Romania Digital Communications and Media Forum 2026

Adrian-Victor Vevera is the General Director and Senior Researcher of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest, Romania’s leading institute for research and innovation in information and communication technologies, operating under the coordination of the Romanian Government. He holds PhDs in Military and Information Sciences, Intelligence and National Security, and Industrial Engineering.

 His professional expertise spans cybersecurity, the protection of critical infrastructure, digital transformation, and emerging technologies, with a particular focus on developing resilient and secure digital ecosystems. Throughout his career, he has been involved in national and European initiatives addressing advanced digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and the governance of strategic technologies.

Through his leadership at ICI Bucharest, Adrian-Victor Vevera contributes to the broader policy dialogue on trust, resilience, innovation, and security in digital communication environments. His work engages with issues increasingly relevant to regulators and decision-makers, including digital infrastructure resilience, cross-border connectivity, AI-enabled systems, and the evolving relationship between technological development, public policy, and societal trust. He also serves as Romania’s national representative within the NATO Innovation Fund Partners’ Advisory Committee, contributing to discussions on dual-use technologies, innovation, and transatlantic cooperation.

Alexandru Mihailciuc is Senior Vice President of Customer Engineering International at UiPath, a global leader in agentic automation. In this strategic role, he leads a diverse international team of technical consultants, engineers, business consultants, and sales specialists dedicated to delivering automation solutions, facilitating seamless customer onboarding, and articulating compelling business value propositions to UiPath’s global clients and prospects.

Having joined UiPath in 2017, Mihailciuc brought extensive prior experience from Genpact, where he served in leadership roles across EMEA and LATAM, focusing on end-user computing, customer service, and solution delivery. His earlier career spans project management and IT services at BPM Wave, giving him a broad foundation in technology and client-centered delivery. With a strong academic background, including a PhD in Environmental Economics from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Mihailciuc combines deep analytical rigor with a passion for scalable business solutions.

Dr Allyson Leacock, Chairman of the Barbados Broadcasting Authority and Director of National Transformation Initiative, Government of Barbados, is also an independent media and human development consultant. She led a coalition of 112 Media Houses in 24 Caribbean countries for 12 years and trained over 2000 Caribbean broadcasters. She served on the Executive Board of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) and was elected for 2 terms as Chairman of the Global Steering Committee for the World AIDS Campaign. She was also Cultural Affairs Specialist at the US Embassy covering the Caribbean and Officer-In-Charge and Student Coordinator at the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC), now the Open Campus.

Dr Allyson Leacock was conferred with the Order of the Republic (OR) in Barbados National Honours on 30 November 2023. The award was given by the President of Barbados – In ‘recognition of sterling contribution to broadcasting, media relations, corporate communications, training, human resource development and educational technology, as well as distinguished service to Barbados as Head of National Transformation Initiative’.

Dr Leacock has a wide-ranging professional background including in executive management in corporate communications, media, needs assessment, training, human resource development and leadership, as well broadcast media including production and presentation as TV News Anchor, and as General Manager of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation.

She holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Educational Technology, Concordia University, Canada and BA (Double First Class Honours) in English and Education and the Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed with distinction) from Stirling University, UK. Her training also includes Diplomas in Human Resource Management, Facility Management, Arts Management and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

A Former national athlete, gymnast, dancer and actress, Dr Leacock is trained in sign language, is a volunteer with Special Olympics and Barbados Council for the Disabled.

Dr Leacock is also Former Chair of the International Institute of Communications Small Nations Regulators Forum 2021-2022.

Andrei Niculae Vice president of the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania since December 30, 2022. A graduate of Political Science at the University of Bucharest, Andrei is an advocate for the digital transformation of our society, for a more efficient state-citizen relationship, goals that he aims to accomplish at the ADR.

Andrew Lewis is Head of International Strategy at Ofcom. Having joined Ofcom in 2018, Andrew has spent time working in different parts of Ofcom including the Public Policy Team (focusing consumer protection), the Online Safety Group (focusing on stakeholder engagement), and in the Chief Executive’s Office (advising on broadcasting, media,  and digital policy issues).

Prior to Ofcom, Andrew spent five years at Sport England as Head of External Affairs. Before that he was a civil servant in the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and during this part of his career he took a sabbatical in 2010-2012 to teach at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine, and to study Ukrainian language and culture.

Major-General Anton ROG is the Head of the National Cyberint Center (CNC) within the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI). CNC is responsible for conducting 24/7 activities to discover, characterize and proactively counter cyber threats against systems and networks critical to Romania national security. Mr. Rog has held various technical development positions including software and systems design. He has also served as a Deputy Director within SRI IT&C Central department. Throughout his career, Major-General Anton ROG had operational successes in partnership with the intelligence services of the Euro-Atlantic area.

Anton ROG graduated from the University of Bucharest in 1998 with a B.S. in information technology, and he received a Postgraduate degree in program and project management in 2011 from DRESMARA. He is active with the academic community as associated professor at DRESMARA Brasov. His academic background in the field of security studies was enriched by attending the ”Applicability of International Law to State Behavior in Cyberspace” course, organized by George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. He was awarded Knight of the Order Manhood and Faith in 2014 and Knight of the Order of Military Virtue in 2005 by two Presidents of Romania.

Armela Krasniqi is Chair of the Audiovisual Media Authority of Albania, elected by the Albanian Parliament in 2021. She teaches journalism and communication at Bachelor and Master level at the Universities of Pristina and Albania. She has extensive experience in media and communication, including as Director General of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, and has held leadership roles in regional and European media organisations, serving as Vice President of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) and as President of the Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities (MNRA).

Dr. Bogdan Chirițoiu is the President of the Romanian Competition Council since 2009. In 2019, Bogdan Chirițoiu became member of the Administrative Board of the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and since 2026 he is the Chair of the ACER Administrative Board.

From 2005 to 2009 he has served as Presidential Advisor and he was the Head of the Romanian Delegation to the EU Economic Policy Committee. He holds, since 2008, a PhD in Economics at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. Bogdan Chirițoiu has a MA in political science (Central European University, Budapest, 1997) and a MSc in European Studies (London School of Economics and Political Science, 1998).

Dr. Chirițoiu is a lecturer on Public Administration and European Studies at the University of Bucharest, since 1999.

Bio coming soon…

Since November 2011, she has been serving as Head of the Regulation Unit within the Legal Department of the Romanian National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM). In this role, she is responsible for drafting regulatory measures and legislative initiatives in the fields of electronic communications and postal services. She also acts as a key contact point for legal and regulatory matters involving the European Commission, national regulatory authorities, international organizations and service providers in the communications and postal sectors.

Previously, she worked as a Competition Inspector within the State Aid Authorization Directorate of the Romanian Competition Council. Her responsibilities included providing expert assistance on state aid matters, analyzing public support measures and national legislation, coordinating with the European Commission, contributing to Romania’s position on EU legislative initiatives and representing Romania in international and multilateral meetings on competition and state aid policy.

Cezar Iulian Ion currently holds the position of Director of the Editorial Department (or Director of the Editorial Division / Content Department) within the Romanian Television Society (TVR).

He has over 34 years of experience in mass media, starting in 1992 in print press (Evenimentul Zilei, Cotidianul, Dreptatea) and continuing from 1994 at TVR as scriptwriter-producer, reporter, presenter, producer, and TV program producer. He specializes in television journalism and the development of TV program formats, coordinating and presenting various TVR shows over the years.

Since 2006 to the present, he has held editorial leadership roles at TVR under various organizational structures, including the Editorial Production Department and the Editorial Division.

Cezara Panait is a human rights lawyer and digital policy professional with comprehensive knowledge of legal, policy and regulatory issues. She acts as the Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy for Google Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova, showcasing Google’s contribution to the local digital economy, overseeing the tech regulatory landscape and promoting digital upskilling. She is also the AI policy lead for Google in the Central and Eastern European region.

Cezara graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Bucharest and holds a Master’s degree, LL.M. in Human Rights, from the Central European University. She frequently published press articles and moderated high-level debates with policy-makers and industry stakeholders on emerging technologies topics. She also acted as trainer, facilitator and researcher on digital policies in several countries around Europe and the United States. She won international awards for developing policy proposals on AI ethics, online content and data protection at policy hackathons and regional competitions.

Through her activities, she wants to contribute to strengthening an open and transparent debate framework between all actors involved in the decision-making process.

Ciprian Rus is a Senator in the Romanian Parliament and President of the Senate Committee on Communications, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With over 20 years of professional experience in the IT sector and an academic background in computer science from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, he focuses his parliamentary work on digital transformation, public digital infrastructure, interoperability, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence governance and the modernization of public services.

As chair of the Senate’s IT and AI Committee, Ciprian Rus promotes a citizen-centred vision of digital government, based on trusted digital identity, secure electronic communication, data interoperability, cloud infrastructure, and the principle that citizens should not be required to provide the state with information the state already has.

His legislative priorities include building a coherent digital architecture for Romania’s public administration, strengthening trust in electronic communications, supporting responsible AI regulation and ensuring that digital public services are simple, secure and accessible to all citizens.

Dan has 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, strategy, policy, risk management, audit, and compliance in Brussels, Bucharest, and internationally. He led professional teams supporting European Institutions, governments, and corporates businesses in implementing cybersecurity strategies, policies, or operational and technical measures.

In November 2021 he was appointed as The Director of the National Cyber Security Directorate, by decision of the Romanian Prime-Minister.

Dan is management board member of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), in addition to several other roles at the level of Romanian and European level.

Dynamite Obinna is the Starlink Policy Lead for Africa and Europe at SpaceX. In this role, he works closely with regulators, governments, and stakeholders across both continents to advance spectrum access, licensing, and policy frameworks that enable the deployment of low-latency satellite broadband, supporting universal connectivity goals in underserved and emerging markets.

Prior to his current focus on Starlink policy, Dynamite joined SpaceX in 2018 as a Mission Integration Engineer and  contributed directly to historic human spaceflight milestones, playing a key role in certifying the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon for crewed operations,  including the landmark Demo-2 mission, the first commercial flight to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely to Earth. He later advanced into more technical and programmatic leadership, serving as the Baseline Certification Lead for SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS). In that capacity, he led cross-functional teams delivering NASA certification artifacts in support of the Artemis program’s goal of returning humans sustainably to the Moon.

Gabriel Dinu is the deputy of the director of the National Cyber Security Directorate of Romania, in charge of regulatory affairs, control and certification, since 2023. He has over 10 years of experience in the cybersecurity field, with a focus on managing complex cyber threats and the protection of IT&C infrastructures from critical sectors.

Horia Cucu is an Associate Professor at POLITEHNICA Bucharest and the CEO of Zevo Tech, specializing in the practical application of Artificial Intelligence and Speech Processing. With a career spanning over 15 years at the intersection of academia and industry, Horia has directed 16 research projects and authored over 100 scientific publications focused on deep learning and spoken language technology. He is the founder of Zevo Tech, a speech AI start-up that translates cutting-edge research into high-impact commercial solutions, including AI-based voice bots and sophisticated call analytics platforms.

A recipient of the Romanian Academy Prize “Mihail Drăgănescu” for developing the first large-vocabulary automatic speech recognition system for the Romanian language, Horia’s work is defined by solving the technical challenges of digital communication. As a patent holder and tech leader, he focuses on the architecture and deployment of scalable AI systems that enhance how we process, understand, and optimize human speech in the digital age.

Leader & Innovation Strategist with 20 years of expertise spanning corporate security architecture, audits, and international compliance. As a core member of the Development & Innovation Team at Orange, I drive the lifecycle—definition, R&D, testing, and deployment—of next-generation enterprise security services. My focus sits at the cutting edge of infrastructure resilience and future-tech environments, directly advancing security applications for 6G, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).
Parallel to my enterprise work, I am deeply committed to ecosystem growth—acting as a technical mentor for cybersecurity education programs and contributing published research on infrastructure protection.

Global Speaker: A recurring main-stage presenter at premier international cybersecurity summits, including Def.Camp and Dev.Talks

R&D Contributor: Active driver of Research & Innovation actions shaping tomorrow’s telecommunications security frameworks.

Mentor: Dedicated educator shaping the next wave of defensive talent.

Ionut is a Principal at Frontier Economics, advising clients on competition, telecoms, media and digital matters across the UK and Europe, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

Ionut has advised on several large‑scale and high‑profile matters, including Phase II merger filings, abuse of dominance investigations and follow‑on damages cases before the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and national competition authorities across Europe.

Ionut holds an MSc in Economics from Birkbeck, University of London, and an MSc in Computational Data Analytics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Mrs Iuliana Chilea has been the Director General of ASRO, the Romanian Standards Association, since July 2017. Before that, she was the Director of the Standardization Division from 2010 to 2017, representing ASRO in the CEN and CENELEC Technical Boards and contributing as a convenor of several working groups. Mrs Chilea has served as a member of the MRMC since 2018 and was elected as a member of the CENELEC Administrative Board in 2019, starting in her role in January 2020. At the European level, she has been appointed as a member in the European Commission’s Committee on Standards. With a master’s degree in Law, Mrs Chilea started her career in standardization in 2003 as Copyright Administrator and Legal Adviser at ASRO. She further developed her expertise on copyright and intellectual property by working as an IPR attorney in a private law firm from 2006 to 2010. She also pursued post-graduate studies on EU Law, executive trainings provided by ISO, OECD and WTO. Currently, she is continuing her academic education in Business Administration at Bucharest University of Economic Studies. She was CEN Board Member from 2024 to 2025. She was elected as CEN Vice-President Technical for a two-year mandate, starting in January 2026.

Josip Popovac was born in 1974. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. Mr. Popovac spent most of his career at Croatian Radio Television (HRT) – working there over the past twenty years as a Producer, Line Producer of HTV’s Drama Program, and HTV’s Executive Producer. From 2009 to 2011, he was the acting Director General of HRT, managing business operations, and representing the institution. From 2011 to 2012, he was the President of the Management Board and interim Director General of HRT, responsible for all segments relating to management of this public radio and television institution. He was also responsible for the implementation of decisions made by HRT’s Program Council and Supervisory Board. From 2010 to 2013, he served as the President of the European Association of Public Service Media in Southeast Europe. During 2013, he was HRT’s Line Producer, and from 2013 to 2017, he was at the helm of the Production Management department and the Assistant Director of HRT’s Production.

Mr. Popovac joined the Electronic Media Council, moving from the position of Manager of HTV’s Selection and Procurement Department. On June 29^th, 2018, the Croatian Parliament appointed Mr. Popovac a Member of the Electronic Media Council. At the same Parliament Session, the decision was also made to appoint Mr. Popovac President of the Electronic Media Council and Director of the Agency for Electronic Media from September 1^st, 2018. In 2022, he was re-elected for a five-year term as Director of the Agency and President of the Electronic Media Council.

At the end of March 2026 the Act on the Implementation of the Regulation establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU, i.e. the act ensuring the implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), entered into force. Despite the direct applicability of EMFA and its primacy over national legislation, the need to adopt a national implementing regulation emerged.

The resulting implementation act transformed the Electronic Media Agency into the new Media Regulatory Authority, establishing a stronger independent regulatory body with expanded responsibilities and consolidating regulatory oversight over the entire media sector. Thus, the Electronic Media Council became the Media Council, and Josip Popovac became the President of the Media Council and Director of the Media Regulatory Authority.

Julien Ducarroz is the Chief Executive Officer of Orange Romania. A graduate of ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), he has more than 20 years of leadership experience within the Orange Group across several European markets, including Romania, Moldova and Poland.

Throughout his career, he has led major business transformation and connectivity projects, with expertise spanning telecommunications strategy, digital innovation, fiber and mobile infrastructure development, and commercial transformation.

Prior to returning to Romania as CEO in 2023, Julien Ducarroz served as CEO of Orange Poland, where he led the company’s growth strategy and large-scale fiber expansion initiatives aimed at accelerating digital inclusion.

Today, he focuses on strengthening Orange Romania’s leadership in next-generation connectivity and digital innovation.

Head of Government Affairs CEE, Cisco Systems. Member of the Management Board of Digital Poland Association. Co-Chair of Digitization Committee at American Chamber of Commerce in Poland. Assistant Professor at Warsaw University of Technology. 

Katja is a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in the field of electronic communications from the perspective of a national regulatory authority. She currently serves as Advisor to the Director for International Affairs, following several years leading the Inspection Department at the Slovenian telecommunications regulator.

Throughout her career, she has gained extensive practical expertise in market regulation, the security and resilience of electronic communications networks and services, privacy and data protection, consumer protection, open internet regulation, and quality of service.

Since 2019, Katja has been co-chairing the BEREC Working Group on Cybersecurity and Resilience. In this role, she works closely with the NIS Cooperation Group, the European Commission, and ENISA on a broad range of cybersecurity and resilience issues of common European interest. She also served for several years as BEREC’s representative in the ENISA Advisory Group.

Liliana Vițu was appointed the Chair of the Audiovisual Council, Moldova’s regulatory body for TV and Radio, in December 2021 for a six-year mandate.

Ms. Vițu started her career in 1999 as a BBC World Service correspondent in Moldova. In 2009, she was appointed the director of the News and Debates Department at the public TV channel “Moldova 1” to promote long overdue reforms at the public broadcaster.

As Prime-minister Spokesperson from 2013 to 2015 she ran nationwide public communication campaigns on the EU-Moldova Association Agreement and visa free regime. Her experience includes consulting in media development for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, UNDP Uzbekistan, OSCE Tajikistan and working as a Project Director for Internews in Kyrgyzstan.

In 2011 she was the first journalist to be nominated by the US Embassy for the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists, USA. In October 2023 Russia banned her from entering the country for fighting its propaganda and disinformation in her role at the Audiovisual Council.

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mantas Martišius is the Chairman of the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (RTCL), appointed by a resolution of the Parliament (Seimas) of the Republic of Lithuania.

In 2007, he defended his PhD in Communication Sciences at Vilnius University. His doctoral dissertation, titled “The Impact of Information Warfare on Lithuanian Mass Media (in the context of the Second Gulf War)”, was the first PhD thesis in Lithuania on the topic of information warfare. Since 2006, he has been lecturing at Vilnius University (with interruptions), where he teaches courses on propaganda and information warfare.

From 2018 to 2021, and again since 2024, he has served as Chairman of the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania. Previously, he held the positions of Deputy Chairman (2017–2018) and Member of the Commission (2013–2017).

He is a member of the Board of the Geostrategic Security Studies Centre in Lithuania and frequently participates in various state and non-governmental expert groups.

Mari Velsand is Director General at the Norwegian Media Authority since 2017. Before that, she for more than 20 years held different management positions in the Norwegian media industry. Mari has been engaged in international work in the media field; until 2025 she was Chair of the Executive Board of EPRA (The European Platform of Regulatory Authorities), and she is currently President of the European Audiovisual Observatory. Mari Velsand is journalist by profession and holds a Master’s degree in Management.

Marko Mišmaš has been serving as the Director of the Agency for Communication Networks and Services of the Republic of Slovenia (AKOS) since 2023. His extensive professional background is rooted in over two decades of industry experience. Prior to his role at AKOS, the incoming BEREC Chair 2026 held various positions in telecommunications, smart metering, and the automotive industries, most recently as R&D Director in the private company Iskra Mehanizmi and before that as R&D Director in the company Iskraemeco. Marko Mišmaš holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ljubljana.

Mauricio Vera Sánchez is Commissioner of the Audiovisual Content Session. He is a Social Communicator and Journalist with a PhD in Social Studies from Universidad Externado de Colombia, and holds specializations in Television from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and in Aesthetics from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. With more than 26 years of experience in academia and the audiovisual sector, he has served as professor and researcher at several universities, including Universidad Externado, UNAD, Universidad del Quindío, and Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina. He has also worked as a director and producer of content at Universidad de Antioquia, Telecafé, and the Caro y Cuervo Institute, and was a member of the Research Group of the Audiovisual Content Observatory of the ANTV. His productions have received national and international recognition, including the India Catalina Awards, Prix Jeunesse International, Japan Prize, the National Culture Award, and the National Scientific Merit Award.

Mieke focuses on connectivity and space policy, supporting Amazon Leo’s mission to deliver fast, reliable internet connectivity to customers and communities beyond the reach of existing networks. Based in Brussels, at the heart of European policymaking, she works on the intersection between regulation, policy and technology, shaping forward-looking frameworks for digital infrastructure and satellite connectivity.

Prior to joining Amazon in 2025, Mieke served as a senior Advisor on EU digital and telecommunications policy at the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU. During the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2024, she chaired legislative negotiations between the EU Member States and conducted trilogue discussions with the European Parliament on key telecom legislation. She previously worked at the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT), where she covered international telecom and digital regulatory developments. In 2021, she had a leading role within BEREC (the European Body of Regulators for Electronic Communications).

Mieke holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Philosophy from Ghent University and a postgraduate degree in Corporate Finance from KU Leuven. Since 2020, she has also been a guest lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht.

Mihnea Costoiu is the Rector of the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest and the Secretary General of the National Council of Rectors of Romania, positions he has held since 2012. During the period 2001 – 2014, Mihnea Costoiu held several positions within the Ministry of Education of Romania, including Secretary General, Secretary of State, and Delegate Minister for Higher Education and Research.

In 2018, he was elected a member of the Board of Directors of CESAER (Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research), and in the period 2020–2021 he held the position of Vice President of the organization. His term on the CESAER Board of Directors continued until 2025. Also in 2017, Mihnea Costoiu became a member of the Board of Directors of the Francophone University Agency (AUF), and since 2021 he was elected a member of the Member Institutions Committee, representing the Central and Eastern Europe region, positions which he held until 2025.

Also, Mihnea Costoiu represents the National Council of Rectors of Romania in the governing bodies of the European University Association (EUA), namely in the Forum of General Secretaries and the association’s Council.
For his remarkable contributions in the field of education, Mihnea Costoiu was awarded in 2004 the National Order “Faithful Service” at the rank of Knight, and in 2024, the National Order “Faithful Service” at the rank of Officer, in recognition of his exceptional results in the intellectual and human formation of young generations and for promoting the quality of Romanian university education.

A leader with over 20 years of international experience and more than half in the telecommunications industry, Nedim Baytorun is the CEO of Vodafone Romania as of April 1^st, 2025. During his prior mandate as Consumer Business Unit Director, he has been instrumental in transforming the retail infrastructure and delivered a new channels expansion strategy, including digital, reshaping the customer experience and starting the transformation of Vodafone Romania into a Tech Retailer.

After an international career at Danone Group in Turkey and the United States, Nedim joined Vodafone Turkey in 2013 and has held several strategic roles in the commercial and marketing areas. Subsequently, he joined Vodafone Albania as Consumer Business Director, a role in which he coordinated the company’s strategic transformation. Throughout his presence there, he was involved in major digitalization projects, including the launch of the first digital trading platform on the local market.

Bio coming soon…

Pavel Popescu serves as Vice President of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) in Romania, appointed by Parliament on October 10, 2023, for a six-year term. He oversees regulation of telecommunications, the electronic communications market, postal services, Digital Services Act compliance, cybersecurity and space cooperation.

Previously, he chaired the Defense and National Security Committee and served two terms as a Member of Parliament, while also holding a Vice President position in the National Liberal Party (PNL). During this time, he promoted Romania’s legislation on 5G, cybersecurity and foreign direct investment (FDI). He promoted the first European law requiring telecom operators to remove Chinese equipment from networks, as well as Romania’s FDI screening mechanism, modeled after the U.S. CFIUS process. He also backed $3 million in funding for the Victims of Communism Museum in Washington, D.C.

A supporter of NATO and transatlantic security, he has worked to address Chinese and Russian interference in Romania and Europe. He helped establish the Romanian National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) and supported salary increases for its specialists. Recognized for his work in 5G, national security, cybersecurity, and FDI, he speaks at international events.

In his current role, he has collaborated with SpaceX and Starlink to explore reforms to EPFD (Equivalent Power Flux Density) regulations, positioning Romania in the evolving space economy.

Peter Matzneller is Manager of Global Affairs at Netflix. In this role, he focuses primarily on key issues of European media regulation and is the main contact person for media regulatory authorities in the EU.

From November 2015 to February 2023, Peter Matzneller was Legal and European Affairs Officer at the Joint Office of the German Media Regulatory Authorities in Berlin. In this capacity, he also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) from May 2021 to February 2023.

Previously, Peter Matzneller was Managing Director of the Institute for European Media Law (EMR), based in Saarbrücken and Brussels.

Robert C. Schwartz is President and Director General of the Romanian Radio Society. A journalist and media manager with over three decades of experience, he spent nearly thirty years at Deutsche Welle in Germany, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Romanian Editorial Department from 2000 to 2020. Earlier in his career, he made history as the first freely elected high-school director in post-communist Romania and represented the German minority in Romania’s first provisional parliament in 1990. In 2012, the President of Romania awarded him the Order of Cultural Merit, Commander grade.

Senior Business Executive with 30+ years of professional experience, developing and executing successful market strategy, achieving business development goals (100+M€) and building long lasting customer and partner relationships in the Romanian market.

Solid experience of managing large teams (2000 + people Nokia Romania today) as well as managing sales team: defining targets, supporting key account managers, and providing guidance to deliver growth and maximize sales both into the service provider and enterprise segments.

Country Manager of Nokia Romania since September 2017.

Administrator of Nokia Networks SRL.

 Key areas of expertise

Executive leadership competencies: strategic planning, growths initiatives, business and financial planning acumen, P&L management, cross-functional team leadership, senior sales, marketing skills, transformation and change management, ability to work in multicultural, international environment

Broad expertise in IT&C technologies and trends: Mobile and fixed access solution (2G/3G, LTE, 5G,5G advanced, GPON, XGS PON, POL etc.), transport and aggregation (IP/DWDM), cloud and core solutions, quantum safe communication, data center fabric and interconnect, private wireless networks, Internet of things, analytics, smart cities or different   mission critical networks – public Safety, transportation (GSM-R, FRMCS), energy, defense, manufacturing and logistics

Bio coming soon…

I currently serve as Vice President of the National Audiovisual Council of Romania and Vice Chair of EPRA – the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities for audiovisual media. I have substantial experience in central and local public administration, having held senior and dignitary-level positions in key Romanian institutions, including the Parliament, various ministries, and national authorities.

I graduated from the “Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music in Cluj-Napoca and subsequently specialised in law, European affairs, strategic communication, and journalism. I have participated in international training programmes, including those organized by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Navy, developing extensive expertise in media, European policy, and countering disinformation.

Bio coming soon…

Valeriu Ștefan Zgonea has taken the position of President of ANCOM starting 11 May 2023 for a 6 year-term.

Mr Zgonea has activated within the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (ICI Bucharest) during 2018-2023 and has held four mandates of deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament between 2000-2016. In the 2000-2004 parliamentary term, he was a member of the Committee for Information Technologies and Communications, while from 2006 to 2016 he held the posts of quaestor and secretary of the Chamber of Deputies. Furthermore, Mr Zgonea has been Vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies between 2010 and 2012, then President of the Chamber of Deputies in the 2012 – 2016 parliamentary term.

Valeriu Ștefan Zgonea graduated from the National Institute of Constructions and has various specializations in cyber diplomacy and infrastructures in the context of digitalization at education institutions such as European Security and Defence College, King’s College and George Marshall European Center for Security Studies and N.E.S.A.

Mr. Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu has been the Chairman of the Board and President of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) of the Republic of Türkiye since August 2018. He was re-appointed for a second term in August 2022 after completing his first 4-year term in this position.
He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1975. He is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer graduated from Eastern Mediterranean University.

Mr. Karagözoğlu worked as a software engineer at Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI) of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) from 2002 to 2004. Between 2004 and 2016, he held various managerial positions at BELBIM, a technology company of IMM.
He served as the Adviser to the Chairman and Board Member of BTK before his appointment.