Connecting business, academia and policy.
Speakers
Alena Sabelová
THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC FOR THE RECOVERY PLAN AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
State Secretary
Alena Sabelová holds the position of the State Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and Knowledge Economy since October 2023. She has been working in the state administration since 2001, with a short break, in a number of managerial positions, including the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and the Government Office of the Slovak Republic. She led the process of preparation of the strategic document „Vision and Strategy for the Development of Slovakia until 2030“ and also represented Slovakia at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development based in London for eight years.
Peter Drábik
THE BRATISLAVA UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
Dean of the Faculty of Commerce
Assoc. Prof. Ing. Peter Drábik, PhD., MSc., has served as Dean of the Faculty of Commerce at the Bratislava University of Economics and Business since 2019. He works at the Department of Marketing, where he teaches courses such as Marketing, Digital Marketing, and Strategic Retail Management. His research focuses on distribution policy, logistics, technological innovations, and the economic aspects of electromobility. He is the author of several monographs, textbooks, and dozens of scientific papers published both in Slovakia and abroad, with his work cited in renowned databases such as Web of Science and Scopus. As an educator and researcher, he is dedicated to linking theory with practice and fostering innovation in the fields of commerce and marketing.
Radim Dvořák
EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPRESENTATION IN SLOVAKIA
Acting Head
Since January 2025, Radim Dvořák has served as the Acting Head of the European Commission Representation in Slovakia. He previously worked as Deputy Head of the Representation while also leading the political reporting team. Over his career in the EU institutions, he served as a programme manager at DG REGIO (2018–2019) and a policy officer at the European Committee of the Regions (2015–2018). From 2007 to 2014, he was a linguistic administrator and terminologist at the Committee of the Regions; earlier, he worked as a translator and interpreter, as well as a school director and English teacher in China. He holds a Master’s degree from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ostrava, completed the JURIDIKUM programme at the Charles University Faculty of Law, and attended summer seminars at the University of New Orleans.
Filip Franek
AMAZON
Public Policy Manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia
Filip Franek serves as Manager for External Relations for the Czech Republic and Slovakia at Amazon, where he is responsible for operations, sustainability, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Before joining Amazon in 2022, he gained extensive experience in various positions at the British Chamber of Commerce and the British Embassy in Prague, where he led teams focused on delivering business services and supporting entrepreneurs.
Filip Hatiar
DEDOLES
Head of Performance Marketing
Filip Hatiar leads the Performance Marketing department at Dedoles. He previously worked as an Account Manager at Google, where he supported the largest e-commerce players in the Czech and Slovak markets. He later joined the Mergers & Acquisitions team at Berlin Brands Group, where he managed companies selling on Amazon.
Milan Dubec
Entrepreneur and Investor
Milan Dubec has 30 years of experience. He is a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year, a Forbes Personality of the Year, and an investor on the TV show Lions’ Den. He has built companies with hundreds of thousands of customers. He has spent his whole life building and investing in things that matter, and along the way discovered another passion—teaching people how to manage money and live more freely. He is the founder of Azet.sk, Aktuality.sk, Pokec.sk, Bistro.sk, and Nehnuteľnosti.sk, and an investor in successful Slovak companies such as GoodRequest and Žilinak.sk. He co-owns the media houses Ringier Slovakia, Petit Press, and Mediak. Today he is fully focused on real-estate development through his company Reinoo, where his team is building modern cities of the future. As an investor, he has appeared three times on the TV show Lions’ Den. Since 2023 he has hosted his own podcast, Money Talk Milan Dubec, where he shares lessons from business, investing, and life; in 2025 it was named Best Business Podcast of the Year.
Monika Naďová Krošláková
THE BRATISLAVA UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
Associate Professor
Monika Nadova Kroslakova is an Associate Professor and a member of the Senate at the Faculty of Commerce of the Bratislava University of Economics and Business. She is the founder of the Family Business Centre and a co-founder of the Network of Top Business Leaders and Researchers in the International Business and Economic Research Academy (IBERA). She is a member of the International Advisory Council at the Institute of One World Leadership®. Additionally, she is a member of the Wisdom Board of the Family Hippocampus Club, a member of the International Board of Experts at the IRB, and an Advisory Council Member at Asiatech Education.
She guarantees Family Business and Entrepreneurship subjects and co-guarantees two study programs at the Faculty of Commerce of EUBA. She is also a co-owner of the family production company Novplasta s.r.o. (G2) and the consulting company Excellence consulting s.r.o. (G1). In the field of family business, she acts as an expert at the Slovak Business Agency and is a member of the working group at the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic dedicated to family business issues.
Gabriel Gottgeisl
SLOVAK INVESTMENT AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Head of the National Project Department
Gabriel Gottgeisl has many years of experience in project management and, since 2017, has focused on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Laura Škrinárová
SLOVAK INVESTMENT AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Project manager, Department of National Project
Michal Meško
MARTINUS
Co-owner and CEO
Michal Meško graduated as Master of management and marketing at Faculty of Management at Comenius University (Bratislava, Slovakia). He is an alumni of Harvard Business School (Boston, USA) and he also studied consumer behavior and e-commerce at Rijksuniversitat Groningen (The Netherlands). In 2000, he co-founded Referaty.sk, the largest website for students, which was sold to Atlas.sk in 2004. He also co-founded internet bookstore Martinus.sk in 2000, where he is currently CEO and co-owner. He was awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 in Slovak Republic, TREND TOP Manager of the Year 2018 and was featured in lists as Forbes 30 Under 30 and New Europe 100 list of innovators, compiled by Financial Times and Google.
Jan Poruba
MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Deputy Director for European Affairs and the Internal Market
Jan Poruba has worked at the Ministry of Industry and Trade for more than 10 years, focusing on Single Market issues in various roles. He has experience shaping the EU regulatory environment, having taken part in negotiations on several EU legislative acts. At the same time, he keeps a close eye on the practical functioning of the Single Market through regular meetings with businesses that approach the Ministry for information or consultation.
Michal Kľúčik
EXPANDO
Head of Account Management
Iveta Ondrášiková
MINISTRY OF ECONOMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Director of Department of Business Environment
She has devoted nearly her entire professional career to making laws better and more efficient—grounded in data and analysis. She led the 2016 reform of regulatory impact assessment for government bills, helped establish the Impact Assessment Commission that oversees the quality of new legislation, and co-authored Slovakia’s Better Regulation Strategy RIA 2020. At the Ministry of Economy, she prepared a series of government proposals with concrete measures to improve the business environment. She now focuses on evaluating the real effectiveness of existing business-related laws and on digitizing government impact-assessment processes. She regularly represents Slovakia at the OECD and in the Council of the European Union.
Martina Bíliková
MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Director General of the Tax and Customs Section
Ivan Štefanec
SME EUROPE
Honorary President
Ivan Štefanec is a manager and politician, the honorary president of SME Europe. He led this prestigious organization as an MEP from 2018 to 2024. During his MBA studies, he studied under Nobel Prize–winning economist Douglass North. He spent 20 years in business, including 10 years at Coca-Cola, which he led not only in Slovakia but also across Central Europe during the EU accession period. He co-founded the business organizations PAS and RÚZ and served in their leadership. For his management results, he became the first Slovak citizen to receive the Dale Carnegie Leadership Award. He also devoted 20 years to public service, first leading Slovakia’s euro adoption process as the government’s plenipotentiary. He then served three terms in the National Council, where he chaired the European Affairs Committee, and two terms in the European Parliament, where he led the Slovak EPP delegation. For his work in the EP, he received an award from the European Taxpayers’ Association. In the EP, as now, he focuses on digital legislation and strengthening the position of small businesses. He is an avid athlete and marathon runner.
