Ilona Staneva is a leading Bulgarian expert in the field of marketing and advertising with over 10 years of experience in marketing in the FMCG sector as a Marketing Manager at “Bella Bulgaria” AD. She has headed the “Sales and Marketing Department” of the Bulgarian National Television, and for the past 15 years she has been leading the marketing and advertising of Bulgarian banking and international fintech companies.
Her academic qualifications trace a trajectory from Sofia to institutions such as Harvard and Cambridge, and 8 years ago she launched and successfully developed the first programme for financial and mentoring support for women in business in Bulgaria. For 5 years she has been a mentor in various national and European programmes, with a focus on the development of women’s entrepreneurship and sustainable business. She is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Women’s Business Community.
She is the recipient of numerous awards from the Bulgarian Marketing Association and has repeatedly been honoured with the “Brand Manager of the Year” and “Product of the Year” awards. In 2024, her project for the digitalisation and automation of processes, transforming the traditional banking office environment and service into a new type of banking office — the “Digital Event Zone” — won the prestigious international Engage Awards in the category “Best Customer-Centric Marketing Strategy”. She is a member of the board of “Superbrands Bulgaria” and an honorary ambassador of Innovative Marketing in the Council of the European Scientific and Cultural Community.