NRCC GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2023

On Wednesday, March 15 at 16:30, the NRCC holds its annual General Assembly of Members, at the InterContinental Athénée Palace in Bucharest. The General Assembly is followed directly by the Monthly Network Drink in the same location, at the English Bar.

On this occasion, 4 positions in the Board of Directors will be up for voting. All member companies interested are invited to delegate their candidates. 
 

The Agenda will include a Q&A session, so all members are invited to send relevant questions regarding the Chamber's activity at info@nrcc.ro for the NRCC President, Serge Offers & Executive Director, Maurits Dohmen.

KINDLY NOTE!

• Only NRCC members that renewed their 2023 membership can delegate candidates and vote;
• Online voting will be available. Only votes sent and confirmed on email until March 15, 12:00 o'clock will be taken into consideration;
• Companies can attend the event with more representatives, but vote ONLY ONCE.

MEET THE CANDIDATES:

ANA MARIA CRIVĂȚ, Director of Corporate Affairs, HEINEKEN România

With over 16 years of experience in business transformation, Ana Maria Crivăț started her career in Strategic Market Research and had driven the consumer and market insights agenda for key companies, in her role as the Head of Qualitative Research at Ipsos.

Since 2013, she has been a part of the HEINEKEN Romania team and has held various roles in key departments, such as Innovation, Consumer & Market Intelligence, and Corporate Affairs, contributing to the company's overall strong performance for the past decade.

As the Marketing Innovation Manager, she oversaw the creation and execution of the innovation strategy of the company, for over five years. She then expanded her responsibilities by also taking on the leadership of the CMI (Consumer & Market Intelligence) function.

Over the past four years, Ana has been instrumental in securing growth opportunities and achieving notable successes for HEINEKEN, as she has taken on a broader role as the Director of Corporate Affairs, leading crucial areas such as internal communications and employee engagement, external communications and stakeholder engagement, sustainability & CSR, and public affairs.

"Throughout my tenure as a Board Member, my primary focus will be on enhancing the reputation of NRCC and nurturing a stronger community through knowledge exchange. This will involve leveraging various channels for knowledge sharing and collaboration that can facilitate meaningful interactions and insights among our members. Moreover, I aim to effectively advocate for the interests of our members in all engagements with Romanian stakeholders, government authorities, and institutional partners. By fostering open and constructive dialogue, I want to ensure that the voices of our members are heard, and their perspectives are taken into consideration in all relevant decision-making processes."

AURA ICODIN, Founder & CEO of A_BEST Foreign Language Center.

With a managerial experience of over 14 years in the field of education and nearly 20 years of learning and teaching foreign languages in both public and private institutions, AURA ICODIN’s career can be put „in a nutshell” using two words: education and entrepreneurship.

In 2008, Aura started on the road to entrepreneurship, with the purpose of offering services in the field of education at high standards. For this purpose, Aura founded A_BEST Foreign Language Center, which at present is one of the top independent language centers providing foreign languages courses for Romanians and expats.

„In my position as a Board member of this powerful business community, I will be able to have a stronger impact in balancing the business environment and to bring a consistent contribution in the activity and the essential role of NRCC.

The Netherlands-Romanian business community is a strong and reliable supporter of women in business and in boards. I myself am an active member of the women business community in Romania, as it is my strong belief that empowering women and creating the right environment and tools to help them lead the way will contribute to a more strong economic sector.   

Hard times create strong leaders and only by our joint forces we will be able to succeed!”

GERKE WITTEVEEN, CFO at NN.

Gerke Witteveen joined NN Asigurari de Viata as CFO in 2016. Prior, he has worked for 11 years at Dutch insurance group Achmea, including as CFO of Interamerican/Eureko Romania from 2008 to 2013. Next to his role as CFO, Gerke is vice-president of UNSAR, the Romanian associations of insurers, and president of the Board of the Dutch Language School in Bucharest, NTC de Trekvogel.

As former president (2017-2019) and current board member (2021) and treasurer (2022), he appreciates the open and dynamic culture of the NRCC. He is looking forward to continue as treasurer of the NRCC, to maintain the financial stability of the chamber as it copes with the current economic climate coming out of the challenging COVID-context.

Gerke is looking forward to help solidify the NRCC’s position as a leading bilateral chamber in Romania, being a welcoming place for all members and providing the best opportunities for networking for all its members. His key objective for the next period is to strengthen the connection between the members, as well as the connection with the business community and society at large.

IOANA BANU, Founding Partner at BBW LAW | BORA BANU VAN DE WAART.

Ioana is a lawyer and founding partner of BBW LAW with 12 years of experience in business consultancy, international transactions and litigation. Ioana is a formidable negotiator with a case win rate of over 98%.

“I am very passionate about serving as a NRCC Board Member. My professional background in business law has equipped me with the tools to handle complex issues with ease and deliver pragmatic and commercially oriented legal advice.

One of my top priorities as a Board Member will be to ensure each member shall feel represented, regardless of whether they are a small to medium-sized enterprise or a multinational company. I am excited to build genuine connections with members and I will be actively engaged in all NRCC events throughout the year to ensure that our networking opportunities are strengthened and each event is inspiring.

Through my deep connection with the Netherlands via BBW LAW Dutch clients and my partnership with former NRCC Board Member and active Member of Advisory Board of DRN, Loredana van de Waart, I will bring valuable insights that aim to create bridges between Romania and the Netherlands.

I trust the key ingredients I bring to the table – knowledge sharing, devotion & advocacy for members’ goals – create the necessary fuel for the growth of NRCC members and the overall success of NRCC. Let's make a meaningful impact together!”

LOREDA DRAGOMIR, Permanent Placement Director at ADECCO

Returned in Romania in 2005, Loreda developed her career in HR consultancy and advisory mainly in Executive Search, recruitment, trainings, assessment, and development centers, etc.

Currently she coordinates the Permanent Placement and Executive Search Division at Adecco, the global leader in Human Resources solutions.

From 2008 onwards, she was an active member of NRCC, being elected Board Member three times. She was involved in Labor and HR Task Forces, she organized HR related Knowledge centers, HR Academies and Road Shows thriving to advising, consulting, and connecting NRCC members, and she was involved in editing the HR Newsletter in order to keep the members updated to HR trends and modifications.

Loreda believes that her attitude, network, professional experience, as well as 15 years of interactions within NRCC can be a valuable contribution to the goals of NRCC and that she can contribute to further development of the Dutch Romanian community. The added value Loreda can bring has to do with diversity, entrepreneurial experience, good understanding of SMEs and HR, as well as very good understanding of both Dutch and Romanian cultures.

RALUCA VOIVOZEANU, Founder and CEO at PRIAevents.

Raluca Voivozeanu has over 12 years of experience in organizing premium business events and conferences. She demonstrated her experience first in Romania, but since 2019 he is also an opinion leader in the Republic of Moldova, a trend setter when it comes to business conferences and the most important and trending topics for every business sector both in Romania , as well as in Moldova.

She is a figure recognized and appreciated by the business community in both countries, a model businesswoman, speaker, jury member at various business competitions, but also a successful entrepreneur. It inspires every time through tenacity, knowledge and relationships in all business fields and through unique events, forums, galas both in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova.

Raluca Voivozeanu considers that being on the NRCC board would be an honor and a responsibility that she appreciates and sets herself goals such as: to become an ambassador of NRCC in order to show business people how important it is to belong to a community like that of NRCC, to focus on helping to increase the number of NRCC members and contributing to the organization of NRCC events and meetings, actively getting involved in existing task forces and in the creation of other task forces, all this considering the knowledge about the markets in Romania and, already having a business community of tens of thousands of contacts for the events created over the years.

SERGE OFFERS, Head of Business Banking at ING Romania.

"I moved with my family to Bucharest in 2018 to join ING Romania, initially as CFO and currently as deputy CEO and head of Business Banking. Before that, during my 12 years at ING Group, I had several global positions. Next to my position at ING, I am currently the president of the NRCC and vice-president of the Romanian Diversity Chamber of Commerce. The latter focusses on promoting equal opportunities for women, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities or different ethnicities.

During the last four years, I had the honor and pleasure to be part of the NRCC board. These have been unprecedented times and I am impressed by the resilience, positivity, and adaptability of our members. Next to supporting our members navigate through these uncertainties, the NRCC positioned itself as a constructive partner for the public sector to improve the business climate, attract foreign investments, and increase bilateral trade.

If reelected, I will focus on two priorities to further strengthen our NRCC community. First, organize additional relevant events for members across Romania that combines knowledge sharing with excellent networking opportunities. The recently introduced premium member breakfast is a prime example, which we intend to replicate for everybody in a different format, while I am happy that the NRCC economic update provided by ING was a success in Cluj. Secondly, give our task forces a prominent role in preparing NRCC position papers, increase their collaboration with the board, and involve them directly in the interactions with public authority. "

SERBAN ISOPESCU-WEBER, District Leader South East Europe at Philips Health System 

On behalf of Philips Romania, I am proud to have been one of the board members of The Netherlands Romanian Chamber of Commerce (NRCC) and I wish to continue my work in this role! What drives my engagement is my genuine belief the cooperation stands at the core of all societal developments. NRCC, as a platform of cooperation, supports and promotes the Dutch-Romanian business community, creates business opportunities, and enables close contact with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Romania.

Furthermore, acting as a consultation partner between the business sector and the Romanian Government is a valuable position for the healthcare industry, which I represent. Philips is a healthcare company, focused on improving people’s health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum. It is important for us to keep track of public health policies, while acting as a partner of choice for local hospitals and healthcare professionals across the company.

Nevertheless, the opportunities for networking that the NRCC provides create the premises for sharing know-how and best practices across industries and regions. We inspire and learn from each other!

"First of all, I aim at bringing my contribution to NRCC’s mission of facilitating the networking between companies and institutions interested in developing Dutch-Romanian trade, via active participation in sessions, discussions and opportunities.

Furthermore, I aim at sharing my knowledge, expertise and capabilities, with a strong emphasize on healthcare, to contribute to a solid, digitalized and sustainable healthcare industry in Romania.  That being said, sustainability is one of my top priorities as well, aiming to create awareness about the urgent need to implement sustainable practices in our business models, as well as to promote circular economy (based on refurbished medical equipment, energy efficiency, and the responsible use of materials and natural resources) in our medical equipment.

Last but not least, I aim at being a strong promoter of NRCC’s inclusive approach towards SMEs and NGOs, to ensure an extensive representations of all stakeholders into this forum."

VLAD PELIGRAD, Partner at KPMG Legal.

Vlad has over 22 years of legal practice with extensive expertise in legal consultancy and litigation & arbitration, with 12 years of academic activity at the Law School of the University of Bucharest. He has a Master’s degree in law from the George Washington University Law School and a PhD in Law. He is an arbitrator at the Court of International Commercial Arbitration attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania and the Bucharest International Arbitration Court (BIAC).

Vlad has been a member of the NRCC Board since 2021 and has used his legal acumen to advance NRCC projects. He has played an active role in the NRCC’s initiatives to enhance the business environment through dialogue with the authorities, in which NRCC members bring their expertise to support improvements to legislation. Lately he has represented NRCC in CDR meetings on various topics.

"I have extensive experience in legal services, and have worked with various multi-national corporations as well as with local companies in several industries and sectors, which has given me a comprehensive perspective on the intricate ties between the Romanian business environment and the country’s governing legal framework and institutions. As such, I believe I could make a meaningful contribution to mapping out an improved business environment focused on more business-friendly legislation.

I believe that the first priorities of the NRCC should be (i) to provide active and prompt feedback on legislative proposals, (ii) to continue to be an important voice in institutionalized liaison with the authorities and (iii) to foster an open and integrative environment for internal dialogue among members. My legal background would mainly help with the first priority, but it would also support the development of initiatives related to the other two priorities."