Prof. Dr.Sc. Nikolay Valkanov was elected in 2017 as a Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology. He is a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences. Prof. Valkanov graduated from the University of Mining and Geology in Sofia where he is an honorary professor and the International Academy of Sciences, ManEb, St. Petersburg, Russia. He is a member of the Presidium of the World Mining Congress from 1992 and the Presidium of the International Marshalling Organization. He is a member of the Management Board of the Scientific and Technical Union of Mining, Geology and Metallurgy, Chairman of the Bulgarian Marshider Union and Vice Chairman of the Managing Board of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria.

Prof. Valkanov was the director of the Research Institute for Mining Construction from 1985 to 1990. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Minstroy Holding AD.