Speakers Categories: Speakers

Mentor Pllana is an intellectual entrepreneur, researcher, and business leader whose work bridges academic thinking with entrepreneurial practice. His educational background and postgraduate studies laid the foundation for developing innovative management concepts, including the 5P Business Framework. He is the founder of Pllana Ventures, comprising three leading business entities: Pllana Capital, InstaBuilt, and Cherry Communities, which advance sustainable real estate, industrialized construction, and community development across Europe and the United States. His work integrates technology, energy, circular construction, innovation, and sustainability to develop scalable solutions shaping the future of living and investing. 

Since September 2007 Ms Quiring has been working as Regional Director South Eastern Europe at the German Eastern Business Association. As Regional Director for South East Europe, she is responsible for maintaining relations with the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. After finishing her Political Science Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin in December 2003, she started her professional career at the Consultant Flemming & Partner in January 2004 and joined Axel Springer Russia in July 2006, where she worked in Moscow as New Business Development Manager.

 

Anja Quiring is a member of the board of the Southeast Europe Association.

Visar Paçarada has served as Chief Executive Officer of ProCredit Bank Kosovo since July 2023 and has been a Member of the Management Board since 2019. Having joined ProCredit Bank in 2007, he has played a key role in shaping its strategic direction, with a strong focus on SME development, credit risk management, and sustainable finance.  Under his leadership, the Bank has further strengthened its market position and continued its growth trajectory. In his current role, Mr. Paçarada oversees MSME Banking, Human Resources, Asset and Liability Management, Sustainability, AML, and related control functions. 

In addition to his executive responsibilities, Mr. Paçarada serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Kosovo Banking Association and Vice Chairperson of the European Investors Council.  

Mr. Paçarada holds a degree in International Business Management from the University of Westminster, London, and is a graduate of the ProCredit Academy in Germany, where he specialized in Management. 

 

Peter Friedrich is Chief Executive Officer of the Stuttgart Region Chamber of Skilled Crafts and Managing Director of Handwerk International since March 2022. A graduate in administrative sciences from the University of Constance, he combines political leadership with international economic expertise. He served as Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for the Federal Council, Europe and International Affairs, and as a Bundestag member advocating for SMEs, skilled crafts, and liberal professions. He later became Managing Partner at GAULY Advisors GmbH, Frankfurt. 

Dr. David Preisendanz is a German lawyer and Member of the German Bundestag for the Esslingen constituency in Baden-Württemberg. He has served in the Bundestag since 2025 as a member of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. 

He studied law at the University of Konstanz and the University of Lausanne and completed his doctorate in 2012. Before entering the Bundestag, he worked as a lawyer at an international law firm in Stuttgart and later as corporate counsel at Robert Bosch GmbH. 

In the Bundestag, he is a full member of the Committee on European Union Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection, and the Subcommittee on European Law. He also serves as a substitute member of the Committee on Internal Affairs. 

Preisendanz has chaired the CDU association in Ostfildern since 2023 and has served on Ostfildern’s municipal council since 2024. 

Mimoza Kusari-Lila is a prominent Kosovar political leader currently serving as Minister of Trade, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Elected to four consecutive terms in the Assembly, she leads the liberal party Alternativa and previously served as the LVV parliamentary caucus leader. Her distinguished public service includes roles as Deputy Prime Minister and the first female Mayor of Gjakova. Before entering politics, she was the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo and worked with USAID. An MBA graduate from Duquesne University and a Fulbright Fellow, she remains a steadfast champion for economic reform, good governance, and women’s empowerment. 

Guri Shkodra has served as NOTUS energy’s Country Manager for the Western Balkans since 2023, overseeing the development of the company’s renewable energy portfolio across four countries in the region. Previously, he was part of the Kosovo-German joint venture that developed 105 MW of wind power capacity in Kosovo. Before entering renewable energy project development, he spent more than a decade in civil society, working on sustainable development and environmental activism. He later moved into the private sector, serving as spokesperson for the Kosovo Electricity Distribution Company (KEDS) and as a Strategic Planner at Paper, advising energy-sector clients, including companies operating in high-risk environments. Outside his professional work, he plays guitar with the local band Gillespie. 

Franz Rubey is the Managing Director of Pontigra GmbH and co-founder of Generis, which brings the CAPHENIA technology for sustainable aviation fuel from biomethane to market. Structuring energy and real asset projects so that banks and institutional investors can finance them, building on more than 20 years in family office investment and asset management.

Olena Antonova is a Senior ECRB Electricity Expert and Country Desk Officer at the Energy Community Secretariat, where she supports Kosovo’s EU alignment in the energy sector. She also assists Contracting Parties’ regulators on EU electricity market integration, focusing on the Electricity Integration Package and ECRB’s work. A former Member of Ukraine’s energy regulator (NEURC), she led a major electricity market reform. Earlier, she facilitated foreign investors’ entry into energy markets and delivered technical assistance in creating investment frameworks. 

 

Amir Alizadeh heads the International Affairs, Industry and Innovation Department at the Ulm Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Ulm). His work focuses on international trade, expanding into international markets, and fostering cross-border business networks. Between 2012 and 2018, he served as Deputy Managing Director of the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad in Tehran, where he supported German companies in entering the market, establishing business contacts, and developing their local operations. He subsequently served as Publishing Director at OWC Verlag, a Berlin-based publishing house specializing in international trade. Today, he advises small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on internationalization through the Enterprise Europe Network Baden-Württemberg and oversees the Southeast Europe Competence Center at IHK Ulm.