1st Polish Economic Forum in Switzerland

	About Organisers Speakers Programme Registration
	The conference will be held on the 27^th-28^th of September 2021

The 1^st Polish Economic Forum in Switzerland
“Polish entrepreneurs in Switzerland - how to succeed?”

The 1^st Polish Economic Forum to be held in Bern, Switzerland, will gather a wide spectrum of representatives of business and institutional stakeholders from Poland and Switzerland. The two day event will be full of inspiring panel discussions and networking opportunities. Key topics to be discussed during the Forum will include: the strengthening of investment and export ties between both countries, Poland’s potential in new technologies, tourism opportunities in Poland and cooperation between craftsmen. Although COVID-19 has had and will have an impact on business and everyday life, the panel discussions will direct participants’ attention to post-pandemic opportunities. These can already be observed in technology, and for that reason one of the panels will be dedicated to such opportunities.

A separate area will be provided for business networking.

The panellists will represent leading Polish and Swiss companies across various industry sectors and services, as well as business-facilitating public institutions. Also, prominent policy makers from both countries will be present.

The conference languages will be Polish and German. Simultaneous translation will be provided.

Participation in the event is free of charge, registration to the event can be done using an electronic form from August 26, 2021.

The organisers reserve the right to limit the number of participants, in accordance with COVID-19 specific guidance. Likewise, the organisers kindly inform that participation is only possible subject to presentation at the entrance of the European Union Digital COVID Certificate that provides evidence of vaccination, negative test results or proof of having undergone the infection within the last 6 months.

The event is being organised by:

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Switzerland, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and the Forum of Polish Entrepreneurs in Switzerland with the kind support of the Ministry of Economic Development, Labour and Technology as well as the Polish Tourism Organisation.

Registration »

Organisers

Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bern

Speakers

Opening the forum

Ambassador Erik Jakob Head of the Promotion Activities Directorate

Session I "Polish exports to Switzerland"

Krzysztof Drynda Chairman of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH)
Anna Bodnar Director of Distribution Development, Ekoenergetyka
Ambassador Erwin Bollinger Attorney, LLM, Head of Bilateral Economic Relations Division and Federal Council Delegate for Trade Agreements
Michele Cagna Head of Supply Chain Management, MAN Energy Solutions Schweiz AG
Oliver Bertschinger President and Managing Director, Chamber of Commerce Switzerland Central Europe
Micha� Pola�ski Director of the Entrepreneurship Support Department of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP)
Maciej Topczewski Country Business Lead Switzerland at Sii Poland

Session II "Polish direct investments in Switzerland"

Katarzyna Lasota-Heller Founder of Partner at LEXcellence AG
Monika Zakrzewska-Hodun Director of Organisational and Legal Division in DANWOOD S.A.
Tomasz Baran Executive Vice-president of PBKM (Polish Stem Cell Bank)
Miron Zandecki CEO and Co-owner of WM Solution GmbH
Przemy�aw P�czek Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Nevomo
Micha� Wr�blewski Vice President of the Board - Sales and Business Development, Rockfin GmbH
Mathias Ulrich Deputy Head of the Office for Economy in Canton Schwyz

Session III "Opportunities for cooperation between Polish companies and research centres with Swiss partners in the field of new technology"

Katarzyna Pieni�dz Vice President of the Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association
Marek Dutkiewicz Founder and former CEO of HR Campus
Margo Koniuszewski President of the Bridge Foundation
Philipe Roesle Science and diplomacy at SERI, acting Head of Bilateral Relations
Andreas Gut Head of International Programmes, Innosuisse - Swiss Innovation Agency
Joanna Cygler Professor at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics; CEO's proxy of �ukasiewicz Research Network
Jolanta Janczak-Rusch Scientist and expert; Group Leader at Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research
�ukasz W�sek Chief Financial Officer of Comarch in DACH Region
Piotr Paszczyk Executive Manager and Board Member in APN Promise

Session IV "Promoting Poland as an attractive tourist destination"

Anna Salamo�czyk-Mochel Vice President of Polish Tourism Organisation
Marcin P�achno Director of Polish Tourism Organization department in Vienna, Austria
Rafa� Milczarski President and CEO, LOT Polish Airlines
Anna Para Assistant Professor at the Department of International Management at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics
J�zef Kaczmarek Councilman and Deputy Foreman of the Podd�bicki District, Mayor of the Uniej�w Municipality
Stephan Otz Tourism expert with many years of management experience
Urs Eberhard Expert and long-term manager of the Swedish tourism industry

Session V "Prospects for the development of Polish-Swiss cooperation in the field of crafts"

Ma�gorzata Wokacz-Zaborowska Director of the Pomeranian Chamber of Craft for Small and Medium Enterprises in Gda�sk
Zbigniew Stencel President of the Pomeranian Chamber of Craft for Small and Medium Enterprises in Gda�sk

Session VI "Women in business, science and culture"

Anna Piepi�rka Co-Founder & CEO of Horse Treasury GmbH
Katarzyna Lasota-Heller Founder of Partner at LEXcellence AG
Ma�gorzata Kubat Co-Founder and CEO of LanguageMasters GmbH
Paulina Kostrzycka Co-founder of NUME-Lab Switzerland
Petra W�st W�st Consulting GmbH
Session moderator: Dominik Feldges Economics/Business News Section of Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ)

Programme

Day 1: September 27, 2021 (Monday)
Time: 8:00 - 17:45
Language: Polish and German (simultaneous translation)
Place: Bern, "Kursaal" Convention Centre

8:00-8:50		Registration of participants
9:00-10:15		Welcome and opening of the Forum
10:15-10:30		Coffee break
10:30-12:00		Session I "Polish exports to Switzerland" Good practices and success stories
12:00-13:00		Lunch break and networking
13:00-14:30		Session II "Polish direct investments in Switzerland" Experiences of Polish investors operating in Switzerland
14:30-16:00		Session III "Opportunities for cooperation between Polish companies and research centres with Swiss partners in the field of new technology" Poland’s high-tech potential, with particular emphasis on information technology
16.00-16:15		Coffee break
16:15-17:45		Session IV "Promoting Poland as an attractive tourist destination"

Day 2: September 28, 2021 (Tuesday)
Time: 9:00 - 12:15
Language: Polish and German (simultaneous translation)
Place: Bern, "Kursaal" Convention Centre

9:00 - 10:30		Session V "Prospects for the development of Polish-Swiss cooperation in the field of crafts" Polish craft development strategy and the resulting potential to increase the level of its internationalization and the possibility of Polish-Swiss cooperation in this field
10:30-10:45		Coffee break
10:45-12:15		Session VI "Women in business, science and culture" Examples of where Polish women in Switzerland have succeeded in the field of economic, scientific and cultural projects
12:15		Forum closure

Registration and contact

To register for the 1st Polish Economic Forum in Switzerland
“Polish entrepreneurs in Switzerland - how to succeed?”, please click below. Participation is free of charge.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Adam Ma�ecki, PAIH's project manager at adam.malecki@paih.gov.pl.

A manager with many years of experience in both government administration and the private sector, but also in non-profit non-governmental organizations.

In February 2021, he was appointed the Chairman of PAIH. Before joining the Agency, as the Director of the Department of Supervised and Subordinate Units, he was in charge of entities subordinate to the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology.

Previously, he was a member of the board of the Wa�brzych Special Economic Zone, where from 2016 he was responsible, inter alia, for investments, finances and controls, as well as cooperation with institutes of higher education and universities. Over the four years of his tenure, more than 90 companies joined the Wa�brzych zone, including such significant investors as: Mercedes-Benz, Umicore, GTHR, LS, and Hongbo Clean Energy. During this time, the expenditure incurred in the zone increased by PLN 6 billion, exceeding PLN 30 billion in total.

In the past, Krzysztof Drynda was an advisor to the Minister for the economy. He was also professionally related to the financial sector and ran his own business in this field. Moreover, for many years he has been an active member of non-governmental organizations.
Krzysztof Drynda is a graduate of the Faculty of Electronics from the Wroc�aw University of Technology and is a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

He was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
Anna Bodnar is Director of Distribution Development at Ekoenergetyka, one of the biggest European manufacturers of charging stations for electric vehicles. Anna was appointed to this position in September 2020 and has been developing, implementing and executing a strategy for an European distribution network since. Within that time Anna successfully led to signing significant distribution contracts with players from such countries as Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, UK, Romania and Bulgaria. Anna was recently also appointed by Ekoenergetyka to head business development and sales activities on D-A-CH markets. The new role includes responsibilities such as prospecting, development of market entry strategies, team planning and recruitment, negotiations as well as dealing with public authorities, stakeholders and business partners.

Prior to joining Ekoenergetyka, Anna spent almost 9 years at ARRIVA, a leading pan-European public transport operator, most recently as New Business Development Executive reporting directly to the London HQ, where she was responsible for delivery international large scale projects, prospecting, building and maintaining relationship with client bodies and key stakeholders, as well as delivery of specific transactions. Previous to this role, Anna gained 8 years of experience in program and project management, scaling-up businesses and management of M&A activities.

Anna earned an MBA from SGGW in Warsaw, with a dissertation focused on new business development. Anna is also a certified coach and a Prince2 Practitioner certified project manager. Her language skills include native Polish, fluent business English as well as fluent German.
Ambassador Erwin Bollinger (*1962), Attorney, LLM, Head of Bilateral Economic Relations Division and Federal Council Delegate for Trade Agreements since 1.6.2018. From 2008 to 2018 he was Head of the Export Controls and Sanctions Section and Dep. Head of the Bilateral Economic Relations Division. From 2005 – 2008 he was Head of Export Control Policy. From 2003 to 2005 he was Dep. Head of Bilateral Economic Relations Europe/Central Asia. From 1999 to 2003 Counsellor at the Swiss Mission to the EU in Brussels. He joined the Federal Administration in 1992 starting at the former Integration Office FDFA/FDEA, transferring to the former Federal Office for Foreign Economic Affairs, World Trade/WTO Section in 1995. Between 1989 and 1992 he worked at swissmedic, becoming Dep. Head of the Legal Affairs Service in 1991.
He is a lawyer, PhD in law and legal advisor. He studied at the University of Warsaw and the University of Orleans (France). He specializes in issues on international economic promotion, exports, entrepreneurship education and issues on sustainable development.

At PARP, he is responsible for activities related to the promotion of entrepreneurship, trainings and internationalization of companies. He supervises the implementation of cooperation projects (Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, Enterprise Europe Network), promotion programs addressed to IT/ICT and medical equipment industries, aid and training projects (including the e-learning portal "PARP Academy").

He manages the international contacts of the Agency and represents PARP in the European Association of Innovative Agencies (TAFTIE).
Michele Cagna, Head of Supply Chain Management, MAN Energy Solutions Schweiz AG, Z�rich

Education: PhD Fluid Mechanics, KIT Karlsruhe, Germany

After his first job at Freudenberg Nonwovens KG, Weinheim, Germany, Michele joined MAN Turbo AG, Oberhausen, Germany in 2007 and started as a development engineer for aerodynamics and thermodynamics.

After holding various management positions within MAN and before moving to Zurich, Michele was responsible for global Systems Engineering, Instrumentation & Controls for turbomachinery.

Since August 2020, he is leading the Supply Chain in Zurich, consisting of Production, Logistics, Purchasing, Planning and Test Bench.

Michele is inspired and motivated by his passion for turbomachinery and MAN Energy Solutions' strategy to drive the transition to a carbon neutral world.
Oliver studied business/marketing at the University of Z�rich before working at UBS as marketing & sponsorship head e.g. in Z�rich, Basle, New York, Tokyo and Hongkong.

Later he was part of the executive board of the internet startup Lunchgate AG before joining Switzerland’s economic promotion agency Switzerland Global Enterprise. As member of the international executive board and Regional Director for Europe, Africa and Central Asia, he was responsible for approximately 100 countries and 50% of S-GE’s export and investment promotion business.

In 2017 he founded his own consulting company Triple Eight Solutions AG where he focusses on business development, marketing and internationalization for SMEs and NPOs as well as personal work productivity trainings.

In 2021 he became president and managing director of the Chamber of Commerce Switzerland Central Europe SEC, which fosters a community of likeminded companies and individuals who are active in the intersection between Switzerland and the 17 CEE countries.

Oliver as board member is supporting various other non profit organizations. He lives closes to Z�rich, is married, has two teenage daughters and loves sports and culture.
Dr Katarzyna Lasota-Heller, Founding Partner at LEXcellence AG, Attorney at Law in Poland and Switzerland with long international experience in the field of new technologies, establishment and acquisition of companies in Switzerland, M&A, labor law, employment agency, personal data and immigration law.

President of the Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association, which promotes active economic and scientific exchange between Polish and Swiss entities in the field of new technologies and facilitates reaching new business partners in Switzerland as well as in other countries.

Board Member of Swiss LegalTech Association, Regulatory Group Member at Crypto Valley Association, Lecturer at Ko�mi�ski University, and a lot more.

Entrepreneur supporting actively science, art, and Polish culture and business in Switzerland.

Always committed, thorough and pragmatic. With a distinctly feminine tinge. Ready for new challenges, preferably with a pinch of competition.
Monika Zakrzewska–Hodun, attorney-at-law, tax advisor, Director of Organisational and Legal Division in DANWOOD S.A. - an international company which is a leader in construction of prefabricated houses. Her responsibilities include day-to-day legal services for the company, supervision of the work of in-house lawyers and cooperation with external law firms working for DANWOOD capital group on foreign markets. One of the top graduates of the Faculty of Law at the University of Bia�ystok. An award winner of the competition for the best student of Polish universities 'PRIMUS INTER PARES' - organised under the patronage of the President of Poland. She holds an Master of Business Administration degree. For over 20 years she has provided legal services to companies from various sectors, also taking part part in numerous due diligence processes, mergers and transformations, both as an in-house lawyer and as an employee of renowned law firms. Her specialization is labour law, construction law and commercial companies law, in which she has a rich experience in court disputes. Former university lecturer. Currently provides legal trainings and conducts classes with attorney-at-law trainees.
Tomasz Baran MD, MBA is Executive Vice-president of PBKM (Polish Stem Cell Bank) which is the largest cord blood bank in Europe operating under FamiCord Group brand name. Tomasz has both medical and business background. He joined PBKM in 2010, prior to that he has been holding various position in pharmaceutical industry. In his current role Tomasz is responsible for Sales and Marketing activities towards healthcare professionals and end customers, Tomasz is also involved in strategic decisions regarding company development into stem cell based drugs manufacturing. Since 2020 he leads new project - development of novel cancer immunotherapies - CAR-T.
Katarzyna is a Vice President of the Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association (based in the canton of Zug in Switzerland) and Investment Board Member at Cobin Angels - Poland's largest professional Business Angel Club. She is heavily interested in blockchain applications in various industries and countries, including cooperation between Switzerland and Poland on that topic. Katarzyna graduated in health sciences (specialization - health economics) at the University of Lucerne. In the past, she worked as a business journalist of the Polish Press Agency, Reuters Agency, and The Wall Street Journal.
Marek Dutkiewicz came to Switzerland from Poland 30 years ago as a student for an internship. He brought with him the dream of finding a job where he could combine family and work. Back then, it would never have occurred to him that he would one day be CEO of one of the most successful Swiss HR companies.

With various jobs such as distributing newspapers, cleaning salad and gas station attendant, Marek made his way through Switzerland until he finally got into the office world and after further stages ended up at Nixdorf Computer AG. It was this job that brought him into contact with SAP for the first time. When it came time to take over Nixdorf Computer AG by Siemens, Marek took the opportunity and founded his own company with two partners: HR Campus. Werner Schenker was an HR expert, Hendrik Friesecke knew all the technologies on the market. And Marek? Marek had a vision. The three of them worked in the barn of an old farmhouse in the Zurich Oberland, with starting capital of 30,000 francs.

"Fresh, humane and smart" are the company's three values. Overall, Marek and the company HR Campus exude positivity and optimism: Happy Employee Happy Company is the slogan and when you open the website in the browser, the small, overjoyed smiley in the tab smiles at you. Perhaps the mix of Swiss and Polish values is also the secret recipe for the success of HR Campus. Without stigmatizing, Marek explains that HR Campus has happy customers because he has always offered them the highest quality and his hard work.
Expert in educational projects in the fields of science, the digital transformation and cybersecurity.

After a career in business and finance Margo devoted herself to social entrepreneurship and philanthropy. The Bridge Foundation, that she started in 2010, works to address global security and socio-economic challenges.

She created the Global Cyber Lab as an international platform for students, academia, think tanks and business to raise digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness.

In 2019, with 65 universities, The Bridge ran the first ever inter-disciplinary cybersecurity challenge for students in IT/engineering, business, law, medical schools and military academies - who acted as government advisors in an international cyber-crisis. The project was praised by international organisations, experts and diplomats.

In 2020, the UN Open Ended Working Group on Cybersecurity circulated the foundation’s “New Roadmap for Cybersecurity Education” report on improving cybersecurity education across university programs to all member states as an excellent capacity-building initiative to improve their cybersecurity landscape. The report is available on the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) online platform.

Since 2021, the Global Cyber Lab runs the Cybersecurity Roadshow, an agora for students and young professionals around technology and cybersecurity.

The Bridge is a non-profit operating in Poland, Switzerland and Canada that has achieved Special Consultative status with the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Philippe Roesle works at the intersection of science and diplomacy at the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) where he is currently acting Head of Bilateral Relations. Before taking up this position, he was head of swissnex Astana 2017, a platform within the Swiss Pavilion Expo 2017 Astana dedicated to education, research and innovation. In this role, he was responsible for facilitating bilateral cooperation and knowledge exchange between Switzerland, Kazakhstan and beyond. Previously, Philippe worked at the Science and Innovation Office at the Embassy of Switzerland in London, where he set up and managed a programme designed to support Swiss tech startups enter the UK market. Philippe studied at the University of Basel and King’s College London and holds a PhD in English history and literature.
Anna Para, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of International Management at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, where she conducts research on internationalization strategies. She combines her academic career with working as market and marketing research analyst.

Her current research interests concern international business, digital economy as well as tourism and hospitality management. She authored numerous journal articles and book chapters on tourism labour market, competency management and sustainable tourism. She shares her knowledge with students, companies and NGOs. Supporter of regional tourism initiatives, she cooperates with several non-profit organizations such as Pro Carpathia - Stowarzyszenie na Rzecz Rozwoju i Promocji Podkarpacia, Polska Izba Produktu Regionalnego i Lokalnego, Fundacja Rok Rzeki Wis�y.

For several years worked in the consulting industry as export analyst, supporting internationalization of Polish companies on the European markets. In 2019 she joined PFR TFI where she was responsible for marketing communication of the Polish International Development Fund that supports investments of Polish firms. In years 2017-2019 she worked as market research analyst for KROSS company - the biggest Polish bicycle producer.

Anna speaks English, German, Spanish and Polish. She is avid cyclist and hiker.
Mr P�achno is an alumni of the Cracow Universitity. He also holds postgraduate diploma of the AGH - University of Science and Technology in Cracow in Facility Management and postgraduate diploma of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow in Sports Organisations Management. Since 2012, Mr P�achno is a lecturer at the department of Management and Social Communication at Jagiellonian University, Cracow.

He is an experienced manager, with knowledge about project management in the field of international cultural events, as well as business, sports and tourist conferences.

He has participated, as an organizer, in a number of sports events including: European Championships in Football UEFA EURO 2008, UEFA EURO 2012, EHF EURO 2016, The World Games 2017 in Wroc�aw and the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial (as a sponsoring manager).

Between 2018 and 2020 Marcin acted as a Director of the events operations division at European Conferences United, which is known for organization of business conferences.

He has also co-created ROAD TO SPORT, headquartered in Wroc�aw, which organizes projects in the field of sports tourism.
Biogram in Polish.

Koordynuje prace Sztabu Pomorskich Przedsi�biorc�w, kt�ry zrzesza 14 organizacji pracodawc�w z wojew�dztwa pomorskiego, dzia�aj�cych wsp�lnie na rzecz rozwoju przedsi�biorczo�ci oraz poprawy warunk�w prowadzenia dzia�alno�ci gospodarczej. Cz�onkini Wojew�dzkiej Rady Dialogu Spo�ecznego, Pomorskiej Rady Przedsi�biorczo�ci, Pomorskiej Rady O�wiatowej w tym zespo�u roboczego Rady ds. kszta�cenia na potrzeby rynku pracy. Wiceprzewodnicz�ca Pomorskiego Zespo�u ds. Kobiet przy Zarz�dzie Wojew�dztwa Pomorskiego. Cz�onkini Rady Konsultacyjnej przy Wydziale Ekonomii i Zarz�dzania Politechniki Gda�skiej, Rady Programowej Forum Inicjowania Rozwoju oraz Rady Fundacji Hospicjum Pomorze Dzieciom.

Lingwistka, wieloletnia ekspertka ds. stosunk�w mi�dzynarodowych i bezpiecze�stwa w Kancelarii Prezydenta RP i w Biurze Bezpiecze�stwa Narodowego.

Spo�eczniczka i dzia�aczka na rzecz os�b ze spektrum autyzmu i ich rodzin. Zaanga�owana w dzia�ania inicjatywy obywatelskiej „Chcemy ca�ego �ycia!”, aktywna w organizacjach Porozumienie Autyzm-Polska, Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Osobom Autystycznym, Autism-Europe oraz Global Autism Advocacy Leadership Network.
Zbigniew Stencel is a craftsman and entrepreneur. He comes from a multi-generation family of carpenters known in Kashubia. Together with his wife Teresa and son Tomasz, he runs the Stencel Stolarstwo company in Wejherowo. He is a master of carpentry, and the Minister of Culture and Art awarded him the title of Master of Artistic Craft. The Stencel company is famous primarily for the production of stylish furniture - baroque Gda�sk or rococo, which are works of woodcarving art, which can be admired in various historic buildings as well as public and sacred buildings throughout the country. Stylish furniture from the Stencel company also goes to foreign markets - incl. to Germany, Norway, Belgium, Great Britain, Canada, USA, Australia and Ecuador. Zbigniew Stencel and his company received many awards and distinctions, incl. in the economic competition Company with Quality or Company with Future. Zbigniew Stencel has been active in the organization of crafts for many years, his company is affiliated to the County Guild of Small and Medium Enterprises in Wejherowo. Since 2005, Zbigniew Stencel has been a member of the Management Board of the Pomeranian Chamber of Craft for Small and Medium Enterprises, acting as the Deputy President. In May this year. took the position of its President. He is also active in the forum of the Polish Craft Association. He was awarded the highest honorary craftsmanship decoration - Saber im. Jan Kili�ski.

The Craft Chamber has been operating in Gda�sk since 1945, but the traditions of Pomeranian crafts, especially Gda�sk craftsmanship, are much longer. The Pomeranian Craft Chamber of the Ministry of Treasury continues these traditions, at the same time strongly focusing on innovation and adaptation to contemporary challenges. The Chamber brings together 23 guilds of various crafts and industry guilds as well as 2 craft cooperatives from the entire Pomeranian Voivodeship, representing approx. 2,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Chamber is also an active member of the largest and oldest economic self-government body - the Polish Craft Association.
Anna has 25 years of professional experience in the equine field. In 2003 she graduated from the University of Gdansk with a master’s dissertation, ‘Horses in Literature Worldwide’. In 2005 she moved to Dubai, where she continued her professional equine career as a trainer, stable manager for the member of the Royal Family, as well as a consultant, equestrian manager and international project manager. Anna has cooperated with clients from around the world, most notably from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She has been living in Switzerland since 2017. In 2020 she became Co-Founder & CEO of Horse Treasury GmbH, which is driven by its motto of ‘Horse Trading with Integrity’ and operates through an internet platform offering online horse auctions and a broad spectrum of interconnected services.
Ma�gorzata Kubat, M.A., Co-Founder and CEO of LanguageMasters GmbH, a private language school with 30 employees and more than 1000 clients a year.

Grew up in Poland, studied linguistics and literature at Zurich University, living for 20 years in Switzerland. At the age of 30, she founded her first successful company in Z�rich. For over 5 years she is leading LanguageMasters, an exclusive language school at the very heart of Zurich. Her company is famous for a wide range of language courses, high quality language services and professional linguists, a family-friendly concept and for creating tailor-made programmes for clients.

Under her supervision, the school received recognition as an certified examination TELC centre providing international, standardised tests for German. Also instrumental in the school being awarded the highest Swiss Quality System label in education: EduQua which is recognition of excellence in educational services. Responsible for co-operation with Swiss authorities, Migration and Integration offices.
Active Member of many language & cultural organisations and representing Switzerland at International Language Conferences.
Loving and constantly supporting art, cultural events (in particular Polish events), NGO’s, organisations for kids with disabilities as well as children’s sport clubs.

Passionate entrepreneur with a big vision, open-minded pedagogue driven by passion, author for German learn-material and instructor for educational training. Raising the bar with every good challenge that comes her way, self-motivated with a positive attitude and strong sense of teamwork and respect.
Paulina is the co-founder of NUME-Lab Switzerland, a Swiss skincare brand which focuses on clean, minimalistic and effective skin treatment solutions. She aims to disrupt the beauty industry pioneering conscious and ethical skincare solutions bringing inclusivity and diversity to the world.

Polish by nationality, Paulina has been living abroad for the last 25years, working in different fields in project management, marketing and supply chain within international pharmaceutical and engineering corporations in Italy, China, Belgium and Switzerland.

She is passionate about travelling and discovering the world, one of her dreams is to open an animal sanctuary. When she is not working on NUME-Lab, you can find Paulina biking around Neuchatel where she lives or hiking in some of the highest Swiss mountains.
Petra W�st PhD has headed the consulting firm W�st Consulting GmbH in Basel since 2004 and works internationally as a trainer, keynote speaker and coach on the topics of self-branding, communication and leadership. She also teaches at various universities and is the author of several well-known books.

Petra W�st is one of the most prominent experts in personal branding and team branding. Building on her many years of experience, she has developed the Self Branding Model®, which she passes on in lectures, workshops and personal coaching. In doing so, she inspires and supports her customers in creating and living a distinctive and contemporary personal brand or team brand - offline and online.

Petra W�st has a doctorate in economics and a degree in psychology from the University of Zurich. After several years as a consultant in executive search in Switzerland and England, she moved to the Management Center St. Gallen, where she worked as a leadership trainer for four years. She has been working independently since 2004. She is a certified coach for the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) and Collective Leadership Assessment (CLA) and recognized as a “Professional Speaker” of the German Speakers Association.
Ambassador Eric Jakob, (*1962), Dr. phil., Head of the Promotion Activities Directorate since 01.12.2012. Previously General Manager of Regio Basiliensis and the Intercantonal Coordination Office at Regio Basiliensis in Basel. 1995 to 2003 Assistant General Manager of this organisation. From 1993 to 1995 Swiss Adviser to Infobest Palmrain, an information and advisory body for cross-border matters in Village-Neuf (France). Prior to that Senior Project Leader within the framework of the PTT Initiative at that time «Communication and Model Community Basel», also worked as a journalist.
Maciej has been present on the IT market for over 9 years. He was responsible for setting up two IT delivery centres in central Poland with 500+ IT headcount. In 2019 he took the role of Country Business Lead Switzerland at Sii Poland and currently is responsible for all business development related activities on the Swiss market. He has extensive experience in working with TOP100 Swiss companies representing various sectors, including: Banking & Financial Services, Healthcare, HiTech, Manufacturing, Retail and Utility. In private life, he is a long distance runner and is passionate about dog behaviourism.
Mathias Ulrich is Deputy Head of the Office for Economy in Canton Schwyz. He is active in various European markets such as Germany, Nordics, Italy and Poland to showcase Schwyz and Switzerland as an attractive business location. Canton Schwyz is part of the Greater Zurich Area and therefore part of the economic powerhouse in Switzerland with its fertile ground for international companies. Mathias Ulrich has a MAS in Business Excellence and gained years of experience in Business Promotion, Banking and Tourism.
Miron Zandecki is a Polish engineer and CEO and Co-owner of “WM Solution GmbH”.

In years 1998-2002 Miron was responisble for impelmentation and testing procedures at “Lucent Technologies Poland” in Bydgoszcz. In 2002 he became CEO and Co-owner at “Telecom Partner Sp. z o.o.”. He stayed at Telecom till 2012. Among those he was a Member of the Board at “UKS Dragon Bojano” - youth soccer club. Since 2017 he is an owner of “DM Side Miron Zandecki”.
Przemys�aw used to be Nevomo’s CEO from January 2018 to September 2021. As Chief Product Officer, he is responsible for coordinating the development of Nevomo's products, including supervision of R&D projects and technological cooperations. Przemek has over ten years of managerial experience in finance and sales, gained mostly in private banking, fund management, real estate brokerage and land development sectors. He used to manage a portfolio of real estate assets in one of the largest Polish banks and used to be a Board Member of nine SPVs of a closed-end property fund. He gained his experience, among others in Getin Noble Bank, Home Broker, ProDevelopment, CB Richard Ellis I San Francisco Centre for Economic Development. Przemek is a member of the Urban Land Institute. Moreover, he is a Ph.D. candidate at Ko�mi�ski University in Warsaw (Management in New Technologies). He is a graduate of ESCP Europe in Paris (Master's in Management: London-Madrid-Paris, Major: Public Management) and Cracow University of Economics (Master’s in Economics, Major: Spatial Economics) and the Microeconomics of Competitiveness Program at Ko�mi�ski University (in cooperation with Harvard Business School). He is a scholarship holder of the French Foreign Ministry (Bourse Eiffel).
Micha� Wr�blewski is Mechanical engineer and Master of Management and Economics graduated from Technical University of Gda�sk. In years 1999-2014 he was employed at ABB, MAAG Gear Zamech, FLSmidth MAAG Gear various managerial positions. In years he was 2011 - 2014 VP SCM in FLSmidth MAAG Gear. From 2014 until 2018 he was Chief Operation Officer & Member of the Board in Rockfin. Since 2017 he is a CEO of Rockfin GmbH. Since 2018 he is Vice President of the Board - Sales and Business Development.
Dr. Andreas Gut, Professional position at Innosuisse - Swiss Innovation Agency: Head of International Programmes.

Responsibilities
- Development of strategy and project related initiatives of Switzerland and Innosuisse in the do-main of international innovation cooperation
- Swiss participation in EUREKA, Eurostars, Active and Assisted Living, ECSEL, and engagement of Innosuisse in bilateral cooperation
- deputy head of Innosuisse Division Knowledge Transfer & International Collaborations.
Past professional positions
- 7.2017 - 12.2018: Head of Research and Innovation Programmes, State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI
- 7.2014 - 6.2015: EUREKA Project Coordinator Chairman during the Swiss EUREKA Chairmanship
- 2.2008 - 6.2017: Swiss EUREKA Project Coordinator, State secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI
- 2001 -2008: Scientific Collaborator for Energy Research at Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Bern.
Education
- 1994 -1998: PhD ETH Z�rich / Institute for Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Liebefeld
- 1987 -1993: Studies of Environmental Sciences, ETH Z�rich
Biogram in Polish.

Dr hab. Joanna Cygler, prof. SGH - profesor nadzwyczajny w Szkole G��wnej Handlowej w Warszawie (Katedra, Bada� nad Infrastruktur� i Mobilno�ci�, Instytut Infrastruktury, Transportu i Mobilno�ci) oraz pe�nomocnik dyrekrora generalnego Sieci Badawczej �ukasiewicz - Instytutu Lotnictwa ds. organizacji bada� naukowych. Specjalizuje si� w obszarze zarz�dzania strategicznego a w szczeg�lno�ci szeroko rozumianej wsp�pracy (pojedynczej i sieciowej) przedsi�biorstw z uwzgl�dnieniem wymiaru mi�dzynarodowego. Stypendystka m.in. J. Fulbrighta (Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota) oraz Fundacji na Rzecz Nauki Polskiej. Zainteresowania naukowe z powodzeniem ��czy z dzia�alno�ci� poza Uczelni�: wsp�praca merytoryczna z centralnymi urz�dami pa�stwowymi (Kancelaria Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - Biuro Spraw Mi�dzynarodowych, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, Ministerstwo Rozwoju, Pracy i Technologii, Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu), instytucjami badawczymi (Sie� Badawcza �ukasiewicz - Instytut Lotnictwa), organizacjami mi�dzynarodowymi (ONZ, �wiatowe Forum Ekonomiczne w Genewie), mi�dzynarodowymi firmami doradczymi oraz licznymi przedsi�biorstwami polskimi i zagranicznymi. Kierownik studi�w Executive MBA w Instytucie Nauk Ekonomicznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Autorka i wsp�autora licznych publikacji (krajowych i zagranicznych), projekt�w badawczych i ekspertyz na rzecz biznesu oraz o charakterze pa�stwowym (m.in. by�a wsp�autork� Strategii dla Polski w sektorze ICT).
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Jolanta Janczak-Rusch is a scientist and expert in the field of joining technol-ogies and composites, group leader at Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Laboratory for joining technologies and corrosion), author and co-author of more than 100 publications, led numerous projects with international and industrial partners. She was the initiator and leader of the Swiss-Polish PhD program between Empa, Warsaw University of Technology and AGH in Krakow, later extended to include ETHZ, Jagiellonian University and Warsaw University.

Jolanta Janczak-Rusch has an international and interdisciplinary background: born in Poland, studied cybernetics in (East) Germany, PhD in materials engineering at Dortmund University of Technology, habilitation at Warsaw University of Technology, postdoc at EPFL, research profes-sor at Warsaw University of Technology, scientist and project/group leader at Empa. In recogni-tion of her scientific achievements, in 2014 Jolanta Janczak-Rusch was awarded the title of Pro-fessor by the President of the Republic of Poland.

She was actively involved in the conceptual preparation and implementation of the "Cohesion Fund" (2007-2017) for the priority area "Research Program" of the 8 new EU Member States. Since 2020, she is a member of the Advisory Board of the POB Research Center "Materials Tech-nology" of the Warsaw University of Technology within the framework of the "Excellence Initia-tive - Research University".
�ukasz W�sek - graduated from the Cracow University of Economics in the field of Finance and Accounting specializing in Financial Markets and Investment Consulting. In 2008 he started working at Comarch Group as Capital Investment Specialist and was responsible for different investment projects and acquisitions. In 2012 he became the Chief Financial Officer of Comarch in DACH Region. In 2014 -2019 he held also the position of Country Manager in Germany.
Piotr Paszczyk - Executive Manager and Board Member in APN Promise - technology market leader since 1991. Grew company from 1 up to more than EUR 30 Million revenue. Recently also expanding in the Baltics. APN Promise SA is listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange and delivers to medium and large enterprises in all verticals, including industry, banking, insurance, retail, public sector, healthcare, education and many others. APN Promise SA is one of the top 500 largest and most dynamic Polish companies (according to Rzeczpospolita ranking) and 4th largest Polish IT company. Having years of experience in management, Piotr Paszczyk specializes in coaching and strategy building.
Anna Salamo�czyk-Mochel is a manager boasting impressive experience in executing the management process: resource planning, utilisation and organisation, team management, steering and impacting interpersonal relations, as well as deliverables control. In recent years she has served as President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange Foundation and Head of the Erasmus+ Programme National Agency. Earlier she gained experience at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as head of the minister’s office. Before joining the civil service, she was involved in the training industry as a coordinator of projects targeted at the travel sector, such as “Green Company” and “Training Flavours”.

Salamo�czyk-Mochel has many years of experience in projects focused on building international cooperation between educational and training institutions in the context of implementing learning mobility opportunities - educational and scholarship tourism.

Anna Salamo�czyk-Mochel holds an MBA degree in management from �azarski University and a master’s degree in Romance studies from Pedagogical University of Krak�w. She also completed post-graduate studies in public relations and human resource management at Tischner European University in Krak�w.
Education: master degree in history at Adam Mickiewicz University

Qualifications: Organization and Management, Study of the Agricultural Policy of European Cooperation, Quality Management in Education – Manager`s Certificate.

Family status: married, two sons

Career: teacher (history); director of the Primary School, Wielenin; councilman and Deputy Foreman of the Podd�bicki District, Mayor of the Uniej�w Municipality (since 2002 as well at present);

J�zef Kaczmarek has been consistently implementing the concept in tourism development of Uniej�w, since 2002, as he holds the position Mayor of the City. Main target of his actions is economic growth of the Uniej�w Municipalty, by leading to a wide use of geothermal water, in particular for: healing, recreational and heating purposes. The originator and implementer of the award-winning project "Termy Uniej�w", one of the 7 wonders of European funds. As Mayor, in 2012, he achieved the “thermal spa health resort” status for Uniej�w city. Since this circumstances, Uniej�w became the 45th health resort in Poland, being at the same time the 1st health resort in the ��d� region and the first thermal spa in the country.

Awards: laureate of the Local Government`s Oscar (award of the Grzegorz Pa�ka); 4-time laureate of the Local Government Region Manager award; laureate of the "Way to Success" competition; laureate of the competition "Strong Man in Business 2013";

Interests: economics, education, sport
Rafa� Milczarski is the President and CEO for LOT Polish Airlines since January 2016.

As President and CEO, Mr. Milczarski is responsible for leadership of company’s restructuring process to date and its strategic development plans, market strategy, day-to-day management, business development, improvement of company’s management structure, optimization of company’s operations processes, cost optimization, introduction of meritocracy at the management level.

In 2017, Mr. Milczarski was elected as President of AIRiE (Airlines International Representation in Europe) - association which represents mid-size airlines interests in European regulatory issues.

In 2018, he was appointed also as President of Polish Aviation Group (PGL) which consolidates various aviation industry activities in Poland.

He graduated in Economics from the University of Cambridge. During his studies, he has been a trainee, among others at UBS Bank in Zurich and JP Morgan in London. After graduation he worked in the maritime and railway logistics department at Foster Yeoman Limited in Great Britain.

Mr. Milczarski co-founded the Baltic Rail, one of the first private railway carriers of goods in Poland. In 2005, together with an industry investor Freightliner Group in the UK, he founded Freightliner PL - a freight rail carrier. As a president and co-owner he led the company from a start-up to the achievement of a few per cent share of the freight market in Poland. He is also the founder and former CEO of Freightliner DE - a German subsidiary Freightliner PL and the Association of Independent Railway.
Tourism expert with many years of management experience from various destinations in Switzerland, including 13 years as Tourism Director in Interlaken. Expertise from summer and winter tourism, city and congress tourism, from local, regional, cantonal and national organizations (including 6 years for Switzerland Tourism in the USA) and as CEO in the mountain railway industry. Broad national network in tourism. Former president of the Association of Swiss Tourism Managers (VSTM).

Master's degree in Business Psychology, Dipl. Lecturer at Universities of Applied Sciences, CAS Digital Marketing Specialist, Dipl. PR Specialist, NDS Destination Management.
Urs Eberhard (born in 1957, studies in English language and literature at the University of Zurich, with minors in journalism and musicology), married and father of two children, started his career at Switzerland Tourism in 1989 as District Manager in Dusseldorf, Germany. From 1990 to 1995, he was in charge of Switzerland Tourism Amsterdam (The Netherlands); he then was elected Director of Switzerland Tourism London, responsible for the UK and Ireland, a post which he held till 1998. In January 1999, Urs Eberhard was named VP Marketing, based at Switzerland Tourism's head office in Zurich. From 2000 to 2004 he was Director Switzerland Tourism North America in New York overseeing office in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto and being responsible for one of the most important source markets for the Switzerland Tourism industry. As from June 2004 he is back in Zurich, at Switzerland Tourism's HQ as Deputy CEO of Switzerland Tourism, responsible for the department Markets.

Prior to his career at Switzerland Tourism, Urs Eberhard worked with the Arth-Rigi-Railway Company in Goldau, Switzerland as Director of Marketing and later as Deputy Director. The time Urs Eberhard was working for the Arth-Rigi-Railway had a big influence on him, he is a big Swiss railway lover.
Dominik Feldges works as an editor in the Economics/Business News Section of Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ). NZZ, which was established in 1780, is the leading daily newspaper in Switzerland. It also belongs, due to its independence and large network of staff writers both in Switzerland and internationally, to the most highly regarded newspapers in the German speaking world as well as globally. Dominik Feldges specializes in the reporting about the life sciences and the investment goods sector. Being married to a physician from Poland and as a learner of Polish, he is also interested in political and economic developments in Poland as well as in Central Eastern Europe. He joined NZZ in March 2015. Before, from 2000 to 2015, he had worked as an editor for the Swiss financial newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft specialising in the healthcare sector as well as in the economies and financial markets of the UK, Japan and South Africa. From 1997 t0 1999 he had been a consultant at the Swiss advertising group Wirz specialising in financial communications and investor relations. Born in 1971, Dominik Feldges graduated from Basel University with an MA in English literature, English language and history. He speaks German, English, French, Polish and some Japanese.