Warsaw - 21/22 April - BPCC 5th Annual Conference

At a packed gala awards ceremony on the evening of the 1st day of the BPCC Annual conference – Leadership – Vision – Business a number of BPCC member companies were awarded for outstanding achievement. All BPCC member companies were eligible for nomination for these prestigious annual awards in 6 key categories which represent quality, professional and outstanding achievement – Business Development; Customer Care; Community Impact; Staff Care; Hotel of the Year; Most Business Friendly Region and the overall Business of the Year.

“We are exceptionally proud of our awards which recognize both innovative achievement and excellence. It is a pleasure to see so many member companies, friends and distinguished guests of the Chamber here this evening. This ceremony is a celebration of both the companies’ achievements and also our Chamber’s success as the “Best British Chamber of Commerce in Continental Europe” commented David Thomas, BPCC Chairman.

Company Awards by Category

Business Development Award: PM Group Polska.

PM Group is part of the largest Irish engineering consultancy group - PM Ltd. PM is operating in Poland since 1997 offering a full range of Architectural, Engineering, Process, Construction and Project Management Services. PM Group has been associated with project managing a number of leading industrial investments in Poland.

Customer Care Award: The Hilton Warsaw Hotel & Convention Centre

The recently opened 5 star Hilton brings a unique, fresh style of contemporary living to the downtown business district of Warsaw, Poland. The hotel features 314 ultra modern, stylish guest rooms and suites featuring the latest technology.

Community Impact Award: Tesco Polska

Tesco is the leading British investment in Poland and the number one UK food retailer. Tesco operates 300 stores in Poland. Tesco prides itself on being a key player in each community in which it operates and has a number of programmes to deliver value in these areas including Tesco for Schools and Tesco in the Community.

Staff Care Award: Euromost

Euromost is a company of Project Managers and Construction Cost Managers involved in commercial, industrial, residential and specialist building developments. The company has worked on a number of the high rise, innovative construction projects which have really contributed to the development of Warsaw’s modern skyline. Euromost is expanding into Poland’s regions and has a number of innovative staff reward programmes to enable employees to really develop their careers.

Hotel of the Year: Melia White House

The Melia White House is located in Regent’s Park, London. Owned by the Spanish Sol Group the hotel offers superb hospitality and service within easy access of Central London. Its well appointed rooms, creative Spanish cuisine and excellent business offer contributed to the hotel being nominated BPCC Hotel of the Year. The hotel is within walking distance of the Polish Embassy and also London’s Oxford Street.

Most Business Friendly Region: Wrocław

The City of Wrocław is the capital of Lower Silesia. The City and region have become a magnate for foreign direct investment and the City is developing as a leading business and meetings destination. Within easy access of road and air networks the City of Wrocław is branded “the Meeting Place” and in recent years has hosted a number of major international conferences and exhibitions. Wrocław is taking a very active role in Euro 2012 and is home to one of the country’s most successful special economic zones.

Business of the Year: Wierzbowski Eversheds

Wierzbowski Eversheds is one of Poland’s leading legal service providers. The company combines international legal expertise and local know-how to offer clients top-quality legal services. Wierzbowski Eversheds is working on a number of high profile construction and development projects including UEFA Euro 2012.

Rapid growth (with a 20% increase in employment in the last year) has led the firm to promote seven new partners from the ranks this year, most of whom have been with the firm since its early days. The company is a very active member of the BPCC.

Is Poland a safe haven from a coming global economic slowdown? Turmoil on the world's financial markets, fuelled by fears of a recession in the US, has led to heavy losses on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. But what are the prospects for the real Polish economy?

Now is the right moment to consider the direction in which the Polish economy will develop. The economic fundamentals are solid - growth, consumer spending, corporate capital investment, industrial output, construction sector output - all these indicators are exceptionally sound. EU funds will have a huge part in keeping internal demand high for the next few years. So has Poland less to fear than many western economies?

At the BPCC Annual Conference, top economists will discuss in depth Poland's medium and long term prospects. What factors will affect Poland's ability to maintain and extend global competitiveness? Can growth be spread equally across all of Poland's regions? Is joining the Eurozone the natural step for the development and integration of Polish economy with the EU?

The second major topic is Leadership. Companies across Poland are finding that it is increasingly difficult to recruit and retain good staff. Unemployment is dropping (in Poland's biggest cities it is in low single figures) and wages are rocketing. What steps should senior management be taking to ensure that their corporate culture encourages key people to stay with them? Effective management is one of the key issues affecting Poland's development today. This conference session will focus on the exchange of best practice, and how to change management behaviour and corporate culture to suit the challenging HR situation today and in the future.

The second day of the conference will deal with issues centering around how to start up a business in Poland. Participants will gain know how on how to find finance in order to develop a business, competition on the Polish market and how to optimalise development of the Polish economy.

For anyone from the UK or Poland wanting insight into the key issues facing business in central and eastern Europe in the foreseeable future, attendance at this event is a must!

09:00-09:40 Registration
09:40 Welcome by David Thomas, BPCC Chairman
09:45 Short speech by Urszula Gacek, Member of the European Parliament
09:50 Official opening, Ric Todd, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

SESION ONE: VISION
Moderator: Dariusz Bohatkiewicz, Telewizja Polska

10:00 Will a global downturn threaten Poland's economic growth? Witold Or³owski, PwC
10:30 Emerging markets - Can they help prevent a global downturn? Douglas McWilliams, CEBR Ltd.
11:00 Panel discussion: How foreign investors are reacting to the threat of recession?
11:30 Coffee Break
12:00 Necessary government reforms, Henryka Bochniarz, PKPP Lewiatan
12:30 Perspectives on Poland joining the Eurozone, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Bank Pekao S.A.
13:00 Panel discussion: Euro for EURO: If and when should Poland join the Eurozone?

13:40-15:00 NETWORKING LUNCH

SESION TWO: LEADERSHIP
Moderator: Tomasz Æwiok, Editor-in-Chief, Poland Monthly

15:00 Leadership Strategy: The role of modern manager in the Polish corporate environment, Joanna Poniatkowska, HR Kontekst
15:30 Recruitment and Retention in a challenging labour market, Lionel Hall, Oprandi & Partners
16:00 Manging the culture of an organisation: How to make your company an attractive workplace? Elzbieta Golab, Tesco Polska
16:30 Coffee Break
17:00 The effects of Polish migration on the British economy, Douglas McWilliams
17:10 Panel discussion: People and growth

18:00 Welcome Drinks
19:00 BPCC “COMPANY OF THE YEAR” AWARDS GALA

09:30-10:00 Registration

SESION 3: BUSINESS

Moderator: David Thomas, BPCC Chairman
10:00 Warsaw Stock Exchange: its role in the CEE and perspectives on development, Ludwik Sobolewski, Warsaw Stock Exchange
10:30 Panel discussion: Finding finance for your business
11:00 Coffee Break

Moderator: Wieslaw Migut, President, Migut Media (Businessman.pl)
11:30 Competitiveness of Polish industry, Costas Mitropoulos, Kantor Management Consultants
12:30 How Private Equity and Venture Capital funds will change the face of corporate Poland? Christian Schnell, BSJP
13:00 Panel discussion: How to optimise growth of Polish economy?

13:40-15:00 Closing Lunch with Adam Szejnfeld, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Economy

Urszula Gacek, Member of the European Parliament

MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Oxford. Financial analyst (specialising in the oil market), ECS Marine, Abingdon, UK (1985-1989). Chair of the Board of the Tarnów 'Plastics Valley' Industrial Cluster joint stock company (1999-2000). Co-owner of Red Square, Tarnów and Oxford (1989-2004). Editor/author of specialist publications on the chemicals and energy sectors. Coordinator of the two-year European Union 'ACENET - Accelerating the Establishment of Clusters and Company Networks' programme for the 'Plastics Valley' Industrial Cluster, Tarnów. Civic Platform Deputy Chair for the Malopolska region since 2006. Member of the Polish Senate (2005-2007). Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on European Union Affairs; Deputy Chair of the Polish-British Parliamentary Group; foreign affairs spokesperson of the Parliamentary Group for Energy; member of the Polish Parliamentary Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (involved in the work of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development and the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)).

Ric Todd arrived in Warsaw on 11 October 2007 to take up his appointment as British ambassador to Poland. He was educated at Lawrence Sherrif Grammar School, studied history at Oxford, and joined the FCO in 1980. He was posted to Cape Town/Pretoria 1981-4, dealing mainly with Namibia; Czechoslovakia from 1987-9; and Bonn 1991-5. Between 1995 and 2001 he did two secondments in the Treasury, dealing first with Agriculture, EU and "mad cows" and then EU Co-ordination and Strategy. He was a UK member of the EU Economic Policy Committee. He has worked twice in FCO Economic Relations Department. In 2001 he went to Slovakia as Ambassador, then he became Finance Director of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London from 2004-2007. He arrived as Ambassador to Poland in October 2007. Ric is very interested in Central European history and language. He likes walking in woods and looking at buildings. He hopes to travel extensively around Poland. He has already spent time in Krakow and Gdansk whilst learning Polish.

Formerly Prime Minister of Poland, Minister for European Integration, co-founder of the Liberal-Democratic Congress and Freedom Union, and an Executive Director at the European Bank in London, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki has been active in the political and economic affairs of Poland for over two decades. He joined Bank Pekao SA in October 2003. Mr Bielecki has published a number of articles for both foreign and Polish specialist papers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, Europe’s World, Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Bankowa, Gazeta Wyborcza, Wprost, Tygodnik Powszechny, Die Welt and many others. He is co-author of the book 'Histoire de l'Europe' published in Paris (1997).

Henryka Bochniarz, President, Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan

A high profile personality from the country’s economic community. Henryka Bochniarz has a PhD in Economy and is a certified management advisor. She was the Minister of Trade and Industry under Jan Krzysztof Bielecki’s government in 1991. Vice-President of Boeing International. Bochniarz is the founder and President of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan. Vice-President of BusinessEurope – the largest European employer’s organisation. Deputy Chairman of Tripartite Commission on Social and Economic Issues as well as the Committee of Fair Practice. Co-sponsor of the „Nike” Literature Prize for the Best Book of the Year. She is the winner of the Kisiel Award, the Andrzej B±czkowski Award for the contribution in development of social dialogue in Poland. Henryka Bochniarz has also been awarded the Commander's Cross of the Poland Reconstruction Medal.

An economist, a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGPiS) from the Department of International Trade, a scholar of the European Commission (Brussels, Lisbon), a member of the Financial Commission of the Stefan Batory Foundation, a co-founder and a member of the first Board of Directors in the Polish Association of Business Economists. Janusz Jankowiak cooperates with the Institute of International Finance in New York and is a member of the Board of Economists at the Lisbon Council in Brussels.
He worked in the Science Foundation - Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE). From 2000 he has been engaged in the commercial sector as a Chief Economist – starting in Westdeutsche Landesbank, and in 2001-2006 - in BRE Bank. He is a member of the supervisory board of the „New World Alternative Investments SA” investment fund. He is part of the Group of Strategic Advisors of the Prime Minister. From February 2006 Janusz Jankowiak has been running his own consulting company - “JJ Consulting”.

Maciej Reluga graduated in Economics from Warsaw University. He also completed a Finance Management programme at Namur University (Belgium). He began his professional career whilst still a student, as an analysis in the Statistacs Department in the Polish National Bank. From 1998 he worked as an economist for ING Bank where he was responsible for analysing the Polish economy and financial markets. In 2002 he became the chief economist at Bank Zachodni WBK. He is the author of many publications and articles that have appeared in both daily press and specialist publications. Maciej Reluga speaks Polish, English and French.

Douglas McWilliams is one of the UK’s leading economists. He set up and runs cebr, one of the UK’s leading economics consultancies which has worked with a third of the UK FTSE companies. He was formerly Chief Economic Adviser to the Confederation of British Industry and Chief Economist for IBM UK. While at the CBI he was also chairman of the economics committee of UNICE, the European employers’ confederation.

Witold M.Orlowski is a macroeconomist working on the economics of transition and the European integration. Former economic advisor to the President of Poland. Founder of NOBE, one of Poland’s leading economic think-tanks, Dean of the Warsaw University of Technology Business School. Chief advisor to PricewaterhouseCoopers Polska.
Studied at the University of Lodz and Harvard. 1993-1997 at the World Bank, 2001-05 chief economic advisor to the President. In the past also advisor to the Chief Negotiator of the EU membership of Poland, member of the Macroeconomic Council of the Ministry of Finance, consultant to many international and national bodies. Author of 6 books and 150 scientific publications.

A graduate of the Law and Administration Faculty of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow (LLM) and the Panth-Assass University (Paris II) - doctoral studies. Doctor of Laws (LLD) and Legal Counsel. In the course of his career, Mr Sobolewski worked at the Law and Administration Faculty of the Jagiellonian University (1989-1995), in the Office of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland (1992-1993) and as an Advisor to the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (1994). Worked with the Bureau of the Government Plenipotentiary for Pension System Reform (1997-1998). Expert of many Sejm (Parliament) and Senate commissions.From 1994 to 2006 Mr Sobolewski was the Executive Vice President of the Management Board of the National Depository for Securities. As of June 28, 2006 - President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange Management Board.

Pawel Wojciechowski completed his doctoral studies at Case Western Reserve University and the Systems Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he received the Ph.D. degree in 2005. From 1995 till 2005 he was President of the Boards of three financial institutions: PTE Allianz Poland S.A., PBK ATUT TFI S.A. and the Polish Fund Management Group Sp. z.o.o. Previously he had worked at the Polish Development Bank S.A. as a branch director, in the Ministry of Privatisation in Poland and in the UNDP with the UN mission in Warsaw. In 2006 Pawel Wojciechowski held the position of Minister of Finance in Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz’s government and earlier he was an advisor to the Prime Minister.