Peter Roebben, Chairman of the Country Team of KBC Group in Bulgaria and Chief Executive Officer of UBB, was awarded the Business Personality of the Year award. This happened during a special ceremony announcing the winners of the 2024 Innovation Awards competition. The event was organized by the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the aim to draw public attention to innovative solutions and significant projects implemented by businesses in Bulgaria, to encourage and support leaders in the innovations domain as they are the backbone of economic development and progress.

"I accept this award on behalf of UBB and the entire KBC Group team in Bulgaria. This is a recognition of their commitment and talent. I am particularly proud that the implementation of our digital assistant Kate in UBB Mobile was one of the main factors that convinced the jury. In the context of complex integration, UBB always keeps the needs of its clients in the focus of everything it does. With Kate, we offer the best that digital innovation can provide today in terms of financial services and there will be much more," said Peter Roebben in his address to the jury and the competition organizers. 

This is yet another high distinction for Peter Roebben after his arrival in Bulgaria in 2021 as Chief Executive Officer of UBB. At the end of last year, he was awarded the 2023 Banker of the Year award for UBB's steady growth during a consolidation period. Mr. Roebben also won a personal Leader in Sustainable Development award in the 2023 PwC ESG Awards, and earlier that year he also won the special award for sustainable banking in the 2023 SDG Pioneers International Competition to the UN Global Compact.

The French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-profit organization that brings together over 270 French, Bulgarian and international companies, aiming to promote and develop bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries.

KBC Group is one of the largest investors in the Bulgarian economy with over EUR 2.4 billion direct investment in the country's banking and financial sector over the past 15 years The Group offers the whole range of financial products and services in a unique for the country bancassurance model. At the end of 2023, the companies managed by KBC Group Bulgaria employ about 6,000 people who take care of the interests of nearly 2.2 million customers.