INNOWAVE SUMMIT 2022 SPEAKERS

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  MARIYA GABRIEL

  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth

  Mariya Gabriel is the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth since 2019 and former European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society (2017 - 2019). The overall objective of her overarching portfolio aims at the full realization of the Digital Single Market. Her strategic vision has consistently placed European citizens at the center of the policies, helping them acquire digital skills to succeed in the digital transformation process. She has focused her efforts on putting forward an ambitious digital programme in the context of the next MFF, investing in HPC, AI, cyber security, but also the creative, audio-visual industries and media, bringing benefits to all European citizens. She has extensively engaged with external EU partners to enhance digital cooperation, in particular with the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region.
  Mariya Gabriel served as Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to July 2017. Being the EPP Group Vice-President, she tackled issues related to EU enlargement, Mediterranean region, Middle East and Africa and focused on priorities, e.g. security, migration, women issues. Mariya Gabriel also has considerable achievements in the area of the EU visa policy - she is the EP rapporteur on 1/3 of all EU visa liberalisation agreements.
  She was awarded twice the prestigious prize "MEP of the year" - in 2016 for the Development category, and in 2013 for the Gender equality category. She is the 2018 winner of the prize "Tecnovisionarie" awarding excellence in research, technology, innovation, and business. In 2017 she was honored with the Royal Spanish Order of Civil Merit for her contribution to the foreign relations of the country and 2016 - with the Columbian Order of San Carlos for merits to the country in international relations and diplomacy.

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  Emil Boc

  Mayor of Cluj-Napoca

  Emil Boc is the Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the most important city of Romania, outside the capital, in terms of size and economic development. Major in Law and also in History and Philosophy, Emil Boc has a PhD in Political Science and Political Philosophy.
  
  Mr Boc was also the president of the Democratic Liberal Party, which proposed and supported him as Prime Minister in late 2008, from December 2004 until June 2012.
  
  He served as Prime Minister of Romania from December 2008 to February 2012, during one the most difficult economic times in post-communist Romania, managing to avoid the global crisis in risks for the country.

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  Rumen Radev

  President of the Republic of Bulgaria

  Rumen Georgiev Radev was born on June 18, 1963, in Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria. He is a Bulgarian politician and former major general who is the current president of Bulgaria since January 22, 2017. He graduated from the Georgi Benkovski Bulgarian Air Force University in 1987 as the top graduate. In 1992, he graduated from the US Air Force Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB. From 1994 to 1996, he studied at the Rakovski Defence and Staff College, where he was also the top graduate. He holds a Doctor of Military Sciences degree in the field of improvement of tactical training of flight crews and simulation of air combat. In 2003 he graduated from Air War College at Maxwell AFB in the United States with a Master of Strategic Studies with honors. He speaks Bulgarian, English, Russian and German.

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  Nicolae Ciuca

  Prime-Minister of Romania

  Prime-Minister of Romania

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  Apostolos Tzitzikostas

  President of the European Committee of the Regions

  Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Governor of the Region of Central Macedonia, and President of the Association of Greek Regions, studied Government and International Relations at Georgetown University, in Washington DC, and has a Master's Degree on European Public Policy and Economics from the University College of London.
  Since 2015 he is a Member of the European Committee of the Regions. In July 2017, he was elected Head of the Greek Delegation and Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions. In February 2020 he was elected President of the European Committee of the Regions.
  He speaks fluently English and French and his articles are regularly being published in Greek and foreign newspapers and magazines.
  

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  Lyuben Ivanov Ivanov

  Regional Governor of Vidin Region

  He holds a master's degree in law from the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski ”. He is a lawyer from the Vidin Bar Association. He has worked in the field of commercial insolvency..
  The Regional governor is a sole body of the executive authority in the region, which carries out the state governing and ensures compliance between national and local interests during the conduction of the regional policy. The main functions are related to the implementation of state policy in the region, coordination of the work of the bodies of the executive authority and their administrations on the territory of the region, as well as their interaction with the local authorities. The Regional governor carries out the international contacts of the region at regional level, as well as for the implementation of the state policy for promotion of investments on the territory of the region. In exercising his powers, the Regional governor is assisted by public councils and commissions as consultative units for the implementation of the development policies of Vidin region.
  Vidin region is located in the northwestern part of Bulgaria and covers an area of 3,032.9 sq. km., which represents 2.73% of the country's territory.
  In the network of the main settlements in the Balkans, the regional center of Vidin is located 200 km from Sofia, 300 km from Belgrade (Serbia) and 330 km from Bucharest. Its location and the built road infrastructure place’s it on the important international transport route "development corridor" in the direction - Istanbul / Thessaloniki, Sofia, Vidin, Budapest for Central and Western Europe. The territory of Vidin region includes 140 settlements, united in 11 municipalities.
  For centuries, its geographical location has favored its development as a transport, trade and cultural center.
  Vidin region is the entrance-exit door of the Republic of Bulgaria to Europe and the world. Two European corridors pass through the region: corridor number 4 Budapest - Craiova - Sofia - Kulata - Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) and corridor number 7 along the Danube River. The second bridge over the Danube between Vidin and Calafat, was opened in 2013. It is a combined road and railway bridge with a length of approximately 2 kilometers. The exceptional infrastructure and environment are providing opportunities for Vidin region as a transport center.
  Why to invest in Vidin region?
  • Strategic geographical positions
  • Preserved cultural, historical and natural resources
  • Educated and skilled workforce
  • Built social infrastructure
  • Access to markets
  • European Union / EFTA
  • Russia
  • Turkey / Middle East
  • Competitive price for doing business
  • 10% Corporate and Private Tax;
  • 0% corporate tax in areas with high unemployment;
  • Competitive office rents and low utility prices.
  

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  Plamena Marinova

  Deputy Mayor of Varna

  Deputy Mayor of Varna

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  Ricardo Rio

  Mayor of Braga

  Mayor of Braga

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  Emilia Botezan

  Head of International Affairs and Foreign Investment Department, Cluj-Napoca City Hall

  Emilia Botezan is the head of the Foreign Affairs and Investments Department in the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca.Holding a master degree with the Babes Bolyai University and the Michingan State University, she has been witn the City for almost 20 years, having the chance to see Cluj growing. In this period of time she came into contact with many foreign delegates and investors interested in Cluj-Napoca and developed different tools for promoting the city as an interesting destination for investments.
  Emilia Botezan is the person who is offering the investors the first glimpse of the city’s economic potential. However, she says, "it’s not the numbers and the charts that convinced investors to come to Cluj, but the feeling of trust and the quality of people that make Cluj a destination for business". The latest way to ensure a big picture for those interested to know why should they invest in Cluj-Napoca is the first business online platform owned by a municipality, www.clujbusiness.ro.

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  Dimitar Vasilev

  Chairman of Management Board at Bulgarian Business Forums

  Eng. Dimitar Vasilev is a Bulgarian entrepreneur, investor and philantropist with over 15 years experience in tech and innovation. He is Chairman of the Bulgarian Business Forums and founder of Innowave Summit. Leader for Young at Global StartupCities initiative, part of the Digital Leaders Network of the World Economic Forum and part of European Innovations Ecosustem Leaders Group . He is in the index of the top #100 most influential IT personalities in Bulgaria.
  
  Dimitar is a full member representing Bulgaria in the European Startup Network (ESN), founding partner at Startup Europe Networks, co-founder at Bulgarian Innovation Forum, founding Partner at BBF Angels Club and Chairman of Management Board at Varna European Youth Capital.
  
  His diverse background include building global brands. empowering youth in business and politics. creating and developing self-sustainable and growing entrepreneurial ecosystems. establishing cities as Digital innovation hubs. Attractive Stanups Locations. and investment destinations.
  
  He strives to encourage the entrepreneurial and personal development of young people in every effort.

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  Matthew Baldwin

  Manager of the Commission’s Horizon Europe Mission for 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030

  Matthew Baldwin has served in the European Commission for over 20 years, and has been Deputy Director-General at DG MOVE, the transport department, since July 2016.
  
  His main current focus is as Manager of the Commission’s Horizon Europe Mission for 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030. He is also the EU coordinator for road safety and sustainable urban mobility.
  
  He is of Italian and British nationality, has two sons, speaks English, French and Italian and lives in Brussels. He is passionate about the potential for cities to take the lead in acting against climate change, and is a keen but increasingly slow cyclist.
  

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  Dragos Cristian Vlad

  President of the Romanian Digitization Authority.

  Dragos-Cristian Vlad is the President of the Romanian Digitization Authority.
  He has over 20 years of experience in the field of ICT and an in-depth knowledge of integrated
  information systems at the level of central public institutions, managing and optimizing, as
  director within the Ministry of European Funds one of the most complex IT systems – My
  Smyss, through which are managed all projects benefiting from financing through European
  Structural and Investment Funds - MySmiss). Dragos is currently dedicating his efforts and his
  term as President of ADR to accelerate the process of digital transformation among public
  authorities.
  In its mandate, ADR fulfills its role of active promoter of public policies on digitalization, through
  a coordinated approach to aligning stakeholders, promoting institutional interoperability and the
  government cloud, and assessing the digital skills of civil servants. and support for a digitized,
  citizen-oriented and business-oriented public administration.

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  Larry Biehl

  Founder of Interculture and founder of Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Center (BEC)

  Larry Biehl graduated Stanford University. After developing his own business in Silicon Valley, he starts helping young entrepreneurs to do the same. For over 50 years, he is a financial advisor and investment manager for different startups all over the world. He is the founder of Interculture foundation which finances the project Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Center.

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  Voicu Oprean

  CEO AROBS Romania

  Voicu Oprean founded AROBS 24 years ago, and today, the AROBS team has 950+ specialists in its
  offices in Romania and around the world. AROBS is the largest IT company listed, to date, on the AeRO
  market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
  As Founder & CEO, Voicu’s vision is to continuously grow AROBS by creating innovative software
  products, delivering state-of-the-art software development services, and conducting strategic acquisitions
  of IT companies that synergize with the AROBS Group business strategy. At the same time, AROBS
  focuses on creating a space of continuous development and growth for its people, being one of the very
  few listed companies that implements a Stock Option Plan.
  Voicu is a serial entrepreneur and investor in many startups. He also offers mentorship and business
  coaching for many startups and generations of entrepreneurs.
  Voicu graduated from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca with a bachelor’s degree in Computer
  Automation and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Babeș-Bolyai University. He also
  graduated EMBA from Wu Wien in 2008, London Executive Business School in 2018, and President’s
  Program in Leadership YPO at Harvard Business School in 2021.

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  Ovidiu Cîmpean

  Director of Local Developement Division at Cluj-Napoca City Hall

  Ovidiu Cîmpean is the Director of Local Developement Division at Cluj-Napoca City Hall, in charge with european funding projects and the management of Civic Imagination and Innovation Center (CIIC). He has a Bachelor Degree in Political Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, a Master Degree in Compared European Political Studies and a Phd Degree in International Relations and European Studies.

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  Oliver Weicker

  Chief Commercial Officer CEE at Prysmian Group

  Oliver Weicker is Chief Commercial Officer CEE at Prysmian Group – the world’s leading cable
  manufacturing company in the energy and telecom cable systems industry.
  With over 20 years of professional experience in telecommunications, sales and business
  development, Mr. Weicker has a proven track record of developing and implement new
  solutions to markets, driving strategic sales to support customer needs and positioning
  competitive solutions for leading technology companies. These include RFS (Alcatel-Nokia
  company), Rosenberger and Huber+Suhner.

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  Cristian Gheorghe

  Danubian Region Sales Director, Telecom Solution, Prysmian Group

  Cristian Gheorghe is Telecom Sales Director for Danubian region at Prysmian Group, the world’s largest
  electrical power transmission and telecommunications cables and systems manufacturer. With over 20
  years of experience in the telecom industry in Romania, Mr. Cristian Gheorghe has held numerous
  regional management positions within Prysmian Group. He served as Chief Commercial Officer for the
  CEE region, a position he held for 4 years, before being appointed Regional Sales Director in 2018,
  responsible for Central, Eastern Europe and South East Europe markets. Mr. Gheorghe is Board Member
  of Council of Administration at Prysmian Cables and System Romania and in January 2022 was elected
  President of the Professional Cables Association in Romania. Cristian Gheorghe has graduated the
  Advanced Leadership Programme at SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milano, and holds an
  Engineering diploma

• 

  MARIA METZ

  CEO at NTT DATA Romania

  Maria Metz has been working in the IT&C industry for over 20 years, ever since the company was established. Throughout her career at NTT DATA Romania, she has actively contributed to building relevant structures and shaping the specific business processes by developing and integrating markets and portfolios to meet the constantly changing requirements. Maria has a collaborative leadership style, is a proponent of the constant transformation defining an agile organization, and upholds the importance of people in a digital world.
  

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  Dorin Odiațiu

  Director of Public Affairs, Partnerships and Wholesale - Orange Romania

  Dorin Odiaţiu is the Director of Public Affairs, Partnerships and Wholesale and represents Orange Romania in relations with the regulator and government entities, in commercial relations with telecom operators (wholesale activities) and in the development of partnerships with third parties (API, big data, mobile applications etc.).
  Dorin joined the Orange Romania team in 1997 as International Roaming Coordinator. Since 2001, he has held the position of International Business & Interconnection Manager and coordinated numerous important projects, including Orange Romania's roaming partnerships, the strategy for developing relations with international careers and prioritizing the geographical coverage of the network.
  In 2007 he was appointed Head of Wholesale, International and Regulatory Affairs, joining the Executive Committee of Orange Romania. Since February 1, 2009, Dorin has been Marketing Director at Orange Romania, and since May 1, 2012 he is Public Affairs, Partnerships And Wholesale Director.

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  Cornel Amariei

  inventor, author, and entrepreneur known for funding .lumen

  Cornel Amariei is a Romanian-born inventor, author, and entrepreneur known for funding .lumen, a startup creating glasses that empower the blind to live a better life. Being born in a family where both his parents and his sister have disabilities, Cornel grew building systems that assist them. He previously had the Head of Innovation position at Continental Automotive Systems and is the lead author of over 40 patents. For his work, Cornel was recognized as the first Romanian in Forbes 30U30 EU, first Romanian as a Ten Outstanding Young Person of the World by JCI, and the first Romanian as a laureate of the Global Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement, awards shared with people such as Levi Strauss, John F. Kennedy, or Estee Lauder.

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  Marius Ghenea

  Managing Partner Catalyst Romania

  Marius is serial entrepreneur and business-angel with successful investments in many CEE countries, ranks in Forbes fortune Romanian survey. He is Co-Founder at VentureConnect and SchoolforStartups Romania, president of the Romanian Association of Online Stores. Also he is the author of “Entrepreneurship”, first Romanian entrepreneurship book, one of the Romanian Dragons from the TV show Dragons’ Den; Co-organizer of the BusinessDrive mini-MBA program, professor of Entrepreneurship. Marius is awarded with “Investor of the Year Romania 2016” by Central European Startup Awards.

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  Alina Negru

  General Manager of Emerson Cluj

  Alina is the General Manager of Emerson Cluj - the largest and most complex Emerson site in Europe
  ,with over 3300 employees. Emerson Cluj consists of a unique mix of expertise, services, and
  manufacturing organizations, with a very broad range of capabilities and job roles.
  Alina holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in chemical engineering awarded by Babes-Bolyai
  University in Cluj-Napoca and completed her studies with an EMBA from the university of Hull in the
  UK, awarded in 2018.
  In 2016 Alina launched the Women in STEM organization in Cluj and in 2017 she became the leader of
  Women’s Impact Network European organization, present today in 15 countries with more than 2000
  active members. The organization supports professional and personal development of women in Emerson,
  and at the same time aims to inspire young kids and students to pursue STEM (science, technology,
  engineering, and math) careers through a series of impactful events and initiatives.

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  Daniela Popescu

  Vice Rector - Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

  Daniela Popescu - Vice Rector - Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania- is professor at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Department of Design Engineering and Robotics. Deputy General Secretary of International Foundation for Production Research.

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  Christian Sacarea

  Vice Rector of the Babes-Bolyai University Cluj

  Christian Sacarea is Vicerector of the Babes-Bolyai University Cluj.
  Passionate about mathematics and computer science Christian Sacarea is a member of the Computer Science Department within the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of Babes-Bolyai University. With 4 published books and over 50 published articles in his area of expertise, he has also used his passion for knowledge in organizing over 20 national and international events in his field.
  

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  Simona Baciu

  international educator, a visionary and an agent of change in the educational field, the recipient of the Lifetime Award from British International Schools

  Simona Baciu is an international educator, a visionary and an agent of change in the educational field, the recipient of the Lifetime Award from British International Schools.
  Her belief is that education should nurture and grow the love of learning in students as well as teachers while keeping an open mind and being curious and aware of the world they live in.
  
  At the beginning of the 90’, as a teacher in a state school, she decided to open a school in order to change the system and make a difference. Happy Kids Kindergarten was opened in 1993 in one of the rooms of the small family apartment. This is how Transylvania College, today's prestigious was born.
  
  Simona Baciu is part of several international and national elite organizations. She wrote articles and is a speaker at numerous national and international conferences where she promotes education for the 21st century based on mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and leadership.
  

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  Lilia Hristova

  Director of Department “Education and Youth Activities” municipality Varna

  Director of Department “Education and Youth Activities” municipality Varna

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  ADRIAN CURAJ

  Former minister of education, science and innovation

  ADRIAN CURAJ is a former minister of education, science and innovation. He is the head of the UNESCO Chair on Science and Innovation Policies at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, and a professor at the “Politehnica” University of Bucharest. He had been working as a consultant for the World Bank, UNESCO, UNIDO, ETF and EC for studies in Tertiary Education, Science and Innovation, and Foresight. Adrian CURAJ is a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Fulbright Commission in Romania.
  He has been at the forefront of developments in Smart Specialization as Europe’s contribution to the new industrial innovation policy, in policy advising for higher education as a host and chair of the Bologna Process Researcher Conferences and of the main initiatives supporting progress towards Open Science in Romania.
  The core interest is in Foresight for policies.

• 

  Dragos Tohanean

  Vice-President Authority for Digitalization of Romania

  Mr. Dragos Tohanean - Software Developer, with experience in several top local or multinational companies (DT Consulting SRL, Deloitte Technology, IBM Romania, Accenture, NTT Data)
  
  Associate Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at Transilvania University Brașov.
  
  He holds an MBA in Corporate Governance and Innovation Management from the Gelsenkirchen University of Applied Sciences and a PhD in Business Administration from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest.

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  Marius Viorel Posa

  State Subsecretery, Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation.

  State Subsecretery, Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation.

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  Lucian Muresan

  Comisar Șef de Poliție Cluj County Immigration Department

  Lucian Muresan has been immigration officer since 2000 and has been Legal Adviser since 2006.
  Beside his main work as immigration Legal Adviser, he is active in the work groups (central or local authorities, as well as NGOs) regarding all migration issues in Romania.
  Also, he joined the TAIEX group of experts in the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) , in the Freedom, security and justice field.
  As a result of his interests in security studies, he is an Alumni of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
  Lucian is an enthusiastic supporter of constant connection with the most relevant actor in the international migration field, the UN Agency of IOM. This cooperation has generated multiple twinings and common activities, some of them as IOM Consultant.
  Also, he is accepted as Consultant by FRONTEX.

• 

  Tibor Horvath

  CEO of Raynet Ltd

  I am Tibor Horvath, founder and CEO of Raynet Ltd. I was born in 1965, I am married, have two kids: a girl 34, and a boy 32 years old.
  I have been working in Telecommunication business since 1987, after having finished the Military Academy in Hungary on Electrotechnic and Radio engineer faculty.
  I worked in managing positions at domestic and international ICT firms, such as Trendex Holding (CEO), Hungarian Telekom (Head of Purchasing Department), Diamond Swiss (CEO), Indra Hungary (CEO), and since 2014 I have been working as CEO of Raynet.
  I have participated and managed several optical and other technological projects, as main solution provider:
  • Pantel Network (KPN Subsidiary) development in Hungary (3000+ km optical trunk network),
  • Hungarian Railway GIR Project (4000+ km fibre optic network)
  • Budapest Airport Reconstruction project (Terminal 1, 40000+ network connections)
  • Stadium Security System (Hungary, Turkey, Russia)
  • Hungarian Railway GSM-R Project (2000+ km fibre network).
  With Raynet, we supplied the first biggest GPON passive solution for Hungarian Telekom (160.000+ Households) between 2015-2017. In 2012, we evolved and patented a new aerial fibre optic network technology (SSP Solution) and in 2017 we developed the new MSPN™ (Multi Service Provider Network) system, which pilot projects were implemented in Hungary and in Romania as well, in Cluj County.
  RayNet Ltd is the member of FttH Council Europe, IT Association of Hungary, 5G Coalition of Hungary

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  Lucuț Remus Vasile

  eCommerce Business Analyst

  With over 10 years of experience in eCommerce, digital technology and marketing companies, his role is to help merchants and e-commerce managers step up their digital transformation by implementing efficient and predictable time-to-market online sales channels. Passionate about improving eCommerce experiences with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.

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  Anabela Luca

  Managing Director & Online Marketing Consultant/One of the top 5 Google certified trainers in Romania

  Anabela Luca is Managing Director & Online Marketing Consultant/Google Trainer at adLemonade.com, award-winning Google Premier Partner agency in Romania. Anabela loves digital, especially Pay Per Click marketing that she masters for over 10 years now. She is dedicated to tailoring custom PPC strategies that dramatically improve the revenue and profits for her agency's clients. Her experience with both large-scale clients seeking international success and SMBs eager to get the most out of their advertising budget, she gladly solved challenges by providing strategies that simply work.
  
  As one of the 5 Google certified trainers in Romania, Anabela delivered over 150 trainings on Google Ads & Analytics in Google programs like Online Marketing Academy & Google Partners in Romania&internationally. Through her webinars as well as her offline classes, she trained over 3.000 students and professionals in growing their skills as online marketers.
  

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  Erik Werner

  Principal PM at ROI Hunter (e-commerce product marketing platform)

  Erik has over 10 years of experience with media buying technology. Today at ROI Hunter he is leading innovations in the e-commerce social and ppc advertising space leveraged by major online retailers. His goal is to bring e-commerce marketers closer to the essence of their business

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  Barbara Bulc

  Social Chemist, Founder of Global Development, Switzerland and Co-creator of OurCluj, Fondation Botnar

  How would we innovate if goals of wellbeing were prioritized over economic growth? What if
  care for other mattered as much as novel technology? These are key questions that lead
  Barbara Bulc’s innovation practice. She is a social chemist focused on values-based innovation,
  centering care for people and the planet in policies and actions. She specializes in design of
  alternative social structures that enable conditions for values-based innovation to thrive. She is
  the founder of Global Development and its non-profit collaboratory SDG Colab in Geneva,
  Switzerland. She leads OurCluj urban innovation initiative, funded by Fondation Botnar.
  A transformative leader working in over 30 countries, she was a Senior Advisor at the
  President Clinton Foundation, Executive Director at Global Business Coalition, and CEO at
  KRKA Pharmaceuticals in New York. This experience led her to dedicate her practice to
  reimagining values and relationships, essential to shift the current economic paradigm towards
  wellbeing society. She is the lead co-author of a new book Activating Values in Urban
  Transitions - A novel approach to innovation in Romania (May 2022), demonstrating that values
  of care and trust are essential to optimize outcomes, such as wellbeing.
  She is an Ambassador of Reboot the Future and a member of various international boards. A
  systems thinker, she studied chemistry and social sciences at Ljubljana University and
  leadership at Columbia University, New York and Judge Business School, Cambridge. She is a
  student of deep ecology and mindfulness in a variety of wisdom traditions, bringing these
  principles to personal and collective transformation we urgently need.

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  Bilyana Raeva

  Representative of the Municipality of Varna in Brussels

  Bilyana Raeva was elected as a Member of the European Parliament to the first European
  elections in Bulgaria in June 2007. In the European Parliament she is chairing the Delegation for
  relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and the European Economic Area (EEA). She is
  a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, an alternate member of the
  Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs and Vice-President of the EP`s "Urban Developm
  ient" Intergroup.From 2013 she is a representative of the Municipality of Varna in Brussels and
  participates in the campaigns of the city of the European Capital of Culture 2019 and the
  European Youth Capital 2016 and 2017. In 2015 she was authorized by the Mayor of Varna to
  represent the municipality in the Managing Board of the Association "Varna - European Youth
  Capital.

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  Irina Ilieva

  JA Bulgaria

  Experienced program and project manager, with a diverse international professional and educational background. Rich experience in coordinating diverse teams in multicultural environment. An education and tech enthusiast and a community builder by calling. Holds a MSc in Economics of Globalisation and European Integration, with a BSc in International Economic Relations and Intercalated year in International Business Administration with a focus on Nordic and Baltic countries. A tech-savvy language learner and a globe-trotter.

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  Mihai Cărăbaș

  Lawyer | CĂRĂBAŞ, LUNGU – Attorneys at Law & Founder of Legal Accelerators

  Mihai Cărăbaş is the founder of Legal Accelerators, lawyer and associate university teaching staff at the Law Faculty of the Babeș – Bolyai University, arbitrator at the Arbitration Court attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cluj
  
  His professional areas of interest are business law, corporate governance, IT&C, start-ups and LegalTech.
  
  The legal consulting activity is complemented by entrepreneurial expertise in the LegalTech sector, being currently involved in several projects in the field. Passionate about the interference of technology with the legal field, he founded Legal Accelerators, the first major event dedicated to LegalTech and legal innovation, organized in Romania.
  
  Mihai has a PhD in business law, and also, he is member of the Center for Business Law and IT – Babes-Bolyai University.
  
  Mihai Cărăbaș is partner at Cărăbaș, Lungu – Attorneys at Law.
  

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  Cristiana Bogateanu

  organizational leader, serial entrepreneur, business mentor in +100 startups and business advisor in 3 Companies

  Cristiana Bogateanu is an organizational leader, serial entrepreneur, business mentor in +100 startups and business advisor in 3 Companies. Her new challenge is steering a freshly rebranded organization – the Romanian Tech Startups Association (ROTSA), a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania that aims to connect startups, communities, and other relevant stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.
  
  Cristiana had no less than eight startups before becoming a mother. These included Zalmotek, an IoT product development company, Academia inventeaza.ro, a STEAM-focused educational program, and DeviceHub.net, an open-source ecosystem management platform for IoT.
  
  Cristiana has over 10 years experience in entrepreneurship and business development. Also, over the years she participated in numerous programmes like Seedcamp (Coaching), Challenge UP, and Hub:raum tech incubator. Having her work, in 2017 she won New Europe 100: easter Europe`s emerging technology stars - Financial Times, in 2016 the National Competition - Global Startup Awards and in 2015 she appeared in Forbes 30 under 30.
  

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  Radu Catană

  Professor | Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Law

  Professor Radu N. Catană, Department of Private Law, is professor of Business Law. He was General Chancellor and Vice-Rector of the Babeş-Bolyai University from 2007 to 2016.
  
  Senior Fulbright at Berkeley (2011), fellow of Max Planck Institute for Comparative Law & Private International Law in Hamburg (2008), and fellow of the French Government at Paris XII (1997), he initiated the Center for Company Law & Corporate Governance, and directs the Law School’s unique LL.M in English, on International & Comparative Business Law.
  
  Radu N. Catană held conferences and participated in academic trainings on corporate & insolvency law at prestigious universities on all continents.
  He is also a permanent senior expert of the Romanian National Agency for the Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions and of the Romanian National Council for the Attestation of Academic Titles, Diplomas and Certificates.
  

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  Svetoslav Penkov

  founder and managing director of InterLegis Ltd. (interlegis.net) - legal consulting practice, based in City of Sofia, Bulgaria

  Svetoslav Penkov is the founder and managing director of InterLegis Ltd. (interlegis.net) - legal consulting practice, based in City of Sofia, Bulgaria. Svetoslav and his team of experts have more than 20 years of experience in provision of a broad range of integrated services to local and international clients with particular strength in M&A, Corporate and Commercial, Banking & Finance, Energy & Natural Resources, TMT, Intellectual Property, Competition, Real Estate and Dispute Resolution. In the last 5 years Svetoslav participates in most of the initiatives and projects, created and developed by Bulgarian Business Forums, including in Innowave Summit. Based on today's challenges and the prospects for the future, Svetoslav believes that the emphasis should be increasingly on supporting innovation in all spheres of life. The launch vehicle that will lead us to a brighter future are young people with their ideas and Svetoslav focuses his efforts to support and motivate them to start their own business - to dress their ideas in corporate clothing, to create, manage and develop their own start-up company.

• 

  Fulvia Iancu

  Legal consultant | Entrepreneurship & Innovation | Data protection

  A results-driven, natural Communicator, with an extensive client portfolio,
  splitting her time between managing her own legal practice and collaborating
  on a multitude of national and international projects with state and nonstate
  organizations. A critical thinker with a creative eye and a proven track
  record in legal matters has acted as the key legal counsel on important
  strategic and business development deals. Possessing a strong understanding
  of the international legal environment developed over time, from a life-long
  passion in international laws and polished through an LL.M. in Advanced Legal
  Studies from a top UK Russel Group university and various work on an
  international scale. With a strong sense of adaptability, openness to new
  cultures and capacity to thrive in fast-paced environments capitalizes on the
  ability to establish and nurture positive work relationships and align to
  company’s culture and policies.
  

• 

  Ionut Muntean

  Head of Innovation, University Cooperation and Partnerships at Bosch Engineering

  Ionut Muntean is Head of Innovation, University Cooperation and Partnerships at Bosch Engineering Center Cluj and Associate Professor at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.
  
  At Bosch, next to innovation and university cooperation, Ionut is coordinating public funded projects and plays a key role in national R&D legislation updates.

• 

  Vlad Ciurca

  Co-Founder of Techsylvania

  Vlad is the Co-Founder of Techsylvania (leading technology event in Eastern Europe) and Codiax (Deep Tech Event). Previously, he was VP of Business Development at Yopeso, Product Manager at Telenav (working on creating navigation solutions for mobile devices and auto manufacturers), as well as Operations Supervisor at UPS and Ceva Logistics (where he managed a 100 person team (starting from a 4 person team). Vlad is passionate about building events and communities, having been a Startup Weekend Organizer and Facilitator and co-founding one of the biggest online and offline communities of managers and entrepreneurs in Transylvania, Romanian Managers CLUJ, with close to 900 members. In 2011, Vlad was named a Technology and Entrepreneurship Expert in the "Young Romania Forum", a project organized by the League of Romanian Students Abroad, with the aim of getting the younger generation involved in the future of Romania. In 2015, he was invited to speak about the 'Born Global' topic during the Romanian Business Leaders Summit, an exclusive event with over 200 top managers and entrepreneurs from Romania.

• 

  Cristian Pațachia Sultănoiu

  Development & Innovation Manager Orange Romania SA

  Manager with more than 20 years’ experience in the telecom industry, with expertise in a broad
  range of technologies, product development and innovation management. At the moment he is
  the Development and Innovation team manager in the Engineering department, coordinating
  multiple research projects in various fields such as: 5G & networks of the future, cyber security,
  smart cities, APIs exposure and monetizing, cloud technologies & IoT/M2M..

• 

  Florina Lendeczki, PhD.

  Co-founder EvoCariera

  Florina is the co-founder of EvoCariera, a non-profit organization working with young people, teachers and parents, educating about the future of work, skills and career management. An organizational psychologist by training, she holds a PhD. in team learning from Babes-Bolyai University and a Diploma in Coaching from the Cambridge Institute for Continuing Education.

• 

  Arturo Villar

  Global Innovation, Founder & Coordinator of Global StartupCities initiative

  Arturo is a passionate open innovation entrepreneur. During the last 15 years, Arturo has been working in management of global innovation for the industrial sector with senior competencies on open Innovation, co-creation, and to reuse and identify synergies from other sectors for implementing new innovative solutions. Arturo is a key supporter of the European Innovation Council, expert evaluator of European Commission, PhD on Energy Engineering, and JCR reviewer of scientific publications on clean technologies and environmental issues.The Global StartupCities Initiative was launched in 2018 with the aim of interconnecting innovation ecosystems outside the big hubs for accelerating new economic opportunities through the matchmaking between startups, investors, and corporates in Europe. StartupCities are the new innovation ecosystems, person-centred approach, based on entrepreneurs & innovators as our key economic boosters. Since 2020, the initiative scaled-up for global level with the bottom-up European innovation Area as the umbrella and connector for boosting these new European business opportunities for any European entrepreneur in any continent. The Global StartupCities Summit is our annual main milestone, and it is known as Unique Summit, with the aim of being held annually on a different country. After brought together in 2021, in Malaga, a total of 458 companies, investors and institutionsfrom 20 European countries (a remarkable achievement in a pandemic context) to showcase their entrepreneurial ecosystems and to promote new business opportunities, the event will be held in Braga (Portugal) on November 29th-30th.

• 

  Isabel Pascual Villamor

  Innovation Strategy Officer- StartupCity Malaga

  Innovation Strategy Officer- StartupCity Malaga

• 

  Luis Rodrigues

  Director @Startup Braga

  StartupCity Braga

• 

  Elina Värtö

  Manager of International Affairs at Vantaan kaupunki - Vanda stad - City of Vantaa

  StartupCity Vantaa (2022 Rising EU Innovative city)

• 

  Carolin Bauer

  City of Dortmund, Department for Mayoral and City Council’s Affairs, Office for International Relations, Project manager „iResilience goes Europe“

  Carolin Bauer studied spatial planning at the Technical University in Dortmund/Germany. As a former researcher at the Social Research Center at TU Dortmund she worked in a project about climate resilience and co-creation of adaptation measures on a local level. She currently works at the City of Dortmund, Department for Mayoral and City Council’s Affairs, Office for International Relations in the project iResilience goes Europe, an international Roll-Out project of climate adaptation measures from Dortmund and exchange with Cluj-Napoca/Romania. In 2021 the City of Dortmund was awarded European Innovation Capital, among many other projects and its innovation ecosystem, also for iResilience (goes Europe). Her further focus is on the topics of interdisciplinary governance and social innovation.
  

• 

  Bianca Muntean

  coordinator of Transilvania DIH, Honorary Consul of Estonia

  Bianca Muntean is the manager of Transilvania IT Cluster, gold-labeled by ESCA, with over 20 years of experience in ecosystem development.
  
  Bianca is a member of the European Cluster Expert Group, a group coordinated by DG GROW, European Commission and also actively participates in various Advisory Boards focused on digital transformation at local, regional, national and European level.
  
  In 2019 she was awarded the title of EU Cluster Manager of the Year, and her work is focused on supporting cross-sectoral collaboration in Europe. Bianca is also the recipient of the Open Innovation Award in 2017, given by the European Commission and The Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group.
  
  As Manager of Transilvania IT Cluster, she founded and coordinates Transilvania Digital Innovation Hub.
  
  In December 2021, Bianca was appointed the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Cluj-Napoca.
  

• 

  Anca Luca

  Project Manager at InnovX-BCR Business Accelerator

  Anca is Project Manager at InnovX-BCR Business Accelerator, since the program’s inception in 2019. With more than 10 years experience in marketing at one of the largest financial institutions in Romania, Anca is a Tech Startup Enthusiast who has been using her know-how and passion for communication to build brands and projects that tackle innovation and community building.

• 

  Georgina Lupu Florian

  CEO Wolfpack Digital

  Coming from a multidisciplinary background (in software engineering, PR, psychology and business management), Georgina Lupu Florian (Gina) is the founder and CEO of Wolfpack Digital, an award-winning web and mobile design and development company based in Cluj, with a team of 80 people.
  
  The company has partnered with more than 60 startups, scaleups, and large-scale corporations so far, with a strong focus on strategy, design, and development in the health, finance, beauty, and transportation sectors. Wolfpack Digital also builds internal digital products, one of them being the first integrated healthtech treatment for gambling addiction.
  
  Additionally, Gina is a co-founder of the Women in Tech Cluj community and is part of the Board of Directors of the Transilvania IT Cluster.

• 

  Ana-Maria Stancu

  CEO of Bucharest Robots

  Ana-Maria has been in the NGO field for more than 20 years, she was the Executive Director of the largest NGO in Romania on human rights, advocacy and public policy, and is currently the CEO of Bucharest Robots, the first Romanian start-up in the field of humanoid and service robots and member of the Board of euRobotics – the European Association for civil robotics. Throughout her extensive work in the NGO field and now as an advocate of robotics and automation, Ana-Maria is constantly involved in gathering data and providing feed-back on the social-economical implications of the new technologies such as robotics and AI and their potential impact, both on a national and European level.

• 

  Adina Simionescu

  Project Manager@RO Startup

  With a background of more than 10 years in banking, enjoying the process of building communities and bringing sustainable change in the entrepreneurial environment, Adina is the project manager of ROStartup, a public-private initiative aiming to create the first strategy of the Romanian #startup ecosystem. She is also part of a team of experts at the Romanian Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism whose purpose is to develop a public policy to support innovative entrepreneurship

• 

  Mircea MOCANU

  Head of the International Organization for Migration in Romania

  Mircea Mocanu has been leading the office of the UN Agency for Migration (IOM) in Romania
  since 2013. He is actively involved in the implementation of practical solutions to help migrants,
  refugees, victims of trafficking and Romanian citizens requesting emergency consular
  assistance.
  Prior to working at IOM, Mircea's professional experience included missions with the United
  Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the EC in Central Asia, the Middle East and
  Eastern Europe, where he successfully conducted socio-economic interventions in accordance
  with the Objectives. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
  Mircea is a strong supporter of inter-institutional cooperation and communication at
  governmental, non-governmental level but also full active involvement of the private sector in
  humanitarian interventions. As the coordinator of all ILO activities in Romania, he often used the
  Organization's experience to strengthen public policies or to mobilize relevant resources to
  support vulnerable people who either wanted to return to their country of origin or to benefit from
  the services of the ILO. integration facilitated by IOM.

• 

  Oana Marchiș

  Project Manager European Pact for Integration

  Oana Marchiș has been the Project Manager of EPI since July 2020. With an educational background in psychology, Oana has worked since 2013 as a Project Manager for the non-governmental sector in Romania, on international projects tackling social and educational aspects, such as human trafficking, migration, active citizenship, youth personal development and mental health. In addition, Oana has experience in providing consultancy in human resources processes design and implementation to support business execution, individual and group assessment and counselling, training, and soft skills development. She is passionate about mental health, antropology, education and human rights.

• 

  Adrian RĂULEA

  Programme Director of Cluj Metropolitan Area Association.

  Adrian RĂULEA holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering
  from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) and
  completed the classes of the Master's program European Affairs and
  Program Management at the Babes-Bolyai University. He is currently the
  Programme Director of Cluj Metropolitan Area Association.
  With over 10 years of experience, Adrian has filled various capacities
  in project management in both the private and public sectors. In his
  previous role as the Head of Strategy and Local Development department,
  Cluj-Napoca Municipality, he coordinated large scale infrastructure
  projects financed through the Structural Funds.
  In 2015, he joined the Cluj Metropolitan Association as Development
  Coordinator being responsible for building up a governance scheme for
  the metropolitan area of Cluj, preparing the strategic development
  documents for the metropolitan area (Integrated Development Strategy
  2015-2023 for Cluj Metropolitan Area, the EBRD financed Sustainable
  Urban Mobility Plan) and coordinating the organization's projects
  (H2020, Interreg, Urbact, Norway Grants etc.). In the past five years he
  worked also as a consultant for international organizations like the
  EBRD and the World Bank.

• 

  Oana Buzatu

  Innovation Strategy Officer of StartupCity Cluj-Napoca

  Oana works in institutional communication, for the last 10 years she has been the Spokeperson of the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca and the Chief Service of the Citizen Information Centre of the institution, in charge with the local administration’s interaction with the citizens. From this position she has been involved in most of the municipality’s processes of becoming more friendly and participative for the citizens, enhancing transparency and also better understanding and updating the needs of public services.
  Since 2019 she coordinates the activity of the local innovation team of the Startupcity Cluj-Napoca as the Innovation Strategy Officer, establishing within the Cluj Cluster of Education – C-Edu the global startupcity contact point for Cluj-Napoca.

• 

  Vlad Stefan Stoica

  president ANCOM

  Vlad Stoica is President of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications of
  Romania since October 13, 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Romanian law and he was member of the
  Bucharest Bar. During 2004-2009, he held several counselling positions to the Government of Romania, and
  during 2013-2015 he was Head of the Prime-Minister’s Chancellery. He has also taken postgraduate studies in
  political management.

• 

  Frank Quante

  CEO Fraport Twin Star Airport Management AD Operator of Varna Airport and Burgas Airport

  Frank Quante is an internationally experienced General Manager, starting his professional career as a Business Lawyer and Tax Advisor at KPMG Germany in the areas of M&A and Sports Law. In 2003, he joined the German multiutility company EWE with a focus on M&A projects before taking the role as CFO in the international active IT group of EWE in 2007. Since 2012, he was responsible for the investment of EWE in Turkey as CFO and starting 2017 CEO of EWE Turkey Holding, responsible for operational business in asset investments, energy trading, telecommunication and services.
  Frank Quante joined Fraport AG in July 2020 and starting from September, he has taken over the role as CEO of Fraport Twin Star Airport Management AD.

• 

  Augustin Onaciu

  Growth Manager, Automotive Software Development, Fortech

  After completing his master’s degree in Computer Science and working for around 5 years as a
  software specialist, Augustin joined Fortech in May 2011. Currently, as a Growth Manager,
  Augustin's remit is to consultatively develop long-lasting partnerships with Fortech's strategic
  clients. With 15+ years’ experience in IT in technical and leadership roles, he's a trusted advisor
  at executive level, focused on delivering client success by translating business requirements
  into the adequate technical solutions. He has been responsible for long-lasting partnerships
  with many of Fortech's strategic clients. Being a highly innovative, results orientated sales and
  management professional with acute business acumen and essential communication skills
  geared towards working with C level Executives and Directors, he has international experience
  with a background in top-tier account management/relationship management, complex solution
  selling, strategy development and negotiation.

• 

  George Buhnici

  Leading Romanian voice in tech, electric cars and sustainable living

  George Buhnici is a journalist with over 20 years of experience. He started as a print journalist in Brașov, and progressed into radio and then television, where he created the most successful internet and technology show.
  For the last ten years, he has focused his efforts on the Internet, where he has created the most successful platform dedicated to automotive, technology, construction and, more recently, cryptocurrencies enthusiasts.
  

• 

  Galina Momcheva

  Head of Computer Science Department, Varna Free university, Chair of BioMed-Varna

  Assoc. Prof. Galina Momcheva, PhD is a lecturer in Computer Science, Head of Computer Science Department, Supervisor of M.Sc. Data Science and M.Sc. Interaction Design at Varna Free University, Bulgaria.
  Galina Momcheva is leading the projects in interdisciplinary research (incl. establishing new interdisciplinary master degree programs in AI). Research interests: biomedical image analyses, data mining, programming and algorithms. She was a Chair of ICT Cluster Varna 2016-2021. Momcheva is the chair of BioMed-Varna Foundation promoting interdisciplinary research (Computer Science, Medicine, Art), entrepreneurship, education and ecosystems' development.
  

• 

  Laviniu Chis

  INNO Platform Transilvania

  INNO Platform Transilvania

• 

  Petar Petrov

  Coordinator of University of Economics Varna Accelerator

  Petar Petrov is a PhD lecturer at the Department of Management and Administration within the University of Economics Varna, Bulgaria (UEV). He is the coordinator of UEVA – the student start-ups accelerator at UEV. His professional interests and expertise include talent management, internal marketing, HRIS, intercultural competence, coaching, online research, and project management. He has over 10 years of experience in teaching HRM, providing training and business consultations for public and private organizations and participating as a team leader and expert in European funded projects.

• 

  Assoc. Prof. Galina Ilieva

  Master engineer and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Varna

  Assoc. Prof. Galina Ilieva is Master engineer and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Varna, Bulgaria. She holds degree “Master after Master” in “Turbomachinery and Propulsion Systems” from von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Belgium). Currently, assoc. prof. G. Ilieva is Director of Research Institute, part of the Technical University of Varna, as well as actively involved in various national and international projects.
  Assoc. prof. G. Ilieva has published more than 35 papers in the area of her research interests - CFD analysis, biomimetics, innovative propulsion systems, VET, fluid dynamics, problems and perspectives of higher education, blue energy, etc.

• 

  Dennis Debie

  Founder & CEO at The Climate Change Company

  Dennis Debie, the Dutch guy in Cluj that intends to make the world a better place.
  “I'm passionate about space exploration, still I value most the only home we have, planet Earth.”
  Dennis has been working as product and process development engineer in the aerospace, electric motor
  and paper finishing industries before starting a new chapter of his life in Cluj-Napoca in 2017.
  It was here in Romania where he connected the dots that made him start The Climate Change Company
  in 2020. Bad roads and lots of unrecycled waste. This led to the invention and development of Littar®, a
  road construction material made from plastic and glass waste that makes roads cheaper and without
  potholes, Littaraly.
  It started in his kitchen, shredding plastic in a blender and baking asphalt in the oven under questionable
  approval of his wife. After two years of hard work with a great team, Littar® is now ready to make real
  roads as it is now officially certified as road construction material in Europe.
  His mission at The Climate Change Company is to bring meaningful solutions that solve complex
  problems of this planet. He is here in Cluj to make a difference and engineer a better future for his family,
  friends and all the amazing strangers around the globe.

• 

  Alina Pârăială

  Head of Programs and Projects, Authority for Digitalization of Romania

  Alina currently coordinates the Programs and Projects Department of the Authority for Digitalization of Romania and has a vast expertise – exceeding 13 years - at the Ministry level of public central authorities – such as the Ministry for Transport, Ministry for Economy, Ministry for SMEs and Business Environment, Ministry for Communications and Information Society.
  She dedicated the most recent professional years to the field of communications and digital transformation of public administration, by implementing public service digitalization projects, elaborating policy and strategies in the field, by promoting cooperation of public-private-academia stakeholders and projects to increase the digital skills of public servants.

• 

  Cristina Catai

  Expert Authority for Digitalization of Romania

  Expert in the project Strategic Framework for adoption of innovative technologies in the public administration 2021 – 2027.

• 

  Dimitar Savov

  Marketing manager at Startup Masters

  Dimitar Savov has been working in the field of web design and online marketing for 12 years. There are successful advertising and marketing campaigns in 65 countries across 6 continents. He has participated in nearly 200 online business projects and has his own analysis and optimization system for online stores. He is also co-founder of the Startup Masters Digital Marketing Agency.

• 

  Simeon Prusiyski

  CEO @ Startup Masters, StartUP Foundation Bulgaria

  Simeon is experienced Project Manager, Coordinator & Senior Web DeveloperHe is a highly skilled web developer with over 9 years of professional experience. In recent years he has focused his skills and experience in the field of project management. Over the past few years he has led various projects ranging from online gaming to online gambling portals, accounting systems and ecommerce SaaS platforms.2 years ago he co-founded his second company, Startup Masters, where he currently hold the position of CEO. Simeon is the main organizer of BizzIT - the largest charity IT event in Bulgaria, which raised over 10 000 BGN for the treatment of children in need.He has also been a lecturer for the past 2 years, teaching eCommerce and back-end development in Sofia and in the Webrika Academy in Pleven, which he co-founded. Also, Simeon is regularly teaching, organizing and hosting seminars and conferences in the IT and eCommerce fields. Simeon Prusiyski is a co¬founder & CTO at Startup Masters and an active supporter and Vice-president of the Startup Foundation Bulgaria.

• 

  Gabriel Oltean

  Vice-Rector Resource Management and Financial Policies at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

  Gabriel Oltean received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electronics Engineering and Telecommunications from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania in 1992 and 2002, respectively. He is currently a full professor at the Department of Bases of Electronics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. He is also a Ph.D. supervisor in the field of Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. His research interests include applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques as well as electronic circuits analysis and design. During 30 years of academic activities, he has authored or co-authored six books and over 90 scientific papers in edited books, international journals, and conference proceedings.

• 

  Bianca Avram

  student at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.

  Bianca Avram is a 4th year student at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.

• 

  Adria Berari

  Cluj Cluster for Education C-EDU

  Adria is one of the hosts of Innowave Summit 2022. Adria is passionate about innovation in education and working towards creating an environment where young people are aware of their opportunities when transitioning from education into the workforce and can pursue their chosen career path without giving up on their values and dreams.

• 

  Adrian Groza

  Professor in Artificial Intelligence, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

  Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He support students to solve problems using AI tools: knowledge representation and reasoning, logics, agents, XAI.

• 

  Bernard Berari

  one of the hosts for Innowave Summit 2022

  Bernard is one of the hosts for Innowave Summit 2022. Originally from Cluj-Napoca, he studies Civil Engineering in the UK. Driven by innovation and creativity, he wants to integrate the built environment with the world’s natural, political, social, and digital systems.

• 

  Andra Tanase

  Senior Project Manager and DigiGreen Strategist at Transilvania IT Cluster

  Currently serving as Senior Project Manager and DigiGreen Strategist at Transilvania IT Cluster and expert consultant on education, development, peacebuilding and conflict transformation Andra works on strategic programme design and management, capacity building, intercultural intelligence, policymaking and organisational and civil society development from mainly the perspective of collaborative leadership, innovation and systemic transformation. Gathering experience from her international education (United World Colleges, Macalester College and UN University for Peace) and work , Andra's passion is to create environments of personal, organisational and societal strategic and systemic learning and development.

• 

  Dalila Ciuclan

  Cluj-Napoca City Hall

  Dalila Ciuclan is a young professional working for the last 3 years at Cluj-Napoca City Hall, at the core of the local development department. Her tasks are related to innovative international projects, such as ROCK(H2020), Innovato-R (URBACT), Cluj Future of Work (UIA), etc.
  Dalila is one of the first public employees within the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca that find themselves at the intersection of formal and informal roles in the internal innovation, her meta competences working as bridges in the tissues of change process of the institutions.
  She has a Bachelor Degree in European Studies and International Relations, Faculty of European Studies, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, and is passionate about
  Europe and Romania’s potential development within the European family. She assists, coordinates and support with activities related to planning, preparing reports, monitoring contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements for different projects.

• 

  Gratian Mihailescu

  Founder of UrbanizeHub

  Grațian has a national and international experience of over 15 years in the field of development, communication, public policy and innovation. He studied and worked in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Serbia and the USA, being a fellow of the European Commission, collaborating with organizations such as the World Bank, the Government of Romania or the Assembly of European Regions. Grațian is the founder of UrbanizeHub, a community of passionate and involved people, with varied expertise, people who want to change the face of cities in a SMART and sustainable way. UrbanizeHub organizes events, Innovation Hackathons, launches reports and studies, participatory urbanism projects and offers consultancy for sustainable urban development.

• 

  Laura Hetel

  Policy Officer for Urban Systems, European Commission

  
  Laura Hetel is a policy officer for urban systems at the European Commission. She is part of the team overseeing the implementation of the European Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. She also works on the New European Bauhaus as a pathway to green urban transformation and on citizen engagement under the European Green Deal.

• 

  Iulia Dragut

  Senior social banker in BCR

  Iulia Dragut is a senior social banker in BCR and has strong interests in business communities, education and technology. Her everyday proffesional activity in BCR focuses on growth and educational projects designed for startups, like InnovX-BCR accelerator.