Forbes CEE Forum EN

On September 23-24, Forbes Romania organizes and hosts Forbes CEE Forum, the first event of such magnitude and scope in Romania, tackling present issues that are at the core of regional politics in South, Central and Eastern European areas, the Baltic countries and the Middle East.

Almost six years after the unfolding of the worst global financial crisis in recent history, many countries are still struggling to cope with the turmoil. The new realities proved the need for new growth models. The US has struggled back after numerous rounds of QE with a jobless recovery, while Europe faced banking and sovereign debt crisis and many rescue packages were in place. The scale of the stimulus packages was massive and unprecedented, pushing official interest rates down to record lows in developed economies. Nevertheless, the capital flooded also the emerging markets, increasing equity prices.

But the recent tapering of the bond-buying program of the Federal Reserve raised concerns among investors regarding the economic growth of the emerging markets. In this respect, every country is now looking for the right strategy to raise their prospects for long-term growth. As investors learn more about individual countries and markets, they start to think about emerging markets differently.

While each economy will have to find its own strategy, on September 23-24, at Forbes CEE Forum, journalists from the worldwide Forbes network, along with relevant C-level managers and authorities will try to find the pillars that every growth strategy should be based on and the specific issues that doing business in emerging markets raises.

Forbes CEE Forum will address important issues that will, eventually, shape the best model for the much-wanted long-term, sustainable growth. The Forum will gather 300 senior policy makers, high profile investors and industry thought leaders – senior or board-level attendees from local and regional corporations. Forbes CEE Forum will focus on the main issues concerning this region’s future development – the countries, industries and sectors that provide the most promise, the hurdles that need to be overcome in order to deliver the promise and how will businesses, consumers and investors profit.

The event will be held for the duration of two days, including major debates and press conferences, joined by specialized panels led by experts in fields such as energy, banking, finance or agriculture.

AGENDA

Day 1, September 23, 2014

9.00 – 10.00 Delegates` registration & welcome coffee

10.00 – 11.00 Welcome address & official opening of the Forum

Ionut Bonoiu, Chief Editor, Forbes Romania

Regional Outlook by Forbes International Editors

Iordan Mateev, Forbes Bulgaria
Stamatis Zacharos, Forbes Greece
Guga Sulkhanishvili, Forbes Georgia
Maija Golubovica, Forbes Latvia & Estonia
Khuloud Al Omian, Forbes Middle East

11.00 – 12.30 Session I: THE LARGER PERSPECTIVE

Policy Makers Must Govern The World Economy With Measures That Seek To Address Fiscal Balance, Currency Stability, Economic Development, Job Creation And Equitable Growth For Society.

Where are The Opportunities For Growth In Central And Eastern Europe?

How Are Central And Eastern European Countries Interactions With The Global Economy?

The session will also focus on:

• Implementing Difficult Structural Reforms, Fiscal Balance, Currency Stability
• How to Improve Performance In The Competitiveness Rankings
• Inflation
• Favourable Business Environment
• Multispeed Central Europe, with Different Levels of Recovery

Confirmed speakers:

Mișu Negrițoiu, President, ASF Romania (Financial Supervisory Authority)

Mihai Bogza, President, Foreign Investment Council

Ion Sturza, Chairman, Fribourg Capital

Radu Florescu, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Romania

Kinga Daradics, CEO Mol România

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

KonstantinosKollias, President of the Greek Economic Chamber

Zurab Japaridze, Member of the Parliament of Georgia

Coffee break

12:30 – 14.00 Session II: INVESTMENT & DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FINANCING

The session will focus on:

• The Impact of Fed and ECB Monetary Policies on CEE Economies
• Healthy Trade Balance, Addressing Productivity And Investment Issues In Lagging Sectors, And Raising Domestic Savings While Bringing Back Fdi
• Fears of Deleveraging and Western Banking Capital Flight
• The New Model for Banking in the CEE
• The New Paradigm for the CEE Stock Exchanges

Confirmed speakers:

George Georgakopoulos, Executive Vice President, Bancpost Romania

Ludwik Sobolewski, CEO, Bucharest Stock Exchange

Ahmed Hassan, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Romania and Moldova

Levon Hampartzoumian, CEO and Chairman of the MB of UniCredit Bulbank and Chairman of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria

Florin Dănescu, Chairman of the Association of Banks in Romania

Ilinca Păun, Managing Director Colliers International

14:00 – 14.30 Lunch

14:30 – 16.00 Session III: INNOVATION – CEE AS AN R&D HUB

• The session will focus on:
•  The level of investment and performance in R&D
• Is CEE a hub for IT&C companies?
• Are there any fiscal facilities for IT&C employers in the region?
• The focus on innovation and adopting technologies that will enhance productivity

Confirmed speakers:

Dr. Thomas H. Osburg, Director Europe Corporate Affairs, Intel Corp

Randolph Moorer, Vice President – Software, Central & Eastern Europe, IBM

Kostas Loukas, CEO, Microsoft Romania

Christian von Albrichsfeld, CEO Continental Automotive România

Mircea Tudor, Entrepreneur, MB Telecom, Romania

Tiberiu Dobre, Director High Corporate Sales, Enterprise Business Unit, Vodafone Romania

Day 2, September 24, 2014

9.00 – 9.30 Delegates` registration & welcome coffee

9.30 -10.00 Sum-up of Day 1

10.00 – 11.00 Session IV: REGIONAL OUTLOOK

• Similarities vs diferences: Strengthening the Integration between Central and Eastern Europe Countries

Confirmed speakers:

H.E. Marek Szczygiel, Ambassador of Poland in Romania

H.E. Johannes Hendrik Mattheus Van Bonzel, Ambassador of Netherlands in Romania

H.E. Botond Zákonyi, Ambassador of Hungary in Romania

H.E. Jadranka Šturm Kocjan, Ambassador of Slovenia in Romania

H.E. Claudio Pérez Paladino, Ambassador of Argentina in Romania

Denis Jelimalai, Economic Affairs Counsellor, The Embassy of Republic of Moldova in Romania

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dionysios Chionis, Professor of Economics, Democritus Univ. of Thrace

Giorgi Gabashvili, Member of the Parliament of Georgia

Coffee break

11.00 – 12.30 Session V: THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS LEADERS  IN  DELIVERING GROWTH 

The session will focus on:

• The Increasing Role Of The Entrepreneurs And Business Leaders, Through Education And Job Creation
• The Focus On Innovation And Adopting Technologies That Will Enhance Productivity
• How To Raise Productivity And Labour Participation

Confirmed speakers:

Fritz Mostboeck, Head of Group Reasearch, Erste Group Bank

Christo Popov, Founder & CEO, FastTrack, Rockefeller Habits

Cristian Nacu, Partner, Enterprise Investors

Ovidiu Şandor, Entrepreneur, Modatim Investment

Doina Cepalis, General Manager – Te-Rox Prod

Coffee break

12.30 – 14.00 Session VI: THE NEW CONSUMER, AS THE MAIN DRIVER OF GROWTH

 The session will focus on:

• The trends in the consumer market
• Global urbanization as the main driver of human creativity
• Generation Y consumers vs. Baby Boomer consumers

Confirmed speakers:

Alexandru Vlad, Executive Director, Selgros

Daniel Boaje, CEO, McDonald’s Romania

Georgios Argentopoulos, CEO, Baneasa Development

Julien Ducarroz, Chief Commercial Officer B2C la Orange România

Mihai Barsan, Vice President Marketing, URSUS Breweries

Mihaela Nicola, CEO The Group

14:00 – 14.30 Lunch

14.30 – 16.00 Session VII: AGRICULTURE, ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES AS GROWTH ENGINES 

Confirmed speakers:

Confirmed speakers:

Eugen Diaconu, Field Operation Lead Monsanto Romania

Camelia Șucu, Entrepreneur, Class Living and Piata de Gros

Lucian Buzdugan, CEO Agricost Insula Mare a Brailei

Ileana Baltatu, Downstream Executive Director, NIS GazProm

Daniela Lulache, CEO, Nuclearelectrica

Coffee break

16.00 – 17.00 Session VIII: Case study: The TURKISH MIRACLE

Confirmed speakers:

Omer Susli, Owner, Praktiker Romania

Omer Tetik, CEO, Banca Transilvania

Aykut Akbulut, President TIAD

Tolga Banyocu, Strategic Planning Director, Garanti Bank

Guven Gungor, General Secretary TIAD

Coffee break

17:00 – 18.00 Closing remarks from the Forbes Editors in the CEE

Ionut Bonoiu, Romania

Iordan Mateev, Bulgaria

Stamatis Zacharos, Greece

Guga Sulkhanishvili, Georgia

Khuloud Al Omian, Middle East

Marton Galambos, Hungary

Maija Golubovica, Latvia & Estonia

Peter Barecz, Czech Republic & Slovakia

REGISTRATION

CORPORATE RATE:
500 EUR (incl. VAT) – includes the access to all Forum sessions, event documents, coffee & lunch breaks

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT:
• 250 EUR (incl. TVA) – registration until 10th of August 2014
• 350 EUR (incl. TVA) – registration until 10th of September 2014

GROUP DISCOUNT:
• minimum of 3 participants from the same company – receive a supplementary discount of 20%
• minimum of 5 participants from the same company – receive a supplementary discount of 40%

PAYMENT METHOD:
Direct debit in LEI, at the BNR rate on the payment date, S.C. BP Publishing Media S.R.L., J40/3218/21.03.2012, RO29947526, bank account RO45BACX0000000727781001, Unicredit Tiriac Bank – Dristorului.

REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE AT THE CONFIRMATION OF THE PAYMENT.

PARTNERS

The event is powered by BMW Group România, Bursa de Valori Bucuresti,  Bancpost, McDonald’s, Vodafone, COS, Monsanto