Speakers Biographies

Rafal Andrzejewski, Partner, AMROP
Rafal Andrzejewski joined Amrop in 2004. He is a Partner of Amrop’s Warsaw office. He heads Amrop’s Global Financial Services practice.
Rafal started his career in Kimberly-Clark Corporation. After succesfully climbing the corporate ladder for 6 years in US, he convinced his next employer, Avery Dennison Corporation, to start their operations in Poland, which he developed from a green-field into a major market player. Before joining Amrop, he also ran such companies as Bertelsmann Media (Managing Director), Medical Tribune (President), and Arka-Invesco pension fund (President).
Main areas of Rafał's expertise include executive and senior management appointments in banking and financial services, investments, pharma and biotech industries, real estate development and service industries.
Born in Poland, Rafał has lived in Nigeria and the United States before returning to Poland in mid 1990’s. He has BS degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and an MBA from the University of California.
Rafal's hobbies include reading historical books, politics and listening to good music. He also enjoys good wine and cigars in good company.
He is married and has a son.

Daniel Green, Investment Director, GREENPARK CAPITAL
Daniel is an Investment Director at Greenpark Capital, where he is responsible for deal sourcing, evaluation and execution.
Daniel joined Greenpark Capital in 2001, prior to which he studied for his chartered accountancy exams through PriceWaterhouse-Coopers and was seconded to a UK private equity firm where he was involved in investment appraisal and exit evaluation. Daniel has an MA Hons in Modern Languages from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Daniel is British and speaks French and Spanish.
Greenpark Capital is a recognised leader in mid-market secondaries. Established in 2000, Greenpark has €1.3bn of funds under management and is capitalised by major institutions from Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East. The culturally diverse team has extensive experience across the global market and has built a reputation for sound investment skills and innovative deal structuring. Greenpark works with clients to provide customised liquidity solutions, however complex the requirements.

Przemysław Aleksander Schmidt, Founding Partner, TRIGON
Prior to TRIGON, Alex was the Senior Vice President of @Entertainment Inc., the largest pay-television and cable operator in Central and Eastern Europe, and also President of Wizja TV. Previously, he was a Country Director for Poland of MeesPierson, an investment banking firm (currently ABN AMRO). He began his career as an attorney with Soltysinski, Kawecki & Szlezak, a Warsaw law firm, and as an Assistant Professor at the Business Law Department of A. Mickiewicz University. While with TRIGON, he served as the President of Twoj STYL publishing house.
Involved in privatization of the Polish economy from the very beginning, he drafted regulations to the Privatization Act. He also advised the Minister of Privatization on the Mass Privatization Programme and advised on a large number of privatization transactions.
Mr. Schmidt gained a summa cum laude Master of Law degree at School of Law, A. Mickiewicz University in Poznan and attended postgraduate studies at the University of California, Hastings (Fulbright Scholar), at Georgetown University, Leiden University and the TMC Asser Institute in the Hague (Asser College Europe).
He is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), where he served as the Chapter Chair of Poland as well as the Chairman of the European Board (2007-2009). He is currently or was a member of the board of directors of several companies and institutions in Poland, USA, UK and the Netherlands.

Heather Potters, Managing Partner, BARING COMMUNICATIONS EQITY EMERGING EUROPE (BCEE)
Heather has been making private equity investments in Central and Eastern Europe, starting in Poland, since early 1991. This experience started as a Partner and Vice-President at Enterprise Investors, the investment adviser to the Polish American Enterprise Fund and Polish Private Equity funds that together account for $351 million of investment capital. Together with Markus Pedriks, she created the first focused regional investment fund for the CEE region, in 1997, called Baring Communications Equity (Emerging Europe) Ltd. Including investments within the fund, or as an active angel investor leading independent investments for third party investors, her investment background includes all aspects of direct investment and portfolio management including: privatization, strategic partner search, direct investment with local entrepreneurs, business collaborations, M&A, licensing of intellectual property and other assets, and public offerings. Investments managed or led by Ms. Potters have touched more than 15 jurisdictions around the world, including active board positions within public and privately held companies, in a variety of industries including manufacturing, IT, service, media, communications, internet, real estate, and medical device activities. Heather holds an MBA from The Wharton School, and a BA in International Management from Claremont McKenna College

Piotr Noceń, Founder & Managing Partner, RESOURCE PARTNERS
Piotr Noceń is a Managing Partner focused on investment opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe. He is based in Warsaw, Poland.
Resource Partners is a newly established private equity group with focus on investments in the prospective small and medium-sized enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe. The group puts transaction focus on growth and buyout financing of EBITDA positive companies, with strong market position and proven strategy and business model, primarily in Consumer sectors.
Mr. Noceń co-founded Resource Partners after leaving The Carlyle Group in 2008. Previously, he was associated with 3TS Capital Partners (2001-2007), where he was an Investment Director and Partner. Prior to 3TS Capital Partners, from 1999 to 2000, Mr. Noceń was an Executive in PricewaterhouseCoopers Financial Advisory Services department in Warsaw, where he was part of the Central European TMT team focusing on M&A lead advisory projects. From 1997 to 1999 he was a Junior Equity Analyst at Deutsche Bank Research (formerly Deutsche Morgan Grenfell).
Mr. Noceń earned his M.Sc. in finance and banking from the Warsaw School of Economics (Poland) and has also completed post-graduate studies in international economics at the same University. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Miklós Losoncz, Research Director, GKI ECONOMIC RESEARCH
Dr. Miklos Losoncz Research Director with GKI Economic Research Co., Budapest, and Professor of International Economics at Széchenyi István University, Győr
Short biography: Miklos Losoncz is Jean Monnet professor at Széchenyi István University, Győr, Hungary, and research director at GKI Economic Research Co. Budapest. His research interests cover European integration in general and the Economic and Monetary Union in particular on one hand, and macroeconomic trends and forecasts on Central and Eastern Europe on the other one. For the past 1-2 years he has been focusing on the analysis of the global crisis and its macroeconomic implications for Hungary and CEE. He has published a great number of reports on this topic, also in English.
Topic to be presented at the event: Macroeconomic outlook on the CEE market
- The effects of the global financial and economic crisis on CEE countries
- Policy responses, crisis management
- Short-term macroeconomic projections
- Conclusions and implications for foreign capital investments

Javier Echarri, Secretary General, EVCA

Javier Echarri, born in 1964, is currently the Secretary General of EVCA, the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. He joined EVCA in the beginning of 1999.
Previously and since 1995 he was with BBVA Benelux as Institutional Banking Director in charge of EU institutions.
Until then Javier was the Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce for the Benelux for over 3 years.

Previously he has held positions at the Spanish Machine Tools Industry Association and at the Grupo Mondragon.

Henry Potter, Partner, ALPHA ASSOCIATES AG
Partner, Investments. Henry Potter joined Alpha Associates in September 2008 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London. Henry has been investing in private investments and private equity funds in central Europe and CIS since 1994. He participated in a number of groundbreaking transactions in the region, including bank privatisations and turnarounds. He has served on investment committees and advisory boards of many of the region’s oldest private equity managers, as well as a number of boards of directors of commercial banks and companies. As Senior Banker, he helped to build EBRD’s private equity funds investment program into the largest in the region. In addition to his managerial and transactional responsibilities, he oversaw EBRD’s private equity performance data collection and analysis as well as the co-investment program between EBRD and its portfolio funds. Henry holds a B.A. and a M.Sc. from the McGill and the London School of Economics.

Alessandra Pasian, Senior Banker, EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Alessandra Pasian joined EBRD in 1996 and currently oversees a number of the EBRD's private equity investments. Prior to working for the EBRD, she worked for two large international banks in project finance. She serves on the boards of several funds where EBRD is an investor.

Roger Pim, Partner, SL CAPITAL PARTNERS LLP
Roger Pim is a Partner at SL Capital Partners where he is responsible for origination, screening, evaluation and disposition of private equity investments. He currently sits on a number of European private equity fund advisory boards and has responsibility for a portfolio of direct co-investments.
SL Capital Partners LLP (formerly Standard Life Investments (Private Equity) Limited) manages in excess €6.3 billion of capital on behalf of 150 clients worldwide.
Roger joined Standard Life Investments in 2002, prior to which he worked in M&A and Corporate Finance at Goldman Sachs International in London and New York where he focused on the private equity industry. Roger has an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from the University of Edinburgh.

Krystyna Brzozowska, Professor of Economics, UNIVERSITY OF SZCZECIN
Krystyna Brzozowska – professor of University of Szczecin and West Pomeranian University of Technology, Poland. Author of over 200 publications in finance and banking, with 5 books. Area of research activity of K. Brzozowska activity is concerned around financing sources of widely defined investments. Author of book “Business angels on capital markets” published in Polish in 2008.

Sonya Pauls, Partner, SJ BERWIN

Sonya Pauls is a partner in the London & Munich offices of SJ Berwin.
She specialises in advising national and global fund managers (with a particular focus on emerging markets) on the structuring and establishment of private equity and other investment funds. She also represents leading investors in alternative assets. Sonya additionally focuses on carried interest arrangements and other questions relating to corporate finance work.
She has been advising on private equity issues since 1996 and has been a partner of SJ Berwin since 2000.
Sonya is a Rechtsanwältin (qualified German lawyer), a solicitor (England & Wales), a currently non-practising barrister (Lincoln's Inn, England & Wales) as well as an attorney-at-law (New York).
She is listed as a "recommended" lawyer in funds formation in the PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook. She is also recognised as a leading international practitioner in the global reviews of Chamber’s Europe, Who’s Who Legal/Private Funds, Juve and others.

Aleksander M. Ferenc, Director M&A, PZU SA

Aleksander is a Director responsible for M&A activities of PZU SA, the largest insurer in Central and Eastern Europe, with a strong financial position. On July 16, 2009, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on PZU SA to 'A' from 'A-'. Aleksander is also a member of the PZU’s Advisors Committee to the Company’s Real Estate closed-end fund. He is currently based in Warsaw, Poland.
Prior to joining PZU SA, Aleksander was working in London as a person responsible for CEE investments for Intermediate Capital Group plc, a LSE listed mezzanine provider (2007-2009). Prior to that, he spent eight years in Private Equity industry in the CEE region working as Investment Director for Baring Private Equity Partners (SGAM AI PE). He started his professional carrier in mid-90ies working for Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance division in Warsaw. His experience includes also being member of Supervisory Boards of companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Aleksander holds Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees from Warsaw University of Technology and MBA in Finance degree from Manchester Business School Worldwide.

Konrad Sitnik, Vice-President and Senior Partner, MCI MANAGEMENT SA

Deputy CEO of MCI Management SA; Senior Partner & Fund Manager of MCI.EuroVentures.
Graduate of Law at Warsaw University and Executive MBA studies at University of Minnesota.
He was employed in Polish Securities and Exchange Commission in the years 1993-1995. Country Head of Investment Banking in Raiffeisen Banking Group in Poland in the years 1995 – 2005. Member of the Executive Board of Superfund Polska (2005-2006). Corporate Banking Executive Director in Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej in the years 2006-2007. Since July 2007 in MCI Management SA.

Robert Knorr, Partner, MID EUROPA PARTNERS
Robert is a Partner of Mid Europa Partners. Prior to joining the team in 1999, he worked with Bankers Trust in London and Deutsche Bank in Milan.
Robert received his B.A. in Economics and Business from the University of Rome ''La Sapienza'' and his Masters in Finance from London Business School. Robert is based in our London office.
Konrad Sitnik, Vice-president and Senior Partner, MCI MANAGEMENT SA
Graduate of Law and Administration at Warsaw University and MBA studies at University of Minnesota. He was employed in the Stock Exchange Commission in the years 1993-1995. President of Raiffeisen Capital and Investment Brokerage House (1995-2000). In the years 2000-2005, he was an Executive in Raiffeisen Bank Polska responsible for capital market transactions. Member of the Management Board of Superfund TFI (2005-2006). Mr. Sitnik was an Executive Director in Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej in the years 2006-2007. Since July 2007 member of board of MCI S.A. August 8th, 2007 appointed President of MCI Capital TFI S.A. On July 3rd, 2007, MCI Capital TFI S.A. received permission from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to operate an Investment Fund Trust. Board member of: ABC Data Holding S.A., Bankier.pl, Czechowicz Ventures.

Responsibilities: co-management of group of funds, management of MCI TFI Capital SA and MCI.EuroVentures.

Daniel Lynch, Managing Partner, 3TS CAPITAL PARTNERS
Mr. Lynch is the managing partner of 3TS and is primarily responsible for originating, executing and managing direct investments as well as overall investment management of 3TS. Mr. Lynch joined 3TS in September 2000. Previously, Mr. Lynch was the Investment Director in charge of Telecoms and Technology for the AIG New Europe Fund based in Warsaw. He has continuously lived and worked in Central Europe for over 16 years working in the CEE Venture Capital and Private Equity industry the entire time. He resides in the Czech Republic. He has a BA (finance) from Washington State University and an MBA from University of California at Berkeley.
Dariusz Prończuk, Managing Partner, ENTERPRISE INVESTORS
Managing Partner and EIC Board Member. Mr. Proƒczuk specializes primarily in the financial and construction services sectors, and is responsible for the firm’s operations in the Czech Republic. He has completed 20 investments at EI, including those in Lukas, Bauma, Comp Rzeszów (now Asseco), Magellan, Kruk and Skarbiec. Prior to joining EI, Mr. Proƒczuk worked in consulting and was vice president of the investment bank Hejka Michna.

Thomas Niss, Vice President, DARBY PRIVATE EQUITY and Managing Director, FRANKLIN TEMPLETON AUSTRIA GMBH
Mr. Niss joined Darby in September 2007 as Senior Associate, providing the full range of support to the senior investment professionals responsible for all of the investment activities related to the Darby Converging Europe Mezzanine Fund. Prior to joining Darby, Mr. Niss worked for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Vienna and New York between 2002 and 2004 and then after graduating from Stanford Business School in 2006 through 2007. At BCG, Mr. Niss was a member of the Corporate Finance and the Financial Services Group involved in a number of value management and corporate restructuring engagements in various industries in both Europe and the US. During the summer of his MBA program, he worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. as Summer Associate, Investment Banking Division. Mr. Niss also holds duo Master degrees from Karl-Franzens-University Graz in Austria—Master of Law (2001) and Master of Science in Microbiology (2002).

Dariusz Pronczuk – Managing Partner, Member of the Board of Directors of Enterprise Investors

Dariusz Pronczuk has more than 20 years of private equity, investment advisory and corporate finance experience. At EI he has led some 20 direct investments and currently sits on 6 portfolio company boards. Mr. Pronczuk is highly experienced with investments in the financial services and construction services sectors. His expertise is widely recognized throughout the CEE region, having led the development and sale of the leading consumer finance bank in Poland (Lukas). He has also made landmark investments in Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic in the financial services sector (Magellan, Skarbiec), construction services (Bauma, Macon) and the IT sector (today’s Asseco, AVG Technologies). Prior to joining EI, Mr. Pronczuk worked in a Polish consulting firm and in one of the first Polish investment banks. Mr. Pronczuk received a Master’s degree in Economics from the Academy of Economics in Warsaw.