Schneider Electric, Radoslav Koshkov: We are planning interesting new implementations in a broad range of industries

 Radoslav Koshkov, Regional Manager of Schneider Electric,

for South-East European Industrial Market magazine

Mr. Koshkov, you have been holding the position Regional Manager of Schneider Electric for Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo since the beginning of February 2019. Would you please share in brief with our readers your professional experience so far?

Schneider Electric is a very important company for me because almost my whole career path is related to it. From today’s perspective, I appreciate more and more the fact that I have been a part from every hierarchical level in its trading divisions structure because first-person knowledge and experience are indispensable.

I have always enjoyed the trading business because it gives you a whole new perspective of the market and keeps you active. During my career in the company I have worked as a sales engineer, a team manager, a vice president of business development. Managing variously sized teams was another essential part of my professional experience in Schneider Electric. My work has also included numerous activities in the fields of project implementation and retail sales.

For the first time Schneider Electric’s regional policy will be conducted by a Bulgarian. What responsibilities and opportunities come with this?

I believe this is a proof of the trust that has been gained. The maturity of the business environment in Bulgaria is specific – we observe more and more companies led by local managers. This enables us to develop a comprehensive business management culture that can be taught to younger generations of professionals. Of course, it also comes with different challenges, it requires delivering results.

Personally, however, I am optimistic. In my point of wiew the number of companies in our country, including Schneider Electric, that have reached such high level of corporate culture is growing. This allows the working teams to acknowledge their own strengths and responsibilities and face every challenge with confidence.

What are the first steps you have taken since you’ve been holding the new job position? What are your expectations for the market and business development of the company in the region?

I have worked for the company for 18 years and I have a good knowledge of the corporation and the local organization. In this regard, I am also familiar with the fields which need focus and improvement. Fortunately, they match our regional and global priorities, among which are trade efficiency, better internal cooperation and employee engagement. Another key priority is the constant improvement of our EcoStruxure platform, which offers solutions for optimal energy cost management and optimization of our clients’ production processes.

My expectations in terms of development rely on the hope of stability in the region, at European and global level, because only such stability would allow a sustainable business evolvement. If there are no market turmoils, we anticipate our business in Bulgaria to keep slowly but steadily growing, as it has in the recent years. For Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo we await even greater growth, both in local economies in general and in all the sectors where Schneider Electric is presented.

What technological novelties has the company prepared for its customers and partners in 2019? Which of them will be in focus in Bulgaria?

Currently our main focus is the EcoStruxure platform. It covers virtually our whole portfolio – from connected products that represent the first platform layer, through a second layer of data, analytics and software to clustering cloud information for gaining recommendations for preventive actions and optimization, which constitute the third layer.

We are planning interesting new implementations of second- and third-level technologies in a broad range of client industries. Every new project adds value to the platform through supplementing data and experience, which allows the platform’s constant improvement.
This will be the emphasis in every country where our company operates, including Bulgaria and the region.