The Polish Business Roundtable Award 2023

The Polish Business Roundtable has announced the winners of the 12th edition of the “Business Oscars.” The award for “Innovation” went to Piotr Harasimowicz, the founder and CEO of Vector Synergy. The “Success” statuette was awarded to Marta Półtorak, the CEO of Marma Polskie Folie. In the category of “Social Engagement,” Jakub Wygnański, the founder and CEO of STOCZNIA, emerged as the winner. The “Special Award” was presented to Professor Norman Davies, an English historian specializing in Poland.

As every year, hundreds of companies and organizations from across Poland participated in the Polish Business Roundtable Award. The selection was made by the Award Chapter under the chairmanship of Krzysztof Kulig, a member of the Polish Business Roundtable and a partner at Innova Capital. The Chapter comprises authorities from the economic and social spheres, as well as previous winners of the Award. The nominations were monitored by PwC Polska, which served as the substantive partner of the competition.

Here are the profiles of the awardees:

The PRB Award under the patronage of the Management Board of the Polish Business Roundtable for “Innovation” – for the application of a new, bold, unconventional concept or a new business idea:

Piotr Harasimowicz – a Poznań-based entrepreneur associated with the IT and new technologies industry. He is the founder and CEO of Vector Synergy, a company that provides IT consulting and cybersecurity services to institutions in the defense and space sectors. Its clients include organizations such as NATO, the European Union, and the European Space Agency. The company has created, among others, CDeX, also known as a cybernetic polygon – a simulator of hacker attacks that reproduces the full IT infrastructure of an organization with servers, computers, and security measures. Piotr Harasimowicz is also a passionate sailor and the founder of the HRM Racing Foundation, which supports the development of talented Polish sailors.

This year, the patron of the award for “Innovation was Polpharma Biologics, and the statuette was presented by its CEO, Piotr Korycki.

The PRB Jan Kulczyk Award for “Success” – for the implementation of a spectacular business project that has had a lasting impact on the Polish market:

Marta Półtorak – the CEO of Marma Polskie Folie, a company operating within the Marma Capital Group with over 30 years of tradition and one of the leading plastic converters in Europe. She also manages Develop Investment, the owner of Millenium Hall, the largest multifunctional complex in the capital of Podkarpacie, which combines business, culture, trade, and entertainment. She also runs the Hotels of the Marma Group, which opened the first Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Rzeszów in 2012, the first of its kind in Podkarpacie.

The statuette was presented by Dominika Kulczyk, the patron of the Award.

The PRB Andrzej Czernecki Award for “Social Engagement” – for social and philanthropic activities aimed at assisting individuals and communities in need:

Jakub Wygnański – the founder and CEO of STOCZNIA, the Social Research and Innovation Workshop. He is a co-creator of the Civic Fund, which collects funds for initiatives aimed at safeguarding democratic order in Poland. He was involved in the democratic opposition in the 1980s, served as Secretary to Henryk Wujec, participated in the Round Table talks, and was an activist in the Citizens’ Committees movement. He has also been one of the animators of the non-governmental organization movement in Poland since the early 1990s.

The category was sponsored by the EFC Foundation, and the award was presented by Igor Czernecki, the Chairman of the Foundation’s Council.

The Jury also awarded the Special PRB Jan Wejchert Award, which was given this year to Professor Norman Davies, an English-Welsh historian. He is a professor at the University of London and holds honorary doctorates from six Polish universities. He is the author of works on the history of Europe, Poland, and the British Isles, including books such as God’s Playground and Rising ’44, which have achieved bestseller status not only in Poland but also in English-speaking countries. The award was accepted on behalf of Professor Davies, who could not attend the ceremony, by Professor Katarzyna Pisarska, the President of the Polish Norman Davies Foundation.

The statuette was presented by Aldona Wejchert, the patron of the award.

The prestigious Polish Business Roundtable Award Gala took place on May 29, 2023, at Ufficio Primo in Warsaw and was broadcast live on TVN24 BiS. All the winners of the “Business Oscars” received commemorative statuettes designed by Aleksandra Wejchert in the presence of nearly five hundred distinguished guests.

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The Polish Business Roundtable Award is one of the most important business competitions in Poland. Its aim is to honor businessmen, visionaries, and social activists for their outstanding achievements and contributions. Since 2012, the competition has been promoting individuals who, through their perseverance, courage, and entrepreneurship, influence the social and economic reality.