Second Household Appliance Congress

Partner, Sustainability Consulting Central Europe

Irena Pichola has 16 years of professional experience. She is Partner at Deloitte responsible for Sustainability Consulting Central Europe practice. In last few years Irena is developing projects in the field of interdisciplinary environmental studies and data analysis of environmental economics and natural resources projects involving, among others, in the field of waste management, resource efficiency, circular economy and sustainable development strategies. Prior to that as a Director of Sustainable Business Solution practice at PwC Poland for more than 11 years she has been managing complex projects for clients from various industries such as CSR strategy, CSR analysis of the relations with stakeholders, strategic planning of sustainable line investment promotion, energy efficiency strategies. She promoted the business-government cooperation related to sustainability challenges and led flagship projects involving national priorities and strategy related to CSR. Active member of international sustainability organizations such as GRI, WBCSD, CSR Europe. Irena is an author of many publications in area of CSR and sustainable development.

Managing Director Panattoni Europe

Marek Dobrzycki started his career at Panattoni in 2007 on the position of Development Manager. Currently working as Managing Director in the Development Department, he is responsible for property commercialization and new business development in western, southern & central Poland, mainly in vicinity of Warsaw, Poznań and Wrocław. One of his biggest achievements include signing 4 transactions with Amazon: 3 facilities ca. 123,000 sqm of space each in Poznań, Sosnowiec and in Wrocław and the most recent one totalling 161,000 sqm in Szczecin. Other projects include, in central Poland: 80 000 and 58 500 sqm for BSH, 73 300 sqm for Media Expert, 70 000 sqm for Smyk, 124 000 sqm for Leroy Merlin, 50 000 sqm for Obi, 14,000 sqm for UPS and 150,000 sqm for Castorama, in Warsaw region: 16,000 sqm for TNT, 15,000 sqm for Harper Hygienics, 42 500 sqm for Raben and 37 000 sqm for H&M in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, 10 000 and 9000 sqm for DHL.

President of the Board in Lodz Special Economic Zone Joint Stock Co.

Graduate of Philosophy and History Faculty at the University of Lodz, Member of Parliament (1991-1993). In the years 1998-2001 Deputy Minister of Environment and in the years 2002-2003 President of Zakładu Wodociągów i Kanalizacji Sp. z o.o. (water and sewage service company).From 2003 to 2009 Deputy Mayor of Lodz responsible inter alia for acquiring investors.From 2010 to April 2016 member of City Council as a chairman of Law and Justice(PiS) political club.Professionally, member of boards in commerce companies and enterprises dealing with innovative technologies for environment protection.Since 6 April 2016 President of the Board in Lodz Special Economic Zone.

Vice President of Lodz Special Economic Zone

Agnieszka Sygitowicz is Vice President of Lodz Special Economic Zone from April 2016. She started with opening new Lodz SEZ policy directed on supporting startups. Agnieszka Sygitowicz is a co-iniciator and head of a Startup Spark project. Enterprise received EU funding via Scale Up programme (government initiative Start in Poland). Owing to the fact Lodz SEZ effectively connects creativity of startups with experience and resources of large companies. Graduated with master degree from Centre for European Regional and Local Studies University of Warsaw(EUROREG) and Political Science from Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. She also has MBA title from Lazarski University.Her professional career began in Cohesion Fund Department in Ministry of Transport.From 2007 she was employed in Radomsko Municipal Council, where she was plenipotentiary for external relations and economic development, next she was a head of department of strategy and development till February 2016.

Member of the Management Board at BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego

Krzysztof Nagodziński is a Member of the Management Board at BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego since 2019. He is responsible for sales and marketing as well as factory service. Krzysztof Nagodziński has been involved with BSH for 17 years, and for the last four years he worked as the Sales Director and was responsible for the development of large household appliances.

CEO BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego Sp. z o.o., President of the APPLiA Polska

Konrad Pokutycki is the CEO of BSH in Poland, at BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego Sp. z o.o. A trained economist and graduate of Łódź University. Following his graduation, he lectured for several years in the Department of Accounting at his alma mater, as well as at a number of business schools and the Association of Accountants in Poland. He co-authored a Polish-German- English dictionary for accounting and banking terms. A consultant in financial management, tax consultancy, and information systems in consulting companies. In 2003, he was awarded the title of statutory expert auditor. Supervisory Board, and member of the Zelmer S.A. Supervisory Board. By virtue of a unanimous election, he served two terms of office between 2010 and 2014 - on a pro publico bono basis - as the President of APPLiA Polska - the European Association of Manufacturers of Household Appliances. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Vector 2014 award from the Employers of the Republic of Poland for his special contribution to the development of the industry of household appliance manufacturers, as well as for his innovative ideas and solutions that are consistently being implemented at BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego Sp. z o.o.

General Director, Member of the Board APPLiA Polska

Graduated from SGPiS / SGH Warsaw School of Economics as a Master of Economics in 1991. After 20 years of working in household appliances industry, in 2004, he co-founded and has been leading as Director General a household appliances association, APPLiA Polska. Organization deals with the broadly understood representation of the industry. For 15 years he has been involved in management of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, KIG and has been appointed as the vice-president in 2017. He is the chairman of the Technical Committee for electrical consumer equipment of the Polish Committee for Standardization, member of the Board of Officers of CENELEC, an European standardization organization.He is the chairman of the supervisory board of the recovery organization ElektroEko SA.In publications, he specializes mainly in energy efficiency, electrorecycling, and market trends.

General Director APPLiA Europe

Paolo Falcioni has been APPLiA's Director General since January 2014. In this position he focused on improving the association visibility and effectiveness within Europe and internationally. To that extent, he has been one of the founders of the International Roundtable of Household Appliance Manufacturers Associations (IRHMA) which tackles world-wide issues like sustainability and innovation in a global manner. He served for three year as Chairman of the Coalition for Energy Savings, a multi-stakeholder group aiming at improving energy efficiency in Europe. He is one of the Board members in Smart Energy Europe, smartEn fostering demand side management to help consumers to reap the benefits of the new Energy market. In 2016 he has been nominated member of the REFIT platform as a representative of the stakeholder group. The REFIT Platform brings together the Commission, national authorities and other stakeholders in regular meetings to improve existing EU legislation. Paolo graduated in electronic engineering from University of Ancona, in Italy. He started working in the telecommunication sector and, after that, he worked within the household appliance industry sector where he held positions with growingresponsibilities. An Italian national, Paolo also speaks English and French fluently. In his free time, he likes baking homemade delicacies.

President of the ElektroEko Electronic Equipment Recycling Organization

Since 2006 Grzegorz Skrzypczak serves as the President of the ElektroEko Electronic Equipment Recycling Organization. Before he was the Commercial Director at Fastrack (2000-2005) - representatives of the British Kenwood company and the American Remington company. In the years 1991-1999, he was the General Director at Brabork - representative offices of Philips and Whirlpool. He was also an Economic Consultant for the Italian company Merloni Polska and for the Greek company Klimatechniki. A graduate of Management at the University of Warsaw and a former student at the University of Michigan in the United States.

Vicepresident of Work Service S.A., President of the Association of HR Agencies

In 2016 and 2017, she was recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as one of the 100 most influential women in the global HR sector. Has many years of experience in various business specializations. She started her professional career in the promotional and media industry. Since 2003, she has been associated with Work Service and the personnel services sector. Over the years has come the way of conducting branch in Bydgoszcz, by acting as the Regional Director and Proxy, in 2013 to take the position of Vice President, and in February 2019 the function of the President of the Group Management Board of Work Service. She also acts as the President of the Work Service Foundation. Since 2016, she has been the Chairman of the HR Platform, operating within the framework of the Employers of the Republic of Poland organization. In January 2017 she was elected as the President of the Board of the Association of Employment Agencies, the largest organization in Poland that associates agencies specializing in providing HR services, and then in October that same year she was appointed Vice President of the Management Board of Finance Care Sp. z o. o. and Work Service SPV Sp. from o. o. She is a graduate of Franco-Polish postgraduate studies in management at the University of Poznań and Rennes. In 2015, she completed the IESE Business School program in Barcelona. She also graduated from the Maritime University of Gdynia and the University of Technology and Agriculture in Bydgoszcz, in the field of marketing and management in the company.

President Employers of Poland

Andrzej Malinowski graduated from Poznan University of Economics and holds a PhD in economics. Since 2001 he has been the President of Employers of Poland, the oldest and largest organization of employers in Poland. In 1996 he created from scratch the new Ministry of Economy, where he was later appointed the Secretary of State. He was a Member of Parliament. He is a representative of Polish employers in the European Economic and Social Committee. He also represents Employers of Poland in the International Organization of Employers (IOE). He is the Deputy Chairman of the Social Dialog Council – Polish social dialog institution, and chairs the working team for economic policy and labour market of the Council.

Janusz Korczak Pedagogical University in Warsaw

HR Director, Amica Group

Olech Bestrzyński – currently in charge of HR department in Amica Group. He gained his experience in HR administration and payroll department and was later responsible for managing remuneration strategy of Kompania Piwowarska. Subsequently, he was an HR manager of SECO/WARWICK Group which has subsidiaries on several continents. He graduated from Poznań University of Economics. He is reigning Polish champion and European Champions Cup runner-up in sports bridge.

Sales Director, Pracuj.pl

Sales Director at Grupa Pracuj – owner of the Pracuj.pl (leading job classified in Poland). The founder and owner of the training & mentoring company – Leadership Academy. He has 19 years of experience in building and managing sales teams. Business trainer, a coach and a mentor. As a part of the LA project he creates strategies for CEO’s and business owners, aiming at developing effective teams by increasing employee engagement and determining effective ways of communication. He graduated from Political Science at the Pedagogical University in Cracow and also completed Ican Institute – Strategic Leadership Academy and Moderator school Coaching programs. Currently he participates at the Executive Master of Business and Administration (MBA) program at Politechnika Krakowska & Central Connecticut State University. Privately a husband and a father of four sons. Passionate about motorcycles, American cars, psychology, Himalayan mountaineering and sport in every form.

CEO, founder and main shareholder of AB Group

Visionary, effective entrepreneur, founder and creator of the AB Group's success, graduated from the University of Wrocław. Winner of the 9th edition of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition in “service” category and honoured with the Vector Award by Employers of Poland Organisation. AB Group led by Andrzej Przybyło grew in almost 30 years from a one-man business to the largest IT and consumer electronics distributor in the CEE region and a TOP9 company in Europe with a turnover of over PLN 8 billion. The largest franchise network in the region includes 8 brands and almost 1.8 thousand POS. The company headquarters evolved from a rented room in a workers' hotel to the most modern distribution center in CEE with an area of 4 full-size football pitches with the high-tech warehouse automation, ready for the biggest challenges of the rapidly growing e-commerce market. AB, the largest IT distributor in Poland, has been for many years - according to the CRN Magazine - the Distributor of the Year in Poland and its subsidiary - in the Czech Republic. The AB Group has also received other numerous awards, including Polish Champion, Golden IT Asset, HR Top Quality, Solid Employer, Pearls of Polish Economy.

President of Polish Organization of Commerce and Distribution

Since 2008 President of Polish Organization of Commerce and Distribution which associate the biggest international retail and wholesale companies in Poland. 2000 till 2017 Director of the METRO AG Representative Office in Poland representing METRO AG companies Makro C&C, Real and Media Saturn Holding towards state authorities, NGO’s and industry associations. Vice President of Employer’s Confederation Lewiatan. Vice President of the European trade association EuroCommerce in Brussels. Since 2012 Chairman of the Central Eastern Europe Council, representing modern distribution channel of the CEE region towards EU institutions.

Associate in Industrial & Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield

Damian has more than ten years’ experience in international supply chain management. He began his professional career from purchase and supply management to later coordinate cross-border movement of goods, including import and distribution logistics, and customs procedures. Next, he was responsible for optimisation of warehouse processes, coordination of logistics operations and bringing down operating costs in Eastern Europe. Damian was behind the concept of one of Ukraine’s first online stores and recently supported the opening of a distribution centre for Europe’s biggest online fashion platform. Damian is a graduate of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poznań University of Economics and Business, and Koźmiński University in Warsaw.