site.btaBulgarian Energy Holding Management Dismissed

July 23 (BTA) - Energy Minister Andrei Zhivkov dismissed the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) pursuant to the Commercial Act and the Public Enterprises Act, Zhivkov's ministry reported on Friday. The five Board members - Valentin Nikolov, Diyan Dimitrov, Ivan Andreev, Stelian Koev and Alexander Tsarnorechki - were replaced by Maria Velkova, Vesselina Kanatova-Buchkova, Iva Petrova, Plamen Dilkov and Anton Simeonov on an interim basis until a competition is held within six months to recruit a new board.

Zhivkov criticized BEH's working style back at his first briefing as Energy Minister on May 27. He said BEH had access to attractive financing sources but instead of investing in strategic projects and becoming a regional player, it was using those financing sources to solve current problems. "In other words, BEH incurs long-term liabilities to tackle short-term problems. This leads to a debt spiral," the new Minister warned.

Maria Velkova holds a master's degree in energy, trade and finance from Cass Business School in London. She has worked with the Sofia office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, EMIS Energy Ltd. and Low Carbon Ltd. in London, and has served as vice president for mergers and acquisitions at the Vienna-based renewable energy company Enery GmbH.

Vesselina Kanatova-Buchkova holds a master's degree in law from Plovdiv University. She finished postgraduate courses at the University of Vienna, the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, and the Accept Institute in the Netherlands. She is an associate professor in administrative law at the South-West University in Blagoevgrad and the Institute for the State and the Law with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Iva Petrova studied economic management at Sofia University and the University of Birmingham. She served with the former Ministry of Economy and Energy for many years, and also with BEH. Most recently, she has been a partner in 3B Advisory OOD, a company specializing in management consulting in the energy sector.

Plamen Dilkov is a civil engineer with a degree from the University of Trento. He has served as manager of a number of energy companies, including hydroelectric power plants and PVB Power Bulgaria, co-chair and member of the Management Board of the Union of Producers of Ecological Energy, a member of the Board of Directors of the European Federation of Local Energy Companies, and deputy chairman of Confindustria Bulgaria.

Anton Simeonov has over 10 years' experience in the field of energy. A bachelor and master of economics, he has extensive experience in financial auditing. He has finished investment banking courses and the International Visitor Leadership Program of the US Department of State (specializing in energy security and foreign policy). NV/VE
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