Michał Sołowow
Founder
Michał Sołowow is Polish businessman, investor and rally driver. He took his first steps in the construction industry, and then for more than 30 years of his activity he created and developed Polish companies in the chemical, ceramic, media, real estate development and catering industries, among others. He invests in technology and biotechnology companies, as well as in renewable energy. He created the largest Polish private industrial group and is the largest Polish private investor abroad.
For many years he was the largest private investor on the nascent Warsaw Stock Exchange. He conducted the largest number of IPOs in Poland, and carried out dozens of M&A transactions at home and abroad (such as acquisitions of chemical plants in Germany, Netherlands and France). As a stock market investor, he multiplied the value of the companies he owned (including Synthos, Cersanit and Barlinek) to the benefit of minority shareholders.
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His capital group includes more than 30 companies in six segments:
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Industrials. The companies operating in this segment are European and global leaders:
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Synthos is the largest producer of EPS in Europe and the second largest producer of synthetic rubber in the world.
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Cersanit is the third largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware and bathroom equipment in Europe.
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Barlinek is the world’s largest producer of natural three-layer wooden floors.
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Green Technologies. The segment includes Synthos Green Energy, focusing on modular reactors and solutions for hydrogen production, and Corab, the largest manufacturer of photovoltaic systems in Central and Eastern Europe.
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Science Technologies. Companies in this segment work on, among other things, innovative solutions for non-invasive heart diagnostics, mRNA therapies and small-molecule drugs that can help treat many previously incurable diseases.
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Disruptive Technology. This segment includes, among others, companies producing industrial 3D printers and high-end repair platforms in the wind energy market, and developing fuel cells, composites and sintering technologies.
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Retail sales. This segment includes Poland's largest chain of stores selling interior design and finishing products.
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Catering and food production. This segment includes, among others, the largest fish and seafood restaurant chain in Poland and the second largest in Europe.
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The group’s companies employ over 16,500 persons, and its products are sold in more than 100 countries around the world. The group is worth more than 26 billion zlotys. The Group, responding to the challenges
of climate change, is actively participating in the energy transition.
In 2019, Synthos Green Energy was the first Polish private company to invest in the nuclear power industry by entering into a strategic partnership with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to deploy BWRX-300 small modular reactors.
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Since 2021, Synthos Green Energy’s strategic Polish partner for the energy transition in Poland has been PKN Orlen. In March 2023, Synthos Green Energy entered into a technical cooperation agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority from the United States and Canada’s Ontario Power Generation, both of which plan to build BWRX-300 reactors in North America. This will allow Poland to learn from the experience of the United States and Canada and build Poland’s first nuclear power plant with SMR technology a few years after those countries.
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