Register to attend
Tuesday 8 November
WTM ExCel – Insight Stage
from 15:20 to 17:30

Register to attend
Wednesday 9 November
Canary Riverside Plaza Hotel
from 09:30 to 17:30

Maryana traveled by herself around the country during 2003 – 2006 and studied Ukraine from small villages to big cities while creating a web-site about vacations in Ukraine Nezabarom.com.ua. She worked in the hospitality industry of three largest tourism centers – Lviv, Odesa and Kyiv.

• From June 2020 started a promotion company «Travel Ukraine» in order to develop domestic tourism in Ukraine.
• As from 3 March 2020, Chairperson of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine Spent over 17 years working in the tourism sector, convention industry and marketing
• 2016 – 2018 Director at LME «Lviv Centre for Tourism Development»
• 2013 – 2015 Head of the Division of Tourism Agencies and Travel Bureau at Ltd «Slupskyi»
• 2011 – 2012 Deputy Head of the Department – Head of Tourism Division at Department of Culture and Tourism at Odesa City Council
• 2007 – 2009 Head of the Advertisement Division at «Initia Events»(Kyiv)

Aradhana is a global expert on the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. Her executive, entrepreneurial and board career spans over two decades, five continents and 75+ countries. She is currently the CEO of Aptamind Partners, a private client advisory that advises governments and businesses on using tourism as a force for good and she is the former Managing Director of Tourism at NEOM which is the US$ 500 Billion land of the future in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A sought-after Board Member she has an active portfolio of board roles both in private and listed companies which includes being the Chair of the Red Sea Advisory board in Saudi Arabia, Board Member of World Tourism Forum in Lucerne Switzerland as well as Board Member of the leisure arm of a multi asset listed holding company.

She speaks widely on sustainable tourism, tourism of the future, women in leadership and has participated in global policy discussions in United Nations bodies, the WEF as well as the G20 apart from all major tourism Summits. She has studied at Ecole Hotelier de Lausanne in Switzerland, Cornell University in US and INSEAD in France.

Tsvetan (Atanasov) Simeonov has been working at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for more than 40 years now, starting his professional experience as a specialist-jurist in various departments of the Chamber such as the Trade Register Directorate, Law Department etc. He was elected BCCI’s President in June 2009.

He is a member of the following national and international professional bodies: EMPLOYERS’ DELEGATION OF THE R.BULGARIA WITH THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION-Geneva, BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (EUROCHAMBRES – Brussels), ORGANIZATION OF THE BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION BUSINESS COUNCIL (BSEC BC) AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TRIPARTITE COOPERATION AT THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, ARBITRATOR AT BCCI’s ARBITRATION COURT etc.

Tsvetan Simeonov was born in Bulgaria and has studied Law in Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky”. He graduated in 1979 getting an M.A Degree in Law. His post graduate qualifications include International Arbitration and Commercial Law. He also specialized in Labour Law and Social Relations at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization, Turin.

Apart from his native Bulgarian, he speaks English and Russian fluently and basic Spanish.

With more than 25 years of experience in tourism and travel, Lachezar Todorov started his carrier in travel management and tour operation in 1990 in Carlson Wagonlit Travel as an intern. By 1995 he became an account manager in the same company, responsible for the key accounts the company provided services to in Bulgaria. 2001 marked a serious professional change, when he joined the newly established group of companies around Terra Tour Service EOOD, which concentrate the private investment in the area of tourism and hospitality of Agrohold AD, originally as CEO of Relax Plus AD and later on as CEO of the mother company itself. In 2001 he also became the CEO of the travel agency and tour-operator of the group – Hornit OOD.

In the following years Lachezar helped concentrate the investment efforts and was instrumental for the growth of the company, which nowadays owns four hotel properties (SUNEO Helios Beach, RIU Helios Bay, ClubHotel RIU Helios Paradise and RIU Helios) along the Black Sea Coast and another two (RIU Pravets Resort and Pravets Palace) in the area of Pravets. The company currently owns over 1 700 hotel units, to which another 600 will be added in 2019, when the last two projects (Hyatt Regency Sofia and RIU Palace Sunny Beach) are expected to come into operation.

His professional experience grew with his extensive involvement in the relationship with the international hotel management companies, like RIU and Hyatt International and more recently Marriott International, Accor Group and IHG. On the tour-operating site, Lachezar is well respected due to his long and fruitful history with all tour-operators from the group of TUI, as well as other international and local ones, doing business across Europe, Russia and the CIS countries.

Although hospitality represents the most significant part of the investments of TTS EOOD, the company has also tried and been successful in other tourism related projects, like the 18-hole Peter Harradine designed Pravets Golf Course, as well as the four hunting concessions, covering some of the best areas for hunting tourism in the country. Terra Tour Service EOOD, has also involved in some real estate investment with two projects – Helios Beach Apartments in Pomorie (now successfully completed) and Pravets Residence, where the company is actively involved as a property manager of the complex, consisting of residential apartments and villas.

Lachezar is a member of the National Tourism Board of Bulgaria and one of the most respected Bulgarian professionals in investments projects and personnel management, finance and strategic planning. Popular speaker at real estate and tourism investment forums in the country and abroad.

Lachezar graduated the Moscow State Institute for International Relations in 1991 with Master’s degree in international relations. Married, with four children and resides in Sofia.

Yordanka Fandakova is Mayor of Sofia since 2009. She was born in the city of Samokov on 12 April 1962 and studied Russian Philology at St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University. She started her career as a teacher in 1988. Before going into politics, Fandakova became principal at her school and held the post for seven years until 2005. In the period of 2007 to 2009 she was Deputy Mayor for “Culture, Education and Sports”.

In 2007 Fandakova also started the municipal programs “Culture” and “Europe”, in which to date in more than 700 projects over 6 million Bulgarian Lev (3 million Euros) have been invested. In addition she implemented reforms covering municipal theaters and participated in the development of the long-term strategy for cultural development “Sofia-creative capital” (2013-2023). Sofia’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2019 was initiated by Fandakova as well. She is married and has one daughter.

Renata Pindžo, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Finance and Administration (FEFA), Belgrade. She holds lectures at the Academy of Applied Science, College of Tourism, Belgrade. Since October 2021, she has been Communication director at the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) in the Republic of Serbia and founder of Tourism & Hospitality Commitee.

From July 2008 to October 2021, she was in charge of the tourism sector as Deputy Minister in the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Since 2013, she has been a member of the National Council for Tourism Development of the Republic of Serbia. Ms. Pindžo graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, where she obtained a Master’s degree in 2003. In May 2011, she received her Ph.D. degree.

Furthermore, her experience includes more than 13 years in management consulting and financial advisory services. She has gained knowledge by providing consulting services to many domestic and international companies, including financial institutions and local municipalities during her employment at Deloitte.

Also, as a consultant, she was engaged at the Economics Institute and on the World Bank`s projects related to privatization, restructuring, and improving the competitiveness of the Serbian economy. She has cooperated with many international institutions (USAID, EAR, EBRD, OECD, SDC, DFID, and GIZ) on complex projects of restructuring the Serbian economy. Also, she was the focal point on the behalf of the Republic of Serbia (tourism field) in the following organizations and regional initiatives: UNWTO, BSEC, RCC, EUSAIR, EUSDR. Ms. Pindžo is the author of more than 80 scientific papers.