Navigating the Road to European Competitiveness
2025
The 2025 Summit will bring together some of the individuals drafting EU and national policies, and we will focus on the following themes:
streamlining and simplification of EU regulation,
removing obstacles to business growth and competitiveness and to investment flows,
the EU "omnibus" regulation, its main focus areas and its implications,
EU sustainable finance framework implementation case studies and best practices,
transition planning and transition finance,
financing of projects and investments in boosting competitiveness
Competitiveness, finance &
regulatory simplification
AGENDA 2025
THE SUMMIT FOCUS AND AIMS
This Summit’s main focus will be on the three strategic lenses for European policymaking, business and finance decisions:
competitiveness/resilience,
defence and security,
and sustainability/innovation.
The three lenses allow to calibrate strategies and prepare for an uncertain and fast-changing world, while incorporating secular trends and new emerging paradigms. The changing geopolitical landscape will offer opportunities for those who are prepared for new trade and supply chain opportunities, and for shifting investor priorities.
The 2025 Summit offeres the best of European and global thinking, and a unique opportunity to talk to the “people in the know” and explored out what to expect next, or what asset owners, asset managers, bankers, and large corporates in the EU and globally are planning or preparing for.
19 MAY
Monday
SUSTAINABILITY IN FINANCE
-
Keynote speeches
09:10 – 09:20 | Opening keynote
Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative
09:20 – 09:35 | Fireside conversation
Chair: Hugh Wheelan, Financial Journalist
Speaker: Anne-Sophie Castelnau, Global Head of Sustainability, ING Group
-
09:35 – 10:30 | Conversation with the audience - European Green Deal and competitiveness: will the regulatory rethink and the EU “omnibus” deliver what we need?
This session will dive deeper into the new European Commission strategic priorities and the efforts to simplify and streamline reporting and compliance, and what the competitiveness and simplification agenda means for businesses and finance in the CEE region. We will explore the unique needs of the region when it comes to investment and enabling policies for business growth.
Chair: Helena Vines Fiestas, Chair of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance & Spanish Capital Markets Authority
Speakers:
Andreas Hauer, Head of Sustainable Finance, Erste Group
Piotr Dmuchowski, CEO, PFR TFI S.A.
Petr Polach, Co-Head of Group Structured Finance & Investment Banking, Raiffeisen Bank International
Alice Machova, Partner, EY
Anne-Sophie Castelnau, Global Head of Sustainability, ING Group
10:30 – 11:00 | Networking break
-
11:00 – 12:00 | Conversation with the audience - Investing and business sense in turbulent times
Is ESG dead? What is the future of investing and the role of sustainability in it? Is AI about to “eat your lunch”? A session discussing whether we are witnessing new, unexpected developments in the investment and finance world, and what makes good business/investing sense – what to keep in mind when seeking value creation, scalable companies, and resilience.
Chair: Linda Zeilina-Cross, CEO, ISFC
Speakers
Cliff Prior, Advisor, ImpactScope & Board Advisor, Gifftid.ai
Brian Wardrop, Managing Partner, ARX Equity Partners
Marian Gazdík, Managing Partner, G-FORCE
Lubomir Vystavel, Executive Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Michał Gladyš, CEO, ARP TFI
-
12:00– 12:30 | Discussion with the audience - Sustainable investing vs European security and defence needs.
This session will look closer at whether sustainable or ESG investing is bad for European military industrial complex. What impact will joint efforts to improve Europe’s defence capacities have for business and finance?
Chair: Raphael Minder, CEE correspondent, Financial Times
Speakers:
Eila Kreivi, Board Member, Finnerva & former head of Capital Markets, EIB
Piotr Arak, Chief Economist, Velobank
Julian Popov, former minister of Environment, Bulgaria
Petr Zahradník, Economic and Strategic Analyst, Česká spořitelna
-
13:30 – 14:00 | TED-style talk: GDP at transition risk. Prof Dirk Schoenmaker, Professor of Banking and Finance at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam
A special presentation with analysis of the risk management for certain countries (Germany, Czechia, Poland) and sectors (automotive, energy, etc.) to improve and manage competitiveness in regional and global markets.
14:00 – 14:30 | TED style presentation : Prof J. Doyne Farmer (University of Oxford, INET) - Making sense of Chaos: A better economics for a better world
14:30 – 15:00 | TED-style talk: Dr Florian Berg, MIT: ESG and the original sin
15:00– 15:40 | Coffee break
-
15:40 - 16:40 | Conversation with the audience: Nature positive finance and biodiversity.
Are we ready for biodiversity disclosures and the measurement of natural capital? Sustainable finance - the EU taxonomy, reportingChair: Will Oulton, Vice Chair, UK’s Marine Conservation Society (MCS)
Speakers:
Andreas Rajchl, Head of the Green Finance and Sustainable Economy Department Austrian Ministry of Climate and Environment
Astrid Matthey, Senior Economist, German Environment Agency
Aleksandra Palinska, Executive Director, Eurosif
Prof Irene Monasterolo, Utrecht University School of Economics, Finance
16:40 – 17:10| TED-style presentation: Prof Irene Monasterolo, Utrecht University School of Economics, Finance
Making macroeconomic and financial models work for climate risk analysis: Insights from the NGFS short term scenarios
17:00 – 17:10 | Closing session and reflections of the day
-
17:10 – 18:00 | Move to evening venue
20 MAY
Tuesday
SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
-
09:05 – 09:20 | Keynote
Elina Roine, Deputy Director General of the Operations Directorate, European Investment Bank (EIB)
09:20 – 09:40 | On stage interview
Chair: Prof Ben Caldecott, founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group at the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment
Speaker: Tamsin Ballard, Chief Investor Initiatives Officer, UN PRI
-
09:40 – 09:55 | On-stage interview - Competitiveness as a new sustainability – walk the talk by development banking.
Linda Zeilina-Cross, Founder & CEO, ISFC
Andrea Ferjencikova NRB (Czech National development Bank)
09:55 – 10:20 | Conversation with the audience - Is and will CSRD reporting bring changes to financing for business?
The session will look at what changes are underway or are already being implemented that are affecting the financing of businesses.
Chair: Irena Pichola, President of SteerCo, Chapter Zero Poland & President, Responsible Business Forum Poland
Speakers:
Petra Ondrušová, Chief Sustainability Officer, Česká Spořitelná
Petr Fiala, Raiffeisen Bank, Czech Republic
-
11:00 – 11:20 | TED-style talk: Corporate reporting. transformed.
Arko Vervark, Global VP Sales, Tangelo Software11:25 - 11:40 | On stage interview -Decarbonisation and Client transition plans
Hugh Wheelan, Financial Journalist
Speaker: Eva Bučová, CEO of ING Czechia
11:40 – 12:30 | European business and Industrial Policy: pathways to increased competitiveness or an inevitable decline?
A spotlight on business in Europe & the role of industry in the CEE economies. The discussion will focus on CEE business and its potential for competitive advantages, including improved innovation and digitalisation.
Chair: Julian Toth, COO, ISFC
Speakers:
Petr Jonák, Member, Board of Directors, Czech Confederation of Industry
Zdenek Petzl, Executive director of the Automotive Industry Association
Sebastian Rath, Board Strategy Advisor and European Climate Pact Ambassador
Marta Mikliszańska, Director of Group Public Policy, Allegro
Suzana Carp, Founder, Cleantech for CEE
12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch
-
13:30 – 13:50 | Presentation: A path to net zero: Setting a New Standard with Local Carbon Compensation
Pavel Sovička, Managing Director at Panattoni CZ&SK13:50 – 14:10 | TED-style talk
“The ESG Tech Pack & Automated Reporting: the Right Tools for the Right Company“
Maciej Gomółka, Associate Director, KPMG
14:10 -14:25 | TED-style presentation - Transition story – transition in practice
Marcus Pugh-Smith, Client Portfolio Manager, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Fundamental Equity
14:25 – 15:10 | Conversation with the audience – fire round - Energy transition for competitiveness – affordable energy prices and decarbonisation: ideas at odds?
Chair: Jakub Skavron, Senior Advisor to KKR
Speakers:
Anita Simon, Deputy CEO, Alteo
René Nedela, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade
Vladimír Hlavinka, Group CEO at ORGREZ Group, a.s.
Martin Michalíček, CEO and Founder, sun.Energy
Zdeněk Obruča, Director, KPMG Czech Republic
15:10 – 15:40 | Coffee break
-
15:40 – 16:00 | On-stage interview/ fireside chat - Values-based leadership and the role of insurance sector
Chair: Dimitrios Mazarakis, Independent Advisor, Sustainability & Insurance
Speakers:
Ganna Pidgorna, Board member, UNIQA
Helena Zavazalova, Deputy Director, ČAP
16:00 – 16:30 | Conversation with the audience - The business needs for resilience and competitiveness in uncertain times: data, innovation, HR and change management.
Chair: Andy Gray, Tilia Impact Ventures
Speakers:
Esmeralda Topuzi, UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions GmbH - Business Resilience Advisor
Arko Vervark, Global VP Sales, Tangelo Software
16:35 – 16:55 | On stage interview
Linda Zeilina-Cross, CEO, ISFC in conversation with Marek Mora, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance, Czechia
16:55 – 17:10 | Conclusions and wrap up
Julian Toth, COO, ISFC & Director, CzechSIF
Katerina Spanikova, Head of ESG & Support Products, Raiffeisen Czechia
-
Dinner and evening reception with music and CEE Leadership Awards
21 MAY
Wednesday
-
09:00 - 09:15 | Opening Keynote - Munir Nanji, CEO Central Europe, Citi
09:15 – 09:40 | On-stage opening discussion - The future of CEE capital markets, investing and business – Second economic transformation in progress?
Chair: Linda Zeilina, CEO & Founder ISFC
Speakers:
Petr Koblic, CEO, Prague Stock Exchange
Sanaa Mehra, Head of EMEA Sustainable Debt Capital Markets, Citi
-
09:40 – 10:00 | TED-style talk
Mr Gergely Pokos, Managing Director, OTP Bank
10:00 – 10:20 | Conversation with the audience - The key insights from the first years of work on climate risk management and sustainability lens integration in banking
Chair: Prof Ben Caldecott, founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group at the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment
Speakers:
Mark Campanale, Founder & Director, Carbon Tracker Initiative, founder of Planet Tracker, Member of Advisory Board, GFANZ
10:20 – 11:00 | Coffee Break
-
11:00– 11:30 | TED-style talk - Quantification of Climate Impacts on a Bank
Speakers:
Petr Franěk, Head of Strategic Risk Management, Česká spořitelna
Radek Lastovicka, Senior Manager, Financial Services, Ernst & Young, s.r.o.
11:30 - 11:50 | Simona Kalvoda, CEO of Czech Green Building Council (CZGBC) & Libor Vošický, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stavební spořitelna České spořitelny and Chairman of the Association of Czech Building Savings Banks
11:50 – 12:30 | Conversation with the audience - Central banking in focus
Chair: Pierre Schlosser, Deputy director, Schuman Centre, Florence School of Banking and Finance, EUI
Speakers:
Reiner Martin, Executive Director, National Bank of Slovakia (NBS)
Adam Banai, Central Bank of Hungary (MNB)
Agnieszka Smolenska, CETEX, LSE
Mariam Kharaishvili, Head of Financial Stability Analysis and Macro-financial Modelling Division, Central Bank of Georgia
12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch break
-
13:30 – 13:50 | TED-style presentation “Old Homes, New Business value for banks”
Sarah Anwar, Head of Sustainability and Governance, Econans
Krzysztof Bertman, Regional Manager CEE, Econans
13:50 – 14:00 | RICS - From Bilbao to Budapest: Upcoming Built Environment European Summit 2025
Gina Ding, RICS
Linda Zeilina-Cross, ISFC
14:00 – 14:10 | Presentation
Raul Garcia Rodriguez, EY
Managing decarbonisation and greening in lending, fixed income, and mortgages. Interest rates, new products, and competitiveness
14:10 - 15:00 | Conversation with the audience
The built environment and the financing of real estate development and redevelopment. Business as usual or can we expect watershed change? What are the latest solutions that work well?
Chair: Raul Garcia Rodriguez, EY
Speakers:
Jens Hirsch, Chief Scientific Officer, Building Minds
Ulrike Gehmacher, Board Member, UN Global Compact Network Austria
15:00 – 15:40 | Coffee Break
-
15:40 – 16:00 |Keynote presentation - Insights from the ECB’s Financial Stability Report (to be launched 21 May)
Paul Hiebert, Systemic Risk and Financial Institutions Division, ECB & Chair, ESRB Analytical Working Group - Eurosystem Macroprudential Analysis Group
16:00 – 16:20 | TED-style presentation - Upgrading housing efficiency: the role of borrower-based measures
Reiner Martin, Executive Director, National Bank of Slovakia (NBS)
Pierre Monnin, Senior Fellow at the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and a Visiting Professor in Practice at the Grantham Research
16:20 – 17:00 | Conversation with the audience - The future of banking
Chair: James Vaccaro, CEO, RePattern.org
Speakers:
Richard Gregor, Senior Program Manager, Erste Group Bank AG
Ugo Biggeri, Representative, GABV & co-founder, Banca Etica
Magdalena Andrejczuk, Director of the Sustainable Finance Department for Corporate Banking, mBank
-
-
Informal networking dinner and drinks - NH Carlo IV Hotel
SUSTAINABILITY IN BANKING
CLOSED DOOR ROUNDTABLES
Alongside the main stage agenda, we hosted closed-door roundtables and focused masterclasses for in-depth, practical discussions.
MONDAY 19 MAY
Sustainability
in Finance
TUESDAY 20 MAY
Sustainability
in Business
WEDNESDAY 21 MAY
Sustainability
in Banking
SPEAKERS
The CEE Sustainable Finance Summit is the flagship event of
Climate Week Prague 2025
CLIMATE WEEK PRAGUE 2025
Organisers
Auspices
The event is held under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel,
Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík , Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic
Check out the Agenda and Speakers from the previous years: