ABSL Summit Speakers

Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała Deputy Mayor City of Gdynia

Legal advisor, law graduate from the University of Gdańsk, The School of American Law (UG / Chicago-Kent College of Law) and Leadership Academy for Poland. Responsible for economic development and strategy for the city.

Katarzyna believes that new technologies and innovative projects, both in the area of economy and public services, should primarily improve the quality of life in the city. She is constantly looking for inspiring urban solutions and policies, amongst others, through international cooperation. Katarzyna is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the initiator of The European Waterfront Cities Network, which has now transformed into ULI Europe Waterfront Cities Product Council. The Council, amongst others, is dedicated to creating green and innovative cities, where business and residents can thrive and where sustainable development and inclusion are one of the top priorities.

In 2019, Katarzyna was honored with the title of Business Tiger for special impact on the development of foreign BPO and SSC investments in Poland. She has also received a distinction from ABSL for developing and supporting the modern business services sector. In 2020, she was awarded the Innovation in Politics Awards 2020 for the project "Gdynia supports entrepreneurs during Covid-19".

Katarzyna constantly works to stimulate development of the city by supporting key industries. Thanks to her continuous efforts the city was appreciated by the fDi Intelligence (Financial Times group) in the ranking of the best locations for foreign direct investment. Gdynia received the award and title of the "Polish City of the Future" three times and recently the title of the “Global Cities of the Future” in the „FDI Strategy – Rising Cities” category.