Speakers

Adrian Furman - CEO and founder of AF Group LLC in Poland and Poland. IT-Lab in the United States. Aspiring to become “the Stephen Hawking of business”, he is a man of success, who has been marked with uniqueness from the very beginning. His unconventional mindset manifests itself especially in business and his attitude to disability. As a person with an impairment, Adrian Furman did not choose a passive way of living. In 2012, he became an ombudsman of the disabled in his local government. To this day he is seen as a leader of the local community. His constant willingness to build a positive image of people with disabilities resulted in the creation of his company, AF Group, specializing in IT and aiming to let the disabled feel accomplished in the open market. What once was only an ambitious dream has turned into a great success. Since 2015, AF Group has grown into a fast-developing company which made its name in the industry. It employs over 30 people whose work proves every day that the disabled do not belong to “a different category”. They can perform as well as the others, or sometimes they can do even better thanks to their sensitivity, commitment, and attention to detail.   Naturally, Adrian Furman’s life aspiration became the mission of his company as well. He says that the disabled start in a disadvantaged position but when they achieve something, it significantly contributes to the positive image with which a disabled person should be associated by the society. His company has developed its original program for contractors "Business Without Barriers" which rewards them with a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) certificate. It is another important step in breaking stereotypes and promoting the perception of people with disabilities as professionals (www.biznesbezbarier.biz). Adrian Furman is a man of success. Although this statement might seem bold, everyone who comes in contact with him – from his friends and co-workers to clients and officials – knows it is definitely true. His example shows that big minds can have big dreams and these dreams can be realized through hard work. Currently, Adrian Furman engages in public appearances and takes an active part in various events. He supports young people by giving motivational speeches in public high schools. He acts as a mentor during conferences related to business and new technologies. He is invited to give expert speeches during notable events such as the 5th edition of “(Dis)abled in the job market” taking place at the Medical University of Lodz. Looking for niches, in which the company could start expansion with smaller impact of the competitors’ penetration, is one of the most important factors of AF Group’s further development. Increasing employment and recruiting specialists in areas where demand for specific services is the highest are among the main investment goals of the company’s development. Establishing a Research and Development Department is a direction related to gaining information regarding the trends in services evolution with a perspective for using it for the AF Group’s development purposes. In 2018, the company was estimated at a value of over 3.6 million USD and its income for the year 2017 exceeded 2 million USD. On the current developmental stage, the company is looking for an investor who will take up 22% of shares for 2,769,000 PLN (749,374 USD) of investments according to the value of the company from the valuation estimated in the income method.