The Year Ahead - Finance & Strategic Readiness | 30.10.2025

In October, CEOmoments brought together a focused room of CEOs for a practical, high-trust conversation on what 2026 is likely to demand from Bulgarian business leaders. The starting point was clear: the Eurozone transition and the shift to a new currency reality.

Even in a hybrid format, the conversation stayed sharp and grounded thanks to Levon Hampartzoumian, who offered his perspective that  helped the group calibrate what matters. One of the key threads was reassuring and also demanding: the euro itself is not a trigger for dramatic economic change, but it will shape the environment in meaningful ways, including broader access to capital and a different financing landscape.

At the same time, the group came back to a principle that CEOs in the room know too well: currency alone doesn’t fix weak management or lack of strategy. The real driver remains the business sector - its leadership, competence, and direction.

From there, the session naturally expanded beyond economics into the deeper “readiness” questions leaders are carrying: how to protect and grow competitive advantages, how to plan long-term when the context keeps shifting, and what it takes to keep organizations resilient when the pressure is constant. We even touched on bigger societal constraints - like functional illiteracy - and how they limit progress at a systems level, including talent, productivity, and execution.

What made this gathering especially useful was the shared perspective in the room. CEOs compared real situations, challenged assumptions, and helped each other translate macro change into concrete implications for their own companies.

Resources were exchanged inside the group after the session, and several conversations that started in the room continued into follow-ups.

Special thanks as well to Krešo Vugrinčić, CFA, for adding fresh perspective and lessons from Croatia’s experience.