Speakers
Dr. Kiril Nikoltchev
Dr. Kiril Nikoltchev has been General Manager for Bulgaria of the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie since 2013.
Previously, he worked at Abbott Laboratories, where he went up the ladder – growing from Product to General Manager. Prior to joining Abbott, he was part of several well-known companies on the local market, such as DePuy, Johnson & Johnson, and Solvay Pharma.
In 1999 he graduated in "Medicine" at the Medical University of Varna, and in 2012 obtained a Master's degree in "Business Administration" at the City University of Seattle.
Ilian Grigorov
Chief Executive Officer Tokuda Hospital Sofia and Tokuda Medical Center
He is an executive with 14 years of experience in private equity and M&A advisory. Ilian has led Bedminster Capital (formerly Soros Investment Capital) office in Bulgaria for 8 years. He has experience in investing in various industries including cable, media and healthcare. Ilian has held directorship positions in Eurocom Cable, Digital City Media, Golden Pages, United Medical and United Health Insurance. From 2009 until leaving Bedminster, Ilian was Co-CEO of United Medical, the first private integrated healthcare provider in Bulgaria. Prior to Bedminster, Ilian worked for KPMG in Bulgaria BDO in the Netherlands. Ilian graduated from University of National and World Economy with a Master in Economics and Finance and University of Amsterdam with Master in International Finance. Currently, he is completing an Executive Master in Healthcare Administration at the University of Minnesota.
Tomislav Zivanovic
Born in London, Tom, a chartered accountant, has lived in Belgrade for nine years and worked for PHOENIX as Balkan regional director since 2009. Prior to this period he lived in France for five years working as sales director in FMCG. Currently is managing director of BENU (retail) and PHOENIX Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as chairman of the board of PHOENIX companies in Balkan markets. His focus is on bringing Western European solutions to develop and modernise regional markets.
Sandra Bršec Rolih
Sandra Bršec Rolih was diagnosed with diabetes Type 1 in 2004. She became Vice president of the Croatian Diabetes Association in 2012 and since 2013 has been very active with IDF Europe, as member of the Board and of a number of committees.
In both organizations Sandra is involved in joint projects, lectures, conferences and decision making processes of all stakeholders regarding issues relevant to people living with diabetes. Her responsibility is to present the work, mission and projects of both IDF Europe and the Croatian Diabetes Association to partners, supporters and new members.
Sandra places great importance in working closely and directly with other people living with diabetes. She is proud to be an initiator and a president of the local Diabetes Association Zapresic and a Vice president of the Regional Coordination of Diabetes Clubs and Diabetes Associations of Zagreb and Zagreb County.
Besides activities and involvement in the diabetes community, Sandra is also active as a member of Transparency International Croatia, a non-government organization which monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. She is also a Vice president of the Webster University Alumni Chapter Croatia.
Professionally, Sandra works as a Head of Finance in Zagreb, Croatia. Sandra completed her MBA studies in Marketing at JJ. Strossmayer University, Faculty of Economics (Croatia) and is currently completing her PhD in Organization and Management.
Mariya Sharkova
Mrs. Sharkova works in the field of healthcare law, with one of her main clients being the largest University Hospital in Bulgaria, Saint George University Hospital, based in the city of Plovdiv. In her current role, she is responsible for a variety of legal issues that are both corporate and healthcare oriented in nature. Mariya is the CEO of National Consultative Center for Medical Law.
After her graduation as a Master of Law from Sofia University Kliment Ohridski, she specialized in a program for attorneys in protection of children rights in Bulgaria, provided by the Institute International des Droids de l’Enfant, Sion ,Switzerland, and Program for the Development of the Judicial System,Bulgaria. She was also one of the participants in the Bulgarian Young Leaders Program, Junior Justice Professional Training Program in USA, in 2013, provided by America for Bulgaria Foundation.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mrs. Sharkova worked as an interpreter and researcher for True Vision TV, London, UK. This company, commissioned by BBC, created a documentary about children with disabilities living in institutes in Bulgaria. Since 2007, she has dedicated her time to addressing the problems of children with disabilities by providing legal advice and help for families with disabled children as well as organizations such as Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children Trust.
Mrs. Sharkova has been awarded with Hubert Humphrey Fellowship, by the US-Bulgarian Binational Commission Fulbright and the Department of State, USA for the academic 2015-2016. She spent one year in Atlanta, at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, ranked among the top 10-th Public Health schools in USA. She specialized in the fields of healthcare law, public health and health policy. During her year as a Humphrey Fellow, Mrs. Sharkova gained theoretical and practical skills in communication and alternative dispute resolutions in healthcare, public health law, comparative healthcare systems and hospital management. She worked as an intern at the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA in their Public Health Law Program.