This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Events
Warsaw-Chicago Innovation Bridge
share:
-
Date:25 February 2021 -
Time:15:00 -
Duration: -
Industry:Other -
Place:online event
Trade between Poland and the United States has tripled over the past decade. Last year, Poland was one of the 10 fastest growing US trade partners with an impressive total trade turnover of 7%.
This relationship is further strengthened thanks to a unique relationship between two cities like no other. Chicago and Warsaw are linked together throughout history by their shared culture. Afterall, they have the two largest Polish populations on the globe! Both cities are also major hubs for startups, technology and innovation.
With Chicago being among the top 15 startup ecosystems globally, and Warsaw being the largest tech hub in the CEE region by number of venture rounds, there can be no better match for cooperation and collaboration.
The Warsaw-Chicago Innovation Bridge is a great opportunity for Polish entrepreneurs offering technological solutions to share and learn from their counterparts across the Atlantic.
During the event, participants will:
- Learn about the business and technology ecosystems of Chicago and Warsaw
- Discover the possibilities for cooperation with:
- Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) and our Chicago Office
- Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- ChicagoNEXT and World Business Chicago
- Startup Hub Poland
- Many other entities from Chicago and Warsaw
- Get a chance to meet with potential business partners during the presentation and networking sessions
The main partner of the event is the Venture Café Warsaw.
The institutional partner of the event is the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago, represented by Madam Consul Małgorzata Bąk-Guzik, Acting Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago.
The special guests of the event will be:
- Iwona Węgrzyn-Bocheńska
Senior International Trade Specialist, Office of Trade & Investment, State of Illinois
Co-Chair of the Warsaw Committee, Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI) - Conrad Nowak
Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Co-Chair of the Warsaw Committee, Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI)
The event will be moderated by:
- Michał Rzeźnik, Head of the Foreign Trade Office in Chicago, PAIH
- Ewa Geresz, Director, Venture Café Warsaw
- Alexandra Oleksiuk, Expert at the Foreign Trade Office in Chicago, PAIH
Among the main speakers we will see (in order of appearance):
- Ewelina Tomczyk-Malec, Senior Investor Relations Specialist, Investor Cooperation Unit, City of Warsaw
- Tom Bartkoski, Director of International Business Development, World Business Chicago (WBC)
- Agnieszka Szweda, Expert, Investment Center, PAIH
- Michał Rzeźnik, Head of the Foreign Trade Office in Chicago, PAIH
- Joey Mak, Vice President of Programs, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce (CCC)
- Maciej Sadowski, CEO, Startup Hub Poland
- Abin Kuriakose, Executive Vice President of Innovation and Venture Strategy, ChicagoNEXT
This online event will be held on February 25th at 9:00 AM CST (4:00 PM CET) and will be conducted in English.
Our Experts
Michał J. Rzeznik
PAIH Foreign Trade Office in Chicago
Michal J. Rzeznik is the Head of the Polish Investment & Trade Agency’s Foreign Trade Office in Chicago. The Agency is engaged in the promotion of the Polish economy on the global markets. The Chicago Office is responsible for the entire Midwest region and is one of the Agency’s 6 American offices and nearly 70 worldwide.
Michal is a manager with 12 years of work experience gained on American and Polish markets. Prior to joining the government sector, he served in the consulting and public accounting fields (mainly Big 4) as he managed numerous teams for large and medium clients. He conducted audits and reviews of standalone and consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with US GAAP, IFRS/IAS and Polish Accounting Standards.
In addition to his public accounting career, Michal has significant experience in commercial property management and leadership as he organized and co-organized a number of business and professional events. Michal graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he studied accounting and economics, and served as President of the UIC Economics Club.
Agnieszka Szweda
Centre for Strategic Investments at PAIH
Agnieszka helps foreign and domestic investors by providing market counselling and guidance at the Centre for Strategic Investments of the Polish Investment & Trade Agency (PAIH). She has been attached to PAIH since 2016 when she was deployed to Singapore to establish and manage the first Foreign Trade Office of the agency, thus becoming the pioneer of the agency’s global network. Based in Singapore, Agnieszka actively promoted the high tech potential of Poland paving the way for many Polish innovative companies in South East Asia.
She has over 20 years of experience in international trade and investments supporting business development between Poland and other countries on behalf of the government sector. Before her mission at PAIH, she was engaged in bilateral trade and investment projects carried out with Poland by the government of UK (British Embassy – UKTI), Malaysia (Embassy of Malaysia) and the Philippines (Embassy of the Philippines).
Agnieszka’s career in the public sector started in 1999 in her home region of Silesia where she organised and managed Investor Information Centre at the Marshal Office, the first department of this kind operating within the regional administration office in Poland. Since then, she has been continuously involved in global business development projects linking Poland and Polish business with the entire world.
Alexandra Oleksiuk
PAIH Foreign Trade Office in Chicago
Alexandra Oleksiuk currently serves as the Bureau Expert for the Polish Investment & Trade Agency (PAIH), Chicago Office, which is responsible for promoting trade and investment between Poland and 12 states in the Midwest region. Oleksiuk specializes in assisting companies in the development and refining of business plans, strategies, marketing materials, advertising campaigns, and addressing certain regulatory issues.
A dynamic business professional, Oleksiuk embraces a thoughtful, energetic, and holistic approach in helping firms navigate the global business landscape. Oleksiuk is active in various civic and business organizations including World Business Chicago, Sister Cities International, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and has also been recognized as an “Emerging Leader” by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.
Contact
share: