The 2025 Cyber Leaders cohort gathered in Sofia for their annual offsite, planting oak trees to grow the Acronis Forest as a symbol of sustainable leadership.
Sofia, Bulgaria – 28 May 2025 — Acronis, a global leader in cybersecurity and data protection, brought together over 40 employees from the USA, Singapore, Bulgaria, India, the UK, and other countries — representing a total of 14 nations — for a tree-planting initiative in Kazichene, Bulgaria. On May 16, participants of the Cyber Leaders 2025 program planted 120 oak trees in partnership with local NGO Club 200, marking the beginning of the Acronis Forest and turning a team-building activity into a meaningful symbol of leadership, sustainability, and long-term vision.
The tree planting followed this year’s annual gathering of the 2025 Cyber Leaders cohort, held in Sofia from May 14–16. Cyber Leaders is part of Acronis’ global leadership development program, designed to support high-potential employees through mentorship with senior leaders, executive shadowing, and strategic training. The Sofia event focused on leadership development, emotional intelligence, cross-functional collaboration — and a shared commitment to environmental and social responsibility.
“With Cyber Leaders, we are investing in the future of our company — and the world we all share,” said Alona Geckler, SVP of Business Operations and Chief of Staff at Acronis. “By planting oak trees that will live for centuries, our emerging leaders are embracing what it means to lead with responsibility, purpose, and care for the communities around us.”
The activity was carried out by the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program, in partnership with Club 200, a local NGO focused on long-term environmental initiatives.
Five years ago, a group of friends and I decided to start something that would last— not a short-term project, but something truly long-term,” said Yuri Genov, co-founder of Club 200. “That’s how the idea of growing a forest came to life: a 200-year forest from Bulgarian seeds, for future generations. It’s especially meaningful to collaborate with Acronis again here in Kazichene, where these oak trees will help shield the village from the nearby railway and offer a peaceful green space for the community. We look forward to continuing our partnership in future locations as well.
About Acronis Cyber Foundation Program
The Acronis Cyber Foundation Program is a corporate social responsibility initiative by cybersecurity and data protection company Acronis. Since its launch in 2018, the program has focused on building schools, delivering IT skills training, and supporting humanitarian aid through partnerships with NGOs and government institutions. In 2023, the Foundation expanded its mission to include environmental projects, reflecting Acronis’ growing commitment to long-term, sustainable impact.
About Acronis:
Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. Acronis solutions are highly efficient and designed to identify, prevent, detect, respond, remediate, and recover from modern cyberthreats with minimal downtime, ensuring data integrity and business continuity. Acronis offers the most comprehensive security solution on the market for MSPs with its unique ability to meet the needs of diverse and distributed IT environments.
A Swiss company founded in Singapore in 2003, Acronis has 15 offices worldwide and employees in 50+ countries. Acronis Cyber Protect is available in 26 languages in 150 countries and is used by over 21,000 service providers to protect over 750,000 businesses. Learn more at www.acronis.com.