Artur Marcinkowski
Accessibility Evangelist. Founder of the Widzialni Foundation. Associated with digital sector for over 20 years. Visionary and creator of digital accessibility in Poland, was awarded the Copernicus Medal for the development of digital banking.
Widzialni Foundation is a dedicated digital accessibility leader in the Polish market. We are an experienced website, mobile applications auditor, as well as training and implementation support company at a digital accessibility.With over 20 years of experience as an education promoter and a reliable partner in both public and the business sectors, we have made a large contribution to making our world more accessible for everyone, regardless the limitations. Having in mind though, that only the massive changes make the lasting improvements in accessibility over time, we understand the need for the implementation of the new legislation in Poland. As a responsible and experienced market player we do see the possibility to lead this process in such a way that all the engaged parties are satisfied. Together with other four recognizable accessibility ambassadors in Poland -Allegro, Microsoft Polska, Santander Bank Polska and Orange Polska – we have decided to undertake the noble initiative to unify the polish business leaders within an Accessibility Business Forum – BAF. Under the roof of BAF we are pleased to welcome organizations, for whom the innovation and technology go hand in hand with the inclusive approach of the modern world.Here we listen the common business voice and opinions on the European Accessibility Act. We collect conclusions, best practices and exchange experience. We discuss accessibility needs, competence, possibilities and the market readiness. All the above we need to translate into the operative language, useful accessibility tools put into a reasonable timeframe in order to introduce the market the optimal implementation solutions for the local accessibility regulations meant for the private sector.We aim at making our environment noticeably more accessible across the country and yet the law regulations - reasonable and friendly for the polish business to implement as well as execute.
Jesus Hernandez Galan
PhD Engineer with outstanding qualification.More than 30 years working in innovation and accessibility leading diverse teams, from 2000 to 2003 as General Director and CEO of the Vía Libre consultancy. At the end of 2022, he was appointed Director of the European Accessibility Center, an activity that he combines with his current job as Director of Accessibility and Innovation of the ONCE Foundation, a position he has held since 2003.His training includes IESE, PDG and Senior Management Program for Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer Institutions (PADIIT), Stanford University (Professional Certificate on Innovation and Entrepreneurship), London School of Economics (Social Innovation). He is an expert in business management and innovation, Professional Coach, Professor and Speaker
Katarzyna Jach, PhD DSc, Associate Professor
Rector’s plenipotentiary for persons with disabilities at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology and the leader of the team of Accessibility Leaders. She heads the Psychology and Ergonomics Team in the Department of Management Systems and Organization Development and the Ergonomics Laboratory at the Faculty of Management, Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on ergonomics and human-computer interaction, especially in the context of people with limited functional capabilities.
Konrad Fijołek
Konrad Fijołek was born in 1976 in Rzeszów. He is a graduate of the 4th Secondary School of General Education Mikołaj Kopernik in Rzeszów and the Faculty of Sociology of the Pedagogical University in Rzeszów. In 2018, he graduated from Apsley Business School of London with the title of of Executive Master of Business Administration
In the years 1998 - 2021 a councilor of the city of Rzeszów. In 2006–2010, he was the chairman of Rzeszów City Council, and since 2010, the vice-chairman of the Council.
For many years, he has been creating numerous initiatives for the benefit of the residents. In 2015, he established one of the first municipal movements in Rzeszów - "Rzeszów Smart City". The movement has become, inter alia, promoter of the use of modern technologies in city management.He is the co-author of the pioneering project of Urban Lab, a municipal laboratory in the center of Rzeszów. An open place for ambitious and creative people who want to improve the quality of life in the city. A team of scientists, people from non-governmental organizations and business help in this. All of this aims to solve local problems and facilitate the life of the local community.
On June 13, 2021, he won the early elections for the Mayor of the City of Rzeszów in the first round.
Krzysztof Michałkiewicz
Sociologist, Member of the Sejm of V, VI, VII i VIII parliamentary term. 2005-2006 - Minister of Labour and Social Policy. 2015-2019 Secretary of State in the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People. Since 2019 r. President of the The State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled People.
Marta Zając
Woman with a disability, educator and promoter of social and professional activity among people with disabilities. The author of the blog Wonder Woman on Wheels by Marta Zajac, currently active on her Instagram and LinkedIn profile. Involved in topics related to the accessibility of cultural events, personal assistance for dependent people with disabilities as well as inclusivity and diversity. Her passion is to promote adapted sports and activities of various kinds - skiing, HSA scuba diving, accessible travel. TEDx speaker. Professionally - works in an international corporation as a project manager.
Rich Donovan
Rich Donovan is CEO of The Return on Disability Group and is a globally recognized subject matter expert on the convergence of disability, user delight, and experience design. He has invested more than 17 years defining and unlocking the value of the disability market. Rich shares his vision for people with disabilities as a powerful force in the global economy in his book, Unleash Different.
He has been named one of the Top 50 Most Influential People with Disabilities in the world by UK-based Powerful Media and Shaw Trust in October 2016. In February 2022, by Order in Council, the Government of Ontario appointed Rich to review the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Rich founded The Return on Disability Group in 2008 to provide corporate and public sector clients with insights and design adjustments to maximize experience and stakeholder value. RoD delivers proprietary and proven processes that translate disability experience factors into specific actions that create sustainable value. The team is sought by business and government leaders for insights, design and execution when acting in the disability market. Rich founded Lime (2006), the leading third-party recruiter in the disability space, where he worked with Google, PepsiCo, Merrill Lynch, IBM, TD Bank and others to help them attract top talent from within the disability market.
Rich has a combined 25 years of experience in portfolio and investment risk management. As a Proprietary Trader and Portfolio Manager at Merrill Lynch, Rich delivered consistent performance results focused on macro strategies with an event-driven overlay, using equity indices as a primary tool. Rich holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is an avid sailor and proud father of his son, Maverick, along with his partner-in-everything, Jenn. He is a person with disabilities.
Dr Michał Mazur
Michał Mazur, holds PhD in political science, Access Officerin the Ministry of Health and project manager of Access Plus to Health project, corporate social responsibility adviser. He has been advising enterprises on how to include accessibility and disability issues in CSR strategies.
For over 15 years he has been working in activities for people with disabilities, including lecturing at Social Services College, Warsaw University, Warsaw Family Center, as well as with the local government - at Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment team at the City of Warsaw.
Stephane Leblois
Stephane Leblois joined the Valuable 500 after a decade of working in the disability rights and inclusive development sectors. His career in disability has spanned across multiple areas, including digital accessibility, inclusive education and employment. He previously served as the lead employment expert for The Arc of the United States, where he consulted with private and public sector companies on how to effectively hire jobseekers with disabilities and develop disability-inclusive products and services. Outside of his main professional activities, Stephane has also pioneered disability-inclusive rugby in the US market. He founded the Washington Wolfpack RFC, the US’ first disability-inclusive team and also serves on Diversity and Inclusion Committee for USA Rugby, the country’s national governing body for the sport.
The mission of Valuable 500 is to use the power of business to drive lasting change for the 1.3 billion people around the world, living with a disability.Supported by the strategic partners, the team of Valuable 500 collaborate and connect with 500 of the world’s most influential global businesses for disability inclusion. They are developing a Transformation Programme which will drive system change and make business more inclusive of people with disabilities.
Weronika Bajbak
Weronika Bajbak (Kuna) has been Director of Government Relations at Microsoft Poland for almost 3 years, while also serving as Accessibility Leader at the company's Polish division.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Weronika Bajbak (Kuna) was Director of Digital & Fintech at CEC Government Relations. Her responsibilities included consulting and advising companies on public policy, government relations and strategic communications. She co-founded ImpactCEE, Poland's largest event dedicated to the digital economy, where she headed the Government Affairs department, working closely with public administration on the digital transformation of the sector.
Weronika Bajbak Kuna is a graduate of international relations at the University of Wroclaw and Masaryk University in Brno. She was also a PhD student at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at Warsaw University.