Centre
We believe that by supporting
entrepreneurs we effect
permanent change and have
a positive impact on the world.
HOW WE WORK
CENTRE EXPERTS

Your company will only ever be supported by experienced specialists. We do not work with everyone – we only cooperate with those we can realistically support, in industries in which we have experience. We operate on an exclusive basis.

Let's talk

Our thinking about scaling-up is a talent-focused approach to growth. We integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of the ideas created and the requirements for business success. We investigate with whom and how you can grow more effectively.

founder of CENTRE Dorota Sajewicz
Dorota Sajewicz
Dorota Sajewicz

STRATEGIC ADVISOR TO START-UPS AND SCALE-UPS, EXPERT IN BRAND MANAGEMENT CEO, founder of CENTRE

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She supports founders in the development of their companies, in strategy, scaling-up, communication and getting ready to obtain financing. Her over 20 years of management, marketing and financial experience can be divided into three stages:

Stage One which lasted 16 years was formative and allowed her to gain experience of project, corporate and management of large structures. At that stage, she was responsible for PR, marketing, product, including extensive strategic management of brand transformation, rebranding and opening new business channels. Her work was shaped by cooperation with teams of such companies as: Whitbread, Costa Coffee, coffeeheaven, NorthFish, Timex Polska and the Association of Manufacturers of Branded Products "ProMarka".

Stage Two – which has been ongoing for 6 years – is her entrepreneurial stage, during which she discovered that running her own business was her way forward. It has allowed her to effectively use her managerial, finance and marketing skills. This stage demonstrates her holistic approach to building scale and consistency in development. Since 2018, founder and CEO of CENTRE (formerly known as BE THERE). Investment partner at tax and law offices Panasiuk & Partners. She was previously a partner at the fashion brand RISK Made in Warsaw (2015–2018).

Stage Three in which she has been involved for three years is mentoring. She actively advises the founders of start-ups and scale-ups and has completed over 20 projects. She is a member of advisory boards, she connects resources, with the right people and with capital to scale-up and strengthen the standing of Polish entrepreneurship in the world. She guides brands through transformation and reorganisation, preparing them for sale, or dynamic exits. She is particularly interested in supporting companies that have a positive impact on people and nature.

She specialises in the following sectors: e-commerce, the wide-ranging area of marketing communication (in particular digital marketing), personal branding, new technologies, luxury goods, fashion (casual, street wear), the retail industry and FMCG.

She is socially involved in projects focused on the non-educational development of children through culture, art, good design and nature. She supports initiatives to rebuild the Polish woodland and meadows.

She is a graduate of the University of Business Management, The Polish Open University, Public Relations Studies at the University of Warsaw, the Business Management Program at the Canadian International Management Institute (ICAN Institute).

Jerzy Potocki
Jerzy Potocki

MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
CONNECTING PEOPLE & TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, INVESTORS. AI, CRYPTO, H₂.

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Working with Founders & Directors on improving their businesses via:

  • Company constant improvement & excellence; C-Level workflows;
  • B2B business models, enabling scaling & building company value;
  • local & international expansion; funding, Investors;
  • Connecting people & building win-win b2b partnerships (incl. M&A);
  • innovation, technology, digitization (incl. AI).

Jerzy has been working in the startups /technology world since 2012, facilitating innovative high-potential ideas and projects, often within IT or Circular Economy (GreenTech) - with inventors, founders, investors, and the B2B market. This also includes helping C-Level build optimal workflows (incl. tools, i.g. dealing with email and calendar, delegating) and work & life balance.

Recently Jerzy was involved in projects within InsurTech, Enterprise Software; AI; blockchain; Cryptocurrency; FinTech; Banking; MVNO; Energy; Hydrogen (H₂); Composites.

Jerzy is a great connector, knows many people (and easily and consequently builds new contacts), both in Poland and beyond - eager to help, by using his huge network and knowledge of how business is organized and done, to generate WIN-WIN B2B partnerships.

All this is based on 25+ years of his experience as an entrepreneur, consultant & mentor - running companies, developing Teams & Businesses, Connecting People, Ideas & Technology, Strategy & Finance, Human Resources & IT, Soft & Hard Things...

Earlier, Jerzy has been focusing on Management Consulting and HR Development (since 2004 high-end Executive Search and Talent Management at AIMS International, with 100+ offices in 50+ countries - as its Managing Partner in Poland).

As for non-profit activities, Jerzy is also:

  • co-founder, member of supervisory board, judge and mentor of the Foundation for Technology Entrepreneurship, running the top startup accelerator in the region - MIT Enterprise Forum CEE (with MIT Boston) - www.mitefcee.org;
  • VP of "Association France-Pologne" (Stowarzyszenie Francja-Polska), the largest alumni organization in CEE of studies by French universities - www.afp.org.pl;
  • Head of Supervisory Board of a Children Charity, taking care of abandoned newborns (30-40 full-time employees) - www.adopcja.org.pl, and a diagnostic and therapeutic center - www.fasada.org.pl;
  • Supporting children's education, especially homeschooling, including government relations and law-making.
Marcin Kowalczyk
Marcin Kowalczyk

STRATEGIC ADVISOR

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A graduate of Warsaw School of Economics (SGPiS). For many years he managed B2B manufacturing companies in Poland and abroad (China, Czech Republic, Germany, Nigeria, Russia), thanks to which he has extensive experience in working with international and multicultural teams. He has led and advised on a number of acquisitions by both strategic investors and Private Equity funds and has supervised the integration processes of the merged companies.

Experienced in the creation and effective implementation of restructuring and growth strategies for companies, both on domestic and international markets.

He speaks Polish, English and Russian.

Piotr Serwin
Piotr Serwin

STRATEGIC ADVISOR, EXPERT IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS STRATEGY

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A graduate of Middlesex University, he worked in the City of London as an equity, forex and interest rate trader. He built an algorithm based fintech that managed capital in financial markets; he also developed a data protection technology consultancy business.

Until 2021, he was the Investment Director at TenderHut, one of the fastest growing technology companies in Europe. He was responsible for developing and spinning off start-ups and for attracting private equity and venture capital investors. He carried out crowdfunding campaigns for companies from the TenderHut group – Holo4Labs and GrowUperion. He mentors start-ups through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Enterprise Forum and Huge Thing programs.

Dr. Jarosław Panasiuk
Dr. Jarosław Panasiuk

TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES ADVISER

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Originator and co-creator of the largest industrial robotics laboratory in Eastern Europe. Co-author of research papers for the military and industry.

He supports companies in implementing new technologies in industry. He is the author of many inventions using robotics and vision systems. He deals with issues related to production robotization, modelling and design of robotics systems and issues concerning vision systems, building automation systems, and Machine Learning.

A graduate of the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Doctor of technical sciences, specializing in mechanics. MBA graduate from Leon Koźmiński Academy in Warsaw and a lecturer at the Faculty of Mechatronics and Aviation of WAT (Military University of Technology)

Marek Szpitun
Marek Szpitun

IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT ADVISOR

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Over 17 years of experience in IT, supporting business in challenging endeavours during rapid growth, acquisitions or complicated transformation. Managing dozens of projects and teams both in international corporations as well as small start-ups. Experience in ERP programme, CRM and e-commerce platform implementations. Certified project manager in both waterfall and agile methodologies. Wide range of IT knowledge, from infrastructure and network to software development. Very good knowledge of retail and pharma business. Goal oriented with can do attitude.

Łukasz Woźnica
Łukasz Woźnica

DEVELOPMENT ADVISER
CEO of Teamster Advisory Group

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CEO of Teamster Advisory Group. Business trainer, Management Board consultant, product and brand manager. An expert in internationalisation in European organisations. A specialist in internationalisation, development management, business strategy, sales division building and restructuring, as well as new product launches on Polish and foreign markets. His work and projects are based on H2H strategy. He studied Mediteranean Studies at the Faculty of History of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

Patrick Cazeaux
Patrick Cazeaux

DEVELOPMENT ADVISER

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Management Board representative of Teamster Advisory Group. A graduate of FIZ in Warsaw EMBA, CEGOS in Paris. EMBA, Coach and Mentor for Management Boards in Poland and abroad, a TOC (Theory of Change) consultant, expert of the Polish Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers (ZPP), The Councils of Polish and European Think Tanks and international organisations. He specialises in company/team management, change, business negotiations, sales techniques, the launch and management of startups, company development, business strengthening and new global trends.

Dr. Mahmoud Arafa
Dr. Mahmoud Arafa

PARTNER, EGYPT – Middle East; North Africa Region

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Managing Director and owner of MedCare Pharma, the exclusive representative of well-known cosmetic and dietary supplement brands on the Egyptian market and across the Middle East and North African region. He has 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing for international pharmaceutical companies.

He has experience in various roles involved with sales process and distribution network management both domestically and around the Suez Canal region.

He has participated in community projects organized by the Egyptian charitable organization, the Resala Association, which supports the poor across the country and which also runs projects designed to raise awareness of endemic diseases.

Graduate of Cairo university with a Masters in surgery and clinical pathology. From 1996-2003 he completed with distinction a training course organized by Merck Sharp and Dohme.

From 2005-2013 he earned an award with distinction in line management, personnel development and team building from AstraZeneca.

Andrzej Sałamacha
Andrzej Sałamacha

LEGAL ADVISER, RESTRUCTURING ADVISER

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Andrzej gained his experience through numerous projects involving foreign investors and large Polish companies in the field of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and the sale and purchase of businesses. He also has experience in company restructuring and reorganisation processes of companies, including mergers (cross-border and domestic), spin-offs, company transformations, and liquidations, as well as in the field of ongoing company servicing, company governance meetings and analysis of different aspects of company operations.

His interests and experience also cover succession planning within family firms and the legal and taxation issues around securing a business during generational change.

As a restructuring adviser he is an expert in restructuring procedures for companies in administration and also in liquidation procedures.

Graduate of the Department of Law and Administration, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań; post-graduate studies in restructuring law at Lazarski University, Warsaw. He completed his legal adviser’s training at the Regional Chamber of Legal Advisers in Poznań.

dr Maja Czarzasty - Zybert
dr Maja Czarzasty - Zybert

LEGAL ADVISER

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Lawyer in love with yachts and Monaco, who shares her love through a blog about yacht law called Hercberg Yacht Law and about Monaco called MCHercberg.

She advises individual clients on international property planning, as well as on matters related to the change of place of residence or citizenship. She also advises on the restructuring of private and business assets and the management of luxury goods.

In addition, she specializes in issues related to legal services for domestic and international structures used in projects related to tax planning or capital restructuring. She also has experience in advising entities from the energy sector as well as retail and e-commerce.

She graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw and the Center for French and European Law at the University of Warsaw. In 2020, she defended her doctoral thesis entitled "Legal and tax qualification of greenhouse gas emission permits on the example of regulations in French and Polish law" at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw.

In 2020, she was also entered on the list of legal advisers of the District Chamber of Legal Advisers in Warsaw.

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