In this next episode, our hosts, Cristina Reichmann (Head of Capital Markets, FIS and Structured Finance, CMS Romania) and Ihor Olekhov (Head of Finance, CMS Ukraine), are joined by Stefan Häbich (Managing Director, George Labs, Erste Bank) and Enkelejd Zotaj (CIO, Raiffeisen Bank Aval) to discuss the latest trends and developments in open banking in Central and Eastern Europe. The panel takes a closer look at some of the hot topics in this space, including:

• FinTech innovation and open banking market evolution across Central and Eastern Europe 

This episode of Talking CEE is hosted by Horea Popescu (Head of CEE Corporate/M&A) who is joined by Helen Rodwell (Managing Partner, Prague and Bratislava), Eva Talmacsi (Partner and Co-head of CEE TMT) and Slawomir Czerwinski (Partner, Corporate, Poland) to discuss recent trends in M&A and the outlook for the CEE investment scene. Our panel looks at some of the findings from our Emerging Europe M&A report launched earlier in the year, with particular emphasis on:

• The abundance of high-value and high-profile deals in e-commerce

In the next episode of Talking CEE, we look at the future of technology, media & telecommunications with a particular focus on topics related to digital transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. Co-hosted by Olga Belyakova (Co-head of CEE TMT at CMS) and Eva Talmacsi (Co-head of CEE TMT at CMS), the panel is joined by Ersida Docaj (Senior Banker, TMT, at EBRD) and Tomasz Marciniak (Managing Partner, Poland, at McKinsey & Company) who discuss the current trends and future opportunities that lay ahead of TMT in CEE. 

Our experts explore the following key topics:

• Trends and opportunities shaping the TMT landscape

• What will happen next, as government support measures are inevitably wound down and withdrawn?

Our next episode is hosted by Iain Batty (Partner, Head of CEE Commercial) who is joined by Olga Shenk (Counsel, CMS Ukraine) and Artur Bednarski (Senior Associate, CMS Poland) to discuss the legal issues affecting businesses during the second wave of the global pandemic and beyond, with a particular focus on contractual obligations and liability issues.

Our experts address the following key concerns:

• How has uncertainly caused by the global pandemic been affecting businesses in Central and Eastern Europe?

Based on a recent survey canvassing the views of our clients and contacts whose operations span 18 countries across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), our latest thought leadership explores the region’s digital ambitions, as well as the risks, opportunities and regulatory landscape around CEE’s digital future.

Our experts discuss trending topics including:

• CEE’s digital infrastructure and business ambition

Katarzyna Dulewicz (Head of Employment, CEE) is joined by Nataliya Nakonechna from Kyiv, Gyorgy Balint from Budapest and Jakub Kabat from Prague, to discuss new trends and policies in employment arising from lockdown in CEE.

Our experts discuss some of the trending topics today, including:

• which sectors have been most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic;

In our third episode, hosted by Lukas Hejduk (Head of Real Estate in CEE, CMS), our guests – Roxana Fratila (Head of Real Estate in Romania, CMS), Josef Krautman (Head of Tenant Representation Services, Cushman & Wakefield, Prague) and George Lewis (Director Capital Markets, Knight Frank, Warsaw) – discuss the changing dynamics of the office market in CEE as a result of the pandemic. 

Our guest speakers provide their insights addressing the following questions:

• Will firms require less space?

Our second episode, hosted by Zsolt Okanyi (Global Head of Dispute Resolution), who is joined by Malgorzata Surdek (Head of Dispute Resolution, CMS Poland) and Daniela Karollus-Bruner (Head of Dispute Resolution, CMS Austria) looks at the challenges that businesses have been facing in dealing with dispute resolution over the last few months, with a particular focus on contract disputes as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our experts talk about: 

• The legal and commercial areas most disputed and industry sectors likely hit by increasing number of disputes arising from the pandemic

Financial relief measures, recovery and future robustness in the wake of COVID-19.

Our host Dora Petranyi (CEE Managing Director) joins Malgorzata Urbanska (Head of Competition & Public Procurement, CMS Poland), Andrzej Posniak (Head of Tax CEE and Managing Partner, CMS Poland) and Mark Segall (Head of Finance CEE/CIS) to discuss the challenges multinational businesses operating across CEE face as they look to return to scale in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 – financial relief measures, now and moving forward.