BR Events

Mr. BORBÉLY has an extensive expertise in fields such as Global Environment Protection, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Regional Development and Foreign Affairs, especially due to his experience as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Public Works and Regional Planning (1996-2000), Minister-Delegate in the Ministry of Transportation, Constructions and Tourism (2004-2007), Minister of Development, Public Works and Housing (2007-2008) and Minister of Environment and Forests (2010-2012). Starting May 2017 he is a State Counsellor of the prime-minister of Romania on Sustainable Development coordinating the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 at national level.

Lukasz is Head of Business Development in CEE region, Turkey, Greece and Ukraine with primary responsibility for generating new interactive relationships and market outreach. In addition Lukasz also manages relationships with the largest existing S&P clients in the region. Before joining Standard & Poor’s, Lukasz was a Director in the Investment Banking departments at Citigroup (London and Warsaw), Haitong and PKO BP. At Citibank Handlowy he was actively involved in re-establishing investment banking operations in Warsaw.

Thomas E. Lubeck is the Regional Manager for Central and Southeastern Europe at IFC. In this capacity, he oversees IFC activity in 15 IFC member countries including strategy, business and partnership development. He has two decades of successful investing in emerging markets in Southern and Eastern Europe and South Asia. He led innovative projects in capital market development, renewable energy infrastructure and anti-crisis investing in the financial sector. Mr. Lubeck joined IFC in 1997 as an investment analyst and has since worked in Southern Europe, Latin America and South Asia. He holds a Masters in Accountancy from George Washington University in Washington, DC

Mr. Hadjenberg is Argentinian; has been the IMF Resident Representative for Romania and Bulgaria since April 2016. Before he was senior desk economist for Cyprus, where he played an important role in the financial assistance program following the 2013 financial crisis. Mr. Hajdenberg’s previous country experience includes assignments on Hungary, Serbia, Turkey, Colombia, Uruguay and Georgia. Prior to joining the European Department, he spent six years in the Fiscal Affairs Department, where he was involved in a wide range of fiscal policy issues. He has strong analytical skills and a thorough knowledge of IMF policies and procedures.

For 10 years Cristian Nacu has been Partner in Enterprise Investors, one of the largest and oldest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe and he managed EI's Representative Office in Romania. Previously, Cristian Nacu worked as investment professional for over 6 years for International Finance Corporation within the World Bank Group and for two years as top executive for Fondul Proprietatii de Stat, the former governmental privatization agency. He also had a prestigious non-profit activity being board member or chairing many professional or non-profit organizations. He is Chairman of the board of Junior Achievement Romania, one of the world largest educational organization for entrepreneurial skills and has been for many years President of SEEPEA, the South Eastern European private equity association and board member of Nesst Foundation Romania.

Adela Jansen is the standing coordinator of Coaliția pentru Dezvoltarea României, the biggest Romanian business organization. Its main purpose is to provide a cohesive basis for consultation with the Government and other public institutions on topics that impact the business and economic environment in Romania. With an extensive experience in HR, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania (CCIFER) and in some other private associations.

Laurian Lungu is the co-founder of Consilium Policy Advisors Group (CPAG) economic think-tank. He holds a PhD in Economics from Cardiff University, a MA in Economics from University of Liverpool and a MBA degree from the Canadian MBA Program. Previously, he taught at Cardiff University’s Economics department while carrying out applied research in the fields of macroeconomic forecasting, economic policy modelling and international finance. He authored and co-authored a number of articles and analyses published in internationally renowned professional journals and books as well as in the domestic media.

Dr. Daniel Heymann graduated from Rosenheim University, Germany, specializing in Engineering in Wood Technology. In November 2010, he obtained his PhD in Wood and Fiber Technology from the University of Mechanical and Engineering Sciences in Dresden, Germany. After completing his studies, he worked in the research department at Competenz Zentrum Holz GmbH, Vienna, Austria. He joined the DRÄXLMAIER Group in 2008 where he first worked in the department of Technology and Innovation Management in Vilsbiburg, Germany. In 2012, he transferred to the DRÄXLMAIER plant site in Brasov, Romania, to head the Industrial Engineering department. Daniel Heymann was named plant manager of the DRÄXLMAIER site in Brasov in February 2016.

Dan is leading the Marketing department at Google, managing the B2B, B2C and Brand & Reputation initiatives of the company. Prior to joining Google, Dan was Country Manager for BlaBlaCar, the world largest’s carpooling platform, in Romania, Hungary and Croatia. Before that he worked as management consultant for A.T. Kearney and as Head of Special Projects for Ana Holding.

Experienced Country Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the staffing and recruiting industry, Florin graduated Management and Economics specialization at West University of Timisoara (1996 – 1999). He completed his studies in Lausanne, at the International Institute for Management Development (2008-2010). Florin is a strong sales professional, skilled in: Negotiation, Outplacement, Business Planning, HR Consulting and Coaching. Florin Godean leads the Adecco team in Romania since 2010. He has been with the company ever since it entered the Romanian market in 2000 (Timisoara). He ensured that all internal processes have a foundation for a healthy and efficient growth. In 2011, when he has been assigned as the Country Manager of Adecco Romania, the company took over the leadership of the national HR services market.

Sorin Mindrutescu is the Country Leader for Oracle Romania, as of February 2008. In this role, he is responsible for local sales and project delivery. In this position he has the responsibility to coordinate Oracle's business on the Romanian market as well as to coordinate technical support and support services for customers in Romania and abroad.

Bogdan Popescu is the Marketing and Operations Director and Interim GM of Microsoft Romania. In his primary role, Bogdan is responsible for the implementation of all marketing programs Microsoft is running in Romania, in close coordination with other global initiatives, as well as for all product related activities, aimed to promote and explain to various industry verticals the opportunities and the benefits these products can bring to their operations.

He started his career in 2005, as instructor within CATC Romania. During the same period he worked with Bucharest Polytechnic University, as university assistant. Between 2006 and 2007 he occupied the network specialist position within Ness Technologies, where he was responsible for supporting the sales team in what regards promoting and selling the Cisco products and solutions. In 2007 and 2008 he graduated a Cisco Sales Associate Program in Amsterdam and continued within the team as networking consultant engineer. Between 2009 and 2010 he worked for Romtelecom and then returned to Cisco as Account Manager.

Shibu Nambiar is a global services executive with over 20 years of experience in business operations, project management, transformation, digital technologies and delivery center set ups. He currently leads a team of over 6000+ professionals across 10 delivery centers in Europe, providing business process management, consulting and digital transformation services for a wide range of industries. Shibu is a promoter of digital transformation strategy, he supports advanced technology deployed on the processes, in order to deliver outstanding experiences for customers and enhanced employees’ experience.

Philippe’s role in Capgemini involves managing Romanian operations and business development on the local market, but also providing services in other European & North American countries with Romanian expertise. He is in charge with the strategy and coordination of the local management team. Philippe managed 3 different IT & Consulting companies in Romania in the last 14 years

Claudiu is an advisor (VP Connections) with projects and experience in entrepreneurship, media and governmental institutions. RISERS NET is a startup-founder community built around experienced professionals trying to build their own business

Prof. Dr. Jörg K. Menzer coordinates Noerr's CEE practice for international clients. He specializes in M&A transactions, and concentrates on structuring major foreign investments and business expansion projects in CEE. He has extensive experience in acquisitions and greenfield investments, based on his knowledge of the business and legal environment in CEE and his excellent networking in the region. In addition, Jörg K. Menzer has worked on many restructurings, private equity investments and capital measures, as well as for public listed companies.

Ioan Cocan is a tech entrepreneur with more than 18 years' experience in software engineering and management. After a career as a software consultant and inspired by his Silicon Valley startup working experience, he co-founded Tremend in 2005. As Managing Partner, he helped grow Tremend's business from a small consulting shop to a 200+ people organization. Tremend has clients in over 15 countries and is frequently featured in various industry rankings such as Deloitte Technology Fast 50 (fastest Romanian company in 2016), FT 1000 and Inc 5000.Aside from software management, Ioan is interested in organizational development, constantly learning from the Romanian community or while visiting various clients. He is an avid reader and an active promoter of Romanian values.

Valeriu Binig is a Senior Advisor within the Advisory Department in EY Bucharest. Valeriu has 32 years of professional experience in the energy sector and he joined EY in 2014, after 6 years as Corporate Finance Director with Deloitte. Former Deputy General Director for Development,Member of the Board of Administration of RENEL/CONEL (1997 – 2000); Chairman of the Board of Administration for Electrica and Termoelectrica (1998-2000). Has held project management positions in strategic projects dedicated to privatization and attraction of investors in the Romanian energy sector.

Sebastian Popescu is a member of the Romanian Chamber of Financial Auditors and the Romanian Association of Management Consultants. Mr. Popescu has extensive experience in practice areas such as business valuation, financial due diligence, financial auditing according to IFRS, US/German GAAP and Romanian standards, and financial reporting. In cooperation with our specialised state aid team, he has successfully advised on various greenfield investments and expansion projects in Romania and Hungary.

Claudiu Craciun is Lecturer in European Politics, Faculty of Political Science, SNSPA. He has been involved in various civic and environmental campaigns. From 2009 he serves as expert for the European Economic and Social Committee.

Alexandru joined Bankwatch Romania in 2015 to run the national campaign on coal power plants and mines. His interests expanded to solutions for the energy system and for the people, becoming CEE Bankwatch's Just Transition Coordinator in 2017 and supporting the network's campaign in six European countries. He has a degree in International Relations and European Studies.

Alina Andrei is partner at Cabot Transfer Pricing, the transfer pricing company affiliated to Biriș Goran. Alina has experience in the preparation of transfer pricing files since 2008, the year of the publication of Order no. 222 / 2008 on transfer prices. Up to present, Alina has assisted over 100 local and European companies with the preparation and documentation of transfer pricing files and has advised over 20 companies during TP file audits. Alina is a member of the Romanian Chamber of Tax Consultants and has recently graduated the Executive MBA program at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Sebastian Burduja is a development advisor and entrepreneur with significant experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He is the Managing Partner of RISE Consortium, a global network company supporting foreign investments in Romania. His areas of focus include: regional and urban development, corporate and public governance, and infrastructure projects. From 2012 through 2016, he served as a Regional Development Specialist for the World Bank in Washington D.C., focusing on Europe and Central Asia. Previously, he worked as a Consultant for Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a strategic advisory firm specializing in development solutions. He has also worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, McKinsey & Co., and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Catalina is Global Presales Director for Cybersecurity Services Atos. Additionally, she runs the operations of Atos IT Solutions and Services Romania since February 2014. With an experience of over 19 years in IT, previous to being appointed Country Manager, Catalina managed the System Integration division of Atos Romania, and before that, she was Director of Product Management at Bitdefender. Catalina holds a degree in Economics from the Faculty of Cybernetics, Statistics and Economic Informatics of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, as well as a Master degree in IT Project Management. In 2007 she graduated the Romanian-Canadian MBA program.

Radu truly believes in the power of technology to change the world. He founded QUALITANCE in 2007 with Ioan Iacob and has been coordinating the company’s operations ever since. At the same time, he has been involved in mentoring the new generations of experts as a professor at Cybernetics/Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.

Oana is General Manager of ASBIS, the IT distribution company that represents, for 20 years in Romania, the business of ASBIS Enterprise. Locally, the company had a turnover of more than 200 million RON and is a trusted partner for over 1500 companies in 3 major business segments: retail - online (consumer focus), traditional resellers (partners with a mixed business model) and partners that focus exclusively on B2B solutions integrators.

Florin is the president of Young Leaders Club an organization of students and entrepreneurs dedicated to finding the most promising graduates and startups and help them achieve their potential by leveraging a global network of amazing people. Currently YLC runs two programs: YLC Finance, dedicated to the best and brightest in finance & economics looking to jumpstart their international career, and YLC Entrepreneurship, a program bridging startups in the CEE with world class accelerators.

Daniela is Program Director at Academy+Plus, coding school, tuition free, part of the international network 42. From this position, Daniela developed IT educational products, mentorship programs, exchange programs between trainees and IT companies and revenue streams. Prior to that, Daniela held several positions in marketing, brand management, business development across various industries such as IT, pharmaceutical and advertising. In 2015, Daniela graduated an ExMBA programme from ESCP Europe and she is licensed in Marketing.

Catalin Gavrila graduated the Academy of Economic Studies, BSc in Marketing, holding an MBA in Finance and is currently Head of Land Development department. His area of expertise includes investments in real estate markets, financial modelling, sales management, as well as marketing. Catalin joined the Crosspoint team in 2014, taking several roles within different departments in order to get a holistic perspective on the market. For a period, he was in charge with the expansion strategies of the firm’s major retail accounts, with direct involvement on land development sites, identifying desired locations, managing the acquisition process, coordinating the filling of urban plans and bringing together mixed teams of surveyors, agents, architects and urban planners.

Entrepreneur at heart, full-stack marketer and experienced people & projects manager, Irina Scarlat has 10+ years of business experience, 7 of them in tech, product marketing & managing teams. She currently leads Revolut's operations in Romania and is committed to putting Romanians back in control of their money. Before joining forces with Revolut, she has been leading the marketing efforts of Uber in Romania, shaping the local strategy and working on strategic regional projects & initiatives. During her time at Uber she has launched 3 cities, scaled the market to 1M users and built the marketing team from scratch. She is a global citizen that has been living, studying & working in seven cities across Europe and the United States and she speaks four foreign languag

Cătălin is Account Manager at Mastercard Romania since 2016. He joined Mastercard from Mastercard Advisors and has previous experience in project management, management consulting and FMCG. Cătălin manages business relationships with several traditional Mastercard partners in Romania, while also supporting internal strategic projects. As a management consultant, Cătălin worked on projects in Romania and abroad, dealing mostly with financial institutions, utility companies and FMCG. He is a graduate of the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the Polytechnics University of Bucharest, with a specialization in Industrial Engineering.

Dragoș, Tax Partner, has over 23 years’ experience in tax consultancy, mainly in the private sector, but he has also served as President of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) and Director of the Department of Legislation and Direct Taxation within the Ministry of Public Finance. Since joining KPMG he has been instrumental in building the leading Tax Consulting practice in Romania. He has worked with clients from numerous sectors and industries, using his detailed knowledge of legislation and of Romania’s fiscal administration.

Ionut Constandache holds the position of Senior Dealer within the local branch of Ebury Romania. Ionut Constandache has a 10-year experience in the banking sector and is specialized in treasury sales and loans to SME working with OTP bank & Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania. In the Ebury Senior Dealer position, he is responsible for providing customized foreign exchange (FX) risk management solutions to corporate clients involved in global trade so that his clients can benefit, control and / or limit the impact of currency volatility on their company’s profit margin.

Mihai Zaharia is Director of Investments and Capital Markets at Globalworth since the beginning of 2018. He has an experience of 15 years in the banking sector, period during which Mihai held a series of positions in different companies. Before joining Globalworth team, he was Head of Project Finance Department in OTP Bank Romania’s Corporate Banking Division for 9 years, managing the activity of the Head Office team and the Corporate Coordinators from 12 countries. During the time he was part of OTP Bank team, he also held the positions of Senior Project Manager and Relationship Manager, having a focus on projects targeting the real estate sector. Mihai has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems and a master’s degree in Information System in Economics from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies.

With over 17 years of experience in the financial and banking system in Romania, Flavia has been active throughout the career in the field of legal advice, leasing and banking. He started his career as a lawyer and then went through stages and involved in all areas of legal activity in a bank, from legal advice to lending, leasing or market operations to legal assistance in litigation, recovery or governance. From 2012, Flavia is Secretary General of BRD. As such, it coordinates various areas such as communication and quality, corporate governance, etc.

Co-founder of Catalyst Solutions, Dragos has over 10 years of experience in Human Resources field, Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing. During his career, he has worked with local and multinational companies from various industries: telecommunications and technology, FMCG, consulting, banking, engineering, retail and BPO. He has a deep understanding of business dynamics and challenges and has the capacity to design tailored solutions in order to meet the company's employer branding and recruitment needs.

As the director of Visteon’s Technical Center in Sofia, Bulgaria, Ivan Mihaylov leads engineering operations at the site and is responsible for growing the facility into Visteon’s largest software development center globally. He is also the Chairman of the Board of the Automotive Cluster in Bulgaria, a non-profit organization which represents the interests of automotive manufacturers, suppliers and organizations providing services for the automotive industry. Mihaylov has more than 15 years of experience in IT, telecommunications, utilities and automotive businesses. He holds a master’s degree in technology commercialization from University of Texas, a master’s degree in management from Sofia University and a master’s degree in computer science from the Technical University in Sofia

More than 30 years of full-time experience in the oil & gas industry, with 26 years offshore in various positions spanning Central and Eastern Europe, Black Sea, West and North Africa, Mediterranean Sea and North Sea, Brazil and Persian Gulf. In possession of a broad experience in all HSE aspects of the E&P operations in the domestic and international petroleum industry, doubled by significant experience in management, operations and coordination. Leading the development and implementation of the integrated HSEQ Management System for GSP group of companies since 2006. In September 2014, included in the Group of Initiative established by the Government of Romania for the transposing of the Offshore Safety Directive.

Codruta is the founder and festival director of ARTmania, one of Romania's most established events with its 14th edition scheduled for 2019, promoting mainly rock acts. She is also director and founder of Blaj aLive Festival, launched in 2013, which focuses on alternative and electronic music. These two boutique festivals are hosted in Transylvania, the western, historical region of Romania.

With +12 years experience in communication and an extended expertise in brand and corporate PR, as well as CSR and digital PR, Irina manages today Golin`s team of more than +40 PR experts. Also, she is coordinating the work for over 30 companies and brands, local and multinational, and leading award winning campaigns for over 6 years in Golin, the relevance agency that puts strategic and creative thinking at work for its clients, has excellence and performance at its heart and never thinks “this is impossible”.

Andrei Cosuleanu is Executive Director at Let's Do It, Romania!, a movement which has changed the perception of volunteering in Romania since 2010 and has mobilized over 1,100,000 volunteers. Andrei is considered to be a civil society man being involved as a volunteer since high school, he has made a career in this field.

Codruta Vulcu is the Founder and Festival Director of ARTmania Festival, one of Romania's most established events, promoting mainly rock & metal acts. In 2014 the Blaj aLive Festival was launched with focus on alternative and electronic music. These two medium sized festivals with more than 10,000 attendees per edition are organized in Transylvania, the western historical region of Romania.

Know how, courage and creativity – marketing explorer are the words which better define Hanny Bratu as marketing and communication professional.
Hanny is specialized in marketing and communication management and works with visionary organizations in Romania to help them achieve their mission in a sustainable and responsible manner.

The first green matter involving Zoli is supporting the ban on cyanide in mining in Romania alongside the Cyanide-free Romania Coalition in 2007, including Greenpeace Romania. Continue to support the cause of environmental protection with WWF DCP Romania as Ambassador Earth Hour (2009), MaiMultVerde Association, Let's Do It, Romania! and the Recolamp Association.

After 10 years of activity at Recolamp, a responsibility organization responsible for lighting equipment, where the last position held was the Chief Executive Officer, Roxana decided to accept the packaging waste management challenge, and since March 2018 she has the position of
Marketing, Communication & Corporate Affairs Manager at FEPRA International.

Ionut Georgescu is a waste expert with more than 20 years’ experience in entrepreneurship and 15 years in Waste Management, established in California in 2017. He started his activities in waste management and environmental protection in NGOs, the wish to change the system into a better one for the future, made him accept the job offered by the Romanian Environmental Minitry. His vision and technical knowledge lead him to become one of the most proficient businessman in the environmental field.

Nicoleta has been leading the 10-year Media Image Factory, an agency specializing in communicating social projects. In 2009 he founded Guerilla Verde, the first environmentally-friendly educational film caravan in Romania, presenting environmental documentary films.Through an Eco-Mentor program developed jointly by the companies, employees give young people a career outlook in Smart City - the city of the future, where knowledge about ecology and green technologies are indispensable. In 2017 he founded the GreenTech Film Festival, a documentary film festival devoted to green technologies, which aims to inform the general public about the opportunities that technology offers - from electric cars, solar panels or energy-efficient houses.

I am a communicator who strongly believes in building sustainable businesses and in their authentic communication. I started my career more than 20 years ago and gained experience in strategy, media relations, internal communication, employer branding, BTL, CSR, and in trade union relations. I have succeeded in communicating with Connex and Michelin Romania and the Balkans, or for massive media groups such as Media Pro and Intact Media Group. I have completed my experience with two interludes in the agencies. For over a year and a half, I have been Head of Communication & CSR at Lidl Romania and I coordinate corporate communication and PR, social media, internal communication, employeer branding and CSR.

Beatrice Gabor, communication practitioner, co-founded MAINOI, a Romanian NGO active in environmental protection, alternative education and cultural promotion to encourage people to manifest their authenticity and empower them to become agents of change for sustainable development. Pioneering green events management in Romania, since 2014, Beatrice manages the sustainability programme at Electric Castle music festival, shortlisted in 2016 and 2017 for the European Green Operations Award, and in 2015 winner of the runner-up position in the EE Music Star Festival at the Energy Efficiency Music Awards in Barcelona. Through the Music Drives Change campaign, Beatrice engages with artists to raise awareness on the powerful role of music in shaping behaviours. World-class artists, among which Trentemøller, Alt-J, Asian Dub Foundation, The Cat Empire, Nightmares on Wax, Dub Pistols, The Subways, have already endorsed calls-to-action for sustainability.

Laura Coroianu began her career in television, where she worked firstly in the capacity of editor and presenter, before turning her talents to producer, a role that saw her managing artists attending the internationally renowned Golden Stag Festival. She spent ten years living and working abroad, where she met her current life and business partner, Belgian-born Guido Janssens, with whom she set-up an events and music consultancy company in the Netherlands. Having implemented several successful collaborations in Romania, Laura and Guido made the decision to relocate to the country, and in 2005, Emagic opened for business in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. For seven years, Emagic organised B'estfest, the biggest music festival in Romania at that time, and then in 2017, they embarked on a brand new challenge bringing a new boutique art and musical experience to Romanian audiences with AWAKE Festival (awakefestival.ro). AWAKE Festival offers festivalgoers three full days of music, art and nature at the incredible location of Teleki Estate in Gorneşti, Mureş County, august 17-19, 2018.

Hans Klemm has been US ambassador to Romania since September 2015. Previously, he served as acting director general of the Department of State; the Senior US Official to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum; coordinator of all U.S. civilian and military rule of law programs in Afghanistan; and as the US ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.

As a coach and consultant, Gordon supports visionary leaders in transforming their organizations and in producing breakthroughs in individual, team and organizational performance. He is bringing in additional resources in what they want to accomplish, drawing upon their cadre of outstanding senior consulting colleagues, whose approach is harmonious with his own and whose ability to perform is second to none. He is the founder of Starr Consulting Group, partner of The London Perret Roche Group (consulting firm specializing in organizational transformation) and senior executive of ComputerLand Corporation.

At the age of 33, Anubhav “AJ” Jain – a serial entrepreneur who ‘cut his teeth’ in Australia – has achieved an enviable level of success steering companies in a range of markets, including computer hardware, mobile apps, medtech and health products. Jain’s latest venture is GoDoctor, an online network he co-founded with his friends Rahul Shokeen and Nalin Ahuja in April 2015. Headquartered in Singapore, with offices in the UAE, India, and the US, the company is – in Jain’s words – “like LinkedIn and Facebook but exclusively for collaboration and knowledge sharing in the global medical community

Mark is a strategist, author, and entrepreneur. His work combines collective intelligence with AI, networks, complex systems, behavioral science and neuroscience. He works at the intersection of business, technology and society in areas including innovation, blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Mark is the CEO and founder of Vork, a business social networking app. He also founded Orcasci, a consulting firm designing scaling strategies with recent clients including the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize. Previously Mark co-founded Imaginatik plc, a pioneer in crowdsourcing and collaborative problem solving for innovation.

Kirk A. Sigmon is an intellectual property lawyer at Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., a leading intellectual property law firm in the United States. Kirk has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in multimillion-dollar patent and trademark infringement lawsuits, has counseled Fortune 500 companies on intellectual property portfolio management and enforcement, and has worked on patent applications involving everything from video games to sensors used on the Mars rover.

Veronica Brejan is Executive Coach and Co-Founder at Fly Through Life®, a consulting company based in Paris operating across Europe, specialized in developing transformational leadership programs. Before co-founding Fly Through Life®, Veronica held top HR positions in London, Paris and Eastern Europe: Chief People Officer Europe (Pizza Hut, Yum! Brands), Global Head of Talent (Vodafone) and Senior Manager Talent, Capability & Culture (Vodafone), and internal HR advisor roles in KPMG, Cargill and Alstom. Her areas of expertise are: executive coaching, leadership development, talent management and organizational culture.

Arnaud Complainville is Research and Strategy Director, and co-founder at Fly Through Life®, a consulting company based in Paris, operating across Europe, specialized in developing transformational leadership programs.He has both a scientific background, with a master from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon and a PhD in biology, and a business background, with an MBA from HEC Paris. Before co-founding Fly Through Life®, Arnaud worked as a strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, and held several Senior Executive positions in the pharmaceutical sector, in strategy and Business Development (Cephalon, LFB, Therabel).

Ahmed worked for Orange telecom for 5 years in his early experience in the field of customer interface and business planning and transformation. He finished his MBA with excellent grade at 2009, having his own experience in consultation services of multinational organizations. His area of expertise are strategic planning, project management, performance management, ISO standards, and customer experience. Designed a successful management system awarded ISO9001:2008 from TUV Germany. He was judge member at Demo Africa Innovation Tour in conjunction with TIEC Incubation programs and active member of Hive Global Leaders Program.

Radu Georgescu is Founding Partner at Gecad Ventures. With over 20 years’ experience in creating and building companies, his primary focus is on Software, Internet, eCommerce. Some of the most successful exits that Radu Georgescu was part of include acquisition of Vector Watch by Fitbit in 2016, Avangate by Francisco Partners in 2013, ePayment by Naspers in 2010 and RAV antivirus by Microsoft in 2003. He is also Board Director and Adviser to a number of technology companies.

Ionut Georgescu is a waste expert with more than 20 years’ experience in entrepreneurship and 15 years in Waste Management, established in California in 2017. He started his activities in waste management and environmental protection in NGOs, the wish to change the system into a better one for the future, made him accept the job offered by the Romanian Environmental Minitry. His vision and technical knowledge lead him to become one of the most proficient businessman in the environmental field.

Co-founder of Entrepreneurs' Organization Chapter (EO) in Romania at the beginning of 2016. The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) - for entrepreneurs only - is a dynamic, global network of more than12,000 business owners in 40 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life (www.eonetwork.org). Founder of Intelligence, a Romanian IT company with a 60+ dedicated engineers that designs, builds and delivers best-in-class advanced analytics, business intelligence and digital experiences to help organizations achieve sustainable impact www.intelactsoft.com

Dan is a highly experienced senior executive with an excellent track record as CEO in IT&C, with multiple M&A missions, various Non-Exec Board and Advisory roles. Dan has been part of the executive board / Leadership Team of Microsoft Romania, after running the DX Team responsible for Start-ups and ISVs. After 12 years as CEO of GTS in Romania, Bulgaria & Moldova, of kpnQwest Romania, and 1 year as M&A and Business Development Director of UPC / LGI, Dan migrated from corporate world to Adviser, Board Director and/or Investor roles, in a number of tech start-ups. Dan is a well-known investor in a number of High Tech Start-ups, having a deep and broad understanding of High Tech and its trends, with extensive experience in Deal origination, M&A transactions, business turnaround and ventures acceleration.

Sergiu is a Business Growth Consultant and Associated Dean with Maastricht School of Management in Romania. He coaches and mentors entrepreneurs. Sergiu is an active Business Angel, with participations in a number of high growth local companies (frufru, Softelligence, 2parale, Hart, Intermedicas). Previously, Sergiu has been the Executive Director and Board Member of PE-owned REGINA MARIA in Romania, where he coordinated a growing healthcare business (12x in 6 years) and an expanding team of professionals, including acquisitions of smaller players. Before returning to Romania, Sergiu has worked for Amgen Inc, in Austria and Switzerland, playing an active role in the company’s expansion to CEE countries.

Claudiu Vrinceanu, co-founder of VP Connections, is a communication and investment consultant with a backround in media and business. He acts as a PR, Public Affairs and investment specialist for Romanian entrepreneurs and foreign companies. Claudiu graduated in Economics at ASE Bucharest and Political Sciences at SNSPA University. He studied a professional EMBA at Maastricht School of Management. As a deputy minister of Ministry of Economy, he managed Invest Romania, the foreign investment promotion agency, part of the Government of Romania, and also he was in charge with SME’s and Tourism programs and public policies. Claudiu Vrinceanu managed Wall-Street.ro, a business magazine focused on entrepreneurship, and organized many business events for entrepreneurs and investors.

Andreea Raicu, founder and CEO of andreearaicu.ro, is a Romanian TV personality with over 20 years of professional experience. Since 2010, she developed her activities as healthy living promoter. Public speaker and author, she performed at various TEDx talks. As certified holistic counselor and mind & body coach, she runs meditation & mindfulness workshops in a corporate environment.

Emanuele is an expert in the fields of collective intelligence, business modeling and social impact. He has pioneered application of open strategies and collaborative business planning, combining online crowdsourcing tools with tailored design thinking frameworks for the innovation programs of universities, accelerators networks and corporations in 4 continents.

Co-founder & CEO at Appticles.com - a multi-channel mobile publishing platform that helps digital publishers of all sizes (professional bloggers, newspapers or magazines) to better reach and engage their mobile users.

Daniel has a passion for electronics and a PhD in IoT and WSN for health-care. He is Lecturer in the Computer Science Department, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, specialized on hardware design and wearable devices, and the coordinator of CISL Applied Electronics and Hardware design Laboratory. Daniel is also one of the first wizards of Innovation Labs and current program manager for the largest pre-accelerator program in Romania. In 2015 Daniel was part of Forbes' 30under30, while in 2016 Daniel mentored team ENTy - the winner of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Seattle '16 international competition.

Entrepreneur focused on building software solution in travel, automotive, GPS, Navigation and Mobile with extensive experience in outsourcing for automotive, travel and hospitality industry.

As co-founder of BOGDAN & VAN BROECK, Oana Bogdan has been questioning the traditional role of the architect, advocating new ways of looking at how to organise the spatial presence of mankind. Next to that, she is member of the Unesco Experts Committee for the City of Bruges and a regular jury member for awards and architecture competitions. Oana has been guest tutor at various architecture programs at the University of Leuven, member of the Advisory Committee for Architecture and Design of the Flemish Government and of the Royal Committee for Monuments and Landscapes of the Flemish Region. She won Europan 7 in 2004 and the Bucharest Architecture Bienale in 2010, and has been twice nominated for the Mies Van der Rohe Award.

Diana Popp is a Co-founder & Vice President of Smart Everything Everywhere (SEE); she was a Counselor – Chancellery of the Prime-Minister of Romania. She worked with EU Commission’s Directorate General Communication Networks, Content and Technology in Brussels on innovation hubs and technology’s impact on democracy. She also worked with Junior Achievement Romania where she was in charge with the entrepreneurship learning by doing programs and publications.

She’s young and courageous and she’s building a career in product management. after 3 years in a corporate environment she decided that entrepreneurship fits her better. she start making ideas happen, tackling the social area and evolving towards the edgy tech startup scene. An educational AI conversational robot called Woogie is the most recent project, the one that moved her life almost 1 year to London to attend an international IoT accelerator. she came back with a failed crowdfunding campaign, yet no regrets and tons of learning.

Paula Rusu has dedicated her life to activism and to raising public awareness about how the Romanian medical system must better address the issue of tuberculosis, or TB. Paula previously had a successful journalism career, including as a TV anchor and producer.

Food blogger, semi-finalist of Bake off Romania, creator and owner of laprajiturela.ro
Over the past 3 years laprajiturela.ro has been in the top 30 most influential food blogs in Romania

Edy Chereji is one of the people who created and nurtured UNTOLD, the best European festival but also the newest festival organized by the Black Sea, NEVERSEA. Edy is Head of Marketing & Communications and leads the mark-comm division of both festivals, a young and creative team, where the average age is 30 years old! How did he managed to run some of the best festivals in Europe? After 6 years of being marketing manager and part of the management team of some of the most important projects of IuliusGroup in Romania, he wanted to become an entrepreneur and started, in 2013, THE PLAN COMMUNICATIONS, a company specialized in retail marketing, communication and events.

Alex Dona has been the managing partner of satire website Times New Roman since 2012. He has worked for many years in sales, for companies such as Audionova, and then in the media field at The Money Channel, Telesport and Sanoma Hearst. He also hosted a radio show at Rock FM.

Razvan Crisan is co-founder and CEO of M60 Group comprising M60 Face, Kane and M60 Space. The group was founded in 2014. For more than 12 years, he has been involved in entrepreneurship projects.

Andrei Botescu is the man behind the revival of the iconic Pegas bicycle, many a Romanian’s favorite childhood buddy. Relaunched in 2012, under his supervision, in 2017 the company managed to get a complete portfolio for each and every category of bike, from urban to e-bikes. Moreover, it launched Romania’s first electric bikes, as well as several brands for other outdoor products such as vintage skates, electric transportation – electric scooter and electric longboard, and kendamas. Last year Pegas launched three new mono-stores in Bucharest, Timisoara and Ramnicu Valcea.

Ramona Predescu (Iacob) manages IWG operations in Romania, the group who owns flexible workspace concepts Regus and SPACES and the creator of the 'workspace revolution' concept. Prior to her current position, Ramona developed a extensive experience with IWG in Romania, as out of her 10 years’ experience with Regus, she has spent the last 5 as Country Manager of the company. Currently, Ramona manages the implementation of SPACES, the Amsterdam-born creative workspace pioneer, which is opening its first two locations in Bucharest at Unirii View Tower with 3000 m2 (1st, 2nd and 3rd floor) on Corneliu Coposu Bd. 6-8; and Campus 6, with 3100 m2 (1st and 2nd floor) on Iuliu Maniu 6 Bd.

Tamina is a young architect and partner at Wolfhouse Productions design studio. During her architectural studies, she had international learning and professional experiences in Belgium and Shanghai. In 2012, she was a member of Calup project, a series of cultural events aiming at temporary reconversion of unused buildings of Bucharest. In 2015, Tamina co-founded Nod makerspace. While in 2016, she co-founded Grassrouts/La firul ierbii, a public debate center

Corina Angelescu is a Learning Designer at The Alternative University in Bucharest, a community for young people who are eager to take the responsibility of their own learning journeys. In contrast with the classical approach to education, they are building a university run by students, where they are replacing standardisation, control and competition with self directed learning, collaboration and hands on challenges. While The Alternative University reflects her passion for quality education and learning, Corina is also coordinating Social Impact Award in Romania, an international competition for young people who want to address the most pressing social issues through social entrepreneurship.

Flavia has studied at the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan and has returned to Romania, keen on promoting local design at an international level. After working for several years as an Interior Designer in Milan and Bucharest, she has decided to embark on an entrepreneurial journey and partnered with her best friend and interior designer Andreea Batros to launch the Dare to Rug brand in 2015.
Dare to Rug is the first Romanian design brand that creates hand-tufted rugs, mixing craft and design inspired by traditional patterns. Dare to Rug has positioned itself as a creative brand that has the courage to engage in bold projects that fit its artistic core.

Oana is a Partner at Business Review, the leading english news platform in Romania. Oana is an optimist by definition, an enthusiastic professional and an entrepreneur at heart. For the past decade, Oana held senior roles in the publishing, advertising and event management industries. Recently Oana has been active in the blockchain industry and decentralisation movement, putting together blockchain conferences all over the world.

International tech entrepreneur, Stanford University alumna, and Forbes “30 under 30” innovator to watch, I specialise in new business creation, and product and service innovation. My background is in applied mathematics, and I recently founded a consulting company. Previously worked in EdTech/Future of Work, founded a technology start-up accelerator, and consulted and advised early stage start-ups and corporations in 10+ industries.

George Georgescu is the co-founder and CEO the Romanian e-health start-up Connected Medical Devices trough which he is bringing to the market The Human Link solution, aimed to better the lives of Alzheimer’s disease patients and their families. He has lead the company from the ideea, trough MVP, to product and sales by creating the team, signing partnerships and securing investments.He has a large experience in engineering, sales and management in both Romanian companies and large corporations. At the beginning of this year, George won the Changeneers Challange.

Gabriel is the CEO in Tapptitude and Marketing Associate in Spherik Accelerator. With over 10 years of digital experience, Gabriel has been at the intersection between marketing and product, for the last 5 years with a steady focus to help startup founders build better products and build sustainable businesses around them. Currently, Gabriel is the CEO of Tapptitude, a product agency focused on building mobile products.

Radu truly believes in the power of technology to change the world. He founded QUALITANCE in 2007 with Ioan Iacob and has been coordinating the company’s operations ever since. At the same time, he has been involved in mentoring the new generations of experts as a professor at Cybernetics/Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.

Partner, 3TS Capital is a serial entrepreneur and business-angel with successful investments in Romania and other CEE countries. Currently handling a portfolio of 10 companies for the Romanian VC fund of 3TS Capital, Catalyst Romania Fund. Co-Founder VentureConnect and SchoolforStartups Romania, president of the Romanian Association of Online Stores. Author of “Entrepreneurship”, first Romanian entrepreneurship book, one of the Romanian Dragons from the TV show Dragons’ Den. Organizer of the Intensive Entrepreneurship Course and co-organizer of the BusinessDrive mini-MBA program, professor of Entrepreneurship .“Investor of the Year Romania” 2016 and 2017 award by Central European Startup Awards

Eduard has joined Danone Romania since 2013 as a Milk Sourcing Manager after a 2 years experience in Vietnam as Country Manager for a Fresh Food Danish Company. He is leading the Milk Sourcing Department in Romania and one of the unique entrepreneurial dairy projects in Europe - Chance for All.

Entrepreneur and mentor, Vlad successfully introduced the co-working concept in Romania in 2012, as co-founder and CEO of Impact Hub Bucharest. Having a strong background in marketing and business development, Vlad is passionate in supporting other entrepreneurs and start-ups in structuring their business model and development strategy. He is currently involved in starting a new company, 3house, aiming in creating a new human-centric business model for co-working and shared office spaces.

George Berar is an entrepreneur with a passion for successfully building a wide array of companies from start-up to exit. Beginning in Eastern Europe as a business owner with dreams of success in Romania, to his founding of a US-based international angel investment organization Benevolent Generation with offices in Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Dublin, Bucharest, and Hyderabad India. George embodies a perspective that is at the core of his company’s success: a deep belief in the unstoppable power of a good idea when paired with the right team and resources.