BULGARIA INTERVIEWS

Euro Games Technology (EGT) is an example of the concept that everything is possible when the right goals are set, and innovation goes together with strategic management and a winner’s mindset.

Established as a local manufacturer in 2002, EGT has grown to a tech-leader in the global gaming and casino industry, selling in five continents in over 100 countries. It has offices in 26 global locations managed by Bulgarians, who have built their careers within the company.

When Tsvetelina Spiridonova, MD, PhD, took over Higia Hospital in early 2019, she had big shoes to fill. Established in 1991 by her father, Professor Stayko Spiridonov, as the first private hospital not only in post-Communist Bulgaria, but also Eastern Europe, Higia was widely respected for the quality of its treatment. Dr Spiridonova was more than prepared for the responsibility to continue pushing forward Higia's brand.

Silvia Veselinova welcomes us to the new offices of Idea Buildings where she is surrounded by smiling colleagues and a multitude of tulips. The construction company she runs has just moved into a new space in a modern office building "to shake up some energy" and to mark the beginning of a new phase in its development.

Giuseppina Zarra is no novice to the Balkans. She is one of the rare breed of diplomats who have made a comeback to Sofia after her initial spell here in the 1990s. Then she served as a first secretary, now she is the host of Italy's palatial embassy on Ruski Boulevard, in the middle of Bulgaria's capital. Zarra's love affair with Bulgaria ranges from literature to music and from history to exploring the hidden treasures of Sofia.

When beautiful and healthy smile is concerned, Dr Neli Djurkova is one of the best specialists around to ask for advice and help. She is the second postgraduate from Bulgaria to study and graduate in the prestigious Faculty of Dental Medicine at the Tel Aviv University, Israel. Now she is mother of three and one of the leading orthodontists in Bulgaria. Dr Djurkova has rich experience in invisible orthodontic treatment and is one of the four Platinum Elite Invisalign Providers in Bulgaria. She works not only in Plovdiv, but also Veliko Tarnovo.

Bulgarian IT industry is the most rapidly developing sector of the local economy. What are the challenges that it faces? What is the climate in which it operates? What changes did it experience in the past 10 years? The answers to these questions, and many more, are crucial for anyone who tries to understand the local market, to make sound investments and to seek the best IT solutions for their organisation.

Florence Robine, the French ambassador to Bulgaria, has spent about two years in the country as most of the time her schedule and activities have been impeded by the varying and changing Covid-19 restrictions. Still, none of those managed to dampen the inquisitiveness of someone with a background in education. Mme Robine has used all opportunities she has had to explore all aspects of Bulgaria: from classical music to travelling in the mountains, to reading Bulgarian literature in translation to visiting the galleries in Sofia.

Increased digitalisation, customised approach, improved data security: banking, which has been a part of civilisation for centuries, is transforming before our own eyes. And a team in Bulgaria has a significant role to play in this change. This is the digital technology division of Commerzbank, the second largest bank in Germany that specialises in financial services to small, mid-size and corporate clients and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2020.

When we arrived at the University of Telecommunications and Posts (UTP) in Sofia, we were aware that we were up for an interesting meeting. For two years now Bulgaria's oldest professional university has been managed by a young and energetic professional. Prof Miglena Temelkova, PhD, is the first female rector of the UTP and is the youngest woman in Bulgaria in such position.

The role that high technologies, AI and their capabilities to make living, travel and business easier, more effective and safer, in our lives is expanding. Charmed by the undeniable advantages, we rarely stop and think how is this all possible. The answer is: thanks to companies like SSARM. Established 10 years ago, SSARM is the fastest developing IT system integrator in Bulgaria. It specialises in supply, installation and integration of IT and communication equipment, hardware and software, and data security, protection and storage solutions.

You need an appointment to enter the elegantly splendid Renée De Clair, a boutique for diamond jewellery and a gemological laboratory on Sofia's Rakovski Boulevard – and this is just the first sign that you are up for an experience without parallel in Bulgaria. Charming and smart, Reneta Tsonkova, founder and owner of Renée De Clair, welcomes you and guides you through the complicated process of selecting the best diamond piece of jewellery for yourself or your significant other.

Energy: the more our civilisation evolves, the more it needs it to sustain itself. With human-induced climate change already happening, clever renewable power is the only solution to save our planet and ourselves. AXPO Group, a Swiss company, has for years been in the frontlines of developing, expanding and perfecting alternative energy sources. From sustainable energy solutions to power purchase agreements and development of state-of-art energy technologies, AXPO Group makes technological and business change possible.

Architecture is a part of the human experience that exists on the verge between utilitarian and art, the functional and the visually stunning, the mundane and the extraordinary. How to create buildings and architecture spaces that withstand the test of time is a task many have tried to answer to, but few have succeeded. Architect Martin Terziev is one of them.

Martina Feeney arrived in Bulgaria in October 2020, but owing to the Covid-19 pandemic has been unable to explore the country as much as she wants. At a time when governments in Europe discourage international travel it makes little sense to propagate the virtues of Bulgaria as a tourist destination, but that, hopefully, will one day change. So Martina, who has vast experience as an Irish envoy at the OSCE and the United Nations in Vienna, in Germany as well as in the Middle East, prepares for that day by getting herself acquainted with all material she can gather about Bulgaria.

The energy that Denitsa Mengova emanates stuns as early as our first meeting and helps us understand why in just a couple of years the elegant 35-year-old became a recognisable face on the Bulgarian industrial scene. Denitsa Mengova's company, Stil Laser Bulgaria, is not only an official representative of Mazak, a Japanese laser manufacturer, to Bulgaria. She is the only female representative of Mazak lasers for the whole of Europe.

The energy future in Southeastern Europe has been a hot topic for politicians, entrepreneurs and analysts for years now. What are the best solutions? How to achieve reasonably-priced diversification? In what sources to invest and in which fields to innovate? Teodora Georgieva is one of the best people in Bulgaria to talk about this.

Dr Rob Dixon arrived in Bulgaria in August 2020. Prior to that he served as deputy director for Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and as Deputy Head of Mission in Tel Aviv. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Wales Aberystwyth. He is married to Dòra Blazsek-Dixon, and they have one son. Originally from Birmingham, he was born in 1974 and enjoys outdoor sports, travel, history and reading.

When Vagabond interviews a CEO or an owner of a successful Bulgarian or international company, we usually meet in a flashy office building in Sofia. The meeting with German Gachevski, founder and CEO of software company TSD Services, was more unorthodox. We had to drive to Troyan, a town at the foot of the Central Stara Planina mountain range.

2020 is a year that forced almost all businesses of importance to redefine their business model in order to survive and even to grow. The IT outsourcing sector is one of the most interesting cases. A pillar of modern global economy, the field faced challenges such as decreased levels of overall economic activity, but on the other hand was better prepared for working under stressful conditions.