A team of passionate professionals

Ivo Krpelan

CEO

Ivo became a part of Pewas in 2020 and his main goal is to prepare our company for its further development and international growth. Due to his rich professional past, Ivo meets all the prerequisites to be able to bring our company and its products to the international markets. Ivo has a 10 years finance management experience in CFO positions and 14 years general management experience in CEO positions. For last 20 years, he has worked for a Danish international group Falck as a CFO and  later as a Reginal Director and Partner for CEE region, where he was responsible for a group of companies with app. 3.000 employees and over EUR 65 million of yearly revenues. Ivo is a graduate from the University of Economics in Prague.

Peter Fatul

Project manager

Peter started his professional career in 2004 as a Sales Manager of rubber chemicals in the company Duslo, the second biggest chemical company in Slovakia. After eight years in 2012 he was promoted to as the Head of the Sales Department of SBU Organics. He was responsible for the business management of three organic units in Duslo - Dispersions and glues, Rubber chemicals and Specialties with sales around €120 million per year. He managed contracting processes with the most important partners including five top tire producers Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Bridgestone and Pirelli. After 11 years in Duslo he decided to accept the offer of CRW Plasticos Slovakia at the position of a Business Development Manager. From June 2016 is a part of company PEWAS and is responsible for business and logistic activities. Peter is a graduate from the University of Economics in Bratislava.

Viktor Gelinger

Chemical Engineer

Viktor graduated from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology. Soon after graduation, he was recruited by PEWAS Company where he started in the position of Junior Research and Development. He has spent the past three years actively working on projects’ realization related to superabsorbent polymers. He is dedicated to applied research, collaboration with external institutes, strategic partners, and clients.   He is working on methods development, laboratory testing, and the direct use of superabsorbents under real conditions at current and potential clients. 

Lukáš Petra

Chemical Engineer

Lukáš graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, where he received a PhD. in inorganic chemistry. He worked on his thesis at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences. He has also lectured for five years at the Comenius University in Bratislava. He received an internship at the Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University for nine months, working on polymer-clay nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties - the results of which are being patented.

Lukáš was also a Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Advanced Materials (LAM) at Comenius University where he was part of a project funded under Horizon2020 (ERA Chair). The goal of the project was to establish an internationally recognized research program in the field of advanced materials (materials that have the potential to enable new technologies). Research focus was on materials with possible applications in energy conversion and storage, also optoelectronics and electronics. Part of the project was the exchange of researchers during which Lukáš had two internships at Oxford University and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA.

Halyna Bodnár Yankovych

Chemical Engineer

Halyna graduated from the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry and the Department of Microbiology at the Faculty of Biology of Uzhhorod National University. After graduation, she worked at the Uzhhorod Border State Control and Toxicology Laboratory as a leading chemist and quality manager. While working in the laboratory, she received training on pesticide analysis using advanced analytical methods in Lithuania, Latvia and Germany. She completed her PhD. at the Institute of Geotechnics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in 2022. As part of her doctoral studies, she participated in research internships in Austria and Spain, during which she focused on the preparation of composites with photocatalytic properties and their use for water purification.

Michaela Kusá

Biotechnology Engineer

Michaela graduated from the Slovak University of Agriculture. She is expert on modern biotechnological methods and techniques of cultivation of microorganisms, tissue culture, preparation of biologically important substances. She has strong experience in gene manipulation, utilization of RFLP, PCR, Western –blot, embryotechnology, enzyme engineering, genomics, bioinformatics, waste chemistry, food chemistry. Formerly, she worked in a Dutch company during university and her final thesis was linked to the company focused on food waste as a feed for farm animals. After graduation she held the position of the chemical and legislative support in the field of fertilizers and feeds in the same company. Recently, she has worked 4 years in Slovak company as a development and quality specialist for cosmetics and detergents. She had responsibility and prepared technical documents of the products in accordance with applicable legislative of SR and EU. She rated sensory and analytical quality of her own and competing products and under her leadership for 4 years the company has successfully launched lot of products.

Diana Hačkuličová

Plant physiologist

Diana graduated in Biology with a specialization in Botany and Plant Physiology from the Faculty of Science at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. She completed her PhD at the Institute of Chemistry of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, where her research focused on plant responses to environmental stress. Her research primarily investigated the effects of galactoglucomannan oligosaccharides on the growth and development of maize exposed to cadmium contamination and water deficit. She also investigated their effects on the plant proteome and their ability to mitigate oxidative stress. She has published her research findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented her work at national and international conferences. Alongside her research, she was involved in teaching at the Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Science, Comenius University Bratislava, and actively participated in science outreach activities in Slovakia.

Oksana Fizer

Analytical Chemist

Oksana studied analytical chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of Uzhhorod National University, where she also earned her PhD in 2019. Her dissertation dealt with potentiometric titration systems based on the analytical forms of cetylpyridinium. She went on to work at Uzhhorod National University as a researcher and later as a senior researcher. She completed several research stays at the University of Prešov – first under the scholarship programme of the International Visegrad Fund and then twice under the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic – during which she worked on the development of ion-selective electrodes and polymembrane sensors for the determination of phosphates and surfactants in water and in household cleaning formulations. Between 2022 and 2023 she worked in the Analytical Department of the Institute of Chemistry of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. She then joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno in the USA, first as a visiting researcher and subsequently as a postdoctoral associate, where she studied the luminescence properties of lanthanide complexes within a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. She is a co-author of more than twenty papers in international scientific journals and eight patents. At PEWAS, Oksana leads the research and development team.

Michaela Piliarova

Molecular Biology

Michaela graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Department of Biotechnology (BSc.) in 2010 and Department of Analytical chemistry and biochemistry (MSc.) in 2012. Formerly, she worked as Pharmacy technician for several pharmacy companies. Later on, she completed a PhD in Molecular biology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava in partnership with National Agricultural and Food Centre – Research Institute of Plant Production in Piešťany focusing on genetic diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their interactions with plants.

Hryhorii Makarov

Physicist

Hryhorii Makarov graduated from the Department of Reactor Materials and Physical Technologies at the School of Physics and Technology of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, specializing in physics and nanomaterials. After completing his studies, he entered the doctoral program at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Informatics at Comenius University. During his PhD studies, he worked on obtaining doped TiO₂ nanotube arrays and expanding their application in photocatalysis and gas sensing technologies. In 2023, he successfully defended his dissertation. During his postgraduate studies, Hryhorii participated in many international conferences and is the author of a series of scientific papers.

Barbora Sjekelová

Chemical Engineer

Barbora studied at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava at the Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology. At the engineering level, she gained a lot of information about polymeric materials, their properties and processing, as well as in the field of physical chemistry of polymers. During her studies, she practiced in a chemical company, where she participated in the testing and analysis of biodegradable polymeric materials based on polylactic acid and polyhydroxybutyrate. In this area of research, she continued to choose the topic of the diploma thesis, in which she dealt with the influence of plasticizers on the properties of a biodegradable polymer mixture based on polylactic acid and polyhydroxybutyrate.

Štefánia Piešťanská

Office manager

Stefania is a graduate from the University of Economics in Bratislava with a degree in Business Economics and Management. She applied her knowledge and skills in an international company as part of the Shared Service Center. Her main job tasks were proper managing of the Back Office team and ensuring all requirements of the General Director for Central and Eastern Europe are met. From February 2023, she is a part of company PEWAS and is responsible for the assigned tasks within the projects, as well as their monitoring and coordination.

Andrej Ferenc

Product specialist

Andrej graduated from the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, majoring in horticulture. During his studies, he interned as part of the ERASMUS program at Adnan Menderes University in Turkey and also at the fruit company FYTOS in the Czech Republic. After his studies, he went to Australia where he worked on farms through the Work and Holiday program. After returning in 2020, he worked at the Department of Horticulture at SPU as a technical assistant. His main tasks were establishing and maintaining experimental stands, maintaining the laboratory, and public procurement for the department. Since July 2025, he has been working at PEWAS as a production specialist and is responsible for production, storage, and other tasks in the production process.

Marcela Šoltés

Technical assistant

Marcela has strengthened our team as a technical worker. She gained her professional foundation by studying at the Secondary Industrial Chemical School in Šala, which gave her excellent technical background and a sense of precision. She gained valuable experience in the field of warehouse management and logistics, while her professional profile was significantly enriched by a several-year stay in England. It was her experience abroad that taught her a high degree of adaptability, independence and the ability to quickly find her way in a new environment. In our company, we especially appreciate her responsible approach to assigned tasks and her desire to constantly progress in the technical field.

Robert Legro

Member of Advisory Board

Robert Legro has over 40 years of experience in research, product development, quality control, production, and management within seed technology. His expertise covers seed upgrading, disinfection, priming, film coating, encrusting and pelleting, as well as the application of crop protectants and biostimulants. He is an inventor named on multiple patents and has been responsible for managing a global patent portfolio. Bob has extensive experience in implementing seed technology production processes in countries around the world. He has also served as a member of international industry committees, including ISTA’s Advanced Technologies Committee and the Heubach Committee.

Luboš Grepl

Member of Advisory Board

Luboš Grepl is a senior executive with over 35 years of leadership experience across the Central and Eastern European agricultural sector. Known for bridging strategic vision with strong operational execution, he has a proven track record of growing market share and driving profitability for industry-leading organizations. Luboš began his career at Monsanto before joining Syngenta’s European executive leadership team, where he helped steer the company’s regional expansion until 2018. Today, he runs a specialized agricultural consultancy, advising market leaders on complex business transformations while supporting high-growth, innovative startups with go-to-market strategies, strategic partnerships, and cross-border expansion.

Natarajan Balachander

Member of Advisory Board

Natarajan Balachander has close to 30 years of experience in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of new technologies in the agricultural industry. He has unique expertise in aligning technology with market needs across biological products, including biostimulants and biopesticides, as well as crop protection, seed treatments, and polymers. His experience spans both specialty crop and broad-acre markets. Bala has extensive experience in the U.S. and global markets, particularly in the commercialization of new-to-market technologies. His expertise covers all aspects of commercialization, from partner development and technology transfer to successful market introduction.

Francois Collée

Member of Advisory Board

Francois Collée has more than 35 years of experience in the international seed and agricultural industry, with a strong focus on sales, business development, and seed technology. He began his career at Royal Sluis, a private Dutch seed company that also owned Incotec at the time. He later joined Incotec as an Account Manager and progressed to the role of International Sales Manager. He subsequently served as International New Business Development Manager, focusing on identifying and developing new business opportunities in international markets. Today, Frans is involved in investments in Dutch agri-industry companies and provides advisory services to businesses within the agricultural sector.