Grzegorz Szczepański has worked in the public relations industry for over 25 years. He is one of the most experienced professionals in this sector in Poland. He has extensive experience in communication management in the largest corporations in Poland. He is an expert in corporate strategies and crisis communication. 

In 2008–2012 he was the Corporate Director of Grupa Żywiec S.A., where he conducted, among all, a comprehensive re-branding of the company. Previously, in 2003–2007, he was the Head of Corporate Communication Department at Bank Pekao S.A. His accomplishments included preparing and managing the communication process accompanying the largest merger in Poland between Pekao S.A. and BPH S.A. In 2008, he was a member of the Management Board of Provident Polska in charge of communications and regulatory policy. 

For the first decade of his professional career, he was a strategic advisor at renowned agencies: Burson-Marsteller and Business Communications Associates (subsequently Edelman Polska), which he established and where he acted as the first President of the Board. During this period, he advised management boards of the largest international corporations operating in Poland such as Citibank, Unilever, Philip Morris, Johnson&Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and many others. 

He is currently the Vice President of ICCO, Chairman of PPRCA, member of the ThinkThank board of experts, and since 2010 a member of Press Club Polska. In 2015 awarded a Man of the Year in PR by the Brief trade magazine. In 2009–2010 he was a Board Member of the International Association of Public Relations (IPRA).  In 2002, he was recognised by the editors of the Home&Market monthly as one of the 25 best Polish managers. 

At Hill and Knowlton Strategies Magdalena Banasik is Consumer Communications Practice Director acting also as Head of Creative Services. Magda is part of the Warsaw Creative Hub team, responsible for creative campaign solutions.

She’s got 18 years of experience in marketing campaigns creation. Prior joining H+K Strategies Magda was working for advertisement agencies (DDB, Havas, McCann Worldgroup and K2Create) where she was bringing to life creative concepts for customers like: McDonald’s, Gazeta Wyborcza, Ikea, Peugeot, Reckitt Benckiser, or Wyborowa. Throughout last year Magdalena Banasik was supervising the creative department of K2Create agency acting as Head of Creatives. Her campaigns won prizes at the biggest advertisement festivals. She was awarded with Silver and Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions festival, as well as prizes at Eurobest, Epica, Cristal Awards, New York Festival, Golden Drum, or KTR festivals.

Magdalena Banasik graduated from the Faculty of Polish Studies and “Polish glottodidactics – Teaching Polish as a Foreign Language”, post diploma studies, both at University of Warsaw.

Alicja Lewandowska-Wolińska has worked in the public relations industry for almost ten years. She specializes in external and internal corporate communication (including Employer Branding). She provides strategic advice to clients, supports in building and strengthening relations with the media and stakeholders, creates comprehensive communication campaigns and manages crisis communication. She also conducts media training.  

In Hill+Knowlton Strategies she works as an Account Director in the corporate communications team. She manages projects for Shell, GTC, TransferGo, Sofidel, Enel X and a large energy company. Previously, she managed PR activities for, among all, the European Commission (the #investEU campaign), 3M, McCormick, Pfleiderer, Baker McKenzie, HEINEKEN and the Polish Trade and Distribution Organization.  

Before joining Hill+Knowlton Strategies, she worked for four years at Grayling Poland, where she managed projects for, among all, GE (corporate communication, GE Lighting, GE Industrial Solutions), Mars Polska, Novo Nordisk, IKEA Industry, Dow Poland, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, the international real estate development group HB Reavis and Allegro Group. She started her career in communication at agencies based in Lodz: Telma Communications Agency and HealthThink Public Relations.  

Alicja is a Law, Journalism and Social Communication graduate of the University of Lodz. 

Zofia Smełka-Leszczyńska is a communication and brand strategist. She has over 13 years of marketing experience gained both in the field of strategy and qualitative research, as well as creation of multi-channel campaigns – from ATL spots, through digital activities, to designing new brands and services.

Prior to joining H+K, she held the position of Strategy Consultant in Stratosfera, where she supported clients in brand strategy building, cultural and semiotic analysis, and qualitative research. Her career also includes the positions of Associate Creative Director at K2 Internet, and previously Zofia also worked for advertising agencies like Havas, McCann, G7 and Team One.

She has a PhD in Cultural Studies, a Master’s degree in Psychology, a post-graduate degree in Service Design and is the author of the book “Remove up to 30 days. Semiotics of Polish Election Posters” (Scholar Scientific Publishing House, 2020).

Bartek Szymeczko is responsible for development of Content+Publishing structure, supporting the PR campaigns in the field of  various types of content and publishing placements. He coordinates the activities of consultants with the C+P expertise and managesthe digital campaigns for agency’s clients.

Bartek has over 11 years of experience in the field of digital communication. Prior joining H+K, he worked client-side for six years – for GSK in their EU Digital Hub, where he created digital strategies for CNS products for EU countries, and Samsung Electronics Poland, where he managed the social media department, supporting all products within Samsung’s portfolio. Before moving to Samsung, Bartek developed his competences in PR agencies like Havas PR Warsaw and digital agency Havas Digital Warsaw, where he supported clients from different sectors (AkzoNobel, Google, Heineken, Orange) in the field of PR & social media.

Bartek specializes in creating campaigns mixing digital, social media, PR & influencer activities. He’s experienced in working with top artists, key opinion leaders, celebrities, athletes and influencers. As a part of interdisciplinary teams, Bartek created campaigns supporting various business goals (from awareness to sales), promoting products, services and events.
Many of these campaigns were awarded in effectiveness & creativity contests locally in Poland (Effie, Mixx Awards) and globally (Adweek Arc Awards, Mixx Awards Europe).

Bartek is a journalism graduate from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland.

Monika Podsiadło has worked in the public relations industry since 2009. She is an experienced consultant and specialises in executing consumer and educational projects, also involving opinion leaders. 

She gained her professional experience by delivering a number of projects for brands such as BRITA, Lornamead (CD and Lornamead), Bacardi – Martini, Carlsberg Polska (Okocim and Grimbergen), Electrolux, Soda Stream, Netto and Złote Tarasy. She completed many educational projects. Among all, she was responsible for the ‘Breathe through your nose, breathe better’ campaign for the Otrivin brand and for activities as part of the fifth edition of the ‘Mom, Dad, I prefer water!’ Żywiec Zdrój brand campaign. 

In her work, she uses modern tools to generate reach and centres communication around creating valuable and engaging content, also with the participation of brand ambassadors. She actively implements new solutions that drive effectiveness. 

She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of the University of Warsaw and currently studies Management at the Warsaw School of Economics. 

Jarosław Sutarzewicz is an experienced expert in public affairs and communication with public administration. He supports Hill+Knowlton Strategies clients in building lasting relationships with the public sector and co-creating public policy and advocacy strategies. 

Before joining Hill+Knowlton Strategies, he worked as head of protocol at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. He was responsible for the institution’s contacts with representatives of the government and the private sector. He has extensive knowledge of the Polish political scene and practical experience in executing cross-sectoral projects. 

Previously, in Polski Fundusz Kapitałowy he coordinated the B2B portal implementation project offering offset solutions for the defence industry. As a client service coach and experienced translator of English, he knows how to translate complex issues to practical solutions in business. 

He gained his experience working for corporations and institutions by executing projects for clients such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Janssen-Cilag, CIMA, Lafarge, Enel X, EIT Climate-KIC, and the European Commission. 

He graduated from the Faculty of English Studies of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. 

Magdalena leads a team that combines the competencies of the Technology and Financial Services practice.

She specializes in projects for financial sector insitutions and technology companies active in this market, and has almost 20 years of experience working both as an internal PR specialist and as an external advisor.

Magdalena’s strength lies in financial communications, M&A, and change communication. She combines expert knowledge with strategic competence and the ability to manage complex communication campains with an emphasis on media relations. She also has experience introducing new brands (including startups) to the financial market, designing expert communication campaigns and advising clients in crisis situations. Having worked extensively with financial market institutions and public companies, she efficiently deals with regulatory issues related to the sector.

Before joining H+K Magdalena spent 10 years as a partner and managing partner of an independent public relations consulting company specializing in serving financial and technology sector clients. She has worked with such brands as Bitpanda, BGK, Deutsche Bank, Santander, Haitong Bank, mBank, BIK, BIG, Wonga, MoneyGram, KIR, and BLIK.

Magdalena graduated in journalism from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. She has also completed post graduate studies in financial communication and investor relations at the Warsaw School of Economics and social psychology at SWPS University.