Georgi Tarlekov appointed new Executive Director of Bulgarian Sports Totalizator as part of management overhaul

Georgi Tarlekov has been named the new Executive Director of the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator state enterprise. He will hold the position until a competition is held, according to local media reports.

The development comes after Minister of Youth and Sports Dimitar Iliev made changes to the Management Board of the enterprise. The new appointee replaces former boss Angel Angelov, who was named Executive Director in August 2022. In addition to Angelov, two other members of the board have also been dismissed and replaced.

Tarlekov is a financier with years of experience in administration, management, and finance and project management. He holds master's degrees in management and marketing, banking and financial business, and administration management. Before taking the post, he was an adviser to Minister Iliev on financial matters. The two other members who were added to the enterprise were Rada Gyonova and Petar Peychev. 

The Bulgarian News Agency cited the Ministry, which said that the change aims to improve the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator's activities, initiate measures for its optimization, and take advantage of development opportunities provided by the operator to increase generated revenues and provide more funds for sports through deductions. 

The agency says analyses show that, regardless of the good opportunities for the development of the enterprise's activity, they are not used fully and efficiently. It also cited cases of unjustified dismissal and replacement of long-term personnel, with an unsatisfactory policy regarding the incomes of the company's employees, and weak internal control.

The current board was appointed after a fast-track competition in the last days of the caretaker government. The elected members omitted clauses allowing the next management to decide on the composition of the company's governing bodies, points out the news agency.

"Minister Iliev wants the management of the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator to act much more decisively, with a clear vision and goals, aimed at achieving better results and significantly higher revenues for sports funds," the Bulgarian News Agency noted. 

The remuneration of the new management will be reduced, as the Minister demanded that a solution be found for the fairer remuneration of the enterprise's regular employees. The Sports Ministry's position is that the remuneration now paid to the executive director is disproportionately and excessively high for an employee in a state-owned enterprise.