Speaker Lineup
Confirmed speakers from 19 countries. Additional speakers will be announced soon — check back for updates
Mr. Eldar Abdrazakov
Founder, Kazakhstan Growth Forum, Kazakhstan
Dr. Brian B. Anderson
Director of the Office of Institutional Strategic Planning, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
Mr. Anuar Buranbayev
Partner, Center for Research & Consulting LLC, Kazakhstan
Mr. Chad Evans
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Secretary and Treasurer to the Board, Council on Competitiveness, USA
Prof. Sir Ian Greer
President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Hon. Jerry Hultin
Distinguished Fellow, Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC), USA
Dr. Paul Madden
CEO, Centre for Competitiveness, UK
Ms. Plamena Nenkova
Deputy Executive Director of International Affairs & Sustainable Development, Glavbolgarstroy (GBS), Bulgaria
H.E. Alexander Poulev
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry of the Republic of Bulgaria
Mr. Preslav Tonkov
Senior Advisor, Global Analytics, Gallup, UK
Prof. Edward C. Wingenbach
President, The American College of Greece, Greece
Dr. Fahad Al Jahwari
Senior Director, National Competitiveness Office, Oman
Ir. Mohamed Firouz Asnan, FASc
President, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia
Ms. Athina Chatzipetrou
Distinguished Fellow, Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, Greece
Mr. Christopher Geiger
Vice President, Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk, Lockheed Martin Corporation, USA
Mr. Elvin Guri
CEO & Managing Partner, INVENIO Partners
Mr. Andon Ichev
Executive Director, BlueBird Energy, Bulgaria
Mr. Kalin Marinov
Head of the International Relations and Strategic Development Department, Glavbolgarstroy (GBS), Bulgaria
Mr. Kalin Peshov
Chairman of the Management Board, Glavbolgarstroy (GBS), Bulgaria
Mr. Boyan Rashev
Founder, Mind Your Future, Bulgaria
Mr. Symeon Tsomokos
President, Delphi Economic Forum, Greece
Ms. Mira Yosifova
Deputy Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Bulgaria
Dr. Christopher Allen
Former Resident Economic Advisor to the European Commission in Athens (2015-2024), Greece
Mr. Lulzim Basha
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albania
Mr. Martin Danovsky
Executive Director, Sofia Tech Park, Bulgaria
Ms. Svetoslava Georgieva
Chair of the Board of Directors, European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Bulgaria
Dr. Michinari Hamaguchi
Counselor to the President, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japan
Mr. Erion Isufi
CEO & Founder, Landmark Technologies, Albania
Prof. Miguel Athayde Marques
Vice-Rector for Infrastructural and Strategic Development, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Dr. Bernadett Petri
Managing Director, Hungarian Development Promotion Office, Hungary
Mr. Kiril Ravnachki
Executive Director, Bulgartransgaz EAD, Bulgaria
Mr. Dimitar Tsotsorkov
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Asarel-Medet JSC, Bulgaria
Dr. Roberto Alvarez
Executive Director, Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC), Brazil
Mr. Richard Billingham
Chief Operating Officer, Aston University, UK
Prof. Alastair Dawes
Director of Business Development and Knowledge Exchange, Harper Adams University, UK
Prof. Isabel Gil
Rector (President), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Mr. Charles (Chad) O. Holliday
Chairman, Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC), USA
Professor Ir. Dr. Lau Kok Keong
Director of the Institute of Regenerative Futures, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia
Mr. Ivan Mihaylov
Chief Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria
Mr. Borislav Petrov
Executive Director, Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT), Bulgaria
Ms. Jennifer Steel
Associate Vice President for Government Affairs, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Prof. Götz Veser
Professor & Director of the Covestro Circular Economy Program, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Mr. Simos Anastasopoulos
President, Council on Competitiveness of Greece- CompeteGR, Greece
Prof. Razvan Bologa
Professor at the Computer Science Department, Bucharest University of Economic Studies; CEO and Founder , Nextlab.tech, Romania
Ms. Sandra Duxbury
Investor and Consultant, Canada
Ms. Deborah Gordon
Senior Advisor, Longview Fusion Energy Systems, USA
Prof. Bettany Hughes
Co-founder and Creative Director, Sandstone Global Productions, UK
Dr. Nkem Khumbah
Director, STI Policy, Strategy and Partnerships, African Academy of Science, Kenya
Dr. Mmboneni Muofhe
Deputy Director-General for Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships, Department of Science, Technology & Innovation, South Africa
H.E. Iva Petrova
Minister of Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria
Mr. Ruslan Strefanov
General Manager, ARC Consulting EOOD/ Applied Research and Communications Fund , Bulgaria
The Hon. Deborah L. Wince Smith
President & Founder, Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC), USA