Keynote Speakers

Mihai’s work sits at the intersection of adaptive governance, strategic advisory and executive development, with over 20 years of experience coaching CxOs and business owners across Romania and the European Union.

His work spans both executive and non-executive levels, encompassing strategic advisory for SMEs, next-generation mentoring for family-owned businesses, and decision-making support in turbulent, high-risk environments. He brings a distinctive perspective to scale-ups and special projects by integrating socio-ecological frameworks into business development, drawing on a deep understanding of how technology, culture and ecology interact and co-evolve.

Founder of RoCoach and a non-executive board member in several Eastern European organisations, Mihai Stănescu combines rigorous academic grounding in psychology, anthropology and cognitive science with applied expertise in leadership transitions and organisational complexity.

He is passionate about human ecology, anthro-complexity and societal development. Outside work, he finds perspective in reading, jazz, sailing, Homer and Byzantine history.

Dr Henk Jan van Essen is a lecturer in Business Administration and Research at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Enschede, the Netherlands. Before joining Saxion, he spent 36 years in managerial and executive positions in both profit and non-profit organisations, primarily in healthcare. This experience shaped his interest in bottom-up innovation and organisational change. In 2024, he completed his PhD at the University of Twente with research on innovation energy.

Building on his doctoral work, Van Essen has examined the relationship between innovative work behaviour, innovation energy and organisational culture within a Dutch police organisation. His findings show that innovation energy is positively associated with innovative work behaviour in both hierarchical and clan cultures. His ongoing research in a creative Dutch IT company undergoing digital transformation explores the same relationship in adhocracy and market cultures. Together, these studies cover all four organisational culture types identified by Cameron and Quinn (1999).

His current interests focus on the role of innovative employees in the age of artificial intelligence. He argues that employees who demonstrate innovative work behaviour are essential for business process redesign, innovation and responsible risk management. Drawing on Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory, he suggests that the innovators and early adopters found in society are also present within organisations. These employees are a valuable resource for developing intelligent systems and redesigning processes while keeping a strong focus on human values. At Saxion, he has also contributed to a bottom-up redesign of the graduation process in the Business Administration bachelor’s programme, in preparation for the AI era.

Bianca Muntean is co-founder and cluster manager Transilvania IT, with over 25 years of experience in creating and developing innovation ecosystems. She is the coordinator and founder of The European Digital Innovation Hub in Transilvania, the first digital innovation center in Romania recognized as operational by the European Commission and selected in the European Digital Innovation Hubs network.

Additionally, Bianca Muntean serves as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia for Romania’s North-Western region.

Bianca Muntean is known as one of the most relevant stakeholders in the region and in the country in the field of innovation, digitization and technology, being appointed Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Cluj, for the counties of Alba, Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Maramureș, Mureș, Sălaj and Satu Mare. She is a member of several Advisory Groups and Councils dealing with innovation and digital transformation at local, regional, national and international level.

She was awarded the title of EU Cluster Manager of the Year for 2019 by DG GROW, European Commission and is involved in coordinating cross-sector collaborations across Europe. Bianca is also a recipient of the 2017 Open Innovation Award from the Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group, European Commission.

Bianca Muntean strongly believes that the power of collaboration can generate systemic change in the economy and society.