The Diplomat-Bucharest

Artificial intelligence has become an unavoidable force reshaping organizations, but companies must remain selective in how they adopt and deploy it, according to Ionuț Petre, Head of Digital Transformation and Governance Department at ICI Bucharest.

Speaking at the Workplace of the Future conference organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest, he described AI as a dominant presence in today’s business environment but warned against indiscriminate implementation driven by industry pressure.

“Artificial intelligence is now the elephant in every room. Not only companies, but every institution is faced with difficult choices. Let’s implement it, but what exactly do we choose?” Ionuț Petre said.

He noted that many organizations are driven by a fear of missing out, leading to rushed or unnecessary deployments.

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/05/ionut-petre-ici-bucharest-we-must-be-selective-in-how-we-use-ai/

Romanians are increasingly orienting their financial decisions toward protecting their existing resources, in a social and economic climate marked by uncertainty and financial prudence, preferring low-risk, highly liquid instruments over speculative investments.

More than half of respondents (54.1 percent) say they have chosen or would like to invest in cash reserves, according to a recent survey conducted by tbi bank on a sample of 1,006 employees nationwide. At the same time, 27.6 percent mention voluntary private pensions, while 25.2 percent point to government bonds, signaling a clear preference for financial stability and predictable long-term solutions. At the opposite end of the ranking are precious metals, mentioned by almost 9 percent of respondents, cryptocurrencies, at 5.5 percent, and the Forex market, at 1.1 percent.

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/05/tbi-bank-cash-reserves-and-private-pensions-are-becoming-romanians-main-investment-options-in-a-year-marked-by-economic-uncertainty/

🔵 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐭𝐡é𝐧é𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 18,, a conference dedicated to the innovative performance in cross-sector industries in Romania.

👉 Book your seat here: https://ifa.thediplomat.ro/

📒 Event Agenda

13:00 - 13:30 Welcome Guests & Official Opening Address
13:30 - 15:00 SESSION I - 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈 - 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
15:00 - 15:15 Coffee Break
15:15 – 16:45 SESSION II - 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒-𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒
16:45 – 17:30 Networking Cocktail & Gala Dinner
17:30 - 19:00 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀 𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐘

🎤 We welcome in the panel Pavel Popescu, Vice President, ANCOM

The event is supported by:

🔷𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 NXP Semiconductors Auchan Retail,
🔷𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 Infineon Technologies, The National Institute for Research & Development in Informatics - ICI Bucharest, DS Smith, BMF GRUP, VOIS Romania
🔷𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 British Romanian Chamber of Commerce, CI Française en Roumanie , Confederația Patronală Concordia, ECOTECA, ANIS Romania - Employers' Association of the Software and Services Industry, Circular Economy Coalition - CERC Asociatia Energia Inteligenta, HENRO - Asociatia Producatorilor de Energie Electrica, CLUJ IT Cluster, ROFMA - Romanian Workplace and Facility Management Association,
🔷𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 Outsourcing Today, Automotive Today, Sustainability-Today, Financial Intelligence, Revista Economistul, Romania Durabila, Club Economic, Ziarul BURSA

Romania is one step closer to receiving EUR 2.62 billion in grants under its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), after the European Union’s Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) endorsed the European Commission’s positive assessment of the country’s fourth payment request.

The approval marks a significant milestone in Romania’s implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU’s flagship post-pandemic investment program.

The fourth payment request, submitted by Romania on December 19, 2025, is valued at EUR 2.62 billion and includes 38 milestones and 24 targets. The European Commission concluded on May 14, 2026, that all commitments associated with the request had been satisfactorily fulfilled.

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/05/romania-moves-closer-to-receiving-2-62-billion-euros-under-fourth-rrf-payment-request/

As Romania accelerates investments in renewable energy generation, the next critical step will be electrification and large-scale upgrades to energy networks, according to Corneliu Bodea, CEO of Adrem.

Speaking at the Energy CEO Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest, Bodea said Adrem’s long-term strategy remains firmly anchored in grid infrastructure, an area where the company has built expertise over more than three decades.

“Adrem has a slightly different DNA from many of the companies active in the market today. With more than 33 years of experience, we have gone through multiple economic and industry cycles and have continuously adapted to very different circumstances. For us, adaptation is a never-ending story,” Bodea said.

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/05/corneliu-bodea-adrem-electrification-is-essential-to-make-the-energy-transition-work/

Romania’s rapidly expanding renewable energy sector is facing significant challenges related to workforce shortages, equipment supply chains, grid capacity and regulatory bottlenecks, according to Christian Leonte, CEO of Waldevar Holding.

Speaking at the Energy CEO Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest, Leonte said the industry’s growth is creating unprecedented demand for highly specialized professionals.

“One of our main challenges is human resources. Not only in the energy industry, but especially here, we are facing a major shortage of qualified personnel. We need engineers, project managers, SCADA specialists and BESS experts for energy storage systems – a profession that did not even exist five years ago,” Leonte said.

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/05/christian-leonte-waldevar-holding-romanias-renewable-energy-growth-requires-exceptional-resources-and-expertise/

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a key driver of productivity, product quality and business transformation, with companies increasingly deploying AI agents across development, operations and customer-facing activities, according to Simona Almajan, Country Manager of NXP Semiconductors Romania.

Speaking at the Workplace of the Future conference organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest, she outlined how organizations are adopting different forms of AI, ranging from generative and agentic AI to edge and physical AI applications.

“When we talk about generative AI or agentic AI, we are referring to agents that companies implement to become more efficient,” Almajan said. “This type of AI focuses on optimizing development workflows, streamlining operations and improving daily activities across the organization, helping teams become more productive, more efficient and ultimately deliver higher-quality products and results.”

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/04/simona-almajan-nxp-semiconductors-ai-will-write-code-but-verification-and-compliance-remain-essential/

🔵 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐭𝐡é𝐧é𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 18, a conference dedicated to the innovative performance in cross-sector industries in Romania.

👉 Book your seat here: https://ifa.thediplomat.ro/

📒 Event Agenda

13:00 - 13:30 Welcome Guests & Official Opening Address
13:30 - 15:00 SESSION I - 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈 - 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
15:00 - 15:15 Coffee Break
15:15 – 16:45 SESSION II - 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒-𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒
16:45 – 17:30 Networking Cocktail & Gala Dinner
17:30 - 19:00 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀 𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐘

🎤 We welcome in the panel Mihnea Costoiu, Rector of University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest

The event is supported by:

🔷𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 NXP Semiconductors Auchan
🔷𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 Infineon Technologies AG, Institutul Național de Cercetare - Dezvoltare în Informatică ICI București, DS Smith, BMF GRUP, VOIS Romania
🔷𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 British Romanian Chamber of Commerce (BRCC), CCI Française en Roumanie , Confederatia Patronala Concordia, ECOTECA - Colectia de Verde, ANIS Romania - Employers' Association of the Software and Services Industry, Coalitia pentru Economie Circulara - CERC Asociatia Energia Inteligenta, HENRO - Asociatia Producatorilor de Energie Electrica - Asociatia Producatorilor de Energie Electrica, Cluj IT Cluster, ROFMA - Asociația Română de Workplace și Facility Management
🔷𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 Outsourcing-Today.ro, Automotive-Today.ro, Sustainability-Today.ro, Financial Intelligence, Revista Economistul Romania Durabila, Club Economic, Ziarul Bursa

Romania’s electricity grids will need to become more digitalized, flexible and decentralized as the country’s energy transition accelerates, according to Ondrej Safar, Country Manager of Evryo Group and CEO of Distribuție Energie Oltenia.

Speaking at the Energy CEO Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest, Safar outlined his vision for the future of Romania’s energy system, emphasizing the need for significantly higher investment levels to support growing electrification and the rise of distributed energy generation.

“If we look at the longer-term horizon, we are talking about a system that will be digitalized and completely rebuilt because energy flows have already started to change significantly and will become even more different in the future,” said Safar.

https://www.thediplomat.ro/2026/06/04/ondrej-safar-evryo-if-we-dont-invest-romania-will-remain-among-europes-most-expensive-energy-markets/