Advisory Board

Jakub Banaszek lawyer, health care system expert, Former adviser to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the Minister of Health Konstanty Radziwiłł, assistant to MP Jarosław Gowin. In 2018, director of the political office, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology Jadwiga Emilewicz. Currently, the President of the City of Chełm.

He graduated from the Faculty of Navigation at the Gdynia Maritime University. He had been working for the Polish Ocean Lines as a navigation officer on merchant ships for 6 years.
He obtained a degree in Finance and Banking at Poznań University of Economics, postgraduate diploma in Accounting and Finance at Poznań University of Economics and EU Tax Law postgraduate diploma at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. In the years 1994-2005 he worked in the Office of Fiscal Control. In 2005 he obtained the right to practise the profession of a tax advisor and set up a tax consultancy firm. As a lecturer of tax law he cooperated with the Association of Accountants in Poland. In the years 2006-2007 he was a Deputy Mayor of Bydgoszcz responsible for strategy and development of the city, European funds programmes, investor services as well as education and sport. In the years 2007-2010 he served as the Voivode of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. Since December 2010 Mayor of the City of Bydgoszcz.

Arkadiusz Chęciński, born in 1971 in Sosnowiec, The President of Platforma Obywatelska (name of the political party) in Sosnowiec. University graduate in Public Administration at Humanitas University. For 20 years he has been led the company in the field of quality of the steel products. In 2006 he was elected as a Councillor of the city of Sosnowiec and in December 2010 became a chairman of the City Council. In 2007-2011 he was a chief of parliamentary office of Platforma Obywatelska in Sosnowiec. In October 2011 he became a First Deputy Mayor responsible for the Public Utilities, Housing and Infrastructure. He represented Sosnowiec in Związek Miast Polskich (Polish Cities Association) and Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia. From June 2013 to November 2014 he was Member of Silesian Voivodship Board. On November 30th 2014 he won the elections for the Mayor of Sosnowiec. He received 63,16% (29284) of the votes.
Hobbies: sport, movies, traveling, music

Krystyna Danilecka – Wojewódzka Mayor of Słupsk since 2018, before Deputy Mayor, 5 time councilwomen. She is an experienced manager with abundance of expertise in leading team in professional manner. Her personality and experience makes her especially suited to guide her team in delicate administrative matters.

Konrad Fijołek was born in 1976 in Rzeszów. A graduate of the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Rzeszów.
A long-time councilor of the City of Rzeszów. On June 13, 2021, he won the early presidential elections of the City of Rzeszów in the first round, and on April 21, 2024, he was re-elected to this office.

PhD (University of Silesia in Katowice). A graduate of the Executive Master of Business Administration studies (Apsley Business School in London and Collegium Humanum in Warsaw) and postgraduate studies in project management at the University of Economics in Wrocław (P2F, AgilePM). In 2018-2021 Deputy Director of the Department of Infrastructure and Communication, Marshal’s Office of the Lubuskie Voivodeship. In December 2021 he started working as the Director of the Development and Innovation Department, where he is responsible, inter alia, for the implementation of the assumptions of the Voivodeship Development Strategy and the Innovation Development Program. He has over 10 years of experience in the implementation of projects financed by the EU funds. In 2017 he started working as an assistant professor at the Department of Regional Policy, Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Zielona Góra.

Jacek Jaśkowiak was born on 10 March 1964 in Poznań. He is a devoted community worker, sports activist, and former businessman. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where he also earned his postgraduate studies degree in accountancy, finance and taxation. He was awarded a scholarship from GFPS (Association for Student Exchange in Central and Eastern Europe) to the University of Bielefeld in Germany.
He gained his professional experience in commercial companies in the 1990s. His past employment includes e.g. working for Dr. Jan Kulczyk at Kulczyk Tradex. From 1997 to 2014, he ran his own company, providing accountancy and advisory services to foreign entrepreneurs. Together with business investors, he contributed to creating employment for thousands of people in Poland.
Owing to his public activity, in 2010, he was appointed as a candidate for Mayor of Poznań, representing the urban movement My-Poznaniacy. He ran for the office of the Mayor of Poznań in 2014.

A resident of Sopot, boy scout, and community worker since childhood. Former pupil of the Joseph Golec primary school “no.8” and grammar school no.2 in Sopot.
Doctor of Economics at the University of Gdansk. Graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Gdansk. During his studies was Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament. He completed a postgraduate in Local Government Law, and the School of Management at the University of Gdansk and Central Connecticut State University.
Councilman and vice-president of Sopot since 1990, and president of Sopot since 1998. In the years 1990 to 1998 Councilman of Gdansk Provincial Assembly and chairman of the Environment Committee. He holds the post of Vice-President of the Association of Polish Cities since 2007; delegate to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Co-Chair of the Team for Joint Constitutional Commission of Government and Local Government.
He began his political activism in college as a member of the Young Polish Authorities Movement. He was also co-founder and board member of the VERBUM Association of Academics. He was detained, and deprived of his passport for opposition activities. Co-founder and board member of the Conservative Party and the Conservative fraction.
From 2001 to 2008 was closely associated with the Civic Platform Political Party (PO). He was the plenipotentiary of the Gdansk Region and later a member of the Board of PO (Civil Platform) in the Pomerania region.
He was an employee of the Gdansk Railway Station Project Office from 1988 to 1990.
Honours:
• Papal medal “Pro ECCLESIA ET PONTIFICE” (The Church and the Pope)
• Medal “Pro Memoria”
• Badge of the Polish Minister of Culture “Cultural Activist of Merit”
• Silver Medal of Merit for the Fire Service
• Gold Badge of Merit for Physical Education
• Craftsmen Badge of Honour
• Silver medal for services to the Police
• Gold Badge of PZ Basket
• Grzegorz Palka award, also known as; the local government “Oscar”
An extraordinary member of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers and the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association.

Jacek Karnowski is a lifeguard and founder of the Sopot WOPR (Water Volunteer Rescue Service), holds a yacht and motorboats skipper certificate. He is also a ski instructor.

She has held the position of Mayor since 9th December 2014. From 2010 to 2014 she was a member of the Town Council. She graduated from the Faculty of Social Science at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (political science, specialization: local government administration).
She started her professional career in the 1980s as an employee of Ostrów Cultural Center. Then, for 10 years she has worked in the media (radio and local and regional press titles). Since 2000, she has been a self-government employee of the Poviat Starost’s Office in Ostrów Wielkopolski.
On November 30, 2014, in the second round of elections, she was elected Mayor of Ostrów Wielkopolski. She run from her own electoral committee “Przyjazny Ostrów” /Friendly Ostrów/. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Team for Functional Metropolitan and Urban Areas as part of the Joint Commission of the Government and Local Government and the Smart City Forum’s Program Council.
In her local government activity Beta Klimek focuses primarily on developing pro- family policy and on acquiring external funds for investments. Equally important for her is the environmental protection. That is why green and blue projects are successfully implemented in Ostrów Wielkopolski. She is the founder of the municipal maternity grant called “miejskie becikowe”, introduced in 2015 in Ostrów Wielkopolski. She also launched the Senior Citizen Card and the Participatory Budget.
She is among the best polish cities mayors in the N15 ranking published in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 by “Newsweek”.
In 2021, “for managing the city in the spirit of sustainable development and implementing activities for the development of local government in Poland” she received Złoty Klucz / the Gold Key/, a prestigious award of the magazine “Wprost”. In 2022, she took the 1st place in the ranking “Perły Samorządu” / Pearls of local government/ organized by “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, in the category of the mayor of the cities up to 100 000 of residents.

Born in Kluczbork (Poland), October 8, 1970. He graduated from higher education – Political Science (University of Opole) and postgraduate (Public Relations in labor market institutions) from the Catholic University of Lublin. In years 2003 – 2014, the director of the District Labour Office in Nysa. In the years 2004 – 2014 – District Office in Nysa – has initiated and completed the greatest (of all labor offices in Poland) the number of projects co-financed by the European Union. The best known projects include: “Construction of houses by means of a training system for unemployed person”. From 2014 mayor of Nysa.

Legal counsel, manager, graduate of the Law and Administration Faculty at Szczecin University. He has been the Mayor of Szczecin continuously since 2006. He is an initiator of many city-creating projects and implementation of an ambitious investment plan thanks to which Szczecin transforms and turns more towards the sea.

Deputy Mayor of Warsaw, graduate of philology at the University of Warsaw, social activist and culture animator, producer of theater performances and festivals, 2016-2018 deputy director of the Studio Theater in Warsaw; co-author of the “Warsaw 2020 Culture Development Program. City of Culture and Citizens” adopted in 2012 by the City Council as the official cultural policy of Warsaw. In 2018-2020, Head Coordinator for Culture and Public Communication in the City of Warsaw.

Graduate of the University of Economics (former Academy of Economics) in
Wrocław, Department of National Economy (1995-2000), University of Wrocław,
Department of Law and Administration (1997-2002) and Apsley Business School
in London, MBA (2020).
Work experience
20 years of corporate and business experience: company agent and promoter,
business consultant specializing in incorporation, floatation, including formation of
start-ups. Successfully introduced economic entities to the Stock Exchange.
Areas of specialty: IT, e-commerce, energy, advertisement, marketing, brand
strategies and construction.
Co-author of the success of the European Capital of Culture 2016 in Wrocław –
since mid-2015 to March 2017 Communication and Marketing Agent.
On the 21st of December 2018 appointed as the First Deputy Mayor of Wrocław,
supervising the Department of City Development and Strategy and as a
representative for international affairs. Responsible for creation and
implementation of strategic studies for the city, agglomeration, region in the 2050
perspective. In charge of urban planning and land use plans, architecture,
construction administration, city aesthetics, monument preservation, economic
development, geodesy and land cadastre, sustainable development, blue/green
deal, energy. Representative of the city and associations in governmental projects.
President of METREX since 2021 – The Network of European Metropolitan Regions
and Areas.

Beata Moskal-Słaniewska, Mayor of Świdnica. A graduate of full-time master’s studies in journalism and postgraduate studies in European integration at the University of Warsaw. She completed her MBA studies at the Krakow School of Business at the University of Economics.

Since 1990, she has been associated with local, regional and national media. She belonged to the Freedom Union, in 2013 she joined the Democratic Left Alliance, which in 2021 co-founded the New Left. She is co-chair of the Provincial Council of the New Left in Lower Silesia, as well as a member of the National Council. In the 2014 elections, she ran for the position of Mayor of Świdnica, winning in the second round of voting. She was re-elected for another term in the first round of voting with nearly 70% support.

She has been teaching social communication and social policy at the Wałbrzych School of Management and Entrepreneurship for over a dozen years. Since 2019, member of the Management Board of the Association of Polish Cities, deputy representative of the APC in the Committee of the Regions of the Council of Europe. In 2017, she was awarded the “Pearl of Local Government” awarded by the editorial office of “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”. Several times included by “Newsweek Polska” among the 15 best mayors of cities in Poland in this weekly’s ranking.

Andrzej Nowakowski has been Mayor of Płock since 2010. He was re-elected in 2014 to serve a second four year term, when he received the largest personal mandate, winning by an overwhelming margin in the first round of voting.
He is a graduate of Polish Philology at the Nicolas Copernicus University in Toruń. For many years, he has been associated with the Władysław Jagiełło High School in Płock, where he worked as a qualified teacher of the Polish language and an educator of the youth. Since October 2002, as a Councillor of the town of Płock, he participated in the works of the Commission of Treasury and Budget. In the 2007-2010 period, he was a Sejm Deputy of the Republic of Poland (Member of the Polish Parliament) and a member of the Commission of Sports and Tourism as well as the Commission for the European Union`s Affairs.

Since 29 November 2010 is the Marshal of the Lubuskie Region, and since 2008 was the Deputy Marshall. Under her supervision of the region won second place in Poland and the prize of 55 million euros for the good implementation of the Lubuskie Regional Operational Programme, which she has been supervising since 2008. In 2013 in the competition of Golden Antennas Telecommunication and Media World, she received the Golden Antenna in the category Man of the Year, for that “as the first Marshal with courage and success consistently pursues the idea of digitization of the province.” Since 2011, she has been a representative of the Association of Polish Regions within the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. Since January 2011, a member of the Polish-German Intergovernmental Commission for Regional and Cross-border Cooperation, also serves as the Chairman of the Polish part of the Committee for Interregional Cooperation.
Since 2007 she has been a Member of Lubuskie province regional council, she was also a councilor of Żagań county as well as a municipality and town of Małomice. Before becoming a Marshal she was a director of the Lubuskie branch of the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy, director of an office of the President of the Zielona Góra, the mayor of Małomice.
Graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Wroclaw and postgraduate studies in the field of management of economic units of the University of Wroclaw. She graduated from the College of Education and Culture of Adults in Warsaw.
Married, has two adult sons. More on the website http://www.elzbietapolak.pl .

Doctor of medicine, parliamentarian, politician, committed to the community and self-government. Graduate from the Physician Department of Medical Academy in Lodz. He completed postgraduate studies in the field of organization and economics of healthcare, as well as managerial studies in the field of public administration at the Management Department of University of Warsaw.

Since 1984 he is a member of The Polish People’s Party, sits on the voivodeship and national authorities of the party. He is Member of the European Peoples’ Party (EPP).

He was a senator of the Republic of Poland from 1991 to 2001 (II, III, and IV tenure). Chairman of Social and Health Policy Commission in II tenure of Senate. From 1993 – 1997 he was the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

In 2007 he was chosen to be the Vice-chairman of the Union of the Voivodeships of the Republic of Poland. He is a member of the Bureau of the Committee of the Region and works in COTER (Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy) and ENVE (Environment, Climate Change and Energy) commissions.

Tadeusz Truskolaski (born in 1958) economist, professor of the University of Białystok, an author of over 90 scientific works. Mr Truskolaski served as the adviser to the Minister of Regional Development. Within the Government Center of Strategic Studies, he worked on the National Development Strategy and on the Development of Eastern Poland Operational Program. After the establishment of regional self-governments, he was in charge of the Regional Policy Department within Podlasie Voivodeship Marshal`s Office, where he was responsible for the PHARE program. Since 2011 Mr. Truskolaski is a member of the Committee of the Regions in Brussels – the European Union`s Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives which is the platform for regions and cities in the European Union. In 2006 Tadeusz Truskolaski ran for the office of the Mayor of Bialystok for the first time. Four years later, the people of Białystok reelected him during the first round of voting. The same decision the citizens made after the second term and in December 2014 the Mayor was sworn into his third term of office.

– the President of Bytom since 2018. A co-creator and deputy president of the Management Board of the Association of Poviat Hospitals in the Voivodeship of Silesia, director of Hospital no. 2 in Mysłowice in 2014-2018. He graduated from a post-graduate course in Master of Business Administration.
He was a Councillor in Bytom for 14 years and a Deputy President of Bytom for healthcare and social policy in 2010-2012.
A social activist, Chairman of Stowarzyszenie Bytom Przyjazne Miasto. A husband and a father.

Krzysztof Żuk – experienced local government leader, elected Mayor of Lublin 3 times. PhD in Economics, researcher and lecturer at Lublin universities. Actively engaged in self-government since 1990.

Chairman of Świdnik Town Council (1990–1996). Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Treasury (2007–2009). Deputy Mayor of Lublin (2006–2007) and (2009–2010). Voted Mayor of Lublin for the first time on December 5, 2010.

Mr Żuk serves as Co-president at Association of Polish Cities (ZMP); a Council and Board Member at Union of Polish Metropolises (UMP); member of Joint Commission of Government and Local Government (KWRiST) representing ZMP/UMP there; Co-chairman of Committee for Public Finance System at (KWRiST).

Attorney at Law, He has over 16 years of experience in strategic management, restructuring, new business development, mergers and acquisitions, investment PE/VC and project finance, mainly in the energy and infrastructure sector. Currently occupies the position of Partner in the Venture Investors Ltd. Previously, he worked at EDP Renewables (Energias de Portugal Group) on the position of General Counsel. Graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at Warsaw University. He also has diplomas from University of Florida and the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Member of the Regional Bar Association in Warsaw.

A graduate of Warsaw School of Economics (International Economic and Political Relations) and postgraduate studies at Collegium Civitas (forecasting, strategic planning and foresight) and Lazarski University (environmental protection law).

For many years he worked in central and local government public institutions. In the years 2006-2010 he was a councillor of the capital city of Warsaw. In the years 2018-2023, he worked as deputy mayor of the Ursynów District of the capital city of Warsaw. He was responsible for maintaining green areas, cooperation with entrepreneurs and housing resources. Previously, a consultant and expert on sustainable urban development as part of the Smart City Blog project. He was a lecturer in subjects covering the development of smart cities. Speaker, moderator and participant of discussion panels during numerous conferences in the area of ​​the development of modern cities.

He has been a director general at the Ministry of Digitization since 13th December 2023.

A graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics (international economic and political relations)

Experienced executive manager in mobile banking, digitization and strategy, awarded the title of the Most Influential Woman in the Payment Industry. She started her banking career in Pekao SA banking group. Since 2000, she has been associated with mBank as a co-founder, recently as Director of Strategic Projects in Retail Banking. She acted as a member of the Supervisory Board of Cashless Poland Foundation. She was also an advisor for the European Payment Advisory Committee and Visa Client Council. She was a co-creator of such brands as: mBank, MultiBank, Orange Finanse, BLIK or mojeID and Chairperson of the Bank Card Issuers Council at the Polish Bank Association.
Joanna Erdman graduated in Management and Marketing from the University of Lodz and completed the ‘Leadership in Innovation’ Postgraduate Studies at SGH Warsaw School of Economics. She is also a holder of MBA degree from the Polish-American Management Centre and the University of Maryland.

Vice-President of the Board in Sprint S.A., responsible for sale of ITS solutions, Smart City and projects related to ICT systems integration and public security. Involved in ICT industry for more than 20 years. A graduate of Gdansk University of Technology and MBA program at Kozminski University.

From 2022, Head of Mobility & Rail Solutions for the CEE region at Hitachi Europe. He develops new business opportunities in the area of Hitachi products and services dedicated to carriers, transport organizers, and resource managers. The scope of his projects includes, among others, ticketing systems, resource management tools, and railway solutions.

For over 15 years he has been associated with the logistics industry in Europe and Asia. He has extensive experience in transport, which he gained while working for the Freightliner group (part of Genesee & Wyoming) and Saudi Arabia Railways. He specializes in the development of IT solutions dedicated to logistics as well as in transport management and fleet maintenance. Speaker at industry conferences devoted to these issues. His main goal is to support enterprises from the public and private sectors in achieving operational excellence, which translates into the provision of the highest quality services to clients.

A graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Prague University of Technology (Czech Republic). For 25 years associated with the IT industry, where he deals mainly with Smart City components and systems. He has held managerial positions in companies such as: Asseco Data Systems S.A., Mennica Polska, Bull Polska, City Parking Group and Aldesa. He was responsible for the implementation and development of ITS and Smart City projects. From August 2014 to June 2016, he was responsible for business development in the field of ITS and Smart City at Asseco Poland. From July 2016, he managed the Digital Urban Infrastructure Division at Asseco Data Systems, and then until February 2021 he was responsible for the Business Development Department in the Smart City Area at Asseco Data Systems, supporting other countries from the Asseco group as part of the competence center. Currently, he is the Sales Director of the Public Atos Polska Sector. In recent years, he has repeatedly served as project manager in projects such as: City Card Systems in Rybnik and Białystok, but also ITS projects: Rzeszów Intelligent Transport System and the Navigation System for parking spaces with their metering in Rzeszów. Being part of the key personnel, he participated in the implementation of the project entitled “An innovative concept of toll collection and settlement of urban services under SmartCity”, in cooperation with the National Center for Research and Development, and in the ITSM project for the European Commission at DG TAXUD. From October 2020, he is the vice-chairman of the SMART committee at the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

Graduated from the Koźminski University in Warsaw with a degree in Marketing, Management and Finance & Banking. His wide-range knowledge in the field of strategic management he acquired at the School of Economics and Management at Lund University in Sweden. Moreover, he accomplished International Consulting training in Audencia Nantes Management School. He gained his experience i.a. at Frosta A.G. in Bremerhaven, where he reported directly to the Marketing Director. He performed functions of general director of the Association of Frozen Foods, that brings together dozens of biggest producers of frozen food on Polish market, including representatives of global brands such as: Unilever, Farm Frites, Bonduelle. While working in the Warsaw International Fair he has contributed to organisation of three editions of the largest motor show in Poland – Warsaw International Motor Show. Subsequently, he worked in Expomedia Events Warsaw, where he held the position of director for business development and sponsorship relations. The next stage of his career was transition to conference sector.