SASHO DONTCHEV WAS APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE MANAGING BOARD OF THE BULGARIAN INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION
The Managing Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Association appointed Mr. Sasho Dontchev, Chairman of Overgas inc., President of the association during today's meeting. The former Chairman of BIA's Managing Board, Bojidar Danev, was appointed Executive President.
The appointment came as a necessary step to adjust BIA's organizational structure to the good European practices. The ultimate objective is to separate the administrative management of the association from the way organizations'policies are adopted, which in their term have become a sole function of the Managing Board.
Bojidar Danev, who used to be Chairman of the Managing Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Association for over 17 years, shall continue to govern the administration and coordinate the association's liaisons to the state bodies, social partners, NGOs etc.
The newly-appointed Chairman of the Managing Board of BIA, Sasho Dontchev, shall govern the Managing Board activities, some of which according to BIA's Statute are: adopting plans and programmes for the work of the association, supervising the execution of all decisions taken by the General Assembly and reporting his work before it.
***
SASHO DONTCHEV was born on 7 September 1953.
He graduated from the State Academy for Oil and Gas "I. M. Gubkin" in Moscow majoring in "Construction of Interstate Gas pipelines" and from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia with a degree in "Foreign Trade Relations".
From 1978 to 1990 Sasho Dontchev worked in Gasstroymontage, consecutively occupying the positions of a Technical Head, designer, Head of the department "Transit Gas Pipe Russia-Turkey" and director of the Construction and Assembly Management in the building up of the interstate gas pipeline Tula-Moscow-Kiev.
In 1991, together with few of his colleagues, he established Overgas Ltd.
Sasho Dontchev is one of the initiators and an author of the National programme for development of gas supply in Bulgaria, the Concept for development of gas supply in Bulgaria and the Project for gas supply in the urbanized places in the country.
He has more than 20 research publications and engineering developments, published in Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Austria, Syria, and Libya. Sasho Dontchev is a member of the Academy for technical sciences of the Russian Federation and a holder of the honorary title "Honorary Member" and "Gold Sign" of the World Movement "Ecoforum and peace".
In 2004 he was awarded with the prestige prize "Atanas Burov" for industrial management; with the awards of the Bulgarian Forum of Business Leaders - first place for "Investor in Education" and third place for "Investor in Environment". He has also been awarded the prize "IN-5" of BIA for his overall contribution to the development of the Bulgarian economy.
He speaks fluently Polish, English and Russian.
***
BOJIDAR DANEV was born on 5 November 1939 in Sofia.
He graduated with honours from the Technical University in Sofia in 1965. His career started at the Institute of Cybernetics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). There he received the "Best Scientific Elaboration" award of BAS and the National "Scientific Elaboration of Biggest Economic Impact" award. He defended a PhD thesis in the field of management of social and economic systems and attained an academic rank of a Senior Research Associate. He conducted a postdoctoral thesis for two years on management of systems in the University of Hanover, Germany. He read lectures in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, USA, United Kingdom and other countries.
Having returned to Bulgaria in 1980, Bojidar Danev started working at the Bulgarian Industrial Economic Association (BIEA, today called BIA), as an expert in the Economic Analysis Department. Consecutively he occupied the positions of a Senior Expert, Head of department, Director.
He was appointed Vice Chairman on financial issues of the Central Cooperative Union in 1987. In this system, he implemented the politics of SMEs setting up, reformed the currency practice, and introduced market principles for the management of independent units.
Bojidar Danev joined BIEA again as a Vice President in 1989, where he supervised the departments of Economic analysis, Privatization and investments, Industrial growth. He participated in the development and adoption of a normative base on privatization, and in the preparation and realisation of the privatization of a large number of enterprises and commercial sites.
Bojidar Danev was a Manager of Sofia Stock Exchange in the period 1991 -1997. In 1993 he was elected Chairman of BIA. He has enrolled in the expansion of the social dialogue in the country. He actively works in the sphere of legal labour ties, reforms in the pension acts, joint negotiations etc. He was a Vice President of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation in 2004 and in 2006.
Bojidar Danev turned to be the main engine in the establishment of the EU - Bulgaria Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and became a co-Chairman from the Bulgarian side in the period 1999 - 2004.
In 2006 he was elected Vice President of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Bulgaria and of the National Council of Tripartite Cooperation; he became a Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Head of the working group on the Lisbon Strategy with Bulgarian participation. He is also a Member of the high-level working group on the free movement of workers at EESC;
Bojidar Danev is a Member of the Management Committee of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Vice President of the New Bulgarian University's Board.
He has been the Executive Director and Member of the Managing Board of the biggest leasing company in Bulgaria - Interlease AD since 1995, and a Member of the Managing Board of Solvay-Sodi AD, Industrial Holding Bulgaria, Doverie Insurance Company and others.
Bojidar Danev has over 150 scientific publications in domestic and international editions and three monographic publications.
