Tue, May 22 2012

Italian chambers of commerce hold annual summit in Sofia

Fri, May 23 2008 15:54 CET

byElena Koinova

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Italy can only win the game of globalisation if it acts in a concerted effort in all territories where Italian emigrants are present, Maurizzio Achini, head of the corporate department at BNP Paribas, told participants the annual meeting of Italy's chambers of commerce abroad based in Europe.

The half-day seminar, which took place in Hilton hotel, Sofia, and was titled Italian small and medium enterprises: From export to lasting establishment on European markets, gathered representatives of Italian chambers of commerce from the so-called zone Europe, members of Italian Senate, Bulgarian and Italian governmental institutions.

Participants made clear that, while the Italian emigrant community is very large and spread across all continents, its entrepreneurial activities lack a systemic approach and this is still to the detriment of Italy's attempt to internationalise Italian business operations worldwide.

For this reason, to ensure maximum success, all Italian chambers of commerce, together with Italian foreign trade institutes and organisations aiding the expansion of Italian business, both large and small, must act in a systematic fashion.

Unfortunately, Italians abroad are yet to attain this goal but steps in this direction have already been taken.

"Italy is the sole country, which encourages and supports the international activities of Italy's chambers of commerce and aiming at the delocalisation of Italian enterprises abroad," said Nikolai Burzashki, head of the Small and Medium Enterprises Agency.

Since 1984, when Italy adopted legislation aimed at promoting work of Italian chambers of commerce abroad, the country's government has financed thousands of projects, said Eduardo Pollastri, a senator and president of Italy's Assocamerestero.

Italy is Bulgaria's largest partner with trade turnover of three billion euro, in what is a 14 per cent year-on-year increase. Between 1996 and 2007, the volume of Italian investments in Bulgaria reached 1.043 billion euro, which makes it the fifth-largest investor in Bulgaria.

Among the largest Italian investors in Bulgaria are textile maker Miroglio, energy company Enel and banking group UniCredito, among others.

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Employment Agency

Kamelia Lozanova has been appointed the executive director of the Employment Agency, a position she has held ad interim since September 2011, following the resignation of her predecessor Rossitsa Stelianova. Prior to that, Lozanova was the agency's deputy executive director in charge of international projects and European programmes. She has been with the agency for more than 20 years. Lozanova has a degree in Slavonic philology from the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.

Uniqa

Uniqa

Gloria Dimitrova has been appointed executive director and member of the managing board at Uniqa Life Insurance Bulgaria. Dimitrova began her career in 1998 at the insurance supervision directorate, but moved to the private sector and worked for professional services and insurance brokerage firm Marsh&McLennan and US insurer AIG, both in Bulgaria and the Middle East. She joined Uniqa as regional director for Sofia in 2010. Dimitrova has a degree in economics from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia and a master's degree in insurance from the Business Academy in Svishtov.

Beiersdorf

Beiersdorf

Bedros Kalfayan, general manager of skin care and cosmetics company Beiersdorf Bulgaria, will oversee the parent's company units in Romania and Moldova starting April 1. Following company restructuring, Beiersdorf's subsidiaries in the three countries were merged and are now one unit, part of Beiersdorf Central and Eastern Europe. Kalfayan joined Beiersdorf in 2007 as sales manager and was promoted to general manager in 2008. Prior to that, he worked for Axxon Bulgaria, Ferrero and Rubella. Kalfayan has a master's degree in industrial management from the Technical University in Sofia.

Kamenitza

Kamenitza

Yassen Lyubenov is the new head of marketing at Bulgarian beer brewer Kamenitza. Lyubenov has 12 years of experience in marketing in the fast-moving consumer goods sector and has started his career as assistant brand manager at Kraft Foods Bulgaria. He later became brand manager at Wrigley Bulgaria, with responsibilities for Bulgaria and Macedonia. Prior to joining Kamenitza, he was senior marketing manager at Wrigley Russia, where he was in charge of brand expansion into Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Lyubenov has a bachelor's degree in international business administration from the University of Lincoln, UK.

Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard

Sasha Bezuhanova has been appointed Hewlett-Packard public sector director for emerging markets, where she will oversee HP public sector activities in 63 countries, including Bulgaria. Bezuhanova will also be in charge of HP's relations with the European Union. Bezuhanova has been HP's public sector director for Central and Eastern Europe since 2008; before that she was general manager of HP Bulgaria since 1998. Bezuhanova has a master's degree in electronics from the Technical University in Sofia and has completed a managment programme at INSEAD.

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