Speakers 2018

Kocho Angjushev

Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of the Economic Affairs in the Government of the Republic of Macedonia

PhD Kocho Angjushev is elected as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic Affairs in the Government of the Republic of Macedonia on June 1^st 2017.

He is born on 06.20.1969 in Veles, Republic of Macedonia, where he completed his primary and secondary education. In 1992 he graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, ahead of time, as the best student in the generation, with average grade of 9.36/10 and started working as an assistant at the same faculty. In 1995 he completed master studies and received a Master degree at the Institute of Mechanics.

Since 1996 he is a scientific researcher at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Aachen, Germany, where he is preparing his doctoral dissertation titled “The impact of vibration in lever mechanisms and banks on their kinematic features”. In 1998 he completes his doctoral studies at the University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in the field of mechanics and dynamics of machines.

After his successful completion of the doctorate in 1998, he was elected as an assistant professor and subsequently become regular professor of Mechanical Engineering in Skopje.

In 1999 his work experience as a lecturer extends in Loughborough, United Kingdom, as a guest professor in the field of dynamics of machines at the local mechanical engineering faculty.

In the period from 2000 to 2002 PhD Angjushev holds office as Assistant General Director for Production and Management in Electric Power Company of Macedonia, where he is responsible for organizing domestic electricity production, investment maintenance of power plants and mines and implementation of projects for modernization and rehabilitation.

In 2003 PhD Angjushev founded and becomes CEO of Fero Invest DOO Group, comprised of companies that predominantly work in the field of engineering, manufacturing, and energy.

In the period from 2004 to 2017, PhD Angjushev is an active member and subsequently a vice president of the Economic Chamber of Macedonia. In 2013 he was elected as President of the Macedonian Energy Association, a member of the Economic Chamber of Macedonia.

Kreshnik Bekteshi

Minister of Economy, Government of the Republic of Macedonia

WORK EXPERIENCE

1 Jul 2016–31 Dec 2016 Head of International Office Agency for Foreign Direct Investment and Export Promotion of the Republic of Macedonia, Bern (Switzerland) ▪ Organizing trade events, B2B events B2G events, business forums ▪ Attracting foreign direct investments from Switzerland ▪ Promoting the business of Republic of Macedonia in Switzerland ▪ Cooperating with Switzerland’s Chamber of Commerce

1 Jul 2011–30 Jun 2016 Head of International Office Agency for Foreign Direct Investment and Export promotion of the Republic of Macedonia, Brussels (Belgium) www.investinmacedonia.com ▪ Promoting the business environment of Macedonia in Belgium ▪ Attracting foreign direct investments from Belgium ▪ Facilitating Belgium and Macedonian companies to do business together ▪ Searching the market of Belgium ▪ Organizing B2B and B2G meetings, business forums, seminars ▪ Representing Macedonia in seminars and conferences regarding trade and investments ▪ Reporting through CRM system

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Oct 2009–Jan 2012 MSc in Management and Strategy (Logistics and Supply Chain Management) The University of Sheffield ▪ Graduated with Merits ▪ Strategy Formulation ▪ Managing Strategy Processes ▪ Strategic people Management

▪ Accounting and Finance for Managers ▪ Distribution and Transportation Management ▪ Logistics and Supply Chain Management ▪ Dissertation – LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE AS AN INDICATOR OF ATTRACTING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN MACEDONIA: A DELPHI STUDY

Sep 2004–May 2008 Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Arts and Science (Management and Business Administration) ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ▪ Management process ▪ Marketing ▪ New venture development ▪ Franchising ▪ Statistics ▪ Macroeconomics ▪ Public Policy ▪ Managerial Accounting ▪ Communication in Business ▪ Organization and Management ▪ Planning ▪ Global Forces and Trends ▪ Attending project teams within the university that were used as consulting projects for many institutions and organizations ▪ Attended forums and debates regarding different topics offered

Sep 2004–May 2006 Associated Degree in Applied Arts and Science (Entrepreneurship and Business Development) ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

4 Nov 2013–8 Nov 2013 EU Export Promotion for Commercial Attaches & Economic Diplomats Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, The Hague (Netherlands) ▪ Techniques in export promotion ▪ Market research ▪ Presentation of a niche market

16 Dec 2014–17 Dec 2014 FDI Attraction Conway Events, Skopje (Republic of Macedonia) ▪ Techniques attracting foreign direct investments

23 May 2008 Certificate in Management Development College of Applied Science and Technology

Mitko Andreevski

Energy Advisor to the Prime Minister

Mr. Andreevski is Energy Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia and also the founder and general manager of CNG Systems, which manufactures, operates, and exports energy processing equipment. His company implements new technology for natural gas supply and supplies compressed natural gas in Strumica, the largest city in eastern Macedonia.

Dragan Minovski

President of the Management Board, General Manager, JSC Macedonia Power Plants

President of the Management Board and General Manager at JSC ELEM. PhD at Slovak Technological University of Bratislava for Electro-technical and Information technologies, Slovak Republic. From 2015 he is an associate Professor at University Goce Delchev, Shtip, Electro-technical Faculty. From 2015 till 2017 he was on the position Commercial Director, Te-To AD. In the period from 2010-2015 he was a Lead Analyst for trading of electrical power, heat energy and natural gas in Te-To AD, where till 2010 he worked as a Project Engineer. In the period from 2004-2005 he was a Senior Associate in the Ministry of Economy.

Nate Blair

Group Manager, Strategic Energy Analysis Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Nate Blair is a Group Manager within the Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden CO. Nate has twenty-five years of experience in energy systems modeling and energy analysis. Before NREL, he worked as the TRNSYS product manager at the Univ. of WI – Solar Energy Laboratory, Global Energy Partners, and Thermal Energy System Specialists (also Madison) and interned at Sandia National Laboratories, Nate has a B.A. in Physics (1992) from Gustavus Adolphus College before a M.S.M.E. (1993) and an MBA (2002) from the UW-Madison.

His 15 years of NREL include roles developing the System Advisor Model (SAM) and PVWatts – both well-known system modeling tools – as well as the ReEDS electric grid planning model. He currently manages a team of system modelers and the Geospatial Data Science (GDS) staff. Recently, he worked on assignment at the ESMAP program within the World Bank from 2015-2016 providing technical support on renewables and specifically variable renewable grid integration.

Steven Burns

Chief, Energy and Infrastructure, Bureau for Europe and Euroasia, USAID

Mr. Burns is the Chief of Energy and Infrastructure for the Europe and Eurasia Bureau at the United States Agency for International Development. His portfolio covers Southeast Europe and the Black Sea Region, where he has been active in promoting energy sector reform and market development as well as energy sector planning. He has over 20 years of experience in the electric power industry, specializing in asset development; power sector commercial and technical due diligence; and energy efficiency and green power strategies. Prior to joining USAID, Mr. Burns was involved extensively in the evaluation and development of several energy projects, including multiple natural gas, wind, photovoltaic, and biomass engagements. He advised global electric utilities on resource mix as part of generating planning efforts and was active in the development of utility-scale photovoltaic projects. As a licensed professional engineer, Mr. Burns has 15 years of experience in commercial and industrial energy efficiency, spanning schools, hospitals, manufacturing, metals and mining, and the food and beverage industries.

Karolina Cegir

Representative from Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna

Karolina Cegir works at the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna since 2007. The Secretariat is an international institution established according to the Energy Community Treaty in order to monitor its fulfilment and, from the other hand, to support the Contracting Parties of the Energy Community in their efforts to implement EU acquis required by the Treaty. The main focus of her work is on natural gas while additional tasks are related to renewable energy in transport sector. The scope of work includes regular contacts with EU institutions, such as Gas Coordination Group, European Network Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and Concerted Action on Renewable Energy Sources Directive (CA-RES).

Karolina holds a bachelor degree in Petroleum Engineering from Zagreb University, and MSc degree in Renewables at the Technical University of Vienna.

Sotirios Nikas

Executive Director of DESFA

Sotirios Nikas is the President of the BoD and CEO of the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA). He has graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a BSc in Geomatics Engineering (Dipl. Eng.) and has a demonstrated working experience of over 25 years in the oil and gas industry worldwide. Since 2012, and until recently, he acted as Project Manager in EPC projects at UniversalPegasus International, specializing in pipelines and oil & gas associated facilities for major companies (Interpipeline, Plains Midstream, Gibsons Energy, etc.) in Calgary (Alberta), Canada.

From 1989 until 2012, he has been working as Project Manager in DEPA (Public Gas Corporation) and DESFA for the design and construction of the National Natural Gas Transmission System, while he also has a great experience working as a freelance professional in the fields of Civil and Geomatics Engineering. Mr. Nikas is both a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

His mother tongue is Greek; he is fluent in English and speaks, also, German.

Juan Jose Fornaso

Sales Vice President Europe and CIS at Galileo Technologies S.A.

Mr. Fornaso has accumulated over 20 years of experience in business and sales development activities in the Oil & Gas as well as in the renewable energy sector, mainly developed in Europe, CIS and Latin America territories. During his career he has successfully developed many different type of projects in the energy sector, covering mainly natural gas compression stations ( wellhead, gathering, pipeline, CNG stations, etc), virtual pipeline solutions, NG liquefaction plants, as well as renewable biogas monetization projects. He holds a degree on Industrial Engineering and MBA specialization on Management and Business Administration.

Pranvera Dobruna Kryeziu

Board of Directors, non-executive director, Kosovo Energy Corporation

”Ms. Pranvera Dobruna-Kryeziu is an esteemed energy expert, having served as CEO of Kosovo’s Power Company (KEK) 2006-2007, as advisor to Prime Minister of Kosovo and Minister of Energy and Mining 2004-2006, and having established the first Regulatory Authority in Kosovo 2004. Ms. Dobruna-Kryeziu represented Kosovo in its negotiation process for the Treaty establishing the Energy Community in SEE, taking place in Brussels 2002-2005. At present, she serves as External Energy Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Kosovo and holds the position of Deputy Chairperson of the Kosovo CIGRE National Committee, also representing Kosovo in CIGRE Southeast Europe (SEERC). Moreover, Ms. Dobruna-Kryeziu serves as head negotiator for Kosovo in the Energy Community Secretariat facilitated dispute resolution mechanism. Complementary to her present engagements, Ms. Dobruna-Kryeziu is devoted to educating future generations of Kosovo, lecturing on Energy Policy, Energy Storage and Geothermal and Heating Pumps at UBT College in Prishtina, Kosovo.

Her extensive experience in the energy industry including but not limited to profound knowledge of national and regional energy policy, has afforded her broad interaction with counterparts in the Balkans, Europe and the US. She continues her engagement as an energy consultant for multiple companies and stakeholders, including furthering the development of renewable energy in Kosovo, and holding guest lectures in multiple higher-education institutions around Kosovo.”

Cornel Zeveleanu

Deputy General Director – General Directorate for Oil and Gas, Ministry of Energy

Mr. Cornel Zeveleanu is a graduate of the Faculty of Cybernetics, Statistics and Economic Informatics of ASE Bucharest and he is working since 2003 within the Ministry of Energy, for the General Directorate for Oil and Gas.

Over time, Mr. Cornel Zeveleanu has been successfully involved in almost the entire sector specific issues addressed through the legal duties of the specialized structure of the central public authority responsible for the oil and gas sector.

Activity carried out in recent years aimed at transposing into Romanian legislation the specific European legislation in the field of oil and gas, and activities necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the ministry in the sphere of security of gas supply and the establishment of minimum stocks of crude oil and petroleum products.

Natasha Markovska

Senior Researcher, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Natasha Markovska holds DSc degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Skopje, with thesis on solar energy technologies. At present she is a Senior Researcher and Professor at the Research Centre for Energy and Sustainable Development of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (RCESD-MASA), as well as National Focal Point of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Member of the International Scientific Committee of the Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environmental Systems (SDEWES Conferences), and Chair of the National Committee on Climate Change. She has been participating in 78 international and national projects related to climate change mitigation, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency and energy strategic planning, for clients such as UNDP, USAID, WB, European Commission, GIZ, Macedonian, Georgian and other governments. In these fields, Dr. Markovska co-authored 142 published contributions (33 SCI/CC publications). Since 2015 she is a member of the Editorial Board of the international journal Energy (Elsevier). She served as an Editor of the Second National Communication under UNFCCC and as a Guest Editor of 12 special issues of international journals (6 of Energy and 3 of Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews) dedicated to SDEWES Conferences.

Marek Kubik

Market Director, Fluence Energy Storage

Marek leads Fluence’s UK and Ireland client solutions team and is responsible for overseeing the development and coordination of Energy Storage sales and project proposals across UK&I, the Middle East and Africa. He has approaching a decade of experience in energy and sustainability, including an instrumental role in the development of the UK’s first fully commercial battery storage array. Marek is a TEDx speaker and 2017 honouree of the Forbes 30 Under 30; a list that recognises the most important young entrepreneurs, creative leaders and brightest stars in their respective industries. He holds a Masters in Engineering from Durham University and an Engineering Doctorate from the University of Reading.

Haki ABAZI

CEO of the Emerging Democracies Institute in Washington DC

Mr. Haki Abazi is the CEO of the Emerging Democracies Institute in Washington DC focusing on Access to Energy, Refugees and Migrants and Electoral Systems in countries in transitions. Prior to EDI he served for over 10 years as a program director of the Western Balkans of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Pivotal Place program, Mr. Abazi also served as the director of the Kosovo office of the East West Management Institute, where he developed and implemented a wide range of programs addressing critical issues in Kosovo during the transition period. Mr. Abazi spent more than 20 years designing and managing development programs that supported sustainable development with citizen participation in decision-making processes, designed strategies and guidelines for governments and civil society organizations in a number of countries, including Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Afghanistan,Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan and Indonesia. He has in-depth knowledge of and experience with the civil society community and the geopolitics of the Balkans region. He holds a degree on Computer Sciences – Electrical Engineering and Management.

Atanasko Tuneski

Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Atanasko Tuneski, 53 years old, is professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, Macedonia, since September 1997. He is Head of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Automation since September 2016. He has received his Ph.D. in Technical Sciences (field Automatics) in May 1997, under supervision of the Academician Professor D-r Miomir Vukobratovic from Serbia. Atanasko Tuneski is specialist in energetic systems, automatic control systems, SCADA and PLC systems, computer control. He was a Project Coordinator of two TEMPUS Joint European Projects (DEREC and DEREL) aimed at development and establishment of new two cycle environmental and resources engineering studies at the “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, and a NATO Science for Peace Project MIRVAX (Monitoring and Improving Rivers in the Vardar/Axios Watershed). Atanasko Tuneski was General Manager of AD MEPSO (Macedonian Transmission System Operator) from October 2006 until September 2007, when he was involved in the activities in the energetic sector of Macedonia, aimed to ensure secure and stable electricity supply to the consumers for a long-term period. He is member of the team which worked on the new Macedonian Law on Energy at the end of 2017 and in 2018.

Trajche Cherepnalkovski

Executive Director of Neotel

Mr. Cherepnalkovski has accumulated over 27-years experience in the electricity and 11years in telecommunication sector. During his career he has successfully managed many different power projects, covering Generation, Distribution, and especially Transmission of electricity and implementation of modern technology, particularly ICT in the electricity sector. He has more than 10 years experience in infrastructure projects in the electricity sector, covering transmission lines, power stations (CHP, hydro generation, etc.) as he has been, since 1996, Co-ordinator and then Director of Development and Investment Division of ESM (electricity utility of Republic of Macedonia) having the responsibility and supervision for the development cycle of infrastructure projects for generation and transmission from pre-feasibility studies to complete design and construction. Many of the projects were implemented under financial support of International Financial Institutions, e.g. World Bank, EBRD and EIB.

Goran Paunov

Owner and General Manager of KMG EOL Kvazar DOOEL

Born in Kocani in 1972, Republic of Macedonia. Graduated in 1997 at the “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Post graduated in 2013 at the same University with Master thesis “Upgrade of Photovoltaic Plant “Mavis-Shtip 250KW” with optimized wind generating system and analyses of hybrid wind-FV plant On-Grid”. In 2007 founded the company KMG EOL KVAZAR, one of the most successful companies in the field of renewable energy especially in designing and installing PV plants. Owner and General Manager of the same company, at the moment. Co-founder and co-owner of the company PIKCELL GROUP, the first company producer of PV modules in Republic of Macedonia.

Slave Ivanovski

Owner of Mega Solar

Slave Ivanovski (Skopje, 1958) is one of the leading experts in the field of energy law and regulation of energy activities in the Republic of Macedonia.

Until 2001 he holds high managerial positions in the Ministry of Economy, and then he works as an independent legal consultant on several international projects in the field of environment, public services and energy in the Republic of Macedonia.

In the period 2003 to 2009 he is the President of the Energy Regulatory Commission of the Republic of Macedonia. In 2007 and 2008 he was Chairman of the Board of Regulators of the Energy Community (ECRB). Also, during this period he is a member of the Presidium of the Regional Association of Energy Regulators (ERRA).

In 2009 he has been working on several projects related to the creation of national legal and regulatory framework in the energy aligned with the requirements of EU legislation, as well as several other institutional and development projects in the energy field in the country and abroad.

Since November 2017 he is part of the expert team in charge of drafting the Energy Law as well as the by-laws for the implementation of this law.

He is constantly employed as an advisor on legal and regulatory issues in MEGASOLAR Skopje.

Erideta Bashi

Director of Planning and Strategic Management Division, KESH, Albania

Holds the position of Senior Manager, Strategic Planning and Management Division within Albanian Power Corporation. With a 16- year of work experience in power sector, she has been in charge of different duties in the form vertically integrated Power Utility (KESh sh.a.) from 2000 – 2005. During 2006-2009 she has been working in the Regulatory Authority as Senior Tariff Specialist, which was followed by her new role within CEZ Shperndarje – Albanian DSO. Along to her work experience she has been actively involved with the working groups within Energy Community Secretariat and Ministry of Energy , aiming to facilitate the adoption of the Third EU Energy Package in the SEE Region.

Ina Lazarova

Acting Director Projects, Chief Expert, Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD

Positions in the period 2008-2018: leading lawyer, project manager, Head of Gas Projects Department, currently acting Director Projects.

In the period 2008-2018 dealing with gas Projects in which BEH is or was a shareholder: the Nabucco Project, South Stream Project, Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria Project (IGB), potential participation at the LNG Alexandropoulos Project.

Ministry of Energy (from October 2000 until March 2008) – lawyer (positions junior expert, senior expert, chief expert, state expert) at the European Integration Department dealing with EU energy legislation adoption in Bulgaria and EU Accession Treaty issues (energy part), Energy Community Treaty, Energy Charter Treaty, etc.

Teki Suajibi

Senior Sales Manager of GE Distributed Power

Mr. Teki Suajibi is a Senior Manager with an expertise in smalle/Mediumr power generation. He spent more than 18 years working in the region and being engaged on various projects related to power generation from natural gas, biogas, landfill gas and other fuel. He is currently based in Vienna, holding a role of the Senior Sales Manager of GE Distributed Power, Jenbacher for Central & Eastern Europe, including the Western Balkans region . Teki has a M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna, Austria