Romania – Hub for Ukraine’s Recovery and the Role of U.S. Industry
The U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Embassy in Romania invite you to participate in a half-day trade and investment conference designed to highlight Romania’s pivotal role in Ukraine’s recovery. For U.S. companies, this is a prime opportunity to directly engage with influential decision-makers and key stakeholders across vital sectors such as:
- Infrastructure
- Energy
- Safety and Security
- Information Communication Technology
Program
| 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | Conference Registration and Refreshments Crowne Ballroom Lobby |
| 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM | Welcome Remarks and Conference Opening Crowne BallroomSpeakers:
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| 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Panel Discussion: “Financing Ukraine Recovery” Crowne BallroomSpeakers:
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| 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM | Coffee Break Crowne Ballroom Lobby |
| 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM | Panel Discussion: “Safeguarding the Future of Ukrainian Infrastructure” Crowne BallroomSpeakers:
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| 5:15 PM – 5:45 PM | Fireside Chat: “State of Play in Ukraine’s Recovery” Crowne BallroomSpeaker:
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| 5:45 PM – 6:00 PM | Wrap Up and Closing Crowne BallroomSpeaker:
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| 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM | Networking Reception hosted by AmCham Romania Pine Garden |
Speakers
Ricardo J. Peláez
Counselor for Commercial Affairs
Regional Senior Commercial Officer for Southeast Europe U.S. Embassy in Romania
Ricardo J. Peláez is a distinguished career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Starting in August 2024, he will assume the role of Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Romania, concurrently serving as the Regional Senior Commercial Officer for Southeast Europe.
In his previous role, Ricardo served as the Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. There, he provided strategic advice to U.S. executives on a wide array of Transatlantic trade policy issues with the EU, while supporting the programs and operations of 28 Commerce offices and 200 personnel across Europe. With over 27 years of dedicated service in the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, Ricardo brings a wealth of experience and expertise.
Ricardo honed his EU expertise as the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain (2017-2020). Prior to his tenure in Spain, he served as the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru (2013-2017), and as a Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, China (2011-2013). His Foreign Service journey began with an intensive one-year Mandarin language training course at the Foreign Service Institute, followed by a three-year assignment as a Commercial Officer at the American Institute in Taiwan in Taipei (2008-2011).
Ricardo embarked on his career with the U.S. Commercial Service in 1997, spending a decade in the Akron and Cleveland, Ohio offices. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kent State University and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from Cleveland State University.
Kathleen Kavalec
Kathleen Kavalec was sworn in as Ambassador to Romania on December 20, 2022. Previously, Ambassador Kavalec served as the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2019-2022. Prior to that, she was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) at the Department of State.
A career U.S. diplomat, Ambassador Kavalec has held a variety of diplomatic assignments, including Director for Russian Affairs, Deputy Permanent Delegate and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the UNESCO in Paris, Deputy Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia, and Director of Conflict Prevention in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. Her overseas assignments have included service as the Political Counselor in Ukraine, two tours in Russia covering political issues, as well as tours in Romania and Brazil. In Romania, she served as Cultural Attache between 2005 and 2008. She is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, as well as a Presidential Rank Award.
Ambassador Kavalec holds an A.B. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Her foreign languages include Romanian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. She is married and has three children.
Radu Oprea
Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism Romania
Radu Oprea is the current Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism in Romania. He was appointed to this position in June 2023. Prior to this, he served as a senator for the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
As the Minister of Economy, he aims to expand Romania’s trade, encourage foreign investment, and tackle inflation. He has been vocal about Romania’s risks of losing funds from the European Union if it does not meet the deficit target.
Daniela Nemoianu
Vicepresident, AmCham Romania
With 27 years of business and management advisory experience within the financial services sector and Big4 in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe, Daniela Nemoianu is a highly experienced top executive and attorney at law, having participated in hundreds of transactions and large projects, including greenfield investments, major privatization deals and governmental projects. Daniela is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Erste BCR Group since 2019. Her academic background includes a Doctorate in Financial and Tax Law, as well as a Master’s degree in European Law.
Daniela has played an active role in the AmCham Board of Directors during 2013-2024. She acted as the President of AmCham Romania in 2015/16 and Chair of some of the most participative AmCham barricades: Macroeconomics & Strategy, EU Funds, Taxation, Real Estate and Environmental Committees.
John F. Moran
John F. Moran is DFC’s Senior Advisor to the Chief Operating Officer, focusing on Ukraine Investment Initiatives, and was Senior Advisor to the Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, Penny Pritzker, until she finished that role in late August. He has been with DFC and its predecessor, Overseas Private Investment Corporations (OPIC) since 2000, serving in a broad range of senior management positions, including Vice President for Political Risk Initiatives, Chief of Staff, and, from 2000-03 as Regional Director for SE Europe, based in Zagreb Croatia.
With the U.S. Government since 1993, he has led innovative development finance and capital mobilization initiatives at DFC/OPIC, Treasury, USAID, and Commerce for critical sectors (climate finance, health security, water/infrastructure, SME/microfinance) and regions (Balkans/Eurasia, Sub-Saharan Africa, SE Asia, MENA) and was an attorney in private practice in Washington DC earlier in his career.
Radu Cracan
Since 2020, Radu Cracan has been the country economist for several EU countries focusing on the Southeastern region. Besides covering the countries from a macro perspective, Radu provides strategic and policy input to regional and country management, helping prioritize EBRD’s activity in the region. Radu holds a bachelor’s degree in business and economics and a master’s degree in international management from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Dinu Bumbacea
Dinu is a graduate of the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications of the University Politehnica of Bucharest, holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology US and a Specialisation Diploma in Digital Image Processing from Supélec France.
He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK and of the Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania.
Dinu has spent the past 30 years in professional services, of which the last 22 years as a partner, coordinating a wide range of consulting projects in Romania and CEE in various industries.
He is the Country Managing Partner and Advisory Leader of PwC in Romania and Moldova.
He also contributes to the wider community being the founder of the PwC Foundation and member of the Board of Trustees of the Romanian American Foundation. Dinu is married and is the happy father of 4 children.
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