Solarplaza Summit | Romania

Mr. Dan Dragoș Drăgan coordinates activities related to development, implementation of an integrated policy and regulatory framework for the energy sector in Romania. With extensive experience in the private sector, Mr. Dragan has held several executive leadership positions in the field of energy and trading. He is a graduate of management and computational economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and is licensed as a broker for forward transactions.

Starting with August 2021, Mihai is the Executive Director of RPIA - the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association. Mihai is also the Head of the Energy Systems Programme at Energy Policy Group, the leading energy and climate think-tank in Romania. With an R&D background in the field of energy storage technologies, hydrogen and Li-ion batteries, at ICSI Rm. Vâlcea and CEA Grenoble, Mihai Bălan joined RWEA (Romanian Wind Energy Association) in 2017 as a Policy Officer, eager to get actively involved in enabling the energy transition in Romania through relevant strategy, policy and market design mechanisms. Mihai Balan obtained his PhD from Arts et Métiers ParisTech and University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB) with a thesis investigating the Romanian and European potential of hydrogen applications such as Power-to-Gas and holds a Bachelor and Master degree in Power Engineering from UPB. He was also a member of IEA Hydrogen TCP Task 38 on Power-to-Hydrogen and Hydrogen-to-Methane.

Cristina Span is a Loan Officer with the European Investment Bank, located in Luxembourg, covering the Northern, Central and South Eastern Europe. She is in charge of originating and executing long-term structure finance transactions, in a variety of sectors, including infrastructure and renewable energy.

Filip Sypko is the Head of Global Business Development at Green Genius - a renewable energy company developing solar and biogas projects across 6 European markets. For years, as entrepreneur and manager he has been associated with the energy and renewable energy industry with various experiences in sales, technical consulting and business development. Filip is a graduate of the Faculty of Energy and Fuels at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, MBA studies at Koźmiński Executive Business School in Warsaw and Technische Universität Clausthal in Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

Although after graduating he opted for a technical path in electricity, after reaching a maximum level of technical coordination, decided to make a career turn and "attack" the commercial part. Taking advantage of the implementation of the new structure of the Romanian electricity market, he dedicate himself to the implementation of a market mechanism for balancing production with consumption and launch the "balancing market". After a successful implementation he passed in the private sector where he developed himself both personally and professionally. During his career he had the opportunity to work in both state and private sector, to represent the companies and the country on numerous international working groups and to contribute to the implementation of a fair electricity market in Romania. Since 2009 he is leading the activity of the GEN-I group in Romania and in 2021 was elected president of Romanian Energy Supplier Association AFEER.

Sergio Mandru is an Associate at Finergreen Central Europe, a financial advisory firm specialising in renewable energy, which since 2013 offers its clients M&A, project finance, and strategic advisory services worldwide. For the last 4 years, as a financial advisor in Madrid, he has been assisting in the development and financing of wind and solar projects from the early stages of project development to commissioning, under several remuneration schemes and financial structures. Sergio graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Salamanca and later graduated in business administration from the University of Valladolid.

Mihaela Mihailescu is the Deputy Head for Romania at EBRD, based in Bucharest. Prior to this, Mihaela was coordinating the EBRD’s private sector related portfolio in Romania. Mihaela joined the EBRD in 2008 as a Senior Analyst in Bucharest, responsible with originating and executing transactions in the private sector (General Industry and Natural Resources) in the country. Mihaela holds a MBA in International Finance from Brandeis International Business School and is ACCA certified.

Tatiana is an experienced Real Estate and Renewable Energy lawyer with a demonstrated history of working in the legal services industry. She is skilled in Due Diligence, Corporate Law, Urbanism, and Permitting matters. Tatiana is a strong business development professional with a Master's degree focused in Urbanism law from the University of Bucharest.

Since 2003, Benedikt Ortmann, Ph.D., dedicates his career to photovoltaic projects all over the world. Before joining the team at BayWa r.e. in 2011 as Global Director for Solar Projects, he built the international project business for SOLON SE, Berlin, from scratch and turned it into a successful and highly profitable business division. His career in the renewable energy business started at S.A.G. Solarstrom AG, Freiburg, where he was CFO from 2003 until 2006. BayWa r.e.  is one of the key driving companies worldwide, providing greenfield development, turnkey construction, O&M, financing and sales of innovative photovoltaic power plants. The company has installed a solar capacity of more than 1.3 GW globally.

Florian is the co-founder of Kraftfeld, focusing on project development and legal matters. He started his career advising international energy companies on their expansion in CEE and built up his expertise in renewable energy while working at an energy investment firm. Florian holds a master's degree in Law from the University of Vienna and a master's degree in Information Technology for Business from the Vienna University of Technology.

Ciprian, a former Energy Partner of one of the largest and most reputable business law firms in Central and South Eastern Europe region, is also the President of the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (www.rpia.ro) and has extensive experience in real estate and energy (renewable energy, oil & gas) matters. Ciprian was also advising the legendary football player, Gheorghe Hagi with some operations and regulatory matters related to the football club, Viitorul.

Vítor is currently the Technical director utility Europe of LONGi Solar since 2020. He has spent 14 years at TÜV Rheinland and brings extensive PV know-how in different areas including auditing and inspecting factories and installations in Europe, Asia, and South America, supervising construction and evaluating performance, as well as undertaking safety inspections and performance enhancement of PV plants worldwide.

With over 17 years of expertise in renewables, Andrei’s career began in research and development, where he researched, designed, installed, and operated prototypes of renewable projects. His first major PV project was commissioned in Bucharest in 2006, and was the largest grid-connected PV plant in Southeast Europe until 2009. His expertise continued to grow in the following years: he attended international renewable energy conferences as a presenter, was co-owner of the patent on a small wind turbine, conducted senior expert technical due diligence (TDD) on renewable energy projects for over 10 years, and for the past seven years he has managed PV plants as technical director. Throughout the years, he has been active in all technical specialties related to renewables, including technical assistance, R&D, technical consultancy, design, technical due diligence, PV plant operation and maintenance and attracting European funds.

Oana Mogoi is the Sector Head in the Utilities & Natural Resources department at ING. Previously, she was coordinating the Project Finance - Energy Team at BCR. Oana has 10+ years of experience in project financing in the RE sector.

Sebastian Mihai Staicu is a senior manager in BCR covering Specialized and Sustainable Lending and Knowledge Center. Sebastian joined BCR in 2013 as a Project Finance Senior Analyst in Bucharest, responsible with originating and executing transactions in the energy, waste and especially renewable energy sector. Sebastian holds a Master in European Studies at Vienna University.

Nicola Kopij Zanin is a Project Manager for Solarplaza, part of Finance & Innovation team, contributing to the company's growth in markets worldwide. Prior to joining Solarplaza, he gained experience with EU development financing, having set up his own organisation. In the past, he held positions in different industries across Italy, Poland and the UAE. Nicola holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Business from LUISS University in Rome and a Master's degree in Finance & Investments from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.