The team

Gena Traykova is a journalist, documentary filmmaker and producer with more than 20 years of experience in TV content creation.

She is a former editor-in-chief of bTV Media Group news. Before that reporter, presenter of bTV news, producer of news and documentaries. Part of the team that started the bTV news department. Specialized in various programs at CNN and BBC. Winner of a number of documentary awards including the International Golden Umbrella Award at the Mediamix Festival for Best Television Documentary, awarded to The Great Heresy and the European Commission’s Robert Schumann Award for “Nylon Apocalypse or…”

Woman of the Year in the journalism category in 2008.

Venelin Petkov is a Bulgarian journalist known to the audience as a primetime news anchor with bTV Media Group (2000 – 2014) and the Director of News, Current Affairs and Sports with the same company (2014 – 2020).

He is also known as the author or producer of more than 40 factual documentaries under the brand bTV Documents. Some of the most popular films he produced have explored the criminal overdevelopment of Bulgaria’s Black Sea resorts, the smuggling of antiquities, the Bulgarian government’s campaign against ethnic Turks in the 1980s etc.

Venelin Petkov’s documentary A Journey across Afghanistan: Opium and Roses received the distinguished Peabody Award for excellence in broadcast journalism in 2008.

Venelin Petkov holds a Master of Arts Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri – Columbia (1998) and a Master of Arts Degree in English Philology (English-American Studies) from St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia (1996).

He began his career in journalism in 1994 as a reporter for Bulgaria’s national wire service (the BTA). He worked as an associate producer/writer for CNN International in Atlanta between 1997 and 1999. Between 1999 and 2000 he worked as a reporter and morning news anchor for Bulgaria’s state owned TV station BNT-1.

Emil Spahiyski is a Bulgarian journalist, screenwriter and director with vast experience in print media, television and cinema. He has worked as a reporter and political observer, as well as the executive director of the newspaper “Sega”, director of content and business development of the newspaper group “Telegraf”.

Currently he is the director of the National Publishing House for Education and Science “Az-Buki”.

One of the pioneers of web design & development in Bulgaria.

Deep Specialization in Web strategy, Information architecture, Web Usability, Experience design, User Interface, fighting mediocrity.

Dr. David Mossop is a translator, editor and professor at the University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”. He is a recipient of the special award of the Union of Translators in Bulgaria for outstanding excellence.

Milena Ivanova is a freelance editor and translator with many years of experience in book publishing, media and NGO sector in Bulgaria. She graduated in “History” at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Milena is interested in social media and storytelling. She devotes her free time to calligraphy and poetry.

Veselina Sedlarska was born in Straldzha in 1954. She finished her secondary education with English teaching in Plovdiv and studied journalism at Sofia University. She went to the USA where she specialized in journalism. She has many years of experience in the media such as “Trud”, “Standard”, “Tema”, worked for Radio “Free Europe”, for the websites “Club Z” and “Reduta”.

She is the author of the books “The Well” (2016), “Bulgaria for Beginners: Jazz of Stories and Portraits” (2017), “Depression Loves Me” (2018), “Hungry Hearts” (2021).

Nikolay Nikolov was born on 19.12.1950. He studied “Oriental Studies” and “Bulgarian Philology” at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. He has taught at the Sofia Mathematical High School and the First English Language High School (PCHAG) and at the leading universities in the country. He worked as a journalist at the newspaper “Express” and as a journalist at “Seven” until its closure. He is the author of several collections of political essays.

Ivo Anev has a PhD in Economics and Management (UNWE), academic lecturer, expert and author of numerous strategic documents in the field of water and water resources management. He is the head and economic expert of the Historical Bath team, which created one of the three concepts for the restoration of the north and east wings of the Central Mineral Bath – Sofia, funded by OP Sofiaplan. Co-author of the evaluation system for tourist destinations in Bulgaria under the international DEMINA project.

Dr. Leona Aslanova is a Bulgarian economist and public figure with a focus on innovation and education. She is the founder of the first Bulgarian innovation agency, Innovation Starter, the public-private educational partnership Innovation Academy, and the Innovation Explorer Forum.

Author, academic and lecturer on Social Innovation and Business and Entrepreneurship.

Kaloyan Dimitrov is the pen name of a Bulgarian publicist who writes articles and produces video reports in Bulgaria and abroad. He writes on a wide variety of topics, always striving to penetrate beyond the obvious and the commonly accepted. He is an economist by education.

He takes his free time literally as free time – he does nothing. Outside of work, he spends time with his family, walks in nature, and reads books.

Hristina Kasparyan is Director International Economic Relations Centre at the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and Enterprise Europe Network Head of Team. Member of Sector Groups “Digital” and “Cultural and Creative Industries” of the ЕЕ Network. Member of Thematic Group „Start-ups and scale-ups” and “Digitalization” of the ЕЕ Network. Responsible for the Open Innovation Platform at BIA.

Member of the Digital Economy Task Force at BUSINESSEUROPE.

Certified Innovation Health Check Guide by Enterprise Ireland. Certified in Futures Thinking by the Institute for the Future, USA.

Dr. Djambazov is an independent consultant in health technology assessment (HTA), value-based healthcare and health policy advisory. He holds masters in medicine, public health and an MBA from AUBG, as well as PhD in HTA. Under his leadership the consultancy HTA Ltd. conducted over 1000 analyses in the past 9 years informing various health policy decisions, collaborating extensively with industry and policy leaders, having engaged with 19 out of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and 4 out of the top 5 medical devices companies, different scientific societies and patient organizations. Furthermore, Dr. Djambazov authored and co-authored more than 20 books and 100 papers on related topics, teaches HTA and VBHC in different universities, offers independent consultancy to public entities, entrepreneurs, high-profile investors on health investments and policy projects across Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Central, and Southeast Asia.

Sociologist with over 20 years of experience in public opinion polling (lead researcher on more than 400 quantitative and qualitative surveys). She graduated with a Master’s degree in Sociology from SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”.

Darieva began her professional career as a researcher at NAPOC (the National Centre for Public Opinion Research), in 2001. This Centre was part of the structure of the Bulgarian National Assembly Until October 2013. In the period 2014 – 2019 she was Managing Director at Exacta Research Group.

Elena Darieva is the founder and CEO of NASOCA – independent national sociological agency for marketing, social and electoral research, established in 2020. The agency has its own platform for online surveys. NASOCA sustains its own, well trained network of interviewers fully covering the territory of Bulgaria – 300 on field interviewers and 27 supervisors – leaders of regional teams in all regional centers of the country.

Author of analytical and political TV and radio commentaries. She has done research and published in the areas of European integration and political attitudes. Member of the Bulgarian Sociological Association (BSA).

Leena has over two decades of experience in the field of International Business, Technology and Project Management in the Climate Change Mitigation, Energy, Environment, Transport, Biotech and ICT sectors working with various US, European and Asia-Pac organizations.

Leena established Global Business Inroads (GBI) in September 2009 to assist and serve Government, NGOs, Financial Institutions, and Private Sector organizations with their technology, sustainable energy, environment project development, market access and international business needs. In June 2017, GBI launched the www.globaltechinterface.com online platform – a global market place for technology showcase and collaboration. This innovation platform supports start-ups and technology companies connect with technology scouters globally.

Leena has worked as Country Program Manager, India and City Director, Delhi, for the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) of the William J. Clinton Foundation from Jan 2007 to July 2009. 

Leena has completed her B.A. (Honors) in History and Economics from the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi and followed that up with business management from ICFAI, Hyderabad. Ms. Thomas has successfully completed the technical Certified Energy Manager’s Course from Atlanta, USA, funded by the US Government and attended the Eurochambres Academy in Brussels to do a course on doing business with Europe, funded by European Commission. Leena was presented the Award for Woman Achiever of the Year 2015 by ISBR, Bangalore.

Dr. Nayden Yotov is a philosopher, semiotician, theater artist, and aviator. He is a freelance writer and translator of ancient and contemporary texts. He is a specialist in rhetoric and cultural history and teaches at a school in Sofia. He loves cinema and lives and breathes music. He is a member of the playwrights’ guild of the Bulgarian Film Directors’ Union and a member of the jury at international film festivals. He graduated from the National Lyceum for ancient languages and cultures in 1999 and claims that he owes everything to his teachers.

Nenad Lozovic’s career in the advertising business spans over thirty years. He started as a researcher, then became marketing director, director of strategic planning, managing director and co-owner of the advertising agency New Moment New Ideas. Over the years the agency has worked as an independent or as part of the international chains Saatchi & Saatchi, Bates, Zenith Media, Starcom Media Vest, Young and Rubicam, Wunderman, Schultz and Friends.

Under his leadership, New Moment has been awarded Agency of the Year five times at the FARA Festival, won dozens of Effie Awards and many awards at regional and global festivals. The proudest moment in the collection of awards is the Titanium Lion statuette from the Cannes Film Festival, which the agency received for its contribution to an excellent project.

Nenad holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Belgrade and is a PhD candidate in Business and Management at Metropolitan University, Belgrade.

Lecturer at New Bulgarian University.

Oliver Right is the pen name of an author who has written for many years on the subjects of geopolitics, political systems and society.

He was educated in the UK but works in the technology sector in Bulgaria.

Stanislav Gruev was born in the scientific city of Dubna, Moscow region, in the 1970s, into a family of a Bulgarian scientist – a nuclear physicist and a mother – a Russian economist. He spent the first six years of his life there, and then his family returned to Sofia. He graduated from a Russian school and a Spanish high school , as well as from the Sofia University of St. Kliment Ohridski with a degree in Japanese studies.
For many years he worked as an editor in various Bulgarian and foreign media. He is engaged in research and analysis of the influence of Russian politics and culture on the Eastern Bloc countries. Growing up surrounded by the works of Russian dissidents and freedom-loving artists, Stanislav followed the Russian Dissident Movement from an early age, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union continued to engage with various counter-cultures in Bulgaria and Russia. He has studied contemporary Russian opposition in depth. He currently lives and works in Germany with his family as a polytechnologist.

Born in 1959, he worked as an editorial cartoonist at the daily newspapers “Democracy”, “Novinar” and “Press”, as well as the weeklies “Pro and Anti” and “Seven”. He was one of the creators of the animated political cartoon in the “Panorama” programme of BNT. Author of the video cartoons in “Hello Bulgaria” on Nova TV, subsequently broadcast in “Slavi’s Show” on btv and in the program “The Questions” on TV1. Long-time editorial cartoonist of the website “Terminalno”, co-founder and co-owner of the satirical newspaper “Pras Press”. Member of the association of French cartoonists “France Cartoon” and the organization of cartoonists in exile “United Sketches”. Awarded with many national and international awards.

Shradha is the Technology & Innovation Manager at GBI. She has about 12 years of experience in project management, international trade and investments, organizing B2B meetings, trade missions, delegation visits, webinars & workshops, the business analysis of foreign markets, market research, data analysis, vulnerability analysis, and report writing in sectors namely social, economic, health, water resources, agriculture, and climate change. She has worked with international embassies, governments and companies to support their needs and objectives in India. She also supports Indian companies with internationalization. She a team member of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) consortium in India. Through EEN she supports Indian companies with internationalization and also helps Indian companies find market linkages globally. She also coordinates the GTI Helpdesk which helps companies with international market access in India, EU, UK, USA, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

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