Dieter Knittel is Head of International Real Estate Finance for Central and Eastern Europe at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank. Dieter is responsible for the bank’s lending portfolio in the region. The regional focus is on Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Dieter has been active in the CEE market for more than twenty years, including five years based in Warsaw as Head of Credit and Senior Risk Management.

Anna: Transforming Real Estate with 24 Years of Expertise

Anna is a seasoned leader in the commercial real estate industry, bringing over two decades of experience to the table. She spent the majority of her career at JLL, playing a pivotal role in the company’s growth across Poland and Central & Eastern Europe since the early 2000s. During her tenure, she spearheaded teams in Market Research, Consulting, Workplace Strategy, and Project Management, consistently delivering innovative solutions and measurable success.

Today, Anna leads the CEE operations at SINGU, championing transformative change in the real estate sector through cutting-edge CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management) solutions. Based in Warsaw, she combines strategic insight with a passion for innovation to shape the future of real estate in the region.

Agnieszka Gutowska, director of communication, marketing and CSR of Nhood Polska

Leads the work of the Nhood Polska marketing team and is responsible for the comprehensive implementation of the Nhood brand communication strategy and marketing strategy for 24 Auchan shopping centres. As well as for creation, implementation and execution of the sustainability strategy and its reporting.

She co-created the Nhood and Ceetrus brands and led the team responsible for their launch on the Polish market. She is a member of the international groups responsible for the implementation of “Vision in Action”, the development of the #People #Planet #Profit sustainability strategy and setting directions in this area.

Michał Sowa is a board member and co-owner of Cukiernia Sowa sp. z o.o. Since 2008, he has been actively involved in developing the family business, significantly contributing to the expansion of the Cukiernia Sowa network (now comprising 170 locations in Poland and one in London), including a franchise with over 50 business partners. He oversees sales, marketing, investments, and real estate. As a coffee enthusiast, he initiated the launch of the company’s own roastery brand – Sowa Caffè. Michał holds a master’s degree in management and marketing from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, as well as a master confectioner’s diploma. His efforts support the growth of local cultural, sports, and charitable initiatives.

Anna has over 17 years of experience in retail expansion, wide range of expertise with different real estate (i.e. shopping centers, retail parks, high-streets) and with various retail sectors: drugstore&pharmacy chain Cosmedica, bookstore&omnichannel retailer Empik, pet product retailer Maxi Zoo (Fressnapf). Recently joined a new retail department at Xiaomi Technology.

She specializes in development and implementation of expansion strategy, expansion, focused on sales, store’s performance and negotiation of both the deal and the lease contract.

Fascinated with the real estate world, retail and mixed-use projects together with social and hi-tech revolution in buying&lifestyle habits.

CMO & business generalist, people & organizational culture leader, strategist & agent of transformations. Within an over 15-year career path she has gained experience in premium & luxury goods, beauty & fashion sectors; both in b2b and b2c model, brick-and-mortar, and eCommerce. Her international expertise spans 40+ markets.

She has graduated from University of Warsaw, Oxford Business School, IMD Business School, and holds MBA & MCIM status. She had been gaining experience among others in Sephora and L’Oreal, and currently as Marketing Director Eastern Europe in Pandora.

João Xavier, is a senior real estate executive with an accumulated experience of 28 years, and he has worked for some of the largest European Real Estate companies: Sonae Sierra, Klepierre, Apsys Group and Multi Corporation. Currently, he is the Director of Retail at Widerproperty, a Lisbon – Portugal based Asset Management company, where he joined 3 years prior. He has a successful track record of accomplishments in Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Netherlands and across different European markets, which enabled him to acquire an in-depth knowledge of different retail markets.

With over 10 years of experience in FMCG, retail, and business development, Bliss is responsible for driving global partnership expansion for Card Factory, the leading specialist retailer of greeting cards, gifts, and celebration essentials, boasting a portfolio of over 1,000 stores across the UK.

As Carrefour Polska Shopping Malls Director, Ewa Karska is responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s strategic goals in terms of leasing, managing and developing a portfolio of over 35 large shopping centers of the chain on the Polish market with a total area of over 350 000 GLA.

She has been associated with the property industry for over 20 years. In 2003-2007 she managed Carrefour shopping centers in Toruń, Gdańsk and Kraków and then the lease of over 50 shopping centers belonging to the network in Poland. In 2008 she was appointed Country Shopping Malls Director for Carrefour Poland portfolio.

Magdalena Przybysz has been the Director of Expansion and Investment for the Central and Eastern Europe region since January 2019.

Previously, she worked for the H&M group for over 15 years. For many years, Magdalena Przybysz held the position of Leasing Manager on the Polish market and Central and Eastern Europe region. She graduated from the University of Finance and Management in Warsaw. Magdalena Przybysz has many years of experience in management, expansion and investment industry.

Lawyer, graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Wroclaw.
From 1992 to 2004 partner in the office of Legal Advisers Kołodziej, Pinkosz & Partners. Specialization: tax law.
Since 2004 in DEICHMANN-Obuwie Sp. z o. o. – the polish subsidary of Deichmann Group,
the largest shoe and sportswear retail chain in Europe, initially as an internal corporation lawyer, then the proxy of the board also responsible for the expansion of the company.
Since 2007 Vice President of the Board responsible for the administrative part of the company, including finance, investment and expansion of then retail chain.
Member of the Board in other companies of the DEICHMANN group – UAB Deichmann Avalyne (Lithuania), Deichmann Apavi (Latvia), Deichmann Kingad OÜ (Estonia) Deichmann Logistik Polska Sp. z o.o. (Poland) and Snipes Polska SA.

Oliver Burrak
Born 1974 in Stuttgart, Germany
Academic training:
▪ MBA, University of Cologne, Germany
Professional experience:
▪ Head of Sales Support Germany, Gerling Bancassurance GFVM, Frankfurt a.M.
▪ Head of PMO Sales Retail Germany (Merger HDI & Gerling), Cologne
▪ Head of CEE Maas&Roos Holding, Hilpoltstein & Warsaw (Planning – Signage –
Solutions)
▪ Owner and CEO Maas&Roos Polska, Warsaw (Planning – Signage – Solutions)
▪ Since June 2024:
Chief Representative Poland at NRW.Global Business (state-owned trade&invest
agency of North Rhine-Westphalia)
Language skills:
▪ German – first language
▪ English – business fluent
▪ Polish – fluent

Agata Sekuła has over 27 years of investment advisory experience in the retail sector and is one of the most renowned experts in the CEE region. Before joining EPP, she worked for JLL for 23 years. She has an enviable track record of successful sales and acquisitions of retail properties in the CEE region, having completed transactions with a total value of over EUR 13.5 billion.

Agata Sekuła has advised in the largest and most important transactions, including portfolios of Chariot and Atrium and shopping centres: Galeria Katowicka, Silesia City Center, Manufaktura, Stary Browar, Magnolia Park, Promenada.

Agata Sekuła graduated from Law and Administration faculty at the University of Warsaw and hold a diploma in property valuation from the Warsaw University of Technology, as well as the Certificate in Advanced Property Investment Appraisal, Advanced Property Finance and Funding and Advanced Portfolio Management gained at Investment Property Forum Advanced Education Programme in London.

Experienced Manager with over 25 years track record in commercial real estate.

Edyta worked for Retail Agency at JLL for 13 years on the positions of Senior Leasing Manager, Associate Director, Head of Landlord Representation Services and Senior Director. She was running and coordinating projects of retail space leasing/re-leasing, development and implementation of repositioning, extension remodeling strategies of retail facilities for investors such as: Inter Ikea, Globe Trade Centre, Resolution Property, Sierra Balmain, Neinver, White Star, Cromwell Property Group, Futureal, Caelum, Immobel, Carrefour Polska, S+B Gruppe, King Cross, Auchan Polska, Multi Development and many others.

Since April 2020 she has been responsible for expansion of German family-owned company – Tchibo. Her key responsibilities include: development of expansion strategy, location evaluation, commercial terms and lease agreement negotiations, coordination of construction works.

Edyta graduated from Warsaw University – Institute of Applied Linguistics. She has both real estate and management licenses.

Jacek Wesolowski has more than 30 years of experience in the retail, office and residential real estate markets. Since 2016, as managing director of Trei Real Estate Poland, he has been responsible for the company’s investment and development activities. He oversees the dynamic development of the Vendo Park retail park chain. He also manages Trei’s retail portfolio, which includes 139 facilities. As of 2019, he heads the residential company Trei Residential, which has already completed the Kraft estate, delivering 191 apartments to the Łódź market, and currently has under construction the Bacciarellego 54 estate in Wrocław (the fourth and final stage of this development), which will deliver a total of 276 units. Further plans include a development project in Poznań, where the first PRS development from Trei in Poland will be built. A similar development for institutional rental will also be built in Warsaw. In addition, one more residential project will be developed in the capital. Trei Real Estate Poland’s development plans also include starting construction of housing estates in Milanówek, Wrocław and Łódź. A total of about 2,000 apartments will be on offer in Poland’s largest cities as part of the planned projects thanks to Trei.
Jacek Wesolowski is an active ambassador of small retail formats. In 2019. Trei launched a project of the first annual summaries in Poland published in the form of independent reports issued in cooperation with consulting companies.
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jacek Wesolowski was one of the initiators and representative of the community of retail park owners operating in Poland in talks with tenants. Negotiations were held with 38 chains and companies, representing more than 900 stores in over 200 locations. The agreements reached allowed tenants to reopen their stores by the end of May 2020.
Before joining Trei, he was responsible for the success of the first downtown KLIF shopping center in Gdynia, then the Silesia project in Katowice or the Castle Terraces in Lublin.

Hubert Abt has been working in the real estate industry for over 30 years. He worked as a developer and later in the land banking sector and provided equity and Mezzanine capital for various real estate projects. In 2013 he founded NEW WORK Offices in Budapest, which provides various flexible office solutions. Since then he developed the business model further and grew the company to today 16 locations in 3 countries with approx. 43.000 sqm which brings NEW WORK in the top 3 list in CEE. Hubert now leads the company as CEO while focusing on investor relations and franchising. Since December 2020 Hubert is also a founder and CEO of workcloud24, which provides digital solutions for workforce and workspace management.

Key skills – Over 25 years real estate experience with major international retailers : Sunglass Hut, GrandOptical-Vison Express, Camaieu, Foot Locker

Deep and extensive knowledge of international retail real estate, from strategy to implementation, from accelerated growth to disposals and market exits. Wide network of key contacts across all major markets.

Excellent understanding of deal economics and success criteria across markets.
Past and current board member of various organisations.
Worked successfully within companies and also as an external advisor. Built and led national and international teams to the highest levels of performance. Strong focus on financial performance of projects and deals. Excellent track record.

Paweł Oskędra is a mature senior manager with more than 20 years of work experience in commercial real estate. The first few years he spent working for both Jones Lang Wotton and Europa Park performing various services  and being responsible for  retail, offices and industrial (Europa Park).   The next almost 10 years of his professional life Paweł spent working for shopping center owners, investors and manag­ers. His positions during that time included head of the leasing department at ECE Projektmanagement, head of the leasing department at Parkridge Retail and head of the leasing department at Apsys Polska. Paweł was responsible for leasing and re-leasing of a portfolio of shopping centers, extensions of existing schemes and other restructur­ings, for investors such as GE, Heitman, Casino Group, Aviva Investors and Deutsche Bank group. He was involved in projects including Galeria Krakowska, Galeria Łódzka, Galeria Kaskada, Alfa Shopping Center, Galeria Bałtycka, Galeria Dominikańska, Focus Mall Bydgoszcz and Focus Mall Zielona Góra and lots of others.  After 10 years working on the owner’s side, Paweł changed the side of the market and became Property Director at Ultimate Fashion, one of the biggest retailers in CEE, operating brands such as  Esprit, River Island, GAP, Aldo, Mango, Hugo Boss, New Look, Peacocks, Mexx, Spring . He was personally responsible firstly for  the roll out of brands such as : New Look, GAP, River Island and Peacocks and later on  for the successful restructuring of the fashion division of EMF’s business in Poland and CEE, including Russia and Ukraine. Once happened Paweł joined another business unit of EM&F where performed services for other business units of EM&F to include Ultimate Fashion, Empik and Smyk both in Poland and some other markets. Since Feb 2015 Paweł moved to Smyk Group  and holds the position of Property Director (area of responsibility: development + maintenance + construction) covering Poland, Ukraina and  finally Romania.

• Over 20 years leading fast casual, QSR and casual dining restaurants as CEO, President and CFO in both Europe and the USA.
• Vapiano CEO for turnaround acquisition out of bankruptcy. Over 150 restaurants in 32 countries.
• A passion for “telling the story”: presenting strategy, analysis and results to management, employees and Boards of Directors.
• Advisory Board Fruitisimo with over 100 stores
• Board member Burger King Germany with over 725 stores. 2022/2023
• President Burger King AmRest from 2018-2020 including Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria operating 80 stores across CE. Franchisee of the Year award, Burger King EMEA 2019.
• AmRest CFO, co-led the AmRest IPO in 2005, the largest independent restaurant operator in CEE at the time growing to over 2600 restaurants in 26 countries across Europe and Asia with a portfolio of power brands such as Burger King, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut Sushishop, La Tagliatelle and Blue Frog.
• Entrepreneur, President and Partner, Black-eyed Pea Colorado casual dining restaurants from 2008 to 2016. Purchase and turnaround of the 10 store chain in Colorado, USA.

Think Big…Always be Curious…Build Culture…Develop Great People…Reward Performance

Joanna Czajgucka-Terlecka is an experienced Expansion Manager in the clothing and accessories industry, with many years of experience in developing the chains of German brands (Deichmann, Takko, Bijou Brigitte) in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). She specializes in expansion and commercial real estate, including lease negotiations and project profitability analysis.
Joanna also has in-depth knowledge of the garment creation process, which enables her to deliver premium products that attract consumers.

Waldemar Madajczyk, as Vice President of European Markets CEE, is overseeing a broad range of operations including retail, wholesale, and licensing development across the region. He is responsible for operations in 27 countries within CEE and manages the Guess offices in: Warsaw, Katowice and Budapest. With 13 years of experience at Guess, Waldemar has demonstrated strong leadership and operational expertise, significantly contributing to the brand’s market positioning and growth.

Jonathan has been in the foodservice industry for over 45 years, starting his career in a public house in Nottingham, England, aged 14. He was too young to serve drinks but earned his first wages sorting glass bottles. It was from this early age that he fell in love with food and beverage.

These first experiences in the restaurant and bar industry then became a consuming passion and Jonathan went on to train as a chef and then a professional manager in hotels and restaurants, completing his craft qualifications, then a Diploma and finally a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foodservice Management.

Having worked for Imperial Inns and Taverns, Trusthouse Forte, Whitbread, Mars, Masterfoods and Marriot in operations, sales and new concept development and store openings, Jonathan embarked on his consulting career with a small London practice, working on the first UK food courts, transit catering and inflight foodservice. In 1993, Jonathan started “Coverpoint” the foodservice consulting business.

Coverpoint expanded progressively over 26 years and in that time provided advice to over 250 of the world’s best Owners, Operators Landlords and Developers with projects being delivered in over 50 countries.

Over this time, Jonathan became known as a leading thinker in his industry, with knowledge and insight into the performance of assets, brands, consumers and locations. He remains connected at the highest level with foodservice leaders and businesses across the world and with airport owners and operators, and property owners and managers in many countries.

In 2014 Coverpoint was sold to JLL, the professional property services business listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2017 Jonathan joined ECE, as Global Head of Foodservice. Jonathan is now a consultant to ECE, as well as providing services to a number of other companies and locations including airports and transit locations.

Jonathan is married to Misha and together they have two young children as well as two dogs and they live in the New Forest, Hampshire, England.

Yvonne leads a dedicated Cross Border Retail & Leisure team at Cushman & Wakefield, combining consultancy (new market entry and location strategy globally) and agency/brokerage.  She is also a member of the EMEA Retail & Leisure Group board.  Yvonne has held advisory board positions on trade bodies including ICSC (advisory board member, founding member of the European Research Group), BCSC and ECSP.  While being based in London, Yvonne works closely with her many colleagues and C&W’s affiliate partners around the world, advising and representing many international retailers, brands, leisure and F&B operators on new market entry and expansion of existing store networks.   She has worked in many countries across EMEA, APAC and the Americas.  Yvonne has over 30 years’ experience of international retail and strategic consultancy, business development and client account management.

As Head of Investment Management Retail, Roman Müller is responsible for Union Investment’s acquisition and sales of retail properties in Europe. With a retail portfolio of approx. €9 billion, the company invests from market-dominant shopping centers to high street assets and grocery-anchored retail parks. In CEE, Union Investment owns and manages several retail properties with a valuation of nearly €1.6 billion. Most renowned are Manufaktura in Lodz and Palladium in Prague.

Before joining Union Investment in 2015, Roman Müller worked at Drees & Sommer and HIH Real Estate and lived in Hamburg, Moscow and Vienna. He studied Real Estate Engineering and Management at the Universities of Stuttgart and Cape Town and has more than 10 years of professional experience.

Agata has been part of the real estate in Poland and other CEE&SEE countries for over 20 years. She gained experience working for agency JLL leasing Galeria Mokotów among others, several Landlords DT Casino, Apsys, Klepierre and Tenants (Alshaya, Camaieu, Go Sport).

Since January 2020 she’s been responsible, as Real Estate Manager CEE, for expansion of Dutch worldwide brand Rituals, opening successfully 40 stores till end January 2024 and more to come.

Agata joined PRADERA in 2014. In her role of Head of CEE and Board Member, Agata is responsible for all aspects of Pradera’s operations in Central and Eastern Europe, where different vehicles are directly or indirectly controlling portfolio of 10 assets covering nearly 250,000 sqm of GLA, representing over €430 million value and nearly 500 tenancies.

Prior to joining Pradera, Agata held the position of Country Manager and Retail Director at Neinver Polska and was ultimately responsible for Neinver’s Polish operations including the development and asset management of the Factory Outlet Centers portfolio, Galeria Malta and Galeria Katowicka.

Agata’s earlier career in the retail property market include GTC S.A., on

behalf of Inter Alia, Galeria Mokotów and Galeria Kazimierz.

Agata graduated in Economics at PWSBiA in Warsaw, and is an AIESEC

organisation alumna. In 2017 Agata became a Certified Commercial Investment Member of the CCIM Institute. Since 2018 Agata has been holding Board Member position in Polish Council of Shopping Centres.

Barbara has been working in a commercial real estate business in CEE Region for over 20 years, dealing with expansion and leasing for various landlords and retailers.

Started in 2004 as Leasing Associate in Magnolia Park (Wrocław), continued her journey as Sales and Leasing Director in Verity Development and later, for over 10 years, represented Orsay brand in CEE region in an expansion role.

She joined Alshaya in 2023 as Head of Real Estate responsible for management and development of Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and The Body Shop’s portfolio in CEE region.

Barbara is an expert in expansion, management and negotiations. She loves exploring new countries, is very open-minded in finding extraordinary problem solutions and concentrates on delivering the best results for the company.

A native of Minnesota, Paul Kusmierz, has been a resident in Poland and active in the Polish and CEE real estate markets since 1996. In 2006, Mr. Kusmierz founded Master Management Group (MMG). MMG has become one of the top leaders in the Polish real estate market, gaining the trust of international business partners in terms of development, management and investment. Mr. Kusmierz has been responsible for over 40 transactions totalling over 1.3 billion Euros.

As the Acquisition Director and Equity Partner in a retail fund based in Poland with Europa Capital, Mr. Kusmierz managed one of the largest transactions of 2007. He acquired 14 properties and later sold the portfolio. Further, in cooperation with the Blackstone Real Estate Group, MMG was responsible for transaction advisory, property management and leasing of high-quality Polish shopping malls of 250 000 m2 GLA, owned by King’s Street Retail, which included the successful 50 million Euro expansion of Magnolia Park in Wrocław, whereby MMG was the developer and leasing agent. MMG also partnered with UK based Marcol Group and US based Kravco Company. The latest development project in the MMG portfolio was Galeria Młociny, a prime retail complex of 70 000 m2 GLA, located in the Bielany district in Warsaw. The project was leased 60% and successfully sold to Echo Polska Properties and Echo Investment S.A. in March 2017  for  104.5 million Euros.

Master Management Group, under the leadership of Mr. Kusmierz, has been investing in commercial real estate and executing its own projects. Currently, MMG operates over 100 000 m2 of GLA in Poland including: Brama Mazur in Ełk, Galeria Niwa in Oświęcim and centers in: Poznań, Szczecin, Lubin, Kutno, Ciechanów, Piekary Śląskie and Józefosław (MMG Centers*). All galleries are “the first choice” shopping destinations in their regions with a proven track record in every aspect of management. Niwa and Brama Mazur were both developed by MMG and are award winning projects.

MMG is also an investor and developer of a mixed – use complex Hi Piotrkowska, being defined as the landmark building in the center of Łódź. The complex is located near the Public Transport Hub, accounted for 50 000 travellers daily.

Ewa Downie has been working in C&A since 2023 as Portfolio Manager CEE being responsible for making investment decision regarding 107 C&A stores in Poland, Czechia and Slovakia.

Ewa is leading Brand’s expansion in the dedicated region, overseeing new concept introduction and financial performance of the dedicated portfolio.

Ewa earned Master of Law degree at University of Wroclaw and started her real estate career as a lawyer in Rodamco Europe (currently part of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield), being involved in Galeria Mokotow re-letting and Zlote Tarasy project.

Later she joined JLL Poland where was she was focused on letting major shopping centers in Poland like Blue City in Warsaw, Forum Gdansk, Klif Warsaw, Galeria Jurajska in Czestochowa, Galeria Sfera in Bielsko and many more, as well as tenants advisory.

She worked also for Nhood, Via Outlets and Atrium Poland where she was involved in leasing and strategy decisions regarding dedicated portfolios.

In her free time Ewa is avid traveller, foodie and enthusiast of modern architecture and mixed-used schemes.

Dr. Dominik Wagner is an internationally active business lawyer with over 15 years of professional experience. As the Managing Partner at TIGGES Rechtsanwälte in Düsseldorf, Warsaw and Katowice, he specializes as a certified attorney in Commercial and Corporate Law as well as in International Business Law. Mr. Wagner has extensive experience in areas such as company formation, M&A, trade relations, international investment projects, and German-Polish business topics. He works closely with German, Polish, and international companies from various sectors, providing comprehensive support in business law matters, from company establishment and international expansion to contract negotiations and preparation. Dominik Wagner is currently President of the international law firm network ICLA and has been President of the International Business Law Commission in the international lawyers’ network AIJA for six years now. He completed his law studies at the Ruhr University in Bochum, where he also wrote a comparative law dissertation on foundation law. He subsequently pursued postgraduate Master of Laws studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Dominik Wagner places great emphasis on the economic and legal relations between Germany and Poland. As a European lawyer at the Bar Association in Katowice and a board member of the AHK Poland in Warsaw, he is deeply rooted in German-Polish economic and legal relations. Thanks to his fluent language skills in German, Polish, and English, he can overcome cultural and mental differences, ensuring effective communication.

Jan is an experienced real estate professional with comprehensive expertise spanning all stages of the industry, including agency, development, facility management, and major portfolio asset management. Currently, Jan oversees a diverse portfolio of office, retail, logistics, and hospitality assets across the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, with a total value exceeding €1.5 billion.

Marcin is responsible for expansion of Castorama which is a leading DIY chain in Poland with over 100 stores and a part of Kingfisher Group – an international home improvement company with ~2,000 stores. Marcin has over 15 years of experience on property market in development, asset management and leasing of commercial properties.

I am the owner of a design and construction company ” Biuro projektowe Projektuj i Buduj Sp.zoo ” . We specialize in road and bridge design as well as construction supervision

I am the owner copmany SANTOS PARTNER where I give services for business development and professional networking as well partcipate as a partner in the projects

scope of activities :

Connecting investors and help build their business
business development services
supporting in acquiring non-bank and bank financing
international expansion for manufacturing companies
partnerships with Investment Funds, Developers
networking

sectors :

energy – I am the Official Partner of EDP Energy, a global leader in renewable energy, committed to providing sustainable and innovative energy solutions – photovoltaic systems, wind energy systems

Real Estate

Financing

Start ups – Venture Capital

International and local expansion

European Grants

ESG

Marek Noetzel became Chief Operating Officer of NEPI Rockcastle, Central and Eastern Europe’s largest owner, operator and developer of shopping centers, in June 2022. He is responsible for the Company’s operations across eight countries and is a member of its Investment Committee. Prior to becoming COO, he was an Executive Director, responsible for the asset management of the Company’s properties in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania.

Since then, he has been responsible for bringing the operational management of both assets in house as well as continuing to maximise the performance of the company’s assets across the region.

Mr. Noetzel joined Rockcastle Global Real Estate in 2016, establishing the structure of the office in Poland and expanding it abroad before Rockcastle merged with NEPI in 2017. Mr Noetzel has been active in the Polish retail real estate market since 2002, gaining his professional experience at Cushman & Wakefield. As Head of the Retail Department, he was responsible for commercialization, development, asset management, investment, and financial consultancy services working for multiple international and national clients.

Legal professional with over six years of experience in Polish Civil and Commercial Law,
• 17 years of experience in retail business, including development of QSR, fast-fashion and multi
category stores concepts for several price and target group segments,
• Comprehensive experience with various corporate structures, ranging from individual
entrepreneurs to multinational corporations, including five years of international market exposure
(China, Southeast Asia, Russia, and Switzerland),
• Extensive project management experience, overseeing real estate projects from inception to
delivery, including market strategy, site identification and negotiations, construction supervision,
and property management,
• Strong focus on aligning with organizational values and goals to ensure efficient problem-solving
while emphasizing long-term development over short-term achievements.

Katarzyna Dąbrowska is an Expansion Director responsible for development and asset management in CEE of Vision Express, Grand Optical brands in Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus. Within Essilor Luxottica group, she supports also optical brand in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
Katarzyna has 20 years of experience on the real estate market, previously working as CEE Expansion Director in Douglas. Since 2018, I have been successfully developing and managing portfolio of Vision Express and Trendy Opticias stores (from March Grand Optical stores), which currently amounts at around 255 stores in Poland.
Master’s degree in law, Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw and real estate agent license.

Filip Puchalski is a manager with over 15 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, specializing in retail network development, operational strategy, and project management. He began his professional career within European institutions, working in the European Parliament, where he gained experience in legislation and public policy.

He later served as Secretary General of the Polish Triathlon Association, where he was responsible for the professionalization of organizational structures and the development of the sport in Poland.

In the private sector, he was involved with the MOYA fuel station network, where he built the network from the ground up and ultimately managed its operations as a board member and Chief Operating Officer. He also worked at Żabka – one of the largest convenience store chains in Europe – where he held the position of Director of Real Estate Acquisition.

Currently, he plays a key role within Xtreme Fitness Gyms, the fastest-growing fitness brand in Poland, where he is responsible for franchise network development and real estate. He is also developing a second brand, Xtreme Kids, a chain of clubs and playrooms for children.

CMO, business generalist, conscious leadership practitioner, team and organizational culture leader, strategist, and transformation agent.
She has over 15 years of experience in the premium and luxury goods segment, with know-how spanning the specifics of over 40 markets across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Her expertise includes supporting both B2C and B2B business models, across brick-and-mortar and eCommerce channels.

In 2024, she was awarded the GRAND PRIX in the Marketing Director of the Year competition in Poland.

She has been with the Danish jewelry brand Pandora for 9 years, and for the past 7 years has served as Marketing Director, responsible for the brand’s strategic development across 5 owned markets and several distributor-led markets. She oversees 360° marketing activities and leads a team of over 20 people.

Together with her team, she has achieved significant growth in brand metrics and market share across all markets. Their work has been recognized with awards for campaigns and launches (including EMMA 2024, MIXX Awards, and multiple Twój Styl Fashion Excellence awards). However, what brings her the most joy are the engagement and trust metrics that continuously place her team at the top.

She has studied in programs at Oxford Business School, IMD Business School, and the University of Warsaw. She holds the MCIM designation and previously gained experience at companies like Sephora and L’Oréal.

She loves suits (and the power of minimalism they carry).
Outside of work, she is passionate about contemporary art, industrial rock, and jazz… though in contrast, she also practices yoga and Zen meditation.
Because in both life and business, she believes that only the full spectrum of experience and awareness can bring true wholeness.