Game - changers in Romania and abroad were unveiled at the Romania Insider Awards Gala on October 15, in front of over 250 top managers, investors and diplomats. We’ve discovered the winners and were inspired by the finalists in 10 categories of awards, after a selection and judging process which lasted for several months. The Romania Insider Awards Gala took place at the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel.

The event is part of Romania-Insider.com’s #PositiveRomania movement, meant to uncover role models and game changers in Romania while highlighting sustainability, fair-play, and ethics in business. 

It was the second edition of one of the most rigorous awards organized in Romania. We’ve offered 10 jury prizes, including two awards celebrating 30 years of democracy and free-market in Romania, and a prize from the editorial team of Romania-Insider.com.  Everyone discovered the winners' names at the gala - their names were kept secret to the last minute, and it was a surprise for the winners themselves. 

There were over 130 nominations in the competition this year, which were reviewed by over 30 executives in our Jury and Board of Advisors, in a two-step selection process, which also involved keeping company names anonymous for half of the prizes in the competition. 

Apart from showcasing 30 finalists and their projects to the gala audience, the organizer, the publisher of this website, has also included a charity support moment: guests could choose to support one or several of the NGOs which were finalists in the competition. 

Jury prize winners, 2019 

Best Innovation Award powered by Janssen Romania 

The trophy for Best Innovation Award powered by Janssen Romania, handed over by Ms. Ioana Nainer, Patients Engagement, Advocacy & CSR Lead at Janssen Romania, went to Norofert, a Romanian company that produces organic fertilizers in the form of effervescent tablets that protect crops from diseases. 

The finalists in this category were - ClarK, OncoChain and Norofert. 

Best Start-up award powered by Banca Transilvania

The Best Start-up award powered by Banca Transilvania was handed over by Mr. Marian Ene, Deputy General Director at Banca Transilvania, Microenterprises. The trophy went to TypingDNA, a behavioral biometrics company that uses artificial intelligence to protect online users based on how they type on their keyboard. The company was represented by Tudor Goicea, Chief Revenue Officer at Typing DNA, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists in this category were - ClarK, OncoChain and TypingDNA.

Best Cultural Enterprise Award powered by La French Tech 

The trophy for Best Cultural Enterprise Award powered by La French Tech, handed over by Mr. Grégoire Vigroux, Co-founder & President at La French Tech in Romania, went to Vox Mundi, an international choral festival for youth created by Kratima Cultural Association in the western Romanian city of Timișoara. The company was represented by Popescu Voicu, Conductor of children's choir, Vox Mundi, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists in this category were - DoR LIve Performances, Ferestroika and Vox Mundi 

Most Sustainable Real Estate Project Award powered by CRH Romania

The trophy for Most Sustainable Real Estate Project Award powered by CRH Romania, handed over by Mr. Gustavo Navarro, Managing Director at CRH Romania, went to Campus 6.1, the first phase of office compound developed by Skanska in Central - West Bucharest. The company was represented by Aura Luca, General manager of Skanska, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists in this category were - Campus 6.1, One Herastrau Park and Vox Technology Park. 

Best Rural Development Award powered by Crédit Agricole

The trophy for Best Rural Development Award powered by Crédit Agricole, handed over by Mr. Luc Beiso, the CEO of Crédit Agricole, was received by Ambulance for Monuments by Asociația Monumentum, which repairs endangered heritage buildings in Romania’s rural areas, with specialists and local communities. Eugen Vaida, co-Founder of Asociația Monumentum. The company was represented by Eugen Vaida, co-Founder of Asociația Monumentum, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists in this category were - The Ambulance for Monuments, Pivnita Bunicii and the Cobor Firefighters. 

Most Effective Promotion for Romania Abroad Award powered by JLL Romania

The trophy for Most Effective Promotion for Romania Abroad Award powered by JLL Romania, handed over by Mrs. Silviana Petre-Badea, Managing Director at JLL Romania, went to Experience Romania & Experience Bucharest, the largest independent projects promoting Bucharest and Romania abroad in social media via foreign bloggers and journalists. The company was represented by Anda and Tudor Maxim, co-founders of Experience Romania & Experience Bucharest, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists in this category were - Dogs’n Dracula, Experience Romania & Bucharest, and Making Waves - New Romanian Cinema. 

Most Scalable Social Responsibility Project Award powered by UiPath

The trophy for the Most Scalable Social Responsibility Project Award powered by UiPath was handed over by Ms. Andreea Baciu, VP, Global Talent Development at UiPath. The winning project was the “School Leadership Academy”, the one-year leadership development program for school directors created by Asociatia Pentru Valori în Educație. The company was represented by George Leca, Founder of Asociatia Pentru Valori in Educație, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists in this category were - the Academy for School Leadership & Management by Asociatia pentru Valori in Educatie, “We Build  a Hospital” by Daruieste Viata and “We care” program, by eMag foundation. 

Employer of the Year Award powered by Up Romania

The trophy for the Employer of the Year Award powered by Up Romania was given to Zitec, the Romanian-owned IT company that specializes in software development & digital marketing, with 150 staff in Bucharest & Brașov. Mr. Ștefan Budulan, Country Sales Manager at Up Romania, handed over the trophy to Zitec. The company was represented by Alex Lapusan, CEO & Founding Partner of Zitec, who received the trophy on stage.

The finalists for this award were BRD, Groupama and Zitec. 

Top Romanian Brand with Most Successful International Expansion in the Last 30 Years powered by Argus Audit

The trophy for Top Romanian Brand with Most Successful International Expansion in the Last 30 Years powered by Argus Audit, handed over by Mrs. Iulia Lascău, the Managing Partner of Argus Audit, was offered to Bitdefender, the Romania-owned global cybersecurity leader headquartered in Bucharest. The company was represented by Mihai Pașca, Global Retention & Loyalty Director at Bitdefender, who received the trophy on stage. 

The finalists were Bitdefender, Digi and Grampet. 

Top Investment with Great Impact in Romania in the Last 30 Years powered by Catinvest Eastern Europe

The trophy for the Top Investment with Great Impact in Romania in the Last 30 Years powered by Catinvest Eastern Europe, handed over by Mr. Themis Tolis, Leasing Manager at Catinvest Eastern Europe, went to Dacia Renault, the French carmaker with several investments in Romania, including car factory. The company was represented by Christophe Dridi, CEO of Dacia Renault, who received the trophy on stage. 

The finalists were Dacia Renault, Ford and OMV Petrom. 

Outside competition 

Outstanding Achievement Award offered by the Romania-Insider.com editorial team 

The Outstanding Achievement prize was offered by the editorial team of Romania-Insider.com outside the main competition. The award went to Casa Share, an NGO which builds houses for people in need, and supports them with further donations. Mr. Andrei Chirileasa, the editor - in - chief of Romania-Insider.com, handed over the award to Mr. Bogdan Tănasă, the Casa Share founder  

Jury members of the 2019 edition

Cristian Secoșan, CEO at Siemens Romania & Republic of Moldova

Luminița Teodorescu, Business consultant and former CEO of BASF Romania

Tereza Tranakas, General Manager at Oxygen

Șerban Țigănaș, Founder at Dico & Țigănaș and General Secretary at The International Union of Architects

Stephane Roy-de-Lachaise, Chief Administration Officer, Michelin Eastern Europe

Yann Bidan, CEO, Maple Bear Eastern Europe

Board of Advisors members 

Anca Harasim, Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce in Romania – AmCham

Adriana Record, Executive Director, French Chamber of Commerce in Romania – CCIFER

Anamaria Diaconescu, Director, Hellenic – Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce – HRCC

Claudiu Vrînceanu, Founder, Start-Up Bridge & VP Connections

Giovanni Pometti, General Secretary, Italian Chamber of Commerce in Romania – CCIpR

Osnat Peled, President, Business Woman Forum Romania – BWFR

Sebastian Metz, General Director, Romania – German Chamber of Commerce – AHK

Sotiris Chatzidakis, Founder & Executive Vice-President, CEO Clubs & Next Gen

Maurits Dohmen, Executive Director, Netherlands Romanian Chamber of Commerce (NRCC)

Neil McGregor, Director, British Romanian Chamber of Commerce

Charlie Crocker, Board member, British Romanian Chamber of Commerce

Volker Moser, Business Developer & Shareholder, Romania-Insider.com

Andrei Chirileasa, Partner & Editor-in-Chief, Romania-Insider.com

We thank all our partners & Supporters for joining in our quest to discover the game-changers in our society today!

Romania Insider Awards Partners

CRH, Banca Transilvania, Janssen Romania, Up Romania, UiPath, Credit Agricole Bank, CatInvest Eastern Europe, JLL, Argus Audit SRL, La French Tech, Bitcoin Romania, Hotel Cismigiu, TELUS International, Alesonor, DSBU, Grecu & Partners, AFI Tech Park, Nespresso, JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, Oxygen, Lacerta Winery, One Beer Later, Sweeteria.

Romania Insider Awards Supporters

American Chamber of Commerce in Romania - Amcham Romania, Austrian Business Club, British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce - BRCC, Business Women Forum Romania - BWFR, CEO Clubs International, The French Chamber of Commerce in Romania - CCIFER, The German Chamber of Commerce in Romania - AHK, The Hellenic - Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce - HRCC, The Italian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce - CCIpR, THe Netherlands - Romanian Chamber of Commerce - NRCC, Professional Women’s Network - PWN Romania, PQB Communication Designers, REC.

Romania Insider Awards Organizers

Romania-Insider.com & Ideograf 

Check out the first photos of the event on our Facebook page here - more to come soon.

For anything related to Romania Insider awards, please email awards@romania-insider.com