19 November 2024
Bucharest, Romania
Strada Negustori 16
at "The Villa"
Women in Green Tech - Boosting Female Entrepreneurship
Check out our speakers
Elena Popescu, Cabinet Director for Dan Dragan, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Energy in Romania
Mrs. Elena Popescu, MS and PhD Power Engineer, graduated from Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Energy Faculty, she holds a PhD on energy policies: “optimal energy mix and the role of nuclear energy”. Elena Popescu is specialized on energy policy, nuclear energy, with an extensive activity on energy strategy, energy planning, state aid, restructuring plans, European Affairs and international relations, nuclear industry, nuclear European regulation and nuclear policy issues.
Based on her extensive experience, Elena Popescu is currently senior adviser on energy and nuclear affairs at the Ministry of Energy.
Elin Widsteen, Deputy Head of Mission at The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest
Theresa Neuhauser, Manager Communications - European Institute for Technology (EIT) Manufacturing, Women TechEU
Theresa Neuhauser has several years of international experience in the manufacturing and the real estate industry in various capacities. With an academic background in International Business Management as well as Finance and Controlling and International Law, she brings in-depth knowledge of business management processes. Theresa has been co-authoring diverse scientific publications and is co-lecturer for topics such as Leadership, Human Resource Management or Product Lifecylce Management at different universities. Since 2020, she is heading the communications department of EIT Manufacturing East in Vienna and is responsible for strategic communications in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Hildegard Brandl, Architect and Entrepeneur, Vice President of CONAF
Director of the architectural studio UNITH2B Architects, with 20 architects and more than 17 years of large scale architectural & urbanistic projects in Romania, Germany, & France. She is a Founding & Board member of the Romanian Architectural Firms Association ASAR, and Vicepresident of CONAF National Confederation for Female Entrepreneurship. Other endeavours include Leader of the project “Antreprenoresti” – Adopt a village by RBL Romanian Business Leaders, project for the regional development and the rural-urban synergy. She is also an AHK Member – Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
She is part of the Coalition for the Development of Romania (CDR) affiliated through Romanian Business Leaders, a private initiative to foster long-term collaboration between government, EU and entrepreneurial organisations. CDR reunites the most representative organisations for the Romanian business environment, reuniting over 50% of the country’s business environment. Hildegard Brandl contributes on proposals for public policies and especially to the dialogue between romanian entrepreneurship and the relevant partners at the European Commission organizing over 25 roundtables at the DIGI and Comissioner level of the EU Commission. She has won several awards and distinctions through her work.
Thomas Egger Sørensen, Director for the Special Assignments Department, Innovation Norway
Harpa Pétursdóttir, Founder, Women in Energy, Iceland
Mikołaj Gan, Head of Unit, Department of Innovation Implementation in Enterprises based in Warszawa, Poland
A graduate of the University of Warsaw. He has been associated with PARP for many years, where he is responsible for implementing support instruments for entrepreneurs. He was involved in the implementation of projects financed by the European Union. Currently, he is involved in the implementation of instruments for entrepreneurs under the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Program financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, 2014-2021 and the European Funds for a Smart Economy Program.
Effie Kotsiopoulou, Project Co-ordinator, Women On Top, Greece
Effie is a Project Manager at Women On Top and a Certified Personal and Business Coach. She studied Business Administration at the Athens University of Economics and Business and, after a quick passage from the Human Resources sector, she turned to Civil Society. Since 2020, she has been a part of the Women On Top team. Through her work, she strives daily to contribute to the creation of an equal and inclusive society. She has attended the programs “Organizational Psychology and Behavior” of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the “Training of executives for the design and implementation of gender equality policies” of the University of Aegean and the "Leadership for Gender Equality" from the British Council. She is constantly educating herself on issues related to gender topics and as a coach, she simultaneously works with people who want to discover their own professional path that will bring them closer to the career they desire.
Maria Mineiro, Head of the National Focal Point, EEA Grants Portugal
Joana Marteleira, Coordinator, Commission of Citizenship and Gender Equality, Portugal
Cristina Chiriac
The National Confederation for Women's Entrepreneurship (CONAF) is the most relevant confederation in Romania advocating for effective dialogue with authorities and collaboration in developing public policies that lead to sustainable economic growth, while supporting entrepreneurs and recognizing their merits. CONAF was established out of the need to create a modern, sustainable, and equitable entrepreneurial culture, not only for women's entrepreneurship but for the entire business environment. CONAF comprises 30 branches, 2 federations, 12 employers' associations, 20 associations, and over 5,500 companies, with more than 220,000 employees.
Among CONAF's projects are: "Pact for Youth", "Entrepreneurial Education Marathon", "DigitalUP", "Pact for Work" - in partnership with FPPG, "Pact for Entrepreneurial Education", "Romanian Venture Forum" series of open dialogues, "Romanian Tourism: Between Impasse and Opportunity".
Paulina Chotrova, President and Founder of Women in Deep Tech, Bulgaria
Paulina is a leader and advocate for women in technology, business, and innovation. As the President and Founder of Women in Deep Tech, she has established a powerful platform that supports and promotes women leading in cutting-edge technologies. Her influence extends across Europe as the Regional Ambassador for the Balkans in Women in AI, and she is dedicated to fostering gender diversity in artificial intelligence across the region. Additionally, Paolina serves as the Plovdiv division representative of the AI Cluster, further advancing AI-driven solutions and collaboration in Bulgaria. She also serves as a Google for Startups mentor, empowering women entrepreneurs, and is a Women Techmakers Ambassador.
Guðfinna Valgeirsdóttir, Marketing Director, Iceland Innovation Week
Angela Holter, Angel Investor, Founder and Chair of the Board, WIN – Women Investors' Network, Norway
Angela Holter, recognized by EBAN as one of the top 25 European Women Angel Investors, is the Founding Partner of WIN Ventures, an investment company that enables women to invest together in high-growth tech enterprises, and the Founder and Chair of the Board of WIN (Women Investors' Network) an organization dedicated to reducing financial inequality between the genders by empowering women to learn to invest and become angel investors. Angela is the former Managing Director of Astia Angels, a Silicon Valley-based VC and angel community investing in companies with women leaders. Angela has also has served a guest lecturer at Cambridge University, Kristiania University, and OsloMet. She has an MSc in finance and international business, with 20+ years of experience in international business development, investment banking, and venture capital, with her passion for gender inclusion.
Roxana Margan, Founder and Co-CEO Originis
Roxana Margan is the Co-Founder of Originis, a company dedicated to addressing the challenges in medical research through data innovation. Since February 2020, Roxana has been focused on tackling issues related to data fragmentation and the lack of standardization, which make research processes difficult for doctors. At Originis, the team develops cutting-edge solutions that leverage advanced technologies like AI and NLP to enhance medical research by digitizing data at the source. Their user-friendly platform, designed by doctors for doctors, empowers healthcare professionals to extract actionable insights from complex datasets, ultimately improving the efficiency of medical research.
Ruxandra Cord, Co-founder theCoRD, Meta Education
Ruxandra is educated as a journalist and enjoyed her career until it became a tabloid scene. She then transitioned to PR and crisis communication for about 13 years, finding it meaningful until she didn’t. Seeking a new perspective, she enrolled in an entrepreneurial EMBA, which successfully changed her frame of reference. She trained as a team coach, aiming to serve the entire organization, not just top management teams. To achieve this, she founded theCoRD.ai, an AI that coaches teams in their workflow, analyzes how the company operates by examining team meetings, and keeps employees engaged with shorter, action-oriented meetings. Currently, she is learning to see the world in fractals, recognizing patterns and changing them when possible.
Diana Andritchi, Co-Founder Synaptiq
Diana is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Synaptiq.io, a startup focused on improving cancer treatment. With a background in Business Administration, she holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees and has gained international experience in Germany and the US. Diana’s achievements include securing a European grant, leading recruiting efforts, and winning first prize at the InnovX accelerator. Passionate about innovation and making a meaningful impact in healthcare, she continues to drive Synaptiq’s growth while fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
AnaMaria Onica, CEO and Co-Founder SpeakQuest
Co-founder and CEO of VOXivers, the leading provider of remote speech therapy and special education in Eastern Europe. VOXivers combines innovative digital solutions with a network of expert speech therapists to deliver personalized, remote therapy and educational support to children at home and in schools. Thtrough the VOXi Platform and VOXiKids App, SpeakQuest provides interactive exercises and AI-driven tools that make learning accessible and engaging for children everywhere. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, VOXivers is transforming how speech therapy and education are delivered, ensuring that all children, no matter where they are, have access to the high-quality support they need,
Gergana Stancheva, Co-Founder Lam'On
Gergana Stancheva started her career as an illustrator. She worked as a freelancer and for over 6 years in two start-ups - Empower United and Yatoto.
At the end of 2017 Angela Ivanova and Gergana started developing LAM’ON, a manufacturing company that develops and produces sustainable print and packaging solutions. After 6 years in R&D, the company entered the market with two products from its packaging line PACK’ON.
LAM’ON is recognised by EIT, EIC, Forbes, EUSIC, Nova Institute and many more for its innovative solutions, dedicated to reducing plastic waste.
Gergana was awarded a place in Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2017 for Social Entrepreneurship.
Georgiana Pogonaru, Honorary Consul at the Consulate of Iceland in Romania
Her background as a former researcher and lecturer in the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Bucharest provided her with the technical expertise needed to establish Romcolor 2000 SA in 1995. Since its founding, the company has grown into a leading producer of colorants and additives for the plastics industry.
In addition, she is actively engaged in charitable initiatives and is a dedicated supporter of Romanian heritage.
Since 2007, she has served as Honorary Consul of Iceland in Romania.
Oana Ozmen, Member of the Chamber of Deputees, Secretary of the Industry Committee and raporteur of the Hydrogen Group
Oana-Marciana Özmen is a lawyer by profession, specializing in commercial law, insolvency, and business consultancy. Currently, Mrs Özmen serves as a Member of the Romanian Parliament and Secretary of the Committee for Industries and Services in the Chamber of Deputies. In this role, she has promoted the strengthening of the regulatory framework in the field of energy efficiency, particularly in the building sector. Mrs Özmen is the initiator of the Hydrogen Law in Romania and serves as the rapporteur for the parliamentary working group on hydrogen.