Sasha Bezuhanova

In 2013, she founded the yearly Entrepregirl Award for supporting young women to develop their entrepreneurial ideas into business.

Sasha Bezuhanova was named Digital woman of Europe for 2013 and one of the Top 100 Challengers in New Europe 100 for 2015 and holds many other national and European awards for her contribution to social development.

In 2013 when it became very critical in Bulgaria and the country was shaken by protests against the oligarchic establishment figures, Sasha Bezuhanova decided to leave her career and devote herself to the cause of positive change in Bulgaria. She founded the non-partisan organization MOVE.BG – a platform for collaboration in finding sustainable solutions for the state, economy, and society via innovation, participation, and co-creation. MOVE.BG is affirming the culture of constructive dialog, participating leadership, democratic principles, and the European path of Bulgaria. Some of the programs are ‘Electoral reform’, ‘Media pluralism’, ‘Law and order in 5 steps’, "You move Europe’, ‘Solutions for Bulgaria: Digital’, ‘Solution for Bulgaria: Economics’ and the online platform ‘My Bulgarian History‘. In 2016, upon the initiative of Sasha Bezuhanova MOVE.BG together with key organizations, hubs, and companies developing digital knowledge and innovative business in Bulgaria, founded EDIT.BG (Economic Development via Innovation and Technologies) – an open network for digital development and innovation in Bulgaria. In 2018, Sasha inspired the foundation of the platform for collaboration and Changemakers, bringing together trendsetters with different professional backgrounds for exchange and joint action. In 2020, Bezuhanova initiated the establishment of the Green Restart Coalition bringing unprecedentedly together digital innovation and sustainability experts, scientists, and green activists for defining and driving a holistic green transformation agenda for Bulgaria. Some of the projects of the Coalition realized under the management of MOVE.BG are publishing the first "Textbook on the Future History of Bulgaria", the creation of the first metaverse-based ministry - the Ministry of Climate Transition and Green Transformation, publishing "Mission Green Bulgaria" - a report with more than 150 recommendations for supporting the sustainable development, publishing five opinion papers for improving the Bugarian National Recovery and Resilience Plan under the Next Generation EU.

In 2012 Bezuhanova was appointed as Director of Public Sector and Education for HP Growth Markets – a region including 67 countries around the world. As part of her business development responsibilities, she coordinated the company's relations with the EU, WB, and UN.

Sasha Bezuhanova continued her career in HP on international level being appointed in 2008 as Public Sector Director for Central Eastern Europe. She manages the corporation’s government business in 27 countries including Russia, New Europe, Western Balkans, and Central Asia bringing in an important strategic dimension and a holistic approach to this market segment.

Her most important accomplishment at the time was attracting an important investment of HP in Bulgaria where in 2006 started operation HP Global Delivery Centre. Today it employs more than 5000 high-profile engineers and specialists. That strategic project placed the country on the world IT investment map. As a result, Hewlett-Packard has become the largest IT employer in Bulgaria and the Top 5 in the country overall. Hewlett-Packard became also the largest investor and employer in the Bulgarian IT sector.

As a President of the Bulgarian International Business Association (BIBA) (2002-2006), in 2003, she initiates the development of the National ICT Competitiveness Strategy - a program that became a basis for a series of initiatives in the ICT sector in Bulgaria. She works actively for attracting foreign investments in the sector as also on the policy recommendation level in her capacity as chairperson of the Bulgarian ICT Cluster (2005 – 2006), founding Chairperson and a member of the Consultancy Committee of the Confederation of Industrialists and Employers in Bulgaria (CEIBG) (2007 - 2010), and member of the consultative body to Ministry of Economy for 3S strategy of Bulgaria (2011–2013).

She attended special programs for studying the Irish economic model (Dublin, 2001), the structure of ICT sector in California (Palo Alto, 2002) and European Software Institute (Bilbao, 2003).

As a chairperson of the board of Junior Achievement Bulgaria (1999 – 2014), Sasha Bezuhanova worked for developing entrepreneurial and leadership skills among young people. She contributes actively to another cause - the increase of women's leadership and professional participation in the ICT sector and science. She is a co-founder and chairperson of the Advisory Council of the European Centre of Women in Technology (ECWT) (2008 – 2019). In 2012, upon her initiative was founded the Bulgarian Centre of Women in Technology (BCWT) for fulfilling this mission in Bulgaria. In 2013, she founded the yearly Entrepregirl Award for supporting young women to develop their entrepreneurial ideas into business.

When HP decided to open up direct operation in Bulgaria in 1997 Bezuhanova was appointed as General Manager. Sasha Bezuhanova has managed Hewlett-Packard's business in Bulgaria for more than 10 years. In that period of time HP's Bulgarian team developed a series of IT infrastructure projects for the country's three biggest telecommunication companies, industrial manufacturers, and state and private finance institutions. Some of these projects have been implemented for the first time in Bulgaria and became reference solutions incorporated in the HP's portfolio. Among them was the implementation of electronic ID for Bulgarian citizens, which ended in August 1999 and was the key to Bulgaria's acceptance in the EU visa-free countries list in 2001. Another flagship project, that enriched the HP's worldwide practice, was the implementation of the Real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) in Macedonia.

Her international business and operational management experience evolved further as General Manager for S&T Bulgaria, the exclusive distributor of HP – a role she took over in 1995.

Shortly after the democratic changes in Bulgaria when the country opened up for direct presence of international businesses she was invited by the German medical concern HELLIGE to head their Bulgarian operation. Under her leadership in the period 1990 to 1994 the company played key role in the modernization of the Bulgarian health infrastructure.

Sasha Bezuhanova was born in Pernik, Bulgaria. She graduated German language high school in Sofia. Bezuhanova went on to study in Technical University in Sofia graduating with Masters in Electronics (1985). She holds also Executive master's degree in International Negotiations and Policy Making from the Graduate Institute in Geneva (2015) and has Executive qualifications from INSEAD and Stanford.

The professional career of Sasha Bezuhanova started in 1985 in the Central Institute for Computer Technologies where in 1986 she became Research Associate.