Board of FIAA

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 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 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.

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.

Ms Ekaterina Solovova is Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Albania.

She has been leading the Bank’s operations and the team in Tirana resident office since July 2021. Under her leadership, the EBRD has scaled up its support of the key sectors of the Albanian economy, including renewable energy, tourism, mining, agribusiness, and financial services.

The EBRD is one of the largest multilateral finance institutions in Albania, having provided over EUR 2.2 billion in financing for public and private sector projects since 1991. Its key strategic objectives in Albania include improving the investment climate and governance, promoting the green transition, and enhancing private sector competitiveness. Facilitating foreign direct investments (FDIs) through policy dialogue and investments is an important priority for the EBRD in all its countries of operation. In Albania, the EBRD has been supporting the work of the Investment Council since 2015, while in recent years, the renewable energy auctions, assisted by the Bank, have positioned Albania as an attractive destination for international renewable energy developers. Additionally, the Bank has backed with financing such significant FDIs in the country as TAP, Yildirim Group, and Voltalia.

Ekaterina has over 20 years of experience in development finance and investment. Prior to her appointment in Tirana, she has held senior roles at EBRD, such as Adviser to the President, Head of Resident Office, and senior member of the Equity team, leading investments and representing the Bank on corporate boards. Before joining EBRD, she worked in private equity in the US and UK. Her diverse background and leadership roles underscore her expertise and commitment to advancing development finance and investment initiatives globally.

Married with two daughters aged 9 and 13, Ekaterina and her family enjoy exploring Albania’s hidden gems, whether mountain biking, kayaking, or hiking. Since moving to Albania over three years ago, she has become a passionate advocate for the country as a tourist destination among her close circles and colleagues.

Mr. Philipp Koronowski is the Founder of Vega Group SHPK, the leading solar EPC company in Albania. He has a strong background in electrical power engineering and business development and focus on renewable energy integration and energy efficiency.

Mr. Koronowski has graduated in Business Administration and Electrical Engineering (B.Sc.) RWTH Aachen, Germany (2015-2018). 

His areas of expertise include: Strategic Partnership Development; Project Management; Business Development; Energy efficiency and renewable energy.

As well he has a vast experience in:

• Developing a network to most important stakeholders in the global market.
• Training staff consisting of more than 100 people that manages projects entire independent.
• Effectively leading a team of 120 employees throughout the country.
• Introducing new solutions to local market and managing integration process.
• Successfully increased the company’s revenue despite drawbacks and limitations from the pandemic.

In addition to his native German, he speaks English, Albanian, Russian and French.

Pranvera PAPAMIHALI