgrad, and then majored in "Electric Power Engineering and Electrical Equipment" from the Technical University in Sofia.
In December 2013, he was appointed director of "Energy Markets" in a company from the energy sector. Before that, he worked as a sales representative and energy engineer also in companies of the system.
Georgi Sarandov is among the founders of the "Bulgarian Rise" party in May 2022.

Delyan Dobrev

Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria

Delyan Dobrev is a politician from GERB, economist, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism in the first government of Boyko Borisov.
Deputy in the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th National Assembly from Haskovo. Chairman of the Commission on Energy in the National Assembly 2014 - 2019. Elected as a national representative in 45 National Assembly of 29 MIR Haskovo.

Kristóf Ferenczi

Partner at Kinstellar and head of the Energy sector

Kristóf Ferenczi is a Managing Partner in the Budapest office and the firm-wide head of the Energy and Natural Resources sector at Kinstellar – Emerging Europe and Central Asia’s leading independent law firm with offices in 11 jurisdictions and over 350 local and international lawyers.
Kristóf is a well-known energy sector legal expert in Hungary and across Central Eastern Europe. He has substantial experience in energy and natural resources related transactions, including conventional and renewable power plant development projects (such as photovoltaic, wind, and geothermal), electricity and natural gas trading matters, petrochemical projects, licensing and other energy sector regulatory issues. He advises major international and European companies in the electricity, natural gas, petrochemical and district heating sectors, assists with the implementation of investments in the energy industry, and advises on national and EU energy regulatory issues, including the harmonisation of domestic laws with EU energy sector legislation. In addition, he has gained considerable experience in the field of private M&A and privatisation transactions in the energy sector.
Kristóf is a member of the Presidium of the Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has experience in advising on energy sector related contentious matters, in particular in the electricity and natural gas sectors.
 

Teodora Georgieva

Executive officer and a member of Board of Directors ICGB AD

Teodora Georgieva has more than 20 years of experience as a strategic manager, leading significant projects in various economic sectors. Currently, Ms. Georgieva is the Executive Officer of the Bulgarian side of ICGB AD and is also a member of its Board of Directors. ICGB is responsible for the overall management and development of the gas pipeline between Greece and Bulgaria and is Bulgaria’s second independent transmission system operator.
From 2012 to 2014 Teodora Georgieva was Managing Director of Nabucco Bulgaria, and before that she worked at OMV Bulgaria for 13 years, 8 of which she was Managing Director of the company holding cluster positions for Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. Georgieva was the coordinator for Bulgaria of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) in 2009 and was among the top 10 Bulgarian managers for 2 consecutive years.
She graduated from the University of National and World Economy and has a master’s degree in Finance. Married, with two children.

Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI

Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee

Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI is a Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee. He is also Member of the Delegation for Southeast Asia, as well as substitute Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Delegation for the Arab Peninsula.
Mr. Busoi graduated Medicine from Carol Davila University in Bucharest, Law from Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest, and Diplomacy from the Romanian Diplomatic Institute in Bucharest. His political career started in 1996 when, as a student, he became member of the National Liberal Party. Eight years later, he entered the Romanian Parliament and, in 2013, became President of the Romanian National Health Insurance House. Since 2007, he has been elected to the European Parliament for three consecutive terms.

Dr. Mariya Trifonova

Chief Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University

Dr. Mariya Trifonova is Chief Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University. In the course of her career, over the last twelve years Mariya has gained insight into the technological and socio-economic developments in the energy sector from a variety of perspectives. As part of the CSD team and as a member of the Steering Committe of ETIPWind she actively works on unlocking the potential of marine renewable energy in the Black Sea. Her contribution to the development of methodological tools for stakeholder engagement and increase of social acceptance towards innovative low-carbon technologies resulted in a number of publications on the topic. She has been involved in EU research projects such as PV Grid, Nanophosolar, MEDEAS, SHAREs, DUST and was the national expert to the 2020 & 2021 editions of the World Energy Trilemma Index. She co-chairs the Energy Transition Commission, part of the Consultative Council on the European Green Deal in Bulgaria.

Aziz Dag

Managing Director Westinghouse Electric Sweden, Head of Global BWR and VVER Fuel Business

Aziz Dag has been with Westinghouse since 1992. He has  held various managerial positions  within engineering and  marketing. His prior roles include Vice President Global Product  Management within the Nuclear  Fuel Business Unit and Vice  President, Key Accounts for the  EMEA region where his  responsibility was to provide  leadership and coordination of  marketing and sales activities for  key strategic opportunities in the  EMEA region.
His current position is Vice  President and Managing Director  for Northern, Eastern Europe  region and UAE. The role includes  responsibility for Westinghouse  commercial business for  operating plants in the Northern,  Eastern European region and  UAE. Aziz also manages the  Swedish legal entity in capacity of Managing Director.
Aziz Dag holds a Master’s of Science degree in Engineering  Physics from Uppsala University,  an MBA from Stockholm School of  Economics and is Six Sigma Black  Belt certified. Aziz did also  participate in Westinghouse  special designed Executive  Leadership Development program by INSEAD in 2016-2018.

Elias Gedeon

Senior Vice-President, Commercial Operations, Westinghouse Electric Company

Elias Gedeon is Senior Vice-President of Commercial Operations within the Energy Systems division at Westinghouse Electric Company. Gedeon has more than 40 years of experience in the power generation industry and has held various sales, operations and P&L leadership positions in the U.S. and internationally. Prior to joining Westinghouse in August 2020, he served as Senior Vice-President and Chief Business Development Officer for Babcock & Wilcox (B&W). From 2009 to 2014, he was Alstom Power Boiler Group’s Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, and Alstom Power’s VicePresident of Sales (Americas) from 2003- 2009. From 1981 to 2002, Gedeon held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Foster Wheeler Power Group and its subsidiaries, including Executive Vice-President of Global Sales and Marketing; and Vice-President Operations, Foster Wheeler Energia, S.A. Spain. He began his professional career as a service engineer with Foster Wheeler Energy in 1981 and has worked and lived in many countries. Gedeon holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an Executive MBA from the University of Michigan

Andrey Rekalov

Chief operating officer, KER Toki Power

Konstantin Konstantinov

Executive director of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX)

Konstantin Konstantinov has been the executive director of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) since its foundation nine years ago. Under his leadership, the Exchange designs and develops key market segments, implements critically important technological platforms, and conducts Bulgaria's integration into the single European electricity market. Before taking the leadership of IBEX, Mr. Konstantinov held several management positions at the National Electric Company, where he was also a member of the Management Board of NECO S.A. An important milestone in his career in the energy industry was his work at Enemona Utilities, where he was a member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Executive Director. Now he represents IBEX in the association of European energy exchanges Europex. Mr. Konstantinov is a co-founder and member of the Management Board of the first and only think-tank in Bulgaria for sustainable finance and energy - Green Finance & Energy Centre. Konstantin Konstantinov holds master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Technical University in Sofia and in information systems from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

Svetoslav Ivanov

Еxecutive director of Overgas Inc. AD

Radan Kanev

Member of European Parliament

Radan Kanev is a Bulgarian politician and MEP at the European People's Party (EPP) group.
Kanev is a member of the Committee on Social Policy and Employment and the Committee on Petitions, substitute of the Committee on Environmental Environment, Health Protection and Food Safety in the Parliament.
He is also a member of Urban Matters, Green New DealClimate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development and Future of Science and Technology intergroup. 

Zdravko Bratoev

Deputy-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elektrorazpredelenie Yug, the electricity distribution company part of EVN Bulgaria Group

Zdravko Bratoev is Deputy-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elektrorazpredelenie Yug, the electricity distribution company part of EVN Bulgaria Group, servicing 1.6 million metering points and over 60 000 km of distribution grid in South-East Bulgaria.
Zdravko Bratoev has been working in the electricity distribution sector in Bulgaria since the year 2000. Since than he has held various managerial positions in the fields of grid engineering, technical operations and grid management in the EVN Bulgaria Group. In 2019, he was elected as an Executive Member of the Board of Directors of Elektrorazpredelenie Yug, and as of 1 January 2021, he became Deputy Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors.
Mr. Bratoev is a graduate of Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Sofia-Faculty of Sliven and of Economics at Veliko Turnovo University. He also holds a certificate in Management from The Open University - Business School.

Denitsa Zlateva

Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Director, Bulgargaz

Darina Koleva

Chairperson of the Management Board of Bulgartransgaz

Ms. Darina Koleva is the Chairperson of the Management Board of the Bulgarian gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz since 2021. 
Ms. Koleva holds a Master’s degree in Industrial and Civil Engineering from the University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy. She started her career in 1999 in Investment Department of Bulgargaz. 
After the unbundling of the company, she continued to work for Bulgartransgaz in Investment Activities division. In 2018 Ms Koleva headed the department for the implementation of Bulgartransgaz’s key projects for modernization and expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure and for the development of new interconnections.
Ms. Koleva is a proven expert in the natural gas sector with solid background in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

Miglena Stoilova

CEO of PPC Bulgaria

Miglena Stoilova is CEO of PPC Bulgaria, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association and Board member of the National Energy Chamber. Miglena has more than 15 years of international experience in the energy sector – prior to joining PPC she was Vice President Acquisitions and Special Projects in CWP Europe. In the period 2009-2021 Miglena developed professionally in the largest international utility Enel, where she occupied various senior management positions, managing the renewable business of Enel in Bulgaria and being CFO for Enel in Turkey. She started her journey in the energy sector with ABB Sweden. Miglena holds MBA and Master in International Relations.

Eng. Martin Georgiev

Executive Director of National Electric Company EAD

Todor Marinov

Trading and regulatory expert, Enery

Marko Markov

Principal Adviser Sustainable Finance, Econoler

• Principal Sustainable Energy adviser at Econoler, with over 20 years of general professional experience in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in the corporate, public finance and banking sector, and extensive Senior EE/RE Financial specialist experience in developing, implementing, and coordinating international and European EE and RE projects.
• Over 15 years in the Energy efficiency and decarbonisation investments/green finance sector in the EU and globally, where he worked on a number of notable EE/RE finance transactions and development of dedicated EE / RE financial products. Served 3 years as Deputy director of the Bulgarian Energy Efficiency and Renewable Sources Fund, pioneering dedicated EE and RE lending and risk sharing instruments in the country.
• Marko has vast experience in design, implementation and management of climate and sustainable energy finance related projects or programs in EU, the MENA region, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America & Caribbean. 

Dragomir Tzanev, PhD

Executive Director of Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect

Dragomir Tzanev is Executive Director of Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect and official representative of Municipal Energy Efficiency Network EcoEnergy – Bulgaria. Coordinator of the successfully completed and BUILD UP Skills Bulgaria, BUILD UP Skills EnerPro (IEE), Train-to-NZEB and Fit-to-NZEB (H2020) projects, as well as of the ongoing NZEB Roadshow, EXCITE, BeSMART (H2020), OurBuildings, MEMS and CONGREGATE (EUKI) projects. Team leader for EnEffect in more than 30 international cooperation projects. Member of the Advisory Board of the International Passive House Conference and of the UNECE Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency. Author of a series of publications and lecturer at numerous international conferences in the field of sustainable energy development, education and training on energy efficiency and RES in buildings, principles of passive and nearly zero-energy buildings, and municipal energy planning.

Sara Lupo

Senior Manager in Baringa’s Power & Low Carbon Solutions practice

Sara is a Senior Manager in Baringa’s Power & Low Carbon Solutions practice. Sara’s work focuses on end-to-end support for heavy emitters in their decarbonisation journey. Before joining Baringa, Sara worked in Big 4 consulting working with energy companies in South-eastern Europe and for a distribution system operator as the EV infrastructure strategy manager. Sara holds a PhD in energy systems engineering.

Yolanda Garcia-Mezquita

Head of Unit TF2, European Commission DG Energy – Energy Platform Task Force

Doctor in economics at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. From June 2001 to April 2009, she worked as economic advisor in the Spanish National Regulatory Authority, dealing with regulation and competition issues in electricity and gas sectors. Since May 2009 she is working for the European Commission in the Directorate General for Energy. She is head of unit TF2 "Relations with the Member States and the Neighbourhood" in the Energy Platform Task Force.

Eng. Konstantin Kisev

Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of GBS JSC

Eng. Konstantin Kisev joined GBS in 2013, where he owns the complete
pipeline of energy infrastructure projects. With a Master's Degree in
Electronics, Kisev is specialized in large-scale construction and
refurbishment of gas infrastructure, including compressor stations,
metering stations, and storages.

Kostantsa Rangelova

Senior Energy and Climate Analyst, Center for the Study of Democracy

Kostantsa is a Senior Energy and Climate Analyst at the Center for the Study of Democracy, focusing on the politics and economics of energy transition, energy security, and international energy markets, as well as European energy, climate, and just transition policies.
Before joining the Center for the Study of Democracy, Kostantsa was directing research activities at JBC Energy in Vienna, an independent consultancy, where she focused on international energy markets and geopolitics, providing advisory and data-driven insights to leading international energy companies, financial institutions, and international organisations.
Prior to that she gained professional experience within leading energy companies working on modelling the cost of different energy storage technologies as an intern at the corporate strategy department of Orano in Paris, as well as helping manage international research and development projects in the field of renewable energy technologies at EDF R&D in Paris.

Petteri Kuuva

Deputy Director General, Energy Department, The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland

Mr Petteri Kuuva is Deputy Director General of the Energy Department in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland. He has been working in the Energy Department of the Ministry since 1996. From the beginning of 2013, he has worked as a head of energy markets division and been responsible for electricity and gas markets issues and the preparation of national energy and climate policies. 
Earlier, he has worked as a head of renewable energy division and been responsible for the preparation of national renewable energy policies, development of economic steering tools and the European Union cooperation in the field of renewable energy. 
Mr Petteri Kuuva has a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1992.
 

Ivaylo Stanchev

Journalist, Kapital