A voluntary honorary Superbrands Council is formed annually, comprised of highly recognized professionals with a deep appreciation of the business environment, specialized in marketing, communication and business administration and reputed representatives of business media.

Anca Harasim

Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce in Romania

Anca Harasim is the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania), the Vice-President of Harvard Club Romania-Moldova and a founding member of Aspen Institute Romania. She holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Over the last twenty years, she has fulfilled assignments in major non-governmental organizations in Romania, as Executive Director of the Soros Foundation for an Open Society, the Fulbright Commission and AmCham Romania. Her professional experience consists of assignments at The World Bank Albania for the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program, and consultant for the European Commission’s PHARE Program in Romania on reform of the Local Public Administration.
With over twenty years senior-level experience in managing and developing non-profit organizations, of public policy and program strategic planning, management development and implementation of innovative reform projects in Central & Eastern Europe, Anca is currently serving on the boards of several NGOs, in addition to her lead at AmCham Romania.

Andreea Florea

Managing Partner, Brandtailors

Andreea Florea is the Managing Partner of Brandtailors, a Romanian strategic brand consultancy and design firm.
Andreea joined Brandtailors in 2008 after graduating from the Faculty of Letters at the Bucharest University, at International Relations and European Studies and Social Communication and Public Relations specializations.
As a product branding Project Manager, she discovered her passion for branding and so, at the end of 2009, she became a Brand Consultant, working for both product branding and service branding divisions. The numerous brands she successfully shaped (Naturlich, Azuga Apa de Izvor, Covasna Taramul Apelor, Generis, HapiHap) or reshaped (Raraul, Laptic la Dorna, Antena 1, BCR Open, Fulga, Kandia, Magura), along with her commitment to a strategic approach on branding and her genuine inclination towards team work have led to her being appointed as Brandtailors’ Brand Strategy Coordinator in 2011.
At the beginning of 2012, Andreea was welcomed in the shareholders’ structure of Brandtailors, thus becoming the youngest partner in the branding and communication industry in Romania.

Andrei Bortun

CEO, The Institute; President of the “Civil Society Gala” Foundation

Born in 1976.
First business opened in 1998.
Andrei Bortun is currently CEO The Institute, President of the Civil Society Gala Foundation and Partner at Daescu Bortun Olteanu and Rusu + Bortun Brand Growers agencies.
Some of the most important projects initiated and organized by Andrei Bortun are:
– Adprint European Advertising Festival, 1998
– Internetics – the first branding, marketing and online advertising festival in Romania, 2001
– Civil Society Gala, the biggest project that promotes and rewards the NGO sector in Romania, 2002
– Art Directors Club Romania, 2008
– Romanian Design Week, the biggest design event in Romania, 2013
– Diploma – the Festival that promotes the new Romanian creative generation, 2014
In 2011, Andrei Bortun launched the editorial project called Institute, The Magazine and initiated The Institute hub, a space which in six years has hosted over 500 events dedicated to cultural and creative industries.
The Institute\’s purpose is to modernize Romania through the creative industries.

Calin Ile

President of Romania Hotel Industry Federation (FIHR)

Hotelier since 1997, Calin is very involved in promoting Romania as a tourism destination and for that reason he is always very attentive on identifying Romanian competitive advantages with focus on local specificity and authenticity.
General Manager of IBIS Hotel Gara de Nord, he is also responsible for CSR of Accor Hotels Romania. In this position he has the privilege to support special causes in the country, like for instance the Project Plant for the Planet which means 2 million trees planted in villages in Transylvania.
“I believe Romania has a special place on the global tourism map, is depending only on us to become more visible and attractive for visitors and investors. The Romanian Superbrands are part of our identity and will definitely have an important contribution in promoting Romania as a modern, trustful and desirable destination.”

Camelia Sucu

Founder and CEO Class Living, serial entrepreneur, public figure

Camelia Sucu is the founder and owner of Class Living, a luxury furniture and consultancy services studio and is known as a successful serial entrepreneur, business woman and a renowned public figure. She is also the founder of Mobexpert and owner of a concept store and restaurant named Iconic Food Wine & Design as well as the owner of Bucharest Wholesale Market.
She has been receiving several prestigious awards for her excellence and outstanding performance over the years in the business field. Most recently she has been recognized by Forbes Romania through the “The Philanthropy Top” title and “Business Woman” by Business Style. She has also held a humanitarian award for her remarkable contribution to the improvement of the lives of abandoned and underprivileged children in Romania. Recently she has been acknowledged as no 1 in the top of Romanian entrepreneurs in a research conducted by Unlock Market Research and Biz.
Camelia Sucu holds Political Studies and a General Medicine Degree by the University of Bucharest.

Colin Lovering

Commercial Director, COS Romania

Colin Lovering has been living and working in Romania since 2009 when he arrived to offer consultancy and advice to organisations looking for growth and profitability. He is currently Commercial Director with Corporate Office Solutions as well as Chairman of the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce.
He previously worked and lived in the USA and France where he trained and coached literally hundreds of sales professionals and Managers across Europe, North America, The Far East and South Africa.
Colin is also heavily involved and committed to supporting disability and homelessness in Romania and actively speaks and helps in both areas. His other activities include being Senior Tutor with the Institute of sales & marketing management and a lecturer at the University of Bucharest.
A father of two boys (Dan & Matthew) and a recent Grandfather to Frederick, Colin also enjoys football and rugby as well as a game of golf whenever possible.

Corneliu Cojocaru

Senior Expert, Communication & Multimedia Department, National Bank of Romania

Corneliu Cojocaru is reputed communication professional who gathered almost 20 years of hard work and success in the PR field, following a successful career in economic TV journalism. He is a dynamic speaker, who inspires audiences, proving an in-depth hnowledge of both PR and economics.
Between years 1997 and 2013 he acted as spokesman and Head of Communication leading Romanian Commercial Bank (Banca Comerciala Romana) and from 2013 he joined the National Bank of Romania as Principal Expert / Counselor in the Communication Department.
He is a member of the Jury of Honor of the Romanian Association of Public Relations (ARRP).
He was awarded as “PR Professional of The Year 2014” by Forum for International Communication, following many other awards granted to him over time for his performance, excellence and efficiency in PR and communication. He has been presiding the Communication Commission of the Romanian Banking Association for almost 13 years (2000 – 2013).

Cristian China Birta

Blogger & Online Entrepreneur

Cristian China Birta is blogger on cristianchinabirta.ro and online entrepreneur. Formed as journalist, he then crossed “the other side” and worked in the local and central public administration, becoming then a communication consultant.
In 2007, he discovered blogging and decided to follow this path. He writes on his personal blog, chinezu.ru about social media, blogging and entrepreneurship.
In 2011, Cristian launched Blogal Initiative, an agency through which he runs campaigns for bloggers in an innovative manner, characterized through a “democratization” of companies’ offers for bloggers.
Since 2013, he is part of Kooperativa.ro, meaning niche projects such as sportlocal.ro, blogdebere.ro, blogdefotografie.ro, blogdecafea.ro, blogdecinema.ro, taximetre.ro, all reunited under the brand umbrella Kooperativa 2.0, company owned by Cristian China Birta together with Vlad Dulea.

Cristian Pantazi

Editor in Chief, HotNews.ro

Cristian Pantazi is the Editor in Chief of HotNews.ro – the most important independent online information resource. He counts 19 years of experience in journalism, with the last 12 years spent with HotNews.ro.
Cristian Pantazi graduated the Faculty of Journalism (University of Bucharest) and the “Economic and Political Reporting from Southeast Europe” course, organized by Reuters Foundation.

Cristian Stancu

Marketing Manager, Sensiblu A&D Pharma/Sensiblu

Cristian is a marketing expert with over 22 years of experience with expertise in launching and developing big FMCG brands in the Romanian market.
Starting 1994, when Nova Brasilia coffee was launched on the Romanian market by Supreme Group of companies, Cristian developed the distribution system and managed the marketing activities for developing the coffee brands portfolio of the company till 2000 when Kraft Foods acquired the brands.
In the following years, under Cristian lead, Supreme Group launched the confectionary business by developing a complete portfolio of brands such as Primola, Anidor, Novatini and Ulpio and becoming one of the top 3 Romanian producers.
Starting 2012, when all brands were acquired by Kandia S.A, Cristian was part of the team that integrated the extended brands portfolio.
In 2014 Cristian switched from FMCG to retail as marketing manager of Sensiblu.

Daniel Kearvell

Managing Director, DHL Romania

Daniel holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, and a BA (Hons) in History and Russian from Nottingham University.
His journey started in London, UK. Working for the Russo- British Chamber of Commerce, he then moved to Moscow to take on the position of Commercial Manager Russia, before being appointed as Director, RBCC St Petersburg and North-West Russia in 2004.
In 2005 Daniel moved to DHL as the Area Manager for St Petersburg, and then subsequently the West Russia area. In 2009, Daniel moved to the Emerging Markets Regional Office as a Finance Controller, based first in Brussels and then in Dubai, before being appointed Country Manager Qatar in 2010. He has been Managing Director for DHL Romania, based in Bucharest, since 2012.
Daniel is Vice Chairman of the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Member of the Board of Directors; also he is a qualified facilitator of the DHL Certified International Specialist leadership programme.
Outside of work, Daniel is a keen sportsman, having played semi-professional rugby in the UK, and he is a keen footballer, golfer and cricketer. Daniel has also contributed to a book on the history of Russia.

Daniela Pavlovici

movesthatcount.com

A former PwC Marketing & Communications Consultant, Daniela has recently started a new enterprise to provide a platform for people like herself who wish to make a change in their lives and work for a start-up or volunteer with an NGO.
Previously she worked for over 18 years in communication, marketing, consulting and training, in multinationals, international and third sector organizations in Romania and abroad. Former employers include, besides PwC Romania and South East Europe, Verve Communication UK, Romanian Red Cross, UNDP.
In 2015, Daniela trained as solution focused coach. She believes in freedom to experience and personal responsibility to make the best of what life has to offer.

Daniela Palade Teodorescu

Editor in Chief, Avantaje magazine

Daniela holds a Master of Arts in Communication and Journalism, issued by University of Bucharest, Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences.
She is experienced in promoting the need for special public policies and social issues on advocacy and lobby campaigns dedicated to women in distress (single mothers and monoparental families, domestic violence, female migration and human traffic, gender equality, women empowerment, people with disabilities, health campaigns, parenting and educational issues, female entrepreneurship).
Public speaker and motivational speaker for conferences among women communities all over the country (topics on female entrepreneurship, education, parenting, health & beauty, social issues, personal development).
Specialist in Brand Architecture and Community Engagement – Avantaje brand aggregated a 2 million people community in 21 years.
Organizer for Woman of the Year Event, one of the most influential and long lasting event on female social responsibility issues in Romania (19th edition).

Ecaterina Safarica

Associate Director Communications, Turkey & Caucasus and Israel Procter & Gamble

Ecaterina Safarica started her career as research fellow in Sensors and lecturer on Biosensors at the University of Bucharest.
She joined the P&G team in 1994, being among the first employees of the Company in Romania. In 22 years in P&G, Ecaterina covered several regions, she led hundreds of PR and Influencers programs and developed a vast team of Communications specialists.
Her experience and passion for communication, allowed her to initiate many regional brand communications campaigns as well as P&G Company Communications.
Ecaterina was also involved in several national and european industry associations, representing the company in task forces engaged in communitary acquis adoption,in areas relevant to the fast moving consumers goods producers and distributors and she has been for 5 year the President of the Romanian Advertising Council.

Ilinca Paun

Managing Director, Colliers International Romania

Ilinca is Managing Director of Colliers International Romania since 2010, guiding the integration of the Romanian office in a global platform of information, bridging corporate services, market insights and comprehensive business solutions into a single point of contact, in order to offer all Colliers clients the highest-possible standards of service quality.
As Managing Director, Ilinca succeeded in cultivating Colliers’ role as knowledge leader in the real estate sector, while also consolidating the company’s position as leader on key-market segments. She is the Ambassador to the prototype of the Generation Y Office, the first office in the region to propose companies a new way of working.
Colliers International is a global leader in commercial real estate services, with over 16,000 professionals operating in more than 554 offices, in 66 countries. In Romania, Colliers International is the leading real estate agency, offering the complete range of real estate advisory services.

Liliana Stanculet

Corporate Brand Manager, OMV Petrom S.A.

Liliana Stanculet is Corporate Brand Manager for OMV Petrom – the largest integrated oil and gas group in Southeastern Europe. She joined OMV Petrom team in 1997 and starting from 2005, she has held the position of Corporate Brand Manager. She is responsible for developing corporate branding strategy, including plans, projects and initiatives that support the short and long term OMV Petrom corporate communication strategy. Her sharp strategic mind and her extensive experience within a high profile brand environment (with an emphasis on service, value and quality), helped Liliana succeed in strengthening OMV Petrom’s presence on the Romanian market”.

Manuela Necula

CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Group Romania

Manuela Necula is the CEO of Ogilvy&Mather Romania, in the past 10 years leading the company to one of the most important communications groups in Romania, according to its market share, client portfolio, and to the high standards of services and areas of specializations covered by Ogilvy agencies.
Manuela turned around Ogilvy&Mather Romania by building a solid team and by launching innovative practices as a premiere on the local market. The work developed for Ogilvy’s clients contributed to the growth of their businesses and was recognized and awarded in numerous local and top international industry festivals (EFFIE, Cannes, London International Awards, Clio, D&AD, Internetics, PR Award, etc).
Actively engaged in the marketing and communications industry, having more than 20 years of experience, Manuela Necula is one of the pioneers who set up EFFIE Festival in Romania and a founder member of the WWF Corporate Club. She was also a member of the IAA Board of Directors.
Her recognitions include “CEO of the Year” distinction, “IAA Excellence Award”, 3 consecutive years of presence in the Romanian “Top 100 Most Admired CEO”, together with the invitation to chair and serve numerous industry jury panels around the world.

Mircea Kivu

Sociologist

Mircea Kivu graduated Sociology at the University of Bucharest (1978) and has a MA in Demography and Social Sciences at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales – Paris (1991). He is known as the author of several books and papers in sociology, woth expertise in public opinion polling.
Since 1992, he held top positions in several markets research institutions (Research Director and CEO and IMAS Marketing si Sondaje, Vice-President for Research on Research at Ipsos Interactive Services, Operational Directors at Mercury Research).
He is involved in civil society activity as Vice-President of the boar of Foundation for Civil SOciety Development (FDSC) and as a columnist at Romania Libera and Dilema Veche.

Mirela Bosoi

Head of Brand and Communication, Orange Romania

Mirela Bosoi has been working for Orange Romania since 2002 and she has been the Head of Brand and Communication since 2009.
She graduated from Academy of the Economic Studies in 1996 and she holds a Master degree in the Economic Development of Enterprise and an Executive MBA.
Mirela is responsible with the development and implementation of the Orange brand strategy in Romania and manages the commercial communication, events and sponsorship for mass market and business clients. She coordinated over the years some of the most successful integrated campaigns recognized both locally and internationally.
Mirela Bosoi has over 19 years experience in all fields of advertising, branding, events and Public Relations, working for well- known multinational and local brands.

Radu Florescu

CEO, Centrade | Cheil

Radu has worked with leading multinationals operating in emerging markets including EU funded programs. Other notable projects include Radu’s efforts to promote Romania’s accession to the EU & NATO, logistical support for President Clinton’s visit to Romania in 1997, co-director for “Romanian-Americans for Obama” Committee and fund raiser for Democrats Abroad.
Other positions include founding member of IAA Romania, co-founder of the Romanian Association of Advertising Agencies (UAPR), member of the European Board of the EACA representing Romania & Eastern Europe to Brussels (2012 – 2014, 2016 – present), board member and vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (2013 –2015 and 2016 – 2017), President of the Board of TAROM (Romanian National Airline), Coordinator for Coalitia Pentru Dezvoltarea Romaniei.
In addition to his business interests, Radu is active in the NGO community with a history of contributing to the local community. Radu is on the board of AIESEC Romania (International Association of Students in Economics), Member of the Board of JA (Junior Achievement), Member of the Board of OvidiuRo, Member of the Advisory Board for Principesa Margareta Foundation, President of the Board of ASEBUSS MBA program, Romania’s top graduate business school. He is also a member of the board of United Way Romania, former Chairman of the same board from January 2015 to November 2016.

Ruxandra Bandila

Country Operation Officer (COO), CRH Romania

Ruxandra Bandila joined CRH, the second largest building materials company worldwide.
August 2015 following the acquisition of Lafarge\’s assets in Romania by CRH as part of a global deal, initially as Strategy Development and Supply Chain Director and then as COO.
Before CRH, Ruxandra has been Marketing and Business Development Director for PricewaterhouseCoopers Romania and SEE. Previously she worked as the Executive Director of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) in Romania and the Head of the Socio- Economic Department of United Nations Development Progaramme (UNDP). She started her career as Project Director of the School Rehabilitation Project financed by World Bank (130 million $). She holds a Ph.D. in Energetics from Ecole des Mines de Paris.

Ruxandra Pirojoc

Head of Communication, Bayer Romania & Bulgaria

A passionate communicator fueled by extensive experience and a valuable insight provided by an MD degree. For the past 10 years Ruxandra held various positions in major Pharmaceutical and FMCG companies like Abbott, AstraZeneca and Procter & Gamble.
She graduated the Faculty of Stomatology back in 2004, but her passions determined her to go in another direction. After 4 years of working as a medical representative, she joined P&G as External Relations Manager Balkans, initially in charge with the Oral Care division, to later round up her responsibilities with Professional Relations and Beauty Brand Communications.
Skillfully mixing creativity and customer centricity with a bold vision and meaningful goals, Ruxandra now develops Bayer’s corporate communication and branding strategy along with major CSR projects focused on education, health and social needs.
Outside business hours, it’s the love for art, culture and her beautiful family that make her world go round.

Serban Radu

Co-founder and Managing Partner, Carturesti

An avid reader and explorer of novel ideas, Serban Radu opened the first Carturesti bookstore in 2000. Sixteen years later Carturesti boasts 20 concept stores in Romania (one of which is considered to be the most beautiful in Eastern Europe) and a fast-growing online store.
As a co-founder and Managing Partner, Serban has shaped Carturesti into a place of wonder and comfort, allowing readers to interact with cultural products in superbly curated spaces.
He is also a co-founder and consultant in the managing board of Street Delivery – the urban festival that closes the street for cars and opens it to the people of Bucharest, Timisoara, Iași Cluj-Napoca and – more recently – Baia Mare.

Sotiris Chatzidakis

Executive Vice President, CEO Clubs International in Romania

Sotiris is the Executive Vice President of CEO Clubs International in Romania and the founder of Next Gen Int’l. Previously he had been the General Manager for the CEO Clubs in Greece, that being the first Club ever to be launched in Europe. He also has held various executive positions in banking, technology and FMCG market leading companies, heading major projects in Greece and abroad.
He is also the founder of SARGIA Partners – Romania, pursuing his goal to positively influence leadership on a large scale. He is a certified Master Coach by the Center for Advanced Coaching (CAC) in the USA.
One of his biggest passions is connecting people with ideas or other people.
His articles have been published in magazines and newspapers such as “Economist’s Intelligent Life”, Forbes, Business Review, Cariere magazine, wallstreet.ro and many others.
He just loves listening to “You can’t do that” and that’s how it usually starts.

Stefania Popp

CEO, Junior Achievement Romania^®

Since 1997 Stefania Popp is the CEO of Junior Achievement Romania^®. Between 2006 and 2009 she served too as Director of Program Development at JA-YE, Europe and Director of International Programs at Junior Achievement Worldwide, USA. She serves as expert for Ministry of Education in Romania and UE programs and CSR consultant for major companies in Romania.
After graduating in 1980 with an MA in Nuclear Physics from the University of Bucharest, she was Senior Researcher at the Institute for Nuclear Reactors in Bucharest for 10 years (till 1989).
Starting 1990, Stefania participated in several post-graduate programs on Education Management, Business Administration and an Executive Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Stefania Popp was awarded with Platinum Achievement Award (JAW- 2003 Atlanta, USA) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (JAW-2008 Miami, USA).

Teodora Saguna

Head of Brand Marketing & Communication, Fashion Days Group

Teodora is responsible for developing the brand communication strategy and plans in the 3 countries in which Fashion Days is market leader in online fashion: Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary.
Teodora Saguna has over 12 years of experience in industries like banking and telecom, in retail communication, loyalty programs and integrated marketing and brand communication.
She joined Fashion Days group in August 2015 after 10 years experience in the banking industry. Previously she has managed the Retail Marketing and Communication strategy for Bancpost & Eurobank group entities in Romania while her career in banking started with Raiffeisen Bank in the position o Brand Manager being responsible for retail marketing & communication integrated projects.
Teodora Saguna has a Master Degree in Communication and Public Relations at David Ogilvy University (SNSPA) and a certification as Chartered Marketer at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Oxford, UK.

Virginia Otel

Deputy General Manager of Garanti Leasing, Communication Leader of Garanti Group Romania

Virginia Otel is a senior executive with more then 20 years experience in the financial sector in Romania, gaining expertise in general management, business development, marketing, corporate communication, human resource management in various financial institutions, such as venture capital fund, securities trading & investment banking, banking, and leasing. She has served in management boards and board of directors of financial institutions she worked for. She has participated in many national and international conferences and seminars as speaker and panelist.
The professional course of Ms. Otel included Unicredit Bank Romania, Demir Securities Romania, and Romanian-American Enterprise Fund. In 1994, she was visiting faculty member at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Virginia graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest with a Bachelor degree in Economic Cybernetics. She earned a Master’s degree in Management and Public Administration from Liverpool University, UK, in 1993. Ms. Otel also graduated the Executive MBA with the Romanian-American Postgraduate School of Business in cooperation with the University of Washington, USA, in 1999.
Virginia has dedicated her energy, efforts, and time to community development. She is the President of the Professional Women’s Network Romania and Co-Leader of “Mentoria” project developed by the Romanian Business Leaders Foundation, dedicated to business mentoring of young entrepreneurs.

Volker Moser

Co-Founder & Partner, City Compass Group

Volker Moser is a German national who has been living in Romania since 2007. Since 2013 he has been splitting his time between Berlin and Bucharest. In Romania, he is a co-founding partner at City Compass Group, which is divided into the following business lines:

• City Compass Media, which publishes:
  • Romania-Insider.com: market leader for English news about Romania, online only, 3.4 mln unique readers in 2019.
  • The annual City Compass Romania: Bucharest & Beyond printed guide, also available as an e-book at RomaniaBucharestBeyond.com.
• Romania Insider Awards – a series of exclusive events, with the third edition to take place in October 2020, celebrating #PositiveRomania and the Romanian companies & projects that share the values driving us at Romania-Insider.com for the last 10 years: positive impact to business & society, sustainability, fairness, business ethics, and promoting Romania abroad.
• City Compass Intercultural Consulting, which provides consulting and training services and support in adapting to Romania for expats and repats, covering (virtual) leadership, business communication and etiquette, Romanian business mentality, cultural insights and family adaptation in a practical and customized way.