Panel guests 2007 in Berlin

Ioana Avadani
Executive Director Center of Independent Journalism
Romania
Ms. Avadani has been the executive director of the Center for Independent Journalism in Bucharest since 1999. Prior to that, she was general editor of the main news program at PRO TV and deputy editor-in-chief / head of international desk at Mediafax wire service.
After graduating from the Faculty of Mechanics at the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute, Ms. Avadani started her professional career as an engineer in the car manufacturing and aeronautical industry.
Ms. Avadani is an acclaimed journalist, the author of a number of internationally published articles and a member of the Romanian Journalists' Society.
Panel I "EU-accession – the changing media landscapes of Bulgaria and Romania"

Guido Baumhauer
Director of Distribution, Deutsche Welle
Guido Baumhauer studied economics and history at the Universities of Cologne and Washington D.C.
In 1990, he was working as a freelance at Deutsche Welle (DW) and attended a trainee program in 1992. Baumhauer's career began at DW-TV where he was working as a reporter. From 1996 to 1999 he was DW TV's EU correspondent in Brussels. At the same time he was appointed as "administrative and technical manager" on the EU multimedia project entitled "OPAL" and "ITV", the first digital decoder. After his return to Germany he was asked to head-up the office of the director general before becoming head of DW-World in 2002.
Baumhauer became editor-in-chief of DW-WORLD.de in 2005. Under his direction the multilingual internet offering expanded considerably, and DW-WORLD.de established itself as an internationally renowned and editorially independent part of the Deutsche Welle.
Since 2006 Guido Baumhauer is Deutsche Welle's Director of Distribution. Panel II "IPTV in Central and Eastern Europe"

Boguslaw Chrabota
Editor-in-Chief POLSAT
Poland
Boguslaw Chrabota graduated in law and journalism at the Jagiellonian-University in Krakow. Until 1989 he was writing for the independent, underground and emigration press. Chrabota attended several scholarships and professional trainings in the USA. From 1990 on he was working for the Polish Public Television. He became deputy chief-in-editor of the Polish Television News Agency (TAI). In 1993 he became deputy program director of the Free TV broadcaster Polsat. From 1994 to 2002 Chrabota became Polsat's program director.
Since 2005 he is chief-in-editor and general manager of the thematic channels. Furthermore he is lecturer of media, TV and marketing. Boguslaw Chrabota published several essays, books and is columnist for a monthly journal.
Panel IV "Poland in German and Germany in Polish media"

Wolfgang Clement
Former State Premier of North Rhine-Westphalia,
former German Federal Minister of Economics & Labour
Wolfgang Clement was state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1998 - 2002 and was German Federal Minister of Economics & Labour from 2002 - 2005.
After completing secondary school, an internship at a newspaper, a degree in law and a period as a teaching and research assistant at the University of Marbug, Clement (born 7 July 1940) became a political editor beginning in 1968, later head of the political department and finally deputy editor-in-chief of the Westfaelische Rundschau in Dortmund. He was the editor-in-chief of the Hamburger Morgenpost from 1986 to 1989. On 14 July 1997 he received an honorary doctorate (Dr.-Ing. e.h.) from the electrical engineering faculty of the Open University/University of Hagen, and on 12 November 2004 he was awarded an honorary doctorate (Dr. jur. h.c.) by the Law Faculty of Ruhr University in Bochum.
Wolfgang Clement has been a member of the SPD since 1970. From 1981 to 1986, he was the spokesperson of the SPD federal executive board and from 1985 to 1986 also served as the deputy federal party whip. In 1989, the then North Rhine-Westphalian state premier Johannes Rau appointed him head of the state chancellery, from 13 June 1990 he was Minister for Special Tasks and after the 1995 state election, Clement served in Rau's cabinet as Minister of Economics and Small Business, Technology and Transport.
Wolfgang Clement is chairman of the Adecco-Institute (London), member of the "Konvent für Deutschland", in academic councils as well as member of companies Supervisory Boards and Advisory Boards.
Keynote speaker: "Visions of European Television"

Elmar Heggen
CFO and Head of the Corporate Centre of RTL Group
Elmar Heggen, born in 1968, holds a diploma in Business Administration from the European Business School and graduated as Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance.
In 1992, he started his career at the Felix Schoeller Group, becoming Vice President & General Manager of Felix Schoeller Digital Imaging in the UK in 1999. Elmar Heggen first joined the RTL Group Corporate Centre in 2000 as Vice President Merger & Acquisitions. In January 2003, he was promoted to Senior Vice President Controlling & Investments. From July 2003 until December 2005 he was Executive Vice President Strategy & Controlling.
Since January 2006, Elmar Heggen has served on the RTL Group Executive Management team, where he is responsible for business development in the emerging markets of Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the radio business, and the Belgian market. On 1 October 2006 Elmar Heggen assumed office in his current position at RTL Group.
Panel II "IPTV in Central and Eastern Europe"

Ferdinand Kayser
President and CEO of SES ASTRA
and member of the Executive Committee of SES GLOBAL
Ferdinand Kayser started his career after a master of Economics at the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne as Senior Vice President at the Luxembourg media group CLT Multi Media. He was promoted Executive Vice President, responsible for all TV activities, especially RTL. From the newly merged CLT-UFA he moved to Premiere Medien GmbH & Co. KG as managing Director and became soon Managing Director at Kirch Pay Co Holding and Premiere Medien GmbH & Co. KG.
Panel II "IPTV in Central and Eastern Europe"

Copyright MDR/Jehnichen

Wolfgang Kenntemich
Editor-in-Chief MDR
Wolfgang Kenntemich is journalist. In 1970 he was working as newspaper editor in Münster/Westfalen. From 1973 on Wolfgang Kenntemich was working for the news agency ddp. inter alia as director for Switzerland, lastly as chief-in-editor. From 1982 to 1990 he managed the "Bild" -Group in Bonn and became afterwards chief correspondent for "Gruner+Jahr". Afterwards he became head of the news show "Aktuell" of the Bavarian broadcasting (BR).
In 1991 Wolfgang Kenntemich became chief-in-editor of the Central German Broadcasting (MDR). He developed several news shows like "Brisant", "MDR aktuell" and "Fakt". Also, he is commentator of the "Tagesthemen" news show on German association of public broadcasters (ARD) and moderator for several special programs on German association of public broadcasters (ARD) and Central German Broadcasting (MDR). Furthermore Kenntemich is lecturer at the Leipzig University.
Panel IV "Poland in German and Germany in Polish media"

Reinhard Klimmt
Former Prime Minister of the Saarland
and Federal Minister of Transportation, Building and Housing
Chairman of the European Television Dialogue
Reinhard Klimmt was Chairman of the SPD federal executive's Media Commission from 1990 to 2001. In 1964, during his studies of History, Reinhard Klimmt becomes a member of the SPD (Social-Democratic Party of Germany) He was i.e. Head of the SPD in the Saarland parliament, Prime Minister in Saarland and Federal Minister of transport, building and housing. Reinhard Klimmt is consultant of the board of the Deutsche Bahn AG since 2002.
Keynote speaker

Wojciech Kostrzewa
President & CEO of ITI Group (Poland)
Wojciech Kostrzewa is an economics graduate from Kiel University in Germany. Between 1988 and 1991 he was employed at The Kiel Institute for the World Economy as a Research Economist. From 1989 to 1991 he was an adviser to the Polish Minister of Finance, Prof. L. Balcerowicz.
Between 1990 and 1995 he held the position of President of the Polish Development Bank. In 1996, Wojciech Kostrzewa was appointed as Deputy President of BRE Bank S.A. and in May 1998, became its President, which post he held until November 2004.
Between January 2002 and November 2004, he was Executive Member of the Regional Management Board of Commerzbank AG where he was responsible for the all operations of Commerzbank in Central and Eastern Europe. He joined the ITI Group in January 2005 as its President and CEO. Between 2004 and 2007 he also served as President of the Polish-German Chamber of Industries and Commerce in Warsaw.
In 2007 Wojciech Kostrzewa was named Vice President of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers "Lewiatan". He is a Member of the Polish Business Roundtable.
Panel II "IPTV in Central and Eastern Europe"

Alexander Mackat
CEO, Fritzsch&Mackat
Berlin
For 15 years, Alexander Mackat has been exploring the impact of the relationship between the former East and West Germany on advertising and marketing. He has published a number of articles and is a very sought-after panel speaker. Being of German-Russian decent, Mackat has been exposed to cross-cultural issues since childhood. He grew up in the German Democratic Republic and after the reunification, the cultural differences between east and west drew his attention. Personal interest soon turned into professional ambition and the co-founding of the Fritzsch & Mackat advertising agency in 1993.
Panel III "Media investments between Russia and Western Europe "

Matthias Matussek
Head of Culture Department, Der Spiegel
Matthias Matussek studied German and American Studies in Berlin. After working for “Abend” (Berlin) and “Stern” he changed to the weekly magazine “Der Spiegel”, where he is currently Head of Culture Department.
From the fall of the Berlin Wall until the German reunification, he worked as a special correspondent from East Berlin and received in 1991 the “Egon-Erwin-Kisch” award.
Afterwards Matussek headed the offices of “Der Spiegel” in Rio de Janeiro and New York, before leaving to London as a correspondent. During his time in the United States he held guest lectures at universities and wrote columns for US newspapers. Since 2005 he heads the Culture Department of “Der Spiegel”.
His bestselling book “We Germans” was published in 2006.
Panel IV "Poland in German and Germany in Polish media"

Adam Michnik
Publisher und Editor-in-chief of "Gazeta Wyborcza"
Adam Michnik began studying history at Warsaw University in 1964 and finished his studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in the 1970s.
Between 1965 and 1976 he got detained many times due to his activities against the political system in Poland. In 1976 he was the co-founder of "Workers' Defence Committee" (KOR) and became one of the most active opposition activists and also one of the supporters of the Society for Educational Courses. As a result of his activities Michnik had to spent altogether six years in Polish prison during the 1980s.
In 1988 he became an advisor of Lech Walesa's informal Coordination Committee, and later he became a member of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee. He took an active part in planning and preliminary negotiations for the Round Table Talks in 1989, in which he also participated. Under the Round Table Agreement Michnik founded the big Polish national daily newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" ("Election Newspaper") and became its editor-in-chief. From 1989-1991 he was a member of Parliament of Lech Walesa's Solidarity Citizens' Committee. In 1991 Michnik halted his direct involvement in politics and focused on editorial and journalistic activities. Under his leadership "Gazeta Wyborcza" was converted into a widely read and influential daily newspaper in Poland and is one of the leading papers. Besides that he published several essays like "Letters from Prison and other Essays" in 1986 and "Church and the Left" in 1992.
Panel IV "Poland in German and Germany in Polish media"

Rüdiger Oppers
Editor-in-Chief of the NRZ (Neue Ruhr/Rhein Zeitung)
Rüdiger Oppers, born in 1960, is the special appointee for the sectors "Strategic Communications" and "New Media" for the publishing editor's office of WAZ Media Group.
He already worked as a freelancer for the NRZ from 1977 to 1982. He studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Bonn from 1982 to 1984.
From 1984 onwards he worked for the WDR in a wide range of positions: as reporter and regional correspondent, responsible editor for WDR television, duty editor and television presenter, chief editor for the WDR television regional studio for Cologne, head of the Cologne studio and at last as WDR spokesperson. From January 2001 until December 2002 he was spokesperson for the ARD. In February 2007 he became deputy chief editor for the NRZ, in December 2007 chief editor.
Panel I "EU-accession – the changing media landscapes of Bulgaria and Romania"

Prof. Dr. Dieter Puchta
Chairman of the Board, Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB)
Under his leadership, the subsidy bank of the Federal Land of Berlin became independent, pursuing a strategic new course with a focus on monetary business support. Prior to this, Prof. Dr. Puchta (born 1950) was member of the Board of Landesbank Berlin and member of the Board of Landeskreditbank (L-Bank) Baden-Württemberg, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart.
From 1992 to 2000, he held a professorship for General Business Studies with a focus on tax and finance at the University of Konstanz. From 1988 to 2002, Prof. Dr. Puchta was a member of the legislative assembly of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg where he chaired the finance committee for eight years. Since September 2004, he has been Chairman of the Board of Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB).
As an economist, he received his doctoral degree in 1981 with a doctoral thesis on the German Bundesbank.
Keynote Speaker

Yana Schemetova
Asset Manager, Prof Media
Russia
Panel III "Medienbeteiligungen zwischen Russland und Westeuropa"
Yana Shemetova graduated at the Lomonosov State University of Moscow.
From 2002 to 2005 she was working as Brand Manager for the brewing national company "Pivovarni Ivana Taranova". From 2005 to 2007 she was working as a Project Manager at Mobile Tele System, the biggest telecom operator in Russia. Since 2007 she is working as an Asset Manager for TV assets at Prof Media Holding inter alia for MTV Russia, Vh1, TV 3 and 2x2.
Panel III "Media investments between Russia and Western Europe "

Sevda Shishmanova
Member of the board, BNT
Bulgaria
Sevda Shishmanova studied Bulgarian Philology at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" in 1985. Additionally, she graduated at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in the field of film directing.
Since 1992, Shishmanova is working as a journalist at the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
From 1992 to 1998, she was BNT's government correspondent. Since 1998, Shishmanova is working for the international correspondence department at BNT. Within this field of activities, Shishmanova has been the correspondent in several conflict areas, e.g. Kosovo during the war in Yugoslavia in 1999 and Islamabad during the war in Afghanistan in 2001.
Shishmanova was involved in the production of several documentaries. In 2002, her documentary "The Unfinished War" was awarded with the SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Award.
Currently Sevda Shishmanova is member of the board of management at BNT.
Panel I "EU-accession – the changing media landscapes of Bulgaria and Romania"

Michael Schlicht
CEO 20th Century Fox Russia
Russia
Michael Schlicht was born on 30th May, 1955. After completing his studies in 1978, he served for three years in the National People's Army of the GDR. Between 1978 to 1982, Michael Schlicht studied at the State Moscow Institute for International Relations (MBIMO).
After this he held a teaching position in this faculty. Michael Shlicht worked in the Foreign Office as well as in the Ministry of Culture in the GDR, and was the Director of the Centre of International Cultural Exchange of the GDR.
Since 1991 Michael Schlicht has been working in Russia. In 1993, together with his partners of Gemini Film international, he founded one of the largest Film distribution companies in Russia, of which he is also shareholder and Managing Director.
Since early 2006 Michael Schlicht is General Director of the newly founded 20th Century Fox Russia in Moscow.
Panel III "Media investments between Russia and Western Europe "

Vitaly Shub
Deputy General Director of Sistema Mass-Media
Vitaly Shub attended the State Research Institute of Rare Metal Industry GIREDMET in Moscow from 1983 to 1987 and received a PhD in Mathematics and Physics. From 1975 to 1987 he studied electrical engineering at the Moscow Steel and Alloys Institute and graduated as Master of Science.
From 1988-1994 Shub was working as a Senior Scientist at the General Physics Institute of USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow. In 1991 he moved to New York to hold the position of a Head of Laser X-Ray Application Laboratory at Moltech Corp. After his return in 1997 he was working as Director for National Accounts for several mobile phone providers like Motorola and Ericsson.
In 2003 Shub became the Executive Director of the Russian TV and Radio Broadcaster RTRN.
Since 2004 he is the Deputy General Director of Sistema Mass-Media, the biggest multimedia operator in Russia. He oversees the Broadband IPTV / Stream TV project has been developed which is the first of its kind in Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe.
Panel III "Media investments between Russia and Western Europe "

Miodrag Soric
Director of the Eastern European editorial department DW Radio and
editor-in-chief of sound broadcasting
Miodrag Soric studied politics as well as German and Slavic studies in Munich with study visits to Cologne, Moscow and Kiev. After completing his degree in 1987, he worked as freelance journalist and presenter for "Deutsche Welle", WDR and several local papers in Munich and Düsseldorf. In 1991, Miodrag Soric was awarded the "Kurt-Magnus-Preis" by the ARD and is member of the board of "Reporter sans frontières".
Host Panel III "Media investments between Russia and Western Europe "

Pavel Stantchev
Executive Director of TV Nova (Bulgaria)
Pavel Stantchev has graduated journalism in Paris. In the last 15 years he held different management positions with Ringier, Time Warner and RTL Group, focused on Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia. Among his achievements are the successful launch of some of the biggest newspapers in the region, the Pay-TV channel HBO in Romania and Bulgaria and the broadcaster RTL Croatia.
Nova TV, a private Free TV station in Bulgaria, owned by Antenna Group Greece, airs some of the most popular shows in Bulgaria, such as "Big Brother", "Millionaire", "CSI" and "Deal or no deal".
Panel I "EU-accession – the changing media landscapes of Bulgaria and Romania"

Dr. Franz Stark
Journalist
was Chief Correspondent TV in Central and Eastern Europe from 1995 to 2003. He started his career as Politics Journalist after his studies of Philosophy, Communications Theory and German Literature as Editor in 1964. In 1967 he came to TV Bayerischer Rundfunk, Muenchen and held leading positions e.g. Senior Editor, Deputy Chief Editor and Presenter. In 2003 he retired. Now he is working as Freelancer as Consultant and TV-Trainer in Central and Eastern Europe.
Host Panel I "EU-accession – the changing media landscapes of Bulgaria and Romania"

Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Vice Chancellor and
Federal Foreign Minister of Germany
In 1976 Frank-Walter Steinmeier studied law and political science at the Justus-Liebig-University of Gießen. In 1982 he passed his first and 1986 his second state exam in law. He worked as a scientific assistant to the professor of public law and political science at the Gießen university, until he obtained his doctorate of law in 1991.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier became an adviser in 1991 for law of communication media and media guidelines in the state Chancellery of Lower Saxony. In 1993, he became director of the personal office for the then Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Gerhard Schröder. In 1996, he became the Undersecretary of State and Director of the State Chancellery of Lower Saxony.
Steinmeier was appointed in November 1998 as Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Chancellor for the Federal Intelligence Services following Schröder's election victory.
He was Head of the Federal Chancellery since 1999.
He is the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs since November 2005 and Vice Chancellor since November 2007.
Keynote speaker

Grazyna Torbicka
Journalist, art critic and TV presenter for Channel 2 (TVP2) of the Polish TV broadcaster Telewizja Polska
Grazyna Torbicka started her career as an editor, presenter and reporter of an extensive number of television programmes after completing a Master's degree in History of Theatre and Art at the Academy of Arts in Warsaw in 1984.
As a presenter of regular cultural TV programmes she has interviewed a variety of internationally celebrated actors, film directors, cinema critics and other prominent personalities. Since 1999 she also hosts the top-ranking Polish TV vaudeville show "Co nam w duszy gra" ("Music of my Soul") in which Poland's national Pop and Rock stars perform. Grazyna Torbicka has presented various live studio shows, talk shows, documentaries and interviews including the regular coverage of several Polish cultural festivals, and international film festivals such as that of Venice and of Cannes and Berlin, where she also acted as a jury member. Furthermore she has been hosting the Polish Film Festival Gala since 1999 and presented international award ceremonies such as the Golden Lion Award Ceremony in Venice in 1997. In addition she was the artistic director of this year's Film and Art Festival "Dwa Brzegi".
Grazyna Torbicka has won numerous Polish media awards and is member of the Polish Television Academy and the Fédération Internationale Press Cinématographique.
Panel IV "Poland in German and Germany in Polish media"

Alexander van Dülmen
CEO A Company AG
Germany
Alexander van Dülmen is the initiator and the driving force behind the European Television Dialogue. Van Dülmen has worked in the film and media industry since 1991, and, since 1996, has held various management positions with CLT-UFA, MDR, Progress Filmverleih, and Kinowelt Medien AG. The business and private relationships established with numerous film distribution companies in Central and Eastern Europe during this time, as well as with US and German producers and distributors, formed the foundation for the new film licensing company A Company Consulting & Licensing AG in 2003. Today, Alexander van Dülmen is CEO of A Company Consulting & Licensing AG as well as the Managing Director of the subsidiary EEAP GmbH, which is responsible for the acquisition of movies.
Host Panel II "IPTV in Central and Eastern Europe"

Michael Westphal
CEO of TV1.DE
Michael Westphal (born 1965 in Munich) graduated in 2003 from School of Management and Innovation in Berlin as Master of Business Administration in Media Management.
Already in 1987 he took a first step as a self-employed manager when he founded the air-travel business HuckePack. At the same time he was also founder and CEO of the Munich based business MultiMedia 2000 where he developed the tourist reservations system Columbus. In 1992 he assumed his first position working in the media, as a presenter at Radio Gong 96,3 in Munich. Until 1997 he expanded his media experience: He worked as an editor and presenter at tv münchen, then until 1994 as a reporter for RTL, and finally as chief editor and presenter at ARD where he was responsible for the development and introduction of new formats.
In 1997 Michael Westphal founded the corporation TV1.DE, where he acts as CEO until today. Under his direction the business became the leading provider of IPTV and internet-based media services. Through IPTV - digital television delivered through the internet - TV1.DE enables businesses to run their own TV-stations on the internet while actively involving users, for example through advertising.
Panel II "IPTV in Central and Eastern Europe"

Ognian Zlatev
CEO Media Development Center
Bulgaria
Ognian Zlatev graduated at the St Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia and has a Master of Arts in Classical Philology and specializations in Ancient Greek Culture and Bulgarian Language and Literature.
After his studies he attended several special trainings among others for political communications, media relations, journalism and media development. Zlatev has been lecturer at the American University in Blagoevgrad and also at the Diplomatic Institute of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulgaria. Zlatev has been Director Information Centres of the Open Society Institute in Sofia, Manager of BBC Centre in Bulgaria and Exchange Officer at the British Council office in Bulgaria. Ognian Zlatev is founding member of the South-East European Network for Professionalization of the Media (SEENPM) where he was president from 2002 to 2004. He is a member of the board of the South-East European Media Organization (SEEMO). Zlatev works as external communications and public outreach consultant for the World Bank Office in Bulgaria and as a Media expert for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Ognian Zlatev is currently Managing Director of the Media Development Center in Bulgaria. Zlatev published several essays and articles dealing with media development in South-Eats Europe.
Panel I "EU-accession – the changing media landscapes of Bulgaria and Romania"