Advisory Board

Regional civil servant, social activist, teacher and sportsman. During his social service he also has acted as the councilman in Ostrovian County. In the years 2010-2014 he has been the vice-starost of Ostrovian County. Currently, he is the Mayor of the city of Ostrov Mazowiecka since 2014. In years 1989-1990 he has acted as the chairman of the Independent Student Association at School of Physical Education. Graduate of the AWF (Jozef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw), Warsaw University in the field of geography and administration, SGGW ( Warsaw University of Life Sciences) in the field of property management. He has worked as a teacher for 20 years, including 9 years when he was the Principal of School Complex in Ostrov Mazoviecka. Since 1983 connected with Folk Sports Club OSTROVIANKA, at first as an lifiting weights athlete and then as a coach and the club president. The co-funder of the association called People with passion. The initiator of local ornithological meetings. The co-organiser of regular scientific and educational events in Ostrov Mazowiecka: Regional Conference – Passion. Culture. Heritage, The Development Forum of Ostrov Mazowiecka and Yearbooks of Ostrov Mazoviecka.
Husband and father of three.

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

Piotr Grzymowicz, PhD – Mayor of Olsztyn since 2009, in the years 2001-2007 Vice Mayor of Olsztyn, responsible for economic development and investment, civil engineer.
Before I joined the self-government, I had the opportunity to work on several large-scale investment projects in Poland and in Germany. In time, I was also entrusted with the role of major construction investment projects manager. It was an excellent experience which proves to be very useful in my current line of work. I always tend to explain my self-government partners that what the city needs for development is active and competitive business, whereas business expects favourable conditions for conducting economic activities.
I am very fortunate that my term of office coincides with the time of considerable European Union financial support. However, we have not been given these funds once and forever and the end of the decade is certainly going to bring an end to them, it is therefore so crucial to maximize this remarkable opportunity. This in one of my priorities and, hopefully, it is successfully implemented. Olsztyn is developing and accelerating!

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.

Od 9 grudnia 2014 roku Prezydent Miasta Ostrowa Wielkopolskiego. W latach 2010 – 2014 Radna Miasta Ostrowa Wielkopolskiego VI kadencji. Ukończyła studia na Wydziale Nauk Społecznych Uniwersystetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu na kierunku politologia, specjalność: administracja samorządowa. Działalność zawodową rozpoczęła w latach 80. jako pracownik Centrum Kultury w Ostrowie Wielkopolskim. Następnie przez około 10 lat związana z pracą w mediach (radiu oraz lokalnych i regionalnych tytułach prasowych). Od 2000 roku pracownik samorządowy Starostwa Powiatowego w Ostrowie Wielkopolskim. 30 listopada 2014 roku w II turze wyborów została wybrana Prezydentem Miasta, ubiegając się o to stanowisko z własnego komitetu wyborczego wyborców „Przyjazny Ostrów“. Od 2015 roku członek Zespołu ds. Funkcjonalnych Obszarów Metropolitarnych i Miejskich w ramach Komisji Wspólnej Rządu i Samorządu Terytorialnego. W swojej działalności samorządowej koncentruje się przede wszystkim na polityce prorodzinnej. Inicjatorka wprowadzonego w 2015 roku w Ostrowie Wielkopolskim: tzw. „miejskiego becikowego“ i bezpłatnego pobytu dzieci w przedszkolach dla których organem prowadzącym jest Gmina Miasto Ostrów Wielkopolski. Zainicjowała także wprowadzenie: Miejskiej Karty Seniora oraz Budżetu Obywatelskiego. Ma 53 lata, jest mężatką i ma dwoje dzieci.

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.

Tadeusz Krzakowski – a teacher, a member of local government and long-term Mayor of Legnica
Born on 25 January 1957 in Jelenia Góra, he has been connected with Legnica since the 1980s. He graduated from the Physical Education Academy in Wrocław and completed post-graduate studies in the field of Human Resources Management and Promotion of Local Government Units (Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw) and in the field of Education Administration at the Warsaw School of Economics as well as Management of Educational Institutions at the Baltic School of Humanities. He has been a member of the Union of Polish Teachers since 1982. He started working as a teacher in 1982 at the Consolidated Public School in Pieńsk and then at Primary School No. 18 in Legnica. In 1993 he became the headmaster of the Silesian Piast Integration School Complex in Legnica, which he and his colleagues established from the ground up. For years he was an expert in teacher promotion for the Ministry of National Education.
He has been associated with Legnica’s local government since 1990. From 1990 to 1998 he was a member of the City Council. From 1991 to 1994 he acted as a community member of the Legnica’s government. From 1994 to 1995 he held the position of the President of the City Council in Legnica. From 1998 to 2002 he was Vice President of the Lower Silesian Regional Assembly for the first term of office. In 2002 he was elected by the City Council to be the Mayor of Legnica. In 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 he was elected for subsequent terms of office by universal suffrage.
In 2019 he was elected to the Management Board of the Association of Polish Cities. Before that he had been the President of the Review Panel of the Association of Polish Cities for many years.

Tadeusz Krzakowski was awarded: the Badge of Merit for Legnica Province (1997), the Badge of Merit for Legnica (1999), the Medal of the National Education Commission (1999), the Silver Cross of Merit (2005), the Golden Cross of Merit (2011), the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for outstanding merits for self-governance (2016).

Legnica is his home. “I am proud of the city. Being an inhabitant of Legnica means dialogue and cooperation with inhabitants. I always try to work with people and for people, for the common good of the whole community of the city.”

He was born on 5 February 1973. His life has been connected with Szczecin, where he has pursued a professional career in public services. He began work in public administration as a junior clerk at the Szczecin City Hall in 1998. Then, from May until 31 December 1998, he was Deputy Director of the Department of Health at the Voivodeship Office in Szczecin. From 1 January 1999 until 31 March 2002 he was Director General of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship Office. He led the team implementing administrative reform in the area of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship. He contributed to the Voivodeship Office’s prestigious distinction of “The Most Friendly Government Administration Office in 2001”. He also coordinated the work related to the Institutional Development Programme at the Westpomeranian Voivodeship Office. Since March 2002 he has worked as an Attorney-at-Law. He participated in training for civic service. He completed Strategic Management Studies for Directors General of Government Offices. He passed the exam for executive-board membership in State-owned companies. In 2002-2004 he was the Deputy Mayor of Szczecin responsible for residential policy and municipal assets (real-property management, residential housing, and construction administration). From 2004 he focussed on his activities as an Attorney-at-Law. On 26 November 2006, in the run-off local-government elections, he was elected the Mayor of Szczecin, having received over 74 thousand votes. In 2010, after another victory in local-government elections, he was again sworn into the office. Nearly 50 thousand residents voted for him that time. In 2014, he took office of the Mayor of Szczecin for the third term. He has initiated a number of urban-planning projects. He launched the process of designing and implementing the long-term brand-management strategy Szczecin Floating Garden 2050, and scoped on an unprecedented scale, three-year process of public consultation programme Szczecin 2020 containing directions for the city`s development in the EU financial perspective 2014-2020. During his term Szczecin is more frequently and resolutely turning towards the sea. The City repeatedly hosted the largest outdoor event of a maritime character – the finals of The Tall Ships Races. During these events, on the historic Chrobry’s Embankments, in the heart of the city dozens of the largest and most beautiful sailing ships of the world are moored. During the term of Piotr Krzystek the Szczecin port is inscribed in the map of the TSR and the number of Szczecin sailing youth taking part in the regatta and winning the major trophies is growing. Piotr Krzystek realizes the ambitious investment process in Szczecin. Since 2006, the city has been changing its face. The road infrastructure has been considerably improved, there are modern trams and buses in Szczecin, dozens of kilometres of bicycle paths has been created, the greatly popular Bike_S – Szczecin city bike has been implemented by the residents as the winning project of the participatory budget, which was created by the Mayor. Szczecin has new premises of Szczecin Philharmonic. Its edifice receives the highest marks in prestigious architectural competitions. During his second term Piotr Krzystek put to use sports and entertainment hall Azoty Arena, for which the townspeople waited decades. Sports infrastructure is complemented by the Olympic swimming pool Floating Arena which is a venue of many prestigious swimming competition including European Championships for Seniors. The renovated boulevards by the Odra River has proved to be a great attraction. It is the result of consistent actions aimed to bring the City of Szczecin closer to the water and show its unique qualities. Housing Estates sports’ centres and modern pitch has been created. On the initiative of the Mayor of Szczecin the Council of Housing Estates have their own budget for local action. Thanks to it Szczecin has more playgrounds, under a cloud gyms, walking trails, and dozens of squares as well as hundreds of kilometres of sidewalks has been renovated. In cooperation with local entrepreneurs Krzystek created in Szczecin a new segment of the economy – a modern BPO and ICT business support services, as well as the special economic zones. All from scratch. Through close cooperation, the creation of a system of preferential conditions for investors, the development of technical infrastructure and the access to qualified personnel he created the conditions which make entrepreneurs prefer to choose Szczecin as the centre for their services. The city has gained hundreds of thousands of square meters of the most modern office space. Further investments are being carried out. Piotr Krzystek is engaged in the activities of Union of Polish Metropolises where he serves as Secretary of the Board, he is also the Chairman of the Association of the Szczecin Metropolitan Area. Privately Piotr Krzystek values the family life, he spends his spare time on tennis courts and he sails. He is married, with three children.

Born 31 December 1969 in Szprotawa, Poland. Graduated Higher School of Engineering in Zielona Gora, management and marketing dept. in 1995. Career includes vice director of computer centre in Agora Gazeta, publisher of „Gazeta Wyborcza”, IT specialist, sales representative and regional chief of sales for polish breweries, vice director of marketing in Polmos Zielona Gora, director of Ministry of Interior and Administration’s medical centre in Zielona Gora. Mayor of Zielona Gora since 2006. He was reelected in 2010 and in 2015, winning in the first round. Polish independent politician. Fan of basketball. Lives in Zielona Gora with wife Agata and two sons, Wojciech and Piotr.

Starachowiczanin. Od wielu lat kreujący i angażujący się w pozytywne zmiany w najbliższym otoczeniu. Jest urodzonym wizjonerem z pasją do społecznego działania. Potrafi skupiać ludzi z różnych środowisk wokół podejmowanych przez siebie działań. We wszystko co robi wkłada serce. Absolwent I LO im. Tadeusza Kościuszki w Starachowicach. Ukończył studia wyższe z zakresu stosunków międzynarodowych, studia o specjalności administracyjno-samorządowej i podyplomowe studia zarządzanie nieruchomościami. Pomysłodawca i prezes Stowarzyszenia Projekt: Starachowice. Współzałożyciel Młodzieżowej Rady Miasta w Starachowicach. Od 2009 roku pracował dla Posłanki do Parlamentu Europejskiego Róży Thun, jako dyrektor biur w regionie świętokrzyskim. W ramach pracy współpracował z samorządowcami, parlamentarzystami i przedstawicielami wielu instytucji i służb. Równolegle pracował w rodzinnej firmie zajmując się wdrażaniem procesu termomodernizacji budynków. Tym samym pomógł mieszkańcom kilkuset budynków wielorodzinnych w regionie świętokrzyskim i ościennych województwach: zmniejszyć koszty ogrzewania, poprawić estetykę budynków i uzyskać dofinansowanie z Banku Gospodarstwa Krajowego. Inicjator wprowadzenia w Starachowicach: Budżetu Obywatelskiego i Karty Dużej Rodziny, powołania: Rady Seniorów i Centrum Organizacji Pozarządowych. Od 9 grudnia 2014 r. pełni funkcję Prezydenta Miasta Starachowice. Zwyciężył w II turze wyborów samorządowych na stanowisko Prezydenta Miasta uzyskując 9583 głosów.

Graduate of the University of Economics (former Academy of Economics) in Wrocław, Department of National Economy (1995-2000) and University of Wrocław, Department of Law and Administration (1997-2002). 18 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 the First Deputy Mayor of Wrocław, supervising the Department of City Developement and Strategy. In charge of urban planning and land use plan management, architecture, construction administration, city aestetics, monument preservation, economic developement, geodesy and land cadastre.
Privately: married with two daughters.

Beata Moskal-Słaniewska, Mayor of the City of Świdnica. A graduate of full-time Master studies of Journalism and postgraduatestudies of European Integration at the University of Warsaw.
For over 20 years she had been associated with local, regional and nationwide media. She had been the editorial assistant and the editor in chief of a local newspaper “Wiadomości Świdnickie”, also she had been in charge of other local newsstands. She had cooperated with the Polish Catholic weekly “Niedziela”, Polish Radio Wrocław or the newspaper “Słowo Polskie”.
In a local government elections in 2010 on behalf of Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) she was elected a councillor in the City Council of Świdnica. In 2014 she had successfully run for the presidency in Świdnica town – she had won in the second ballot.
For years she has been involved in local social issues. She is an initiator of the event for children called “Nice Star”. Beata Moskal-Słaniewska collaborates with many NGOs, such as the Association of Friends of ill Children “Heart”. She is the co-founder of the Association of Women in Świdnica.

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 .

A third-generation inhabitant and enthusiast of Gdynia. Born in 1963.
A Doctor of Law, he graduated from the University of Gdańsk. He is a judge by profession. From 1989 to 1994, he was the Head of the Civil Department of the District Court in Gdynia.
He has been Mayor of Gdynia since 1998. In the local government elections 2014 he obtained over 79% of votes in the first ballot.
He was among the founders of the Civic Committee in Gdynia in 1990. That year he started his local government activities in the City Council of Gdynia. Over the period 1991-1998, he was the City Council Chairperson and at the same time he represented Gdynia in the Gdańsk Voivodeship Local Government Assembly. He was also an initiator in the setting up in 2011 of the NORDA Metropolitan Forum of Commune Leaders aiming at cooperation of local governments for the development of Pomerania region.
He is also the author of a book Business activity of communes in sea ports (Gdańsk 2002) and many press articles in the fields of law and local governance; he is also a co-author of a book The Law in Sea Ports (Warsaw 1998).

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.

Mayor of the City of Podkowa Leśna since 2014.
Member of the Management Board of the Warsaw Metropolis Association, delegate of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, member of the Monitoring Committee of the Regional Operational Program of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship for 2014-2020, leader of the Project to establish the “Masovian Fiber-Optics Union” and member of the Smart City Forum Programme Board, member of the Project Steering Committee ZONE (Integrated Low Emission Reduction System).
He graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology. He studied at the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences. He completed post-graduate studies in Construction Management at the Faculty of Civil Engineering. He has a Certificate of the Polish Association of Construction Managers recognized by the Chartered Institute of Building. He graduated in Real Estate Management from the University of Real Estate Management at the Faculty of Economics.
For many years he has been interested in the activities of local government, the essence of local governance and strategic management in local government units. He is very willing to participate in various cultural, social and charity initiatives which serve the development of the local community.
Mayor Artur Tusiński’s work towards the development of the city found recognition among independent bodies. In 2019 and 2020, he was awarded 1st and 3rd prizes for the best financial management in Poland in the category of municipalities in the Local Government Financial Ranking. In addition, he was twice awarded second prize in the Best-Run Local Governments in Poland ranking by “Rzeczpospolita” in the category of urban and urban-rural-municipalities. In 2020 Podkowa Leśna took the first prize in the nationwide Ranking of Local Governments called “Education-friendly places”. Also in 2020, the jury of the international Innovation in Politics competition awarded the Mayor of the City, Artur Tusiński, for his innovative pro-environmental activities, in particular for his approach to water retention in the process of road construction.

Krzysztof Żuk is a Ph.D. in economics and an academic at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and University of Economics and Innovation in Lublin. Mr Żuk was an Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Treasury between 2007 and 2009 and since 2010 he holds the post of the Mayor of Lublin City.

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.

Elżbieta is a graduate of the Faculty of Tourism at AWF University, Krakow and has also completed postgraduate studies in Coaching in Business at Krakow University of Economics.
Now she is responsible for business development and collaboration with key partners of First Data Poland, especially in the transport and public sector.
She began with POLCARD in 1995. For seven years she managed the Retail Sales Department comprising 70 sales representatives responsible for cooperation with more than 38,000 customers in the areas of payment processing and customer service.
From 2013 to 2016 Elżbieta has managed the Key Accounts Department responsible for relations with the biggest clients of FDP.
Elżbieta enjoys skiing and is married with two daughters.

President of the Cashless Poland Foundation. Previously a member of the Foundation Board.
She has been involved in the financial sector for over 25 years. She has worked in senior managerial positions in the corporate business area, overseeing, among other things, cooperation with strategic clients and the creation of corporate finance programmes. She was also responsible for creating retail business strategy, sales and pricing policy, bancassurance development, and product design and implementation. She has been in charge of activities related to card operations and cooperation with international payment organisations and banking technology and services providers.
She worked in government administration for several years – she was responsible for strategic and legislative activities in the area of private investments and for cooperation with domestic and foreign investors and financial institutions. She was in charge of the special economic zones instrument and large investment projects. As the president of Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu S.A. she was responsible, among other things, for promoting Polish economy, supporting businesses in their expansion and acquiring foreign investments.
She took an active part in the works of the Presidium of the Bank Card Issuers Council at the Polish Bank Association, and previously the Presidium of the Cash Management Council. She was involved in the work of supervisory boards of commercial law companies, including several years as vice-chairperson of the board of PKO Bank Polski SA and PHN S.A. She is a member of the Chapter of the Economic Award of the President of the Republic of Poland, as well as participant in the works of the Entrepreneurship Council. She has received numerous awards and distinctions, including for her contribution to building and developing the banking sector, implementing innovative payment solutions, increasing cashless transactions and supporting the development of new technologies.
Grażyna Ciurzyńska is a graduate of the Faculty of Foreign Trade at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, and she completed Postgraduate Studies in European Banking Law at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and participated in the Executive MBA program of Institute of Economic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. For many years, she has been involved in teaching and research at SGH Warsaw School of Economics in international economics, foreign direct investment and European integration.

Since 2002, Leszek Hołda’s professional career has been in the B2B market. Recently, he has held two positions: Head of Key and Corporate Account Sales Department at Orange Polska, and CEO of Integrated Solutions. As Head of Key and Corporate Account Sales Department, he implemented the largest, strategic projects strengthening the position of the Orange Polska Group in the top business market segment. As CEO of Integrated Solutions – Orange Polska’s ICT integrator – he was responsible for the company’s strategy and development, and supervised the implementation of key projects. Under his direction, within five years Integrated Solutions transitioned from a start-up into a leading player on the IT market, seeing a several dozen per cent rise in revenue each year. In 2009–2012, Leszek Hołda was also head of the Orange UEFA Euro 2012 project, where he managed a team of over 1,000 people responsible for technological support in Poland and for marketing rights activation in 11 European countries. Leszek Hołda completed an MBA Programme at the Warsaw University of Technology Business School. Earlier, he graduated from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków and the Kraków University of Economics.

A graduate of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków (post-graduate studies in the field of Geographic Information Systems). He also completed post-graduate studies at the Warsaw School of Economics in the field of Project Management in the EU Structural Funds Framework.
He has 19 years of experience in implementing IT projects in local government units in the field of geodesy and spatial information infrastructure. He is an authorized surveyor and certified consultant for INSPIRE. He participated in the works of the LUMASEC Working Group of the URBACT II program. As the originator of the majority of solutions functioning within the framework of Bytomska Spatial Information Infrastructure, he published many materials on tools supporting urban space management.
For 17 years he was associated with the Department of Geodesy of the City Hall in Bytom. From October 2006, he was the head of the Field Information System Department. From 2009 he worked as Deputy Head of the Department of Geodesy, then from September 2011 he was the Head of this Department. He has participated many times (often as a speaker or organizer) in many conferences devoted to geodesy, as well as topics related to the Infrastructure of Spatial Information.
As an expert on INSPIRE, he took an active part in the works of the Infrastructure of Spatial Information. In 2016, he assumed the position of the Local Government Sector Director in Indata Cities and the Vice President of the Management Board of Hyperview Sp. z o.o. In both Companies he is responsible for implementing IT solutions that improve work in the public sector.
From 2018, as the President of the Management Board in the following companies: Akcjonerator Technologii Informatycznych PIONIER Sp. z o.o. and Akcelerator Inteligentnych Miast Sp. z o.o. he became involved in IT innovation acceleration projects, in the area of ​​Internet of Things and Smart City (building solutions and commercialization of start-ups).

Graduate of Warsaw School of Insurance and Banking (now Vistula University).
His career began in 2001 with KPMG consultancy, where for five years he managed an array of projects for financial institutions, including in the scope of internal processes optimization and profitability improvement. In 2006 he took over as credit card portfolio manager at Polbank EFG, with responsibilities covering partnership programmes and increase in credit card portfolio profitability.
With Visa since March 2011, Adrian Kurowski ran for three years a consulting practice for Central Eastern Europe, having carried out many projects focused on implementing new product strategies and optimizing card portfolio management in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
As from October 2014, he is Country Manager for Poland, Visa.

Pani Bożena Lublińska-Kasprzak jest absolwentką Wydziału Ekonomicznego Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie oraz podyplomowych studiów z zakresu integracji europejskiej na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim. Posiada otwarty przewód doktorski na Wydziale Finansów Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie. Odbyła staże naukowe i zawodowe m.in. w University of Minnesota w USA, Scottish Agricultural College w Wielkiej Brytanii, University College Cork w Irlandii oraz dziale audytu środków Wspólnej Polityki Rolnej w Dyrekcji Generalnej Rolnictwo Komisji Europejskiej. Była ekspertem Parlamentarnego Zespołu ds. Absorpcji Funduszy UE oraz międzynarodowych projektów doradczych. Posiada certyfikat zarządzania projektami Prince 2. Jest autorką publikacji z zakresu wykorzystania funduszy europejskich. Otrzymała tytuł Menadżera Administracji Roku 2011. W latach 1992-1995 była zatrudniona w Instytucie Ekonomii Rolnictwa i Agrobiznesu Akademii Rolniczej w Lublinie W latach 1995-1996 była doradcą w międzynarodowej firmie konsultingowej, a od 1997 do 1998 r. pracowała w amerykańskim programie pomocowym wspierającym rolnictwo. Od 1999 do 2001 r. pracowała w Ministerstwie Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi gdzie uczestniczyła w programowaniu i przygotowaniu do wdrażania Programu SAPARD oraz funduszy strukturalnych. Od 2001 związana była z Agencją Restrukturyzacji i Modernizacji Rolnictwa, gdzie zajmowała się m.in. przygotowaniem do akredytacji dla Programu SAPARD, zarządzaniem projektami Phare, współpracą z instytucjami UE oraz krajowymi podmiotami zaangażowanymi w procesie integracji europejskiej, nadzorowała realizację poakcesyjnych programów Unii Europejskiej oraz programów pomocy krajowej. W ARiMR pełniła funkcje zastępcy dyrektora, dyrektora a od 2005 roku do kwietnia 2008 funkcję Zastępcy Prezesa. Od 2009 przewodniczy kapitule konkursu Polski Produkt Przyszłości. Od 2010 wchodzi w skład zarządu The European Network of Innovation Agencies (TAFTIE). Z PARP związana od kwietnia 2008 kiedy to została powołana na stanowisko Zastępcy Prezesa PARP. W marcu 2009 r. została powołana na stanowisko Prezesa Agencji.

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.

He has held a position of the Sales Director in ATOS Group Polska (before called Bull Group Polska) since September 2012. He was responsible for building strategy, creating product’s offer and sales development in energy&utility and public sector. He was acquiring new sales areas. Moreover, he was building new streams of partnership sales.
In years 2005-2011 he was responsible for sales in companies from IT sector i.a.: Innovation Technology Group SA and WASKO SA. Earlier, he was associated with PKN Orlen SA where he was in charge of sales’ support coordination in all Local Offices of retail trading.

Artur Pielech – the President of the Board and CEO of FBSerwis SA – a polish company founded by Ferrovial and Budimex providing integrated services for environment and infrastructure as well as energy efficient solutions in Facilities Management for public and commercial clients.Previously, he worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and held various management positions in logistics (CTL Logistics) and retail distribution sectors (RUCH SA).

Graduated of Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science, on Silesian University of Technology, Institute of Electronics, specialization: computer control systems.
For 14 years he has gained experience in implementations and planning controlling systems, for such clients as VW, GM, Daimler and Siemens.
He worked as technical consultant during construction of VW factory in Poznań.
He was responsible for standardizations and optimization of the manufacturing process in the factory.
Currently he is CEO in APA Sp. z o.o. and APA Innovative Sp. z o.o.
He is also a member of Program Board of Electric Department on Silesian Technical University.

Paweł Prokop graduated from the AGH University of Science and Technology in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Automatics and Electronics. He specialized in information technology and holds a Master of Science Degree. In 1995 he started working at Comarch SA and since 1996 he has been a member of the Management Board. In 2003 he became the Director of the Public Administration and Utilities Business Unit. He is also a graduate of the Executive MBA program organized by the Warsaw University of Technology Business School.

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.

Manager with over 20 years of experience in overseeing companies from the telecommunications and modern technology sector.

Since the company was established in 2017, as President of the Management Board of NEXERA, he has been the driving force behind a project entirely unique in Poland – an exclusively wholesale fibre-optic access network operator. Under his leadership, NEXERA was quickly noticed and recognised in the sector both in Poland and worldwide – it received an award for the Best Implementation of Cloud Services awarded by the Best in Cloud competition jury, the title of Innovator of the Year in the Golden Antennas 2019 competition and in 2020 won the international Global Carrier Awards in the category Best OSS/BSS Deployment, thus joining the group of the most accredited telecommunication companies in the world.

Before joining NEXERA, Jacek worked for Netia for eight years, where as CTO he was responsible for the implementation of new technologies in regard to networks and IT systems, the maintenance of services and networks and integration of over 40 acquired companies. In 2002–2008, as Member of the Management Board and CTO, he created and developed the telecommunications operator Tele2, a company which began a revolution in the Polish market of telephone services.

Jacek graduated from the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology at the Warsaw University of Technology and completed postgraduate studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. This combination gave him the tools necessary to skilfully manage innovative organisations.

A believer in outsourcing solutions and agile organisations. He takes a pragmatic approach to solving problems, observing the market in search of the most optimal tools, engaging in creating them himself if no such tools can be found. Highly capable of making bold decisions, for the last 20 years he has been aptly predicting the development course of the multimedia and telecommunications market.

A graduate of the University of Silesia, Faculty of Social Sciences and the direction of Health Insurance at the University of Economics in Katowice. In the years 1999 – 2016 he worked in the financial and insurance industry, a. o. for Amplico AIG Life, ING, Pramerica, Signal Iduna, managing sales areas and specializing in the development of insurance products. Since starting work on the Employee Capital Plans project, he is a member of the inter-ministerial team that develops the assumptions of the Program. As a representative of the project team, he analyzed and consulted foreign solutions of employee savings plans.

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.