APCO Taps Into New Talent for Technology Lead, Expands Advisory Team in Brussels

BRUSSELS – 12 January 2026: APCO strengthens its Europe offer with senior hires supporting its strategic advisory and advocacy offer in Europe. Tzveta Dryanovska joins as head of the Technology team in Brussels, while APCO’s competition and M&A practice will be supported by senior advisors Per Hellstrom, Luca Polizzi and Nick Woodrow. These additions reflect APCO’s strategic move to meet client needs as it positions itself across Europe and globally. 

Dryanovska brings over a decade of experience shaping policy and corporate narratives across the EU, UK and global policy landscapes. Prior to joining APCO, she served as communications officer at NATO DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic), managing European and UK media engagement. She previously spearheaded EU and UK Tech Public Affairs practices where she led high-stakes campaigns for clients including the Coalition for App Fairness, Spotify, Palo Alto Networks, Lenovo and Ava Labs. Her work contributed to the passage of landmark legislation such as the EU Digital Markets Act and the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.  

Dryanovska began her career working on EU relations with the Eastern Neighbourhood region at the European Commission and the EU Institute for Security Studies and later served as an EU policy officer at a Bulgarian think tank, focusing on integrating Bulgaria’s start-up ecosystem into EU Digital Single Market initiatives.  

Dryanovska commented, “I am excited to join APCO at such a pivotal moment for the technology sector in Europe. APCO’s reputation for excellence in advisory services and its collaborative, forward-thinking culture make it the ideal place to help clients navigate the evolving policy landscape for AI, digital sovereignty and cybersecurity. I look forward to working with our talented team to deliver innovative and impactful solutions for our clients.” 

In addition, APCO welcomed three new senior advisors—Hellstrom Polizzi and Woodrow—to its growing in Brussels focusing on competition and M&A, led by Robert McLeod, as well as energy and tech: 

• Polizzi is a science, energy and climate diplomacy expert with over 20 years of experience shaping international policy, regulation and innovation in the energy transition. His expertise spans EU and global energy finance, regulatory frameworks underpinning the Green Deal and multilateral cooperation across regions including Africa, the Gulf and the Eastern Partnership. 

• Hellstrom brings extensive experience in EU competition law, having served as a senior official at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition and as a leading competition lawyer in private practice. He is recognized for his work on high-profile merger control, antitrust investigations and state aid cases across Europe. 

• Woodrow joins APCO after leading the competition law team at Vodafone Group, where he managed competition law matters across Europe, Africa and beyond. He has overseen major mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, including the Vodafone/Three UK merger and the sale of Vodafone Italy to Swisscom and has secured key victories in European merger appeals. 

“We are delighted to welcome Tzveta, Per, Luca and Nicholas to APCO’s Brussels office,” Carmen Bell, managing director of APCO’s office in Brussels, said. “Their deep policy expertise, combined with their proven ability to navigate complex regulatory environments and deliver impactful strategies, will be invaluable to our clients. Their arrival comes at an exciting time for us in Brussels and will play a key role in our next phase of growth, by providing strategic, integrated counsel at a highly complicated yet important moment for businesses operating in Europe.”