Natalia Futekova | Evolution! How did I become a Woman? | TEDxVUZF | Sofia, Bulgaria Assoc. Prof. Dr. Natalia Futekova is a Managing Partner at ERP Bulgaria OOD (ERP.BG) – one of the leading Bulgarian business software development companies. She successfully combines her entrepreneurial career in technology with academic research and actively participates in education and other social causes.

At ERP.BG, Natalia has passed through different levels and positions, starting as an office manager. She has participated in a number of projects for implementation of information systems, launching new software products, marketing campaigns, and community initiatives.

Previously, she worked as a marketing consultant in a telecommunications company specialized in PBX.

In October 2016 Natalia Futekova was awarded for “Academic Excellence and Leadership” by the Junior Chamber International – Bulgaria. The project is part of the world format “The Outstanding Young Persons – TOYP”. She also received a nomination for the international format TOYP, where she will take part along with prominent personalities from around the world. In 2017 she became a member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT).

Natalia has a master’s degree in Economics of Communications from the University of National and World Economy (UNWE), as well as a PhD in Application of Computing in Economy from the same university. In 2016 she received her Associate Professor degree.

Her research interests are in the area of development of ERP systems and other business software solutions, business management, and implementation of information systems.

Natalia was also a Chief Assistant professor in the Information Technologies and Communications Department of the Faculty of Applied Informatics and Statistics in UNWE for 11 years. Among the courses she was teaching there are Customer Relationships Management, CRM Systems, Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Informatics and Human Resource Management in ERP.

Natalia is also the founder of ERP Academy – an innovative project of leading companies from the ERP industry in Bulgaria, which together aim to make higher education more relevant to the real needs of the business and to help future specialists be as prepared as possible for the labor market in the field of business software.

Together with ERP Academy and Higher School of Insurance and Finance (VUZF University), she has been working on the creation and development of master’s program Business Intelligence and ERP Solutions , which is the first of its kind in Bulgaria.

In recent years, Natalia has been cooperating with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) in developing innovative technologies in information systems. She is the initiator and main engine of scientific projects “Innovative Technology to Assess the Effectiveness of ERP Systems in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” and “Production Schedules and Stock Management in SMEs.”

Natalia is also a co-founder of the Professional Association “European and National Development Programs” and actively takes part in sectoral chambers “Economic Development and Competitiveness” and “Science and Education.”

She also participates in the development and implementation of European projects related to building up university teachers’ competences and to practical training and career development of students. She is a Key Expert in UNWE’s project “Facing the New Challenges of Time: A Modern Career Development System for the University Teachers at UNWE”, as well as a Functional Expert in national project “Student Practices.” The latter aims to attract the business as an active participant in the process of planning and analyzing the needs for practical training of future specialists, as well as in announcing job positions and hiring students.

In addition, Natalia is actively takes part in various initiatives to support education, culture and entrepreneurship. She is a member of the jury of the “Innovators in Education” ranking and mentors teams in pre-accelerator Start It Smart, which helps young entrepreneurs to develop and implement their ideas through personal mentoring meetings, advice, strategic partnerships, providing key resources, etc.

Natalia also has dozens of reports and publications in scientific papers for international conferences concerning areas such as economy of communications, development of SMEs, business management systems, implementation of quality standards, competitiveness, mobile and online technologies for business, business process optimization, information security, resource management in the public sector, etc. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx