Ms. Maria Shishkova is the Managing Partner of AIMS Human Capital Bulgaria and Dale Carnegie Training Bulgaria. She is a Dale Carnegie Certified Local Training Director and has been trained in specialised coaching courses at the Corporate Coach University of Dallas, USA and in a programme of Applied Economics at the University of Delaware, USA.

She holds a MA in English and American studies from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Ms. Shishkova is a certified consultant in the Thomas International Management Systems and SHL. Ms. Shishkova has 18-year experience in the area of general management, human resources, management consulting, assessment and development centers, leadership training and coaching, compensation and benefits surveys and executive search and selection for top managerial positions. She has headed and/or participated in projects in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, the Netherlands and Germany. She has consulted and headed projects for over 150 multinational companies from all business industries represented in Bulgaria.

She is the Chairperson of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum and the Chairperson of Bulgarian Association of Management Consultancy Organisations. Ms. Shishkova has been a Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria from 1999 to 2005. She is also a Founding Member of Bulgarian Investment Information Network and a Founding Member of Sofia Services Group. She is a member of the Bulgarian Human Resources Management and Development Association.

Motiva

One of my daughters recently told me: “I want to have your profession because I see how much you love it.” As a teenager and thereafter I was so intrigued by the inner world of people, by what make us both different and the same, how we can live in harmony and why is it so difficult to do so, what is the mystery of success and how one can overcome his/her own limitations… Hundreds of questions that were so exciting to explore. Naturally this led me to a profession I did not know it existed but quickly fell in love with. This happened in 1994 when Bulgaria had just recently turned the page from communism to democracy. One of the best ways to contribute to the transition was to help the best companies and the people in them succeed. This would have the ripple effect to positively change the environment.  

More than 25 years later it feels as if I have lived several lives in one going through all the tremendous changes that happened in the meantime. And every single day was worth it.

Now I continue to be interested in the micro-cosmos of the people alongside with the developments in macroeconomics and the big trends that shape the world. Building bridges between today and tomorrow, aspirations and achievements, the present and the future selves of the people who have the power, the perseverance, the kind heart and the brave vision to keep the world changing for the better is a special source of inspiration.

Our family has 5 members - twin daughters, their loving and yet demanding grandma, my husband and me. The evenings are treasured get-together time and we rarely miss a weekend without meeting friends – preferably for dinner at home.