Together in the New Business Reality: Challenge the AI Expert - EEN

On May 21^st, 2026, between 9.00 and 13.30 Inter Expo Centre will host a candid discussion on the future of the Bulgarian business at both the national and global levels.

The conference “Together in the New Business Reality: Challenge the AI Expert” will bring together companies and experts in an open-format setting where questions are just as important as the answers.

Here, you won’t be sitting through lectures or watching presentations. You’ll be an active participant in an open dialogue with leading experts, free of unnecessary formalities – just the topics, challenges, and solutions that are shaping the new business landscape. You’ll have the opportunity to ask the questions that really matter and receive clear, expert answers.

Two key sessions will set the tone:

Business Under Pressure: AI, Cyber (In)security, and the Limits of Liability
Sustainability or Illusion: Managing Resources and Intelligence Across Algorithms and Generations

The focus will be on practical business case studies, thought-provoking questions from our guests, and the opportunity to directly “challenge the AI expert.”

The event is organized by Enterprise Europe Network Bulgaria – a driver of connectivity and innovation in the international business environment and part of the largest Network for European business support.

Participation in the event is free after completing the registration form below.

AGENDA

9:00 Registration of participants

9:30 Opening

Yordanka Chobanova, Head of EC Represenation in Bulgaria (tbc)
Momchil Sabev, Director, EISMEA (tbc)
Ministry of Innovation and Growth (tbi)
Dobri Mitrev, President, Bulgarian Industrial Association, Coordinator of Enterprise Europe Network Bulgaria

10:00 Session 1. Business Under Pressure: AI, Cyber (In)security, and the Limits of Liability

Challenge the AI expert:

Dr. Ilin Savov, expert in cyber secutiry, cyberprevention and protection in the digital environment (10 min)
Georgi Hristov, lawyer specializing in intellectual property in the digital environment, data protection, and the regulation of artificial intelligence and its applications in the legal area (10 min)
Open discussion. Moderator: Lilly Goleminova, Radio Sofia, Bulgarian National Radio (70 min)

11:30 Coffe break

12:00 Session 2. Sustainability or Illusion: Managing Resources and Intelligence Across Algorithms and Generations

Challenge the AI expert:

Martin Danovski, expert in economics, innovation, and tmanagement of EU funds (10 min)
Prof. Mariana Todorova, futurologist and researcher whose work focuses on analyzing future scenarios for society, technology, and humanity (10 min)
Open discussion. Moderator: Hristo Nikolov, Bloomberg TV (70 min)

13:30 Networking lunch

EXPERTS

Ilin Savov

Prof. Dr. Ilin Savov, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, cyber prevention, and digital security, with over 25 years of practical experience in security services, the Ministry of Interior, and academia. His work combines national security, artificial intelligence, cybercrime, and the protection of children, teachers, and employees online. He trains institutions, businesses, and educational organizations, focusing on real threats, psychological attack techniques, and building digital resilience. His approach combines operational experience, strategic thinking, and modern prevention technologies in the context of a rapidly evolving cyber environment.

Georgi Hristov

Georgi Hristov is a lawyer, with many years of experience in the field of law and technology, with a special focus on intellectual property in the digital environment, data protection, and the regulation of artificial intelligence and its applications in the legal area. He holds a degree in Law from Sofia University, as well as a degree in Law and Technology from Tilburg University in the Netherlands. He has worked at law firms, international companies, and public bodies such as the European Parliament and the Office of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria. He currently works as a legal advisor at Legal Intelligence and as a legal counsel at a major software company.

Martin Danovski

Martin Danovski is an economist with over 20 years of experience in the business sector and public administration. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics, specializing in “Marketing and Strategic Planning,” from the University of National and World Economy (UNWE), and a Master’s degree in Engineering and Technical Sciences, specializing in “Land Use Planning,” from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG). From 2015 to 2021, he participated in the establishment of and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the “Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria” EAD, serving as its chairman from 2016 to 2021. In 2021–2022, he established and led the State Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation under the Council of Ministers. During the same period, he served as Head of the Managing Authority of the Programme for Scientific Research, Innovation, and Digitalization for Smart Transformation, whose priorities include the digitalization of the public sector, reform in the field of public data, and cybersecurity. He has served as Deputy Minister of Finance and Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth.

Mariana Todorova

Associate Professor Mariana Todorova, Ph.D., is a member of the Independent High-Level Panel on General Artificial Intelligence under the Council of Presidents of the UN General Assembly and an associate professor of futures studies and AI ethics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She represents Bulgaria on UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee on the Ethics of AI (2021) and participated in a UNESCO meeting in 2025 dedicated to an ethical framework for neurotechnologies. She is an active member of ENISA’s ad hoc Working Group on Foresight. She holds a Ph.D. in Future Studies and Philosophy from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2013) and has completed programs at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Chinese Academy of Governance, and the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Programme, as well as a specialization in artificial intelligence in Nanjing, China (2024). She is the author of three books and over 50 scientific publications, including Artificial Intelligence: A Brief History of Development and Ethical Aspects (2020), and Future Studies and Counterfactual Analysis: Seeds of the Future (Springer, 2019, co-authored with Theodore Gordon—one of the ideologists behind the “Apollo” project for the moon landing), dedicated to the ethics of AI, geopolitics, and the future of labour, education, and healthcare.

MODERATORS

Lilia Goleminova

Lilia Goleminova is the senior music editor at Radio Sofia (BNR). In 2022, she received the “Sirak the Wanderer” Grand Prize for Radio Journalism, having previously won three other awards for her work, including one for the Radio Sofia and European Parliament program “Europe for Me.” She has worked at Radio Sofia since its inception, hosting the morning block for seven years, “Sofia Live,” and now “Radio Cafe,” a programme on urban culture, art, and innovation. She has taught “Music Management” at the New Bulgarian University. She is the author of numerous articles in “Culture” and a consultant for the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ “Encyclopedia of Sofia.” She graduated from the National Academy of Music in Sofia in Prof. Milena Mollova’s piano class. She specialized in “Media and Communications” at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Her first job as a journalist was at “7 Days” TV, where she hosted various programmes even as a student. In Montreal, she hosted the television programme “Bulgarian Highlights” on Global TV. For three years, she hosted her own weekly programme on the Bulgarian National TV called “I’m Back.” For the past six years she has been a member of the jury for the national “Innovative Enterprise of the Year” awards.

Hristo Nikolov

Hristo Nikolov is the host of the “Business Start” morning show on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria. He has been covering economic topics since 2002. He began his career in journalism at the Trud newspaper, where he was part of the Business Department for nearly a decade. He then served as an economic commentator at Clubz.bg and as managing editor at “Grad Media Group.” He has completed training in business journalism at the Center for Media Development, the Financial Times, Deutsche Welle, and the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. He studied finance at the New Bulgarian University. Over the years, he has covered legislative changes in the areas of budget and finance, economics, regional development, transportation, agriculture, social policy, and environment. He has been granted Bulgaria’s highest journalism award, the “Chernorizets Hrabar.”