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Diana Stefanova

Managing Partner at BrightCap Ventures
Diana Stefanova is a Managing Partner at the venture capital fund BrightCap Ventures, an early stage fund, investing and supporting startups from the Southeast European region. Prior to joining Brightcap, Diana spent 16 years at VMware, responsible for establishing and developing its presence in Bulgaria. Under her leadership, VMware was recognized as the largest software company in Bulgaria and as one of the most strategic R&D centers for VMware globally. At VMware, Diana held different  regional and global leadership roles while being responsible for VMware’s R&D centers in EMEA and VMware’s Global Sites Strategy. Diana has over 25 years of professional experience in a variety of areas like, supporting the startup ecosystem, general management, corporate and business development, business operations, as well as finance. She brings significant industry experience with a deep focus in high-tech, from start-ups all the way to well-established corporations, both in the Silicon Valley, USA and in Europe, specifically in Bulgaria and Germany, where she lived and worked. Over the years, Diana actively works on improving the business climate in Bulgaria and establishing the image of the Bulgarian IT sector as a destination attractive for foreign investments. She is passionate about a number of causes, some of which are: more successful women in the technology sector, the return of Bulgarians from abroad to Bulgaria and education as the engine of Bulgaria's success. She is currently a board member of “Teach for Bulgaria”, which has the mission of providing access to equal education for every child in Bulgaria.
11:45 - 12:25

NDK - Hall 3 Main Stage

Charting our Successful Path Through The Fifth Industrial Revolution

Venture Capital is the tower that overlooks innovation. From a bird’s eye perspective Diana is here to tell us more about the main drivers that push strong performers forward, allowing them to compete for the top places for funding but also making them the ones who trace the field of innovation for all others who inevitably will follow them. What is the place of project management in cutting edge innovation projects? We will explore this journey together.