Julian Popov / Chairman
Julian Popov holds a Master’s degree in literature from the Sofia University. In 1990 he becomes the Executive Director of New Bulgarin University. He is the founder and director of the Management School, created jointly with the British Open University Business School.
Since 1994 Mr. Popov and hisfamily live in theUnited Kingdom, wherehe works as a consultant in institutional development, public relations and educational policy. His clients include the European Back for Reconstruction and Development, the European Commission, the British Open University, The Eruopean Association of Distant Learning Universities, among others.
He is the author of a large number of articles on topics from literature to international relations and politics, editor of several books, translator of Russian poetry from the 1930s. Mr. Popov is a member of the Association of Foreign Press in London, and is also the honorary secretary of Friends of Bulgaria – a British charitable organization, founded in 1990 in order to supply humanitarian aid to Bulgaria.
Dimi Panitza / Founder and Honorary Chairman
Dimitriy-Ivan Evstatiev Panitza is the founder and honorary Chairman of the Bulgarian School of Politics. For forty-two years he has worked at the Readers Digest publishing house, where he retired in 1994 as a deputy editor-in-chief. In recent years, he started a number of activities as chairman of "Free and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation - a private and independent foundation, established in 1991, whose objectives are to assist the democratization process of Bulgarian society through pluralism, free press, free market tolerance, educated youth and open dialogue.
Honorary member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London), the Anglo-American Press Association (Paris) and the French Foundation for the Future. Member of the Institute for democratization in Eastern Europe (Washington) and the Institute for Market Economics (Sofia). He is also a founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the American University in Bulgaria and honorary chairman of Junior Achievement, Bulgaria. Member of the Advisory Committee of the Annual International Civic Courage Award (New York), and a member of the Governing Board of the newly established Balkan Foundation for Children and Youth. In December 2000 he was awarded the Order of Stara Planina I-st degree for his contributions to the establishment of civil society in Bulgaria. In April 2005, by decree of the President of the Republic of France, Mr. Panitza was awarded the title Knight of the Legion of Honor for his professional achievements and civic contributions.
Prof. Bogdan Bogdanov, PhD / Member of the Board of Directors
Professor Bogdan Bogdanov is the initiator of the idea for the New Bulgarian University, as a logical extension of the Association for New Bulgarian University, together with an organizing committee of scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs. Prof. Bogdanov is the Chairman of the Board and Acting Rector of NBU from its founding until 1995. Since 1995 he has been the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the New Bulgarian University. Among his major projects, a lot of which he carried out as the President of the Board of the Open Society Institute Foundation, are modernization of libraries, the integration of minority groups in society, human rights, providing full Internet access to academic institutions, awarding scholarships to Bulgarian students, popularizing Bulgarian history, language and culture. Between 1991-1993 as an ambassador of Bulgaria to Greece he helped overcome the distrust between Greece and Bulgaria, accumulated during the Cold War and contributed to the building of Bulgaria's international image as a guarantor of peace and stability in the Balkans.
Sasha Bezuhanova / Member of the Board of Directors
Sasha Bezuhanova is a graduate of the Technical University in Sofia, majoring in electrical engineering. She began her career at Hewlett Packard in 1994 as a manager of the Department of Computing in S & T Bulgaria, an authorized distributor and service center for Hewlett Packard Bulgaria. In November 1995 Sasha was appointed Managing Director of S & T Bulgaria. In 1998, Hewlett Packard established its presence in Bulgaria and Sasha Bezuhanova was chosen to be the Managing Director of Hewlett Packard Bulgaria. Under her leadership since then Hewlett Packard Bulgaria has become the best and most successful IT company in the country.
For her exceptional contributions she received many prestigious awards for best manager, including from outside organizations such as IDG, the Eureka foundation, Business World and others. Actively participates in many public organizations. She is currently President of BIBA, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement Bulgaria, President of Cluster information and Communication Technologies, member of the Board of Trustees of the American University in Bulgaria, a board member of the Schools On-line, a board member of Open Society Foundation and a member of the international Who's Who Professionals community. Sasha Bezuhanova is also Honorary Consul of Luxembourg in Bulgaria.
Solomon Passi, PhD / Member of the Board of Directors
Solomon Passy holds a PhD in mathematical logic and computer science from the Sofia University "Kliment Ohridski". From 1984 to 1994 he worked as a Research Fellow in Mathematical Logic and Computer Science at the University and at the Academy of Sciences. In 1989-1990, he was a delegate to the National Round Table on the transition to democracy. Subsequently he became a member of the Coordination Council of the UDF and an MP in the Seventh Grand National Assembly. He is one of the authors of the new Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and the author of the proposal for Bulgaria's membership in NATO.
In 1991 he founded andbecame president of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria. He was later elected as an MP in the 39th Ordinary National Assembly and since 2005 had been a member of the Parliamentary Group of National Movement Simeon II and the "Committee on European Integration. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a key member of the delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe during his term in office. Solomon Passy was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.
Antoniy Todorov, PhD / Member of the Board of Directors
Prof. Antony Todorov is a Bulgarian political scientist. He holds an advanced degree in International Relations, specializing in political ideas, political sociology and international relations, and a Ph.D. in history. Antony Todorov is Associate Vice Chancellor for international activities and professor of political science at NBU. He has worked as a senior advisor in the department for Parliamentary Research at the National Assembly, as an editor-in-chief of "Bulgarian observer” magazine, as an editor at Kultura Weekly and a researcher at the Institute for Social History. His scientific career includes affiliations with the Institute for Political Sciences in Paris, the Center for the Study of French political life, the North Atlantic Assembly in Brussels, East-West Institute in Prague and others. He was a visiting professor at the Free University of Brussels, the University of Burgundy in Dijon, in the Bologna University. Member of the Bulgarian Association of Political Sciences, of the Manfred Woerner Foundation and the Bulgarian Helsinki Civil Assembly.
Svetoslav Bozhilov / Member of the Board of Directors
Svetoslav Bozhilov was a member of the Board of Open Society Foundation - Bulgaria. Co-founder and shareholder in EIBank. He is currently theExecutive Director of the COMMUNITAS foundation, which he himself created and whichworks for European integration and support of education. Mr. Bozhilov is president and owner of Venture Equity Bulgaria, whose focus are financial investments and projects related to green energy.
Solomon Bali / Member of the Board of Directors
Solomon Bali is an alumnus of the Bulgarian School of Politics from 2006, and currently is chairman of the Alumni Association. Married with two sons. Likes Tai Chi Chang for leisure, and resting in the Rhodope Mountains, listening to jazz and rock from 70s and 80s.
Irina Alexieva / Executive Director
Irina Alexieva is well known to the Bulgarian public as one of the best business journalists in the country, author and host of the weekly economic broadcast of BTV “Business". Previously, Irina managed the Economic Department of Darik Radio and was the author of the "Portfolio" radio broadcast.
She has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria and an MA in Economics from the University of National and World Economy. Irina specialized in journalism in the U.S. and studied the development of civic and political dialogue in Southeast Europe and the former Soviet Union in Norway.
During her intensive career as a journalst Irina interviewed some of the most influential leaders in the global political and economic scene, among them Nobel laureates, heads of global companies and financial institutions. She is the author of several documentaries, including "Chernobyl -20 years later”, dedicated to the anniversary of the largest nuclear reactor accident in the world and “California’s Choice" – on the energy efficiency policy of California.
