PhD Leona Aslanova

LinkedIn Profile

Leona Yurieva Aslanova is a Bulgarian economist and public figure with a focus on innovation and education.

Her corporate career is related to business development, marketing, sales, and innovation in large and start-up companies. She is the founder of Innovation Starter, the first specialized innovation agency in Bulgaria, the Innovation Explorer innovation forum, in partnership with the business publication Capital. And the “Academy for Innovation” (the largest public-private educational partnership in Bulgaria, which has won a number of awards for educational projects), which is organized jointly with 16 universities, the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, the European Investment Bank Representation in Bulgaria, the Council of Rectors, and other leading business and non-governmental organizations.
Before starting her own business, she worked as a Partnership Relations Manager at MobilTel (A1), Sales Manager at Investor.bg, Customer Relations Director at Netwerk Media, Marketing Manager at M3 Communications Group Ltd., and others.

Through her innovation agency, Innovation Starter, she is an active part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria and has worked on a number of initiatives to promote early youth entrepreneurship, develop a culture of innovation in Bulgaria, and university education in this field.

• Ambassador and member of the international and local jury of the Central European Startup Awards (CESA);
• Member of the international jury of the Start4big Competition;
• Mentor in the Female Founders Global Community (since the organization’s inception);
• Mentor at Startup Live;
• Member of the Stanford Club of Bulgaria.
  Has a degree in economics and philology.
• Holds a PhD in Business Administration from VSU “Chernorizets Hrabar” and a diploma for completing a mini MBA program at the PwC Academy.
• Graduated with honors from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski with a bachelor’s degree in Bulgarian Philology and a master’s degree in Literary Studies.
• Alumna of the Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) program – University Innovation Fellows at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school) since 2018.
  
• Author of the books: “The Future is Around the Corner. Think Ahead. A Look at Innovation in Bulgaria” (2022) and “Innovation and Denovation” (2024).
  
• Fluent in English, Russian, and Spanish. He is learning French and Italian.