Zbigniew Palenica

Zbigniew is a member of the Board of Directors of Solaris Bus & Coach S. A., responsible for finance, purchasing, investments and maintenance. He also supports the board in operations related to operating railway vehicles.

After graduating from the Cracow University of Economics, he accepted a position at a major insurance company in Germany. There he received a postgraduate degree from the Goethe University Frankfurt. In the mid-1990s he joined the municipal transportation provider in Cracow, MPK SA. In 2003 he was made a board member responsible for finance and investment projects, becoming Vice Chairman of the board in 2006. During this period he was accountable for the financial side of the company’s largest projects: acquiring European funds and financial negotiations with the EBRD and EIB.

He is an active member of the Public Transportation Chamber of Commerce (IGMK) and the UITP’s international structures. In January 2010 he was elected Chairman of the UITP’s Light Rail Committee and accepted the post of Vice Chairman of the UITP’s board of supervisors. He became the first Polish member in UITP’s history to hold such a high position in the association.

Zbigniew Palenica is married and has three sons. He enjoys chess, a good book (preferably history), and hiking in the mountains, ideally in his native Tatras.