People

Prof. Cezary Wójcik

Founder and Academic Director Professor of finance and leadership, the founder of the Center for Leadership, former visiting scholar at Harvard, Berkeley, Melbourne, Glasgow and other universities. He studied at Harvard University where he completed, among other things, a Master Class for Leadership Educators. He also completed a number of management and leadership programs at other schools, such as IESE Business School and HEC Paris.

In 2011 he received a Letter of Achievement in recognition of his dedication to leadership development from Harvard Kennedy School Government (HKS).
In the past served as: Member of Macroeconomic Council to the Minister of Finance, Advisor to the Governor of the National Bank of Poland, Chief Economic Advisor to the board of WestlB Bank, Director of Bureau of Integration with the Euro Area at the National Bank of Poland, Director of the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. As one of the very few Poles worked at three central banks: European Central Bank, Austrian National Bank and National Bank of Poland. Served also on expert panel evaluating Greek bail-out program at the European Court of Auditors.

In 2016, in a study conducted by “Rzeczpospolita”, he was ranked 1. - as the best candidate for the Monetary Policy Council in Poland. In the same year, he was the official candidate of the opposition for this position. Also in December 2009, in a ranking of the best candidates for the Polish Monetary Policy Council, he was nominated as one of the first six best candidates. Also in 2009, before he was 35, he was appointed professor of economics, one of the youngest in Poland.

Professor Wójcik is the author and co-author of a number of academic papers and nine books published in the USA, the UK, Germany, Austria, Estonia and Hungary. His work has been published and quoted in renowned foreign newspapers: The Guardian, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, Handelsblatt. He has been regularly publishing in Polish dailies suh as Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza.

In a study for 2001–2006, he topped the list of most quoted Polish economists in world academic journals. The SSRN database – the largest global electronic repository of academic papers in social sciences – classifies him in the top 5% of academics in the world.

He has received both of the most important prizes awarded to economists in Poland: in 2008, he received Bank Handlowy’s award for his special contribution into the area of finance and economics; and in 2009, the award of the Prime Minister.

He has been awarded many scholarships, including a Fulbright scholarship (twice), a scholarship of the Polityka Weekly, a scholarship of the Foundation for Polish Science, a scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education, and many others.

He is fluent in Polish, English and German, and speaks Spanish and Russian.

He is married, has two children, and is a happy person.

Ewelina Kanty

Project Coordinator Ewelina Kanty is deeply passionate about the transformative power of education. Graduated in Adult Education and Social Marketing from the University of Wrocław. She combines expertise in educational theory with practical skills in project management.
Through her work, she aims to contribute to a culture where education is valued not only as a career development tool, but as a lifelong journey of personal growth and self-discovery.
Supporter of sustainable use of technology. It emphasizes the importance of conscious use of digital tools and the need to find a balance between online and offline life in order to experience and enjoy reality.

Zuzanna Ziomecka

Program Director of ALP Zuzanna Ziomecka is a journalist and editor turned trainer with a focus on growing leadership capacities through mindfulness and science-based approaches.
She is the founder of Wyspa Spokoju, a book and platform for mindfulness practitioners, program director at WellCome Institute, which creates bespoke development programs for international companies, and a media and mental health consultant at HRE Investments. Zuzanna was previously in leadership positions in print, television, and internet projects.

Olga Brzezińska

Program Director of LAP Program Director of Leadership Academy for Poland, President of the City of Literature Foundation.

Long-term lecturer at the Jagiellonian University, co-founder and President of the City of Literature Foundation, Program Director of critically acclaimed literary festivals: International Miłosz Festival and Tranströmer Days, and member of the board at the New Art Foundation ZNACZY SIĘ. Arts manager, initiator and producer of multi-disciplinary cultural events, mediator between cultural institutions and artists to promote and disseminate their work in Poland and abroad, and a publicist. Recipient of Creative Scholarship of the City of Krakow in the field of arts management and member of the Council for Equal Treatment under the Mayor of Krakow.

Samuel Wasilewski

UI/UX and Visual Designer At the Center for Leadership, he aims to enhance customers’ experience through attractive, vivid graphics and an engaging interface design that conveys our brand vision. He embraced the challenge as he is competent in Information Architecture, Interaction and Usability Engineering. He also executes visual materials for our social media and pre-press promotional campaigns.

After graduating in 2010 from Kingston University London with a BA with honours in Fine Art, he gained experience working on projects for Intel Corporation, Wind River, PLVISION, P4 Sp. z o.o. (PLAY), CocoLab.pl software house and GOCC (WOŚP).

For more, check his portfolio at aveahub.com

Prof. Cezary Wójcik

Founder and Academic Director Professor of finance and leadership, the founder of the Center for Leadership, former visiting scholar at Harvard, Berkeley, Melbourne, Glasgow and other universities. He studied at Harvard University where he completed, among other things, a Master Class for Leadership Educators. He also completed a number of management and leadership programs at other schools, such as IESE Business School and HEC Paris.

In 2011 he received a Letter of Achievement in recognition of his dedication to leadership development from Harvard Kennedy School Government (HKS).
In the past served as: Member of Macroeconomic Council to the Minister of Finance, Advisor to the Governor of the National Bank of Poland, Chief Economic Advisor to the board of WestlB Bank, Director of Bureau of Integration with the Euro Area at the National Bank of Poland, Director of the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. As one of the very few Poles worked at three central banks: European Central Bank, Austrian National Bank and National Bank of Poland. Served also on expert panel evaluating Greek bail-out program at the European Court of Auditors.

In 2016, in a study conducted by “Rzeczpospolita”, he was ranked 1. - as the best candidate for the Monetary Policy Council in Poland. In the same year, he was the official candidate of the opposition for this position. Also in December 2009, in a ranking of the best candidates for the Polish Monetary Policy Council, he was nominated as one of the first six best candidates. Also in 2009, before he was 35, he was appointed professor of economics, one of the youngest in Poland.

Professor Wójcik is the author and co-author of a number of academic papers and nine books published in the USA, the UK, Germany, Austria, Estonia and Hungary. His work has been published and quoted in renowned foreign newspapers: The Guardian, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, Handelsblatt. He has been regularly publishing in Polish dailies suh as Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza.

In a study for 2001–2006, he topped the list of most quoted Polish economists in world academic journals. The SSRN database – the largest global electronic repository of academic papers in social sciences – classifies him in the top 5% of academics in the world.

He has received both of the most important prizes awarded to economists in Poland: in 2008, he received Bank Handlowy’s award for his special contribution into the area of finance and economics; and in 2009, the award of the Prime Minister.

He has been awarded many scholarships, including a Fulbright scholarship (twice), a scholarship of the Polityka Weekly, a scholarship of the Foundation for Polish Science, a scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education, and many others.

He is fluent in Polish, English and German, and speaks Spanish and Russian.

He is married, has two children, and is a happy person.

Prof. Ronald Heifetz

Harvard University Ronald Heifetz founded the Center for Public Leadership and is the King Hussein bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. Heifetz speaks extensively and advises heads of governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations throughout the world. He co-developed the adaptive leadership framework.

His research focuses on creating a conceptual foundation for the study of leadership, creating teaching, training, and consulting methods for leadership practice, and building the adaptive capacity of organizations and societies.
His first book, Leadership without Easy Answers, (1994) is a classic in the field. Read widely as a foundational text, it is one of the 10 most assigned course books at Harvard and Duke Universities. He coauthored the best-selling Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading with Marty Linsky (2002), which serves as one of the primary go-to book for practitioners across all sectors, and the field book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing your Organization and the World, (2009) with Marty Linsky and Alexander Grashow.

Heifetz is also well-known for developing transformative methods of leadership education and development. His courses on leadership at Harvard are legendary. Drawing students from throughout Harvard’s graduate schools and neighboring universities, they have consistently won the alumni award for the Kennedy School’s most influential course. His teaching methods are the subject of the book, Leadership Can Be Taught, by Sharon Daloz Parks (Harvard Business Press, 2005).

A graduate of Columbia University, Harvard Medical School, and the Kennedy School, Heifetz is a physician and cellist. He trained initially in surgery before deciding to devote himself to the study of leadership in public affairs and business. Heifetz completed his medical training in psychiatry. As a cellist, he was privileged to have studied with the great Russian virtuoso, Gregor Piatigorsky.

Prof. Dean Williams

Harvard University Dean Williams is a faculty member at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, based at the Center for Public Leadership. He is the author of “Leadership for a Fractured World: How to Cross Boundaries, Build Bridges, and Lead Change” and “Real Leadership: Helping People and Organizations Face Their Toughest Challenges”.

At Harvard Dr. Williams serves as the director of the popular executive education program Global Change Agents: Leading with Commitment, Creativity and Courage. He also directs the World Leaders Interview Project.
He has done a significant amount of advising to governments and corporations around the world. Most recently he served as Chief Adviser to the President of Madagascar, helping the country launch a rapid development process. He has also worked extensively with the governments of Nigeria, East Timor, and Brunei. He has also served as a consultant with the Singapore government’s National Productivity Board, and is currently the director of the innovative Social Leadership Singapore program that brings government, business, and NGOs together to address the complex and demanding social challenges facing the nation.

Dr. Williams was born and raised in Australia. He has lived with tribal groups in the jungles of Borneo, did his graduate degrees at Harvard, studied leadership development processes in Japan, and spoken on leadership and change all over the world.

Prof. Hugh O’Doherty

Harvard University Raised in Northern Ireland, Hugh O’Doherty teaches leadership at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and is a Senior Associate with Cambridge Leadership Associates. Hugh has taught leadership and conflict resolution at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland, where he directed the Ireland-US Public Leadership Program for “emerging” leaders from all the political parties in Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, he directed the Inter-Group Relations Project, an initiative bringing together political and community leaders in Ireland to establish protocols for political dialogue.

Hugh has consulted extensively with a wide variety of clients including the Irish Civil Service, the American Leadership Forum, the Episcopalian Clergy Leadership Program, the National Conservation Leadership Institute, and the Mohawk Community Leadership Program in Canada. He has also consulted in Bosnia, Croatia, and Cyprus and has addressed the United Nations Global Forum on Re-Inventing Government. He has worked with the government of Nepal on a negotiation and leadership development program, as a third-party member of an Armenian-Turkish Dialogue process, and on a leadership development program with a number of leaders from major political factions in Kashmir and Bahrain.

Hugh earned an M.Ed and Ed.D from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Prof. Timothy O’Brien

Harvard University Tim O'Brien, Lecturer in Public Policy, teaches Exercising Leadership: The Politics of Change and Developing People at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He also chairs the Leadership for the 21st Century: Chaos, Conflict & Courage executive program. His research focuses on adult development, identity formation, experiential learning, clinical teaching methods, and leadership education. Tim has also taught leadership at INSEAD business school's Management Acceleration Program and served as faculty for the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Programs in Professional Education. He trains and consults with Public, Private, NGO, and Non-Profit organizations to help leaders orchestrate systemic interventions and overcome powerful status quos that resist learning, innovation, and adaptation.

Tim holds a B.S. from NYU and an Ed.M and Ed.D from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Human Development and Education. He is a member of The Academy of Management and The A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems. He earned his 100-ton captains license while directing sail-training programs aboard traditionally-rigged wooden schooners in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

Dr. John J. Scherer

Scherer Leadership Center Dr. John J. Scherer, Co-Director of SLI, is a respected international speaker, consultant, and change facilitator with many of the world’s best-known organizations and their leaders, including Boeing, Ford, GTE, Microsoft, The Government of Canada, Siemens, ALIOR, DHL, Netia, PLAY, Tchibo and many others. Leaders and change facilitators from 55 countries have graduated from his Executive/Leadership Development Intensives (EDI/LDI).

Honored by Stephen Covey’s Executive Excellence magazine as one of America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Personal/Leadership Development, and recipient of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Organization Development Network.

John is the creator of hundreds of print articles and online media, and is the author of Work and the Human Spirit (1993), Five Questions that Change Everything (2008), and the recent Polish version, Wiser at Work: Five Questions that Change the Way You Lead (2012). Readers from around the world receive his newsletter, The Scherer Report and subscribe to his WiserAtWork.com: Online development for Leaders of Change™ to have access to his body of work.


One of today’s most sought-after experts in leadership and change, he is best known for his ability to connect with people quickly and for bringing about profound individual and system-wide transformations, resulting in the unleashing of the human spirit at work. Since 2008 John has been living and working in Central/Eastern Europe from a base in Poland. The father of four ‘amazing young people’, he swims, runs, does yoga, still performs the occasional magic show, and loves a good spy story.

Kathrin Fox

Scherer Leadership Center Kathrin Fox works as Leadership Coach, Systemic Mediator and Culture Change Consultant across a broad range of industries. Kathrin’s journey evolves around inner exploration and outer expression. With a professional background in international project management, change management, education & the performing arts, she challenges and inspires clients to evolve to the next level. Blending personal growth, timeless wisdom and modern science, she is a visionary when it comes to awakening leadership from within and creating new concepts for a business that combines practicality with heart and intellect.

Kathrin is certified as a Coach & Consultant for Organizational Development (IPOM, Munich) and as Systemic Mediator & Conflict Resolution Specialist. She is also a skilled facilitator with professional development in Psychology, Mindfulness, Integral Theory, Leadership Development and Conflict Transformation; working with leaders across the globe to enable their transformation from the inside-out.

Kathrin has a BA in Education from the University in Innsbruck, a BA in Nonprofit- & Health Care Management from MCI Innsbruck and is also studying for an MSc. in Professional Development and Transpersonal Psychology at Middlesex University in London. Born and raised in Germany, Kathrin now lives near Salzburg, Austria, surrounded by mountains and lakes. Whenever she feels that life is getting too busy, she retreats into silence and meditation. She also enjoys reading poetry, listening to classical music and dancing in the morning to greet the new day.

Prof. Kirsti Samuels

Columbia University Prof. Kirsti Samuels is faculty at Columbia University where she teaches Leadership and Management in Moments of Adversity and Opportunity at the School of International and Public Affairs. She is a Principal of KS Insight, a leadership and strategy consultancy based in New York City, and the Executive Director of the Adaptive Leadership Network.
Prof. Samuels has spent 20 years as a mediator, facilitator, trainer, and executive coach for countries and companies seeking innovative approaches to complex problems. She has worked with executive teams, senior country leadership, and armed rebel groups. Clients range from the President of the Comoros Islands, the leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the US Department of State, the Clinton Global Initiative, the United Nations, the World Bank, to the American Hospital Association and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
Kirsti holds a Doctorate in Law from Oxford University, a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Science and Law from Sydney University. She undertook her mediation training with the Swiss Government and studied Coaching at NYU. She is a co-founder of the Adaptive Leadership Network and a founding Board member of the Harlem Wellness Center.
Prof. Samuels was raised in the south of France, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia. She has taught and advised on leadership and strategy around the world. She calls New York City home.

Dr. Ingrid Richter

University of Ottawa, Canada Dr. Ingrid Richter works at University of Ottawa. With over 35 years of rich experience, Ingrid is an acclaimed Executive, Academic, and a Specialist in organization and leadership development. Her career spans across various sectors, including health care, law enforcement, public service, and humanitarian organizations. In recent years, she has been instrumental in designing and leading comprehensive leadership development programs for UN agencies worldwide, international development entities, and national non-profit organizations.

At the University of Ottawa, Ingrid has distinguished herself as a key architect of leadership programs. These programs are tailored for senior officials from the Government of Canada, encompassing the Department of Justice, the Department of Finance, and the Faculty of Medicine.

Ingrid is a Co-founder of the Canadian Organization Development Institute and has played a leading role as a Co-chair at the International Leadership Association Global Conference. She is also a valued member of the Board of Directors for Genome Canada.

Michael F. Murray

Since 1973 Mike Murray has helped managers, corporate executives, government officials, and others work more productively and synergistically. As the owner of his own consulting business and as a featured speaker for a major seminar company, Mike has trained more than 350,000 seminar participants in areas such as change management, conflict resolution, strategic planning, customer service, creative problem-solving, and team building.

Murray combines his unique insight and his understanding of people and how they interact to solve tough problems and to enable leaders to more effectively manage their organizations. He uses a wide variety of teaching and learning processes to enable workshop participants to equip themselves with skills and strategies for successfully accomplishing their mission.

Murray has delivered more than 500 programs for Vistage (the largest CEO organization in the world) and has worked in all 50 of the United States as well as in Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, England, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He delivers programs for the University of Texas Software Quality Institute and is on the faculty of The Leader Academy, based in Antwerp, Belgium. He is certified by LIFO Associates and Synectics Incorporated. He has written articles for The Bankers Magazine, The Oil and Gas Journal, The Journal of Religion and Applied Behavioral Sciences, Data Training Magazine, and Texas Realtors Magazine.

He earned his B.A. in English from Austin College and his Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Martin Kalungu-Banda

Oxford University Martin Kalungu-Banda works with business, government and civil society leaders globally. He advises the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative as thinking partner to Chiefs of Staff and Heads of State, including as Special Consultant to the President of Zambia. He is a faculty member of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, the Presencing Institute and the HSBC Next Generation Development as well as HRH Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conference for Leaders. Martin authored Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela (2006), It’s How We End That Matters: Leadership Lessons from an African President (2009), and Driftology: How to Access Life’s Greatest Opportunities by flying on the wings of others (2015). He is qualified in OD and Coaching; and in Public Affairs, Philosophy, Development Studies and Anthropology. He currently lives near Oxford, UK. He has led collaborative innovation on diverse issues: Heart surgery costs (India & UK); Sustainable cities (London & Shanghai); Water shortage (Middle East & UK); Carbon emissions (UK & India); and the Coral Triangle tuna industry.

Arawana Hayashi

Presencing Institute Arawana is a creator in collaborative leadership processes and currently heads the creation of Social Presencing Theater (SPT) for the Presencing Institute. She has a unique background in the arts, meditation, and social justice that she brings to creating processes that make visible both current reality and emerging future possibilities.

Arawana has a distinguished dance career that she brings into the classroom. Her experience ranges from directing an interracial street dance company formed by the Boston Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs in the aftermath of the 1968 murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, to being one of the foremost performers of Japanese Court Dance, bugaku, in the US.

She has been Co-Director of the Dance Program at Naropa University, Boulder, CO; and founder-director of two contemporary dance companies in Cambridge. MA. She continues to perform in a multi-disciplinary performance ensemble, originating out of Naropa University and the ALIA Institute, where she currently teaches in leadership programs.

Marek Metrycki

Managing Partner at Deloitte Poland Marek Metrycki took up the role of Managing Partner of Deloitte Poland in June 2008. Prior to this, he served as the Partner in Charge of Tax services since 2002. Marek has been with Deloitte for over 18 years. During this time, he advised many large Polish companies and multinational corporations. He used his comprehensive experience to support multiple clients across a wide range of industry sectors including energy, real estate, telecommunication, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods or publishing and advertising. He served them with expertise in legal and tax matters, restructuring projects, compliance issues as well as investments.
As Managing Partner of Deloitte Poland, Marek leads the organization towards the goal of becoming the undisputed leader in professional services. With this aim in mind, Deloitte Poland serves its clients with quality and distinction, offers great development opportunities for top talents, contributes to the society and sets the new professional standards delivering innovative ideas. The purpose of all Deloitte employees is to introduce positive change and make an impact that matters.

Marek is a member of the Board of Directors of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers, and the board member of the Association of Consulting Employers within the Confederation. He graduated with distinction from the Warsaw University Law School, and is a legal expert and certified tax advisor.

Agnieszka Hryniewicz-Bieniek

Global Director, Google for Startups Agnieszka joined Google in 2008 and currently oversees the company's strategy and business in Poland as Country Director. Her main responsibility is to manage Google’s ads business across products and channels, and directly lead key customer, partner, and industry relationships.

Before joining Google, Agnieszka built her career in Marketing in international corporations. Her experience in this field comes behind a variety of industries: from FMCG (Johnson&Johnson), through telecommunications (Deutsche Telekom), publishing (Gruner&Jahr) and entertainment (Disney).
Agnieszka earned a master degree in Economics at the Warsaw School of Economics and completed post-graduate studies in Public Relations.

She is a Supervisory Board Member of Millennium Bank and the Audit Committee member of the Marketing 4 Business Organization. She actively supports women in Technology by serving as a mentor and coach for future women leaders in the industry.

Bartosz Ciołkowski

Country Manager Poland at Mastercard Europe Bartosz Ciolkowski since January 2014 as General Manager Mastercard Poland is responsible for Mastercard Polish operation based in Warsaw.

He joined Mastercard in 2005, where he was responsible for Credit Cards Business development in Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2009 was responsible for Mastercard Advisors business development in Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia and CIS countries. During his work in Mastercard Advisors he was involved in over 50 projects in Central and Eastern Europe from both issuing and acquiring businesses mostly with banks and retailers. Some of them were: retail and banking driven multimerchant programs development, loyalty program implementations, co-branding mostly in airline, petrol, retail and fashion industries, payments products profitability optimization, pre-paid and innovative products development.

Since January 2013 as Head of Sales in Mastercard Warsaw office he was responsible for Mastercard business development with Banks in Poland.

His former experience includes Pekao SA where he was Card Business Development Department Manager responsible for payment cards and acquiring products development. Prior to Pekao SA he was project manager in BZ WBK eBusiness area involved in EMV implementation and POS network acquiring business development.

Bartosz Ciołkowski graduated from The Economic University in Poznan, Economy Faculty with specialization in economic policy and strategy.

Adam Sawicki

Chief Digital Officer at AmRest Adam Sawicki, big enthusiast of transformation technologies supporting human kind in its development, has over 20 years of international experience in TMT sector both in corporate and private equity environment. Having spent 12 years (1996-2008) in 5 countries with Scandinavian telecommunication group TeliaSonera starting as Junior Consultant and finishing as EVP, West Europe & North America, he moved to private equity sector leading as CEO (2008-2011) transformation of GTS Central Europe, into truly regional player. 2012-2013 he was involved as Chairman of the Supervisory Board in acquisition & development of Nexto.pl for the retail chain RUCH S.A. After that he acted as President & CEO of Netia S.A. From 2015 until April 2017, he was leading 2 years-long transformation program as CEO of T-Mobile Polska.

Currently he is active as angel investor both on individual basis and PE funds, in Poland and internationally (through US-based Exponential Partners).

Adam Sawicki holds MSc degree in Business Administration & Economics from School of Business at Stockholm University. Adam also completed the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School and numerous executive programmes at Stanford University, IMD, INSEAD as well as Singularity University

Klara Banaszewska

General Manager at Grayling Poland Klara Banaszewska is the General Manager of Grayling Poland, Polish branch of Grayling, a leading international communications consultancy with one of the strongest footprint in CEE region (part of Huntsworth Group). For the last several years, she has acted as top-level advisor to management boards and leaders of the most renown Polish and international corporations, offering tailor made strategies in the area of reputation management, including crisis communications and deal communication.

Klara is also a Public Affairs expert, with experience in both local and EU-level Public Affairs projects. During the past few years, as Deputy General Manager and Public Affairs Director, Klara built a team of Public Affairs experts that is now servicing clients from multiple sectors: energy, financial services, industry, retail and technology. Taking reign at Grayling, she managed to create an agency with one of the most comprehensive offers including full spectrum of both Public Relations and Public Affairs services.

She is a political scientist from both passion and education, having obtained Master Degrees from the College of Europe in Natolin and a Master’s Degree from Political Science faculty of Strasbourg University.

Przemysław Walasek

Partner at Taylor Wessing in Warsaw Przemysław Walasek is a Partner at TaylorWessing in Warsaw and Head of the IP and new technologies department. Together with his team he advises a significant number of blue chip and other key international trading organisations, particularly focusing on legal aspects of e-commerce, data protection, trademarks, copyright and media.

He has extensive experience in advising clients re­garding all legal aspects of e-business including host providers, producers and distributors of computer games and on-line shops. He also supports clients with regards to IP protection strategies and helps them to enforce IP rights, both in Poland and in other CEE countries.
His IP experience portfolio includes contentious and non contentious matters, such as trademark tax restructuring, licence & franchise agreements, as well as various IP litigations, with a clear leaning towards internet trademark infringements. He also advises in clearance risks, supports clients with regards to protection strategies and helps them to enforce IP rights, both in Poland and in other CEE countries.

In addition, Przemysław has extensive experience in advising clients with regards to IT, E-business and new technologies, he also supports them in corporate matters.
He took part in public consultations regarding the planned amendments to the Polish e-Commerce Act.

Przemysław regularly gives lectures on IP law, e-commerce and new technologies at legal conferences.

Przemysław has been an author of many articles for various specialist and economic media titles.

Agata Stafiej-Bartosik

Country Director at Ashoka Poland Agata Stafiej-Bartosik is a Country Representative of Ashoka. Innovators for the Public in Poland. She has launched Foundation for Social Communication and SMart Kolektiv - non governmental organizations supporting NGOs in their use of marketing tools, which operate in Poland and in Serbia. She has also launched two social enterprises helping to connect business and NGOs aligned behind common social causes. She has worked as CSR Manager for Danone Poland and then joined PwC as sustainability and social responsibility advisor to biggest Polish and CEE companies. Agata is a sociologist - she graduated from Warsaw University and Universite Lumiere Lyon II in France.

Tomasz Józefacki

VP Business Development at NEUCA Group Tomasz Józefacki has been holding the CEO position at the Benefit Systems SA. His previous professional experience was at Agora SA where he held the Member of the Board’s position and was responsible for the Internet Segment of the company. Since 2014 he was the Department Director of “Gazeta Wyborcza”. In 1999-2004 he was engaged with The New York Times Company where he was responsible for marketing and promotion of NYTimes.com. In 2002 he became the Chief of Development and Strategy of Thematic Departments for Business and Technology of NYTimes.com. He graduated from Marketing and International Business at New York Times University Stern School of Business. At the same University he got an MBA degree.

Roman Młodkowski

CEO at BIZNES24 Co-founder and president of the board of the only Polish business television, BIZNES24, launched on March 20, 2020.
Experienced manager and business journalist. Before launching television, he worked in the media as well as in the business sector. In 2019, he was the Director of Strategy and Communication at Operator Chmury Krajowej. Previously, he was the Program Director of
Forbes Polska in Grupa Onet - RAS Polska, where he also managed the Business Titles Department (2016 - 2018). Creator, Editor-in-Chief, and Director of TVN CNBC (2007 - 2013), as well as the founder and head of the TVN24 Business Editorial Board (2001 - 2007). Winner
of many prestigious awards, including Kisiel Prize, Fikus Award, and Grand Press (2006).
Author of numerous, award-winning TV formats, including the popular Firma magazine. A graduate of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Warsaw and the Advanced Management Program of IESE Business School.

Dr. John J. Scherer

Scherer Leadership Center Dr. John J. Scherer, Co-Director of SLI, is a respected international speaker, consultant, and change facilitator with many of the world’s best-known organizations and their leaders, including Boeing, Ford, GTE, Microsoft, The Government of Canada, Siemens, ALIOR, DHL, Netia, PLAY, Tchibo and many others. Leaders and change facilitators from 55 countries have graduated from his Executive/Leadership Development Intensives (EDI/LDI).

Honored by Stephen Covey’s Executive Excellence magazine as one of America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Personal/Leadership Development, and recipient of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Organization Development Network.

John is the creator of hundreds of print articles and online media, and is the author of Work and the Human Spirit (1993), Five Questions that Change Everything (2008), and the recent Polish version, Wiser at Work: Five Questions that Change the Way You Lead (2012). Readers from around the world receive his newsletter, The Scherer Report and subscribe to his WiserAtWork.com: Online development for Leaders of Change™ to have access to his body of work.


One of today’s most sought-after experts in leadership and change, he is best known for his ability to connect with people quickly and for bringing about profound individual and system-wide transformations, resulting in the unleashing of the human spirit at work. Since 2008 John has been living and working in Central/Eastern Europe from a base in Poland. The father of four ‘amazing young people’, he swims, runs, does yoga, still performs the occasional magic show, and loves a good spy story.