Board of FIAA

Mr. Balázs RÉVÉSZ
President of FIAA and Board Member elected on February 29th, 2024

Mr. Balázs Révész is an Executive with over two decades of leadership in sales and marketing, in various industries. Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Albania. During his months of tenure in the position, Balázs has demonstrated exemplary leadership, strategic vision for the future of Vodafone Albania, focused on innovation to drive the company forward.

Balázs leadership in Vodafone Albania has played a pivotal role in streamlining operations towards innovation, digitizing, and enhancing customer satisfaction while optimizing efficiency. Balázs is very active promoting the health of the telecommunication sector within the decision- making stakeholder community. He is Heading the Digital Committee within the Foreign Investor Association (FIAA) in Albania and is also a selected member of the National Economic Council headed by the Prime Minister of Albania.

Under Balázs leadership Vodafone Albania has achieved important milestones, including expended presence in the Albanian market, leadership in mobile and fix network excellence, launching innovative ways to efficiently communicate to the consumer while being part of industry discussions as a key drive to country’s digitization agenda.

Prior to his appointment as Vodafone Albania’s CEO, in May 2023, Mr. Révész was leading Vodafone Hungary Consumer Business Unit team, responsible for the Commercial strategy and P&L delivery of the entire converged Consumer Business including Vodafone’s fixed, mobile, and IoT (Internet of Things) services. He played a crucial role in designing and implementing a complete IT/ business/ digital transformation as well as the Liberty (UPC) integration, that turned Vodafone Hungary into a fully convergent telco operation.

Mr. Révész holds a master’s degree in economics, majored in marketing from the renowned Corvinus University of Budapest. His specialization in EU Economics at Erasmus University (Rotterdam), a pillar of European economic analysis, equipped him with exceptional insights in international branding. Mr. Révész speaks fluently English and Hungarian.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Balázs is actively involved in industry associations, advocating for technological advancement and digital inclusion. He is passionate about leveraging technology to empower individuals, businesses, and digital education.

Balázs is married to Anette, a successful nutritionist doctor, and together have two children a boy of 14 and a girl of 15 years of age.

 

Sokol ELMAZAJ
Board Member of FIAA elected on February 29th, 2024

Sokol Elmazaj joined Boga & Associates in 1996. He is a partner of the firm and Country Manager for Kosovo.

He has extensive expertise in mergers and acquisitions, energy, corporate, project financing, privatization, real estate projects, telecommunication, and dispute resolution. Mr. Elmazaj is continuously involved in providing legal advice to numerous project-financing transactions mainly on concessions and privatizations with focus on infrastructure and energy, both in Albania and Kosovo.

With more than 25 years of extensive experience, he has advised and represented clients in international commercial arbitrations, court proceedings and mediations particularly in matters related to construction and infrastructure projects, damage claims, corporate disputes and other.

He is as well arbiter listed in the roster of the ADR Centre of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo and serving as Chairman of the Steering Council of ADR of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo.

Mr. Elmazaj is Member of the ICC Court of Arbitration for the mandate 2021-2024 and an active member of ICC Albania Commission of Arbitration and ADR.

He is continuously ranked as a Leading Lawyer by major international directories: Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, the Legal 500 and IFLR1000 as a Corporate and Finance Law expert.

 

Diego PISA
Board Member of FIAA elected on February 29th, 2024

Diego Pisa is the CEO of Teleperformance Italy Group, including Italy and Albania, a reality of +6000 employees, serving more than 30 Clients in 5 markets in 8 languages from its onshore (Rome, Taranto) and nearshore (Tirana, Durres, Scutari) locations.

Before being named CEO, Diego had five years of experience in Accenture as a manager and then the offshoring director of Teleperformance, where he played a crucial role in founding the nearshore hub in Albania.

He is a leader with 20 years of experience in the BPO industry with a deep focus on Customer Experience and strong skills in strategic positioning, revenue growth, operations, and people management, as well as in Union’s management, restructuring, and change management.

Diego earned a degree in Electronic Engineering at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II.

Teleperformance Albania, founded in 2008 by Diego Pisa, has more than 3500 employees and is now positioned as the best nearshore solution for European and English-speaking countries due to Albania’s population’s strong language capabilities and highly skilled workforce.

The company has won awards as a Great Place to work® 2023,2022,2021,2020, Best Place to Work® in 2018, 2019 Best AON Employer 2017,2018,2019, and Kincentric Best Employer in 2021. The Albanian government granted Teleperformance the award of “Best Employer of the Year” in 2021,2022 and the More Innovative Digital Company in 2023, and it represents the biggest taxpayer in 2021,2022 in the country. Teleperformance Albania has a broad client portfolio — from visionary startups to global industry leaders.  Key Clients: The World’s Biggest E-Commerce company, the World’s Technology Leader Brands, and the most valuable e-commerce brands.

In 2018, Diego Pisa also founded Teleperformance Kosovo, which today has about 2000 employees, to serve the German-speaking market.

Teleperformance Italy Group is part of Teleperformance Group, a company with over 46 years of experience connecting the world’s most successful brands with their customers. The company operates in 88 countries, with 460 facilities, serving 170+ markets, and has a team of 520,000 passionate employees, 70% of whom work remotely, providing services in 265 languages for some of the world’s best and most valuable brands.

 

Mirsad Haliti 
Board Member of FIAA elected on February 29th, 2024

Mr. Mirsad Haliti is Member of Management Board of ProCredit Bank Albania. Mr. Haliti, with a notable career spanning 25 years, commenced his professional journey in 1999 within esteemed international organizations such as OSCE, VVAF (American NGO), and USAID. Educated with an honours bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Prishtina, Mirsad further fortified his expertise by completing a three-year program at the ProCredit Management Academy in Germany. This comprehensive education equipped him with a robust foundation and a nuanced understanding of the complexities of the banking and finance sector.

In 2004, Mirsad Haliti embarked on his ProCredit network journey by joining ProCredit Bank Kosovo. Navigating through diverse roles with versatility and dedication, he ascended to the role of a Member of the Management Board at ProCredit Bank Albania in 2018. As a key leader, Mirsad played a pivotal role in leading the bank through strategic initiatives, significantly contributing to its resilience and adaptability in the dynamic financial landscape. Notably, his proactive leadership aligned the bank’s operations with rigorous German standards, owing to its affiliation with the esteemed ProCredit Group, a distinguished German banking institution. As a member of the ProCredit Group, Mirsad’s leadership is firmly grounded in international best practices and standards. His rich experience within the group enhances his ability to foster collaboration and effectively advocate for the interests of both foreign and local businesses.

Mirsad Haliti’s candidacy for the Board Membership at the Foreign Investors Association in Albania is deeply rooted in his experience and leadership. Moreover, as a banker, Mirsad actively collaborates with businesses from various industries, acquiring in-depth knowledge of the challenges they face. This hands-on experience further enriches his perspective and commitment to fostering a resilient and thriving business community in Albania. His profound understanding of the challenges faced by foreign companies, coupled with his structured approach to managing different areas of the bank, positions him as an ideal candidate to contribute to the growth and success of the business community in Albania through the FIAA. Beyond his professional endeavours, Mirsad has been a resident of Albania, along with his wife and three children, for more than five years. This first-hand experience has afforded him an intimate understanding of the local business environment.

 

Rigela GEGPRIFTI
Board Member of FIAA elected on May 16th, 2023

Mrs. Rigela Gegprifti holds the position of Country Head of Devoll Hydropower Sh.A. and Statkraft Renewables Albania since June 2020. She was first employed by Devoll Hydropower in 2009 as Director for External Affairs and Business Administration. She left the company in 2012 for a role as Director for Knowledge and Relationship Management in Tirana International Airport, before she re-entered Statkraft the year after as Senior HR and Administration Manager.

Prior to joining Statkraft, Rigela held a number of positions in private and public sectors in Albania, including PA to the CEO at Tirana International Airport, as well as project and specialist roles at Ministry of Territory Adjustment & Tourism. Rigela holds a Bachelor’s degree for German languages and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

In the last 2 years, Rigela has been a very active Board Member of FIAA and she believes on FIAA’s fundations, as a reliable platform of communication among all relevant stakeholders, ensuring that challenges faced are clearly communicated and collectively addressed, in support to the business community.

 

Constantin von ALVENSLEBEN 
Board Member of FIAA elected on May 16th, 2023

Born in 1962 in Germany, Dr. Constantin with a Doctorate Degree in Law and with an Economics Specialization from the London School of Economics, is the Country Manager of Voltalia Albanie SHPK. Dr. Constantin has served FIAA as President from 2020 to 2022, while he was CEO of Tirana International Airport SHPK for a second time. In November 2022, he joined the French renewable energy developer Voltalia, headquartered in Paris, and has since then further developed Voltalia’s activities in Albania. While new in the energy field, he comes with a long experience in the air transport, but also the property development industry. He became familiar with Albania and its business environment since his first position as CEO of TIA during 2005-2007, where he successfully managed the start-up phase of Albania’s main airport under a concession agreement, which the Government had signed with the German HOCHTIEF group.

In 2020 and 2021, Voltalia won two competitive tender procedures for major solar energy development projects. The first one, the Karavasta Solar Project is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. The overall investment is 140m EUR, and the project financing with a volume of 100m EUR was just recently signed with EBRD, IFC and Intesa Sanpaolo. The second project, the Spitalla Solar Project will become concrete in 2024.

On 31st March, FIAA founded the Energy Industry Council, uniting all major players in the field of renewable energy development and elected Dr. Constantin as its Chairman. This Council aims at channeling the concerns of all firms active in the energy field to speak with one voice to Government of Albania and to be a critical partner of the Government for all legislative proposals and initiatives affecting the energy industry.

Dr. Constantin brings with him a wealth of experience working in international markets and managing large projects throughout his career. With this extensive background, proven leadership experience and familiarity with operations in Albania, he has a full picture of the business environment in the country and the critical emerging issues, and he is looking forward to dedicate and contribute to a fostering FIAA, consolidating and strengthening FIAA’s leading role among all existing Albanian business associations.

 

Stela DHAMI

Board Member of FIAA elected on May 16th, 2023

Mrs. Stela Dhami is an Albanian citizen born and raised in Tirana, Albania. She conducted her studies in the United States, in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest. She attended Reed College and University of Portland where she was awarded many merit-based scholarships based on her academic performance. She was on the Dean’s List for the entire duration of her academic career. She holds a BA in Economics from Reed College, a liberal arts college with emphasis on developing economies. She additionally holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Portland.

After her education Stela worked for U.S. Bank, a leading financial institution in the United States in their Business Center assisting many Portland based businesses with their financing needs. She additionally worked for Mercy Corps one of the biggest NGOs worldwide in their economic development arm aiding businesses with their business growth plans.

Since 2007, Stela is back in Albania and working for Colliers, a global commercial real estate company. She is currently the Managing Partner of the office in Albania covering real estate brokerage, valuation, and advisory services for many local and international clients.

Most recently Stela intermediated the process for the arrival and introduction to the Albanian market of Hyatt International Hotels and Swiss Hotel a brand of Accor Group. She is keen to work further in this market with the provision of real estate services to promote Albania as a travel and tourism destination on the rise.

Stela has been a long-standing member and supporter of FIAA and its activities in Albania and believes in its purpose and vision in being the main source of information and advocacy for international companies in Albania.  She has served in the past as a board member and would accept the privilege to advocate for members’ interest in the future.

 

Marinela JAZOJ, MBA
Executive Director of FIAA

Ms. Marinela Jazoj (Albanian) holds a Master Degree in Investment Management from University of Wales (London School of Business and Finance, UK).

Since 2004, she is the Executive Director of the Foreign Investors Association in Albania (FIAA). During the last ten years she acts as a contact point for the International Investors aiming to know about Investment Opportunities in Albania.

She is also active on the management of the Cross Border Economic Co-operations through EU funded projects.