Solarplaza Summit | Balkans

Energy expert with over 15 years of experience and deep expertise in energy system optimization, forecasting, energy market (power, gas, LNG, coal, certificates), PPA, renewable energy, project development, energy storage and transition.​ Previously, spent 10 years on executive positions in two large energy companies in SE region (HEP and Petrol)​.

Teodora Tompea is a seasoned veteran in the television industry, with a record of nearly two decades. Currently, she is one of the main anchors for Digi24 - one of the most important TV news station from Romania, covering a range of topics daily. In addition, she also produces the only climate change TV show in Romania and is a presenter of Focus Europe, as well as is an active entrepreneur, brand ambassador and business owner. She has a PhD in Sociology from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.

Andreas Rörig is the President of the Management Board of E.ON Hrvatska, a leading company in green energy transition on Croatian market, and part of the German E.ON SE Group, one of the largest operators of European power networks and energy infrastructure. During his 16 years at E.ON, Andreas Rörig has held several management positions, including the position of Senior Vice President for Sustainability, Health, Safety and Environment. He joined the Croatian team at the beginning of 2021 and in this period the company, from previous focus on gas and electricity sales mostly from fossil fuels, made a turn towards energy solutions that contribute to the green energy transition. On a personal note, since 2021, Rörig is the honorary consul of the Republic of Croatia in the Federal Republic of Germany, in Cologne supporting the exchange between the two countries

Paul is a seasoned Project Manager and solar PV Expert with regional experience in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He combines over 30 years of professional experience in business consulting, industrial manufacturing, product innovation and energy regulatory affairs. Paul works in solar since 2002 serving financiers, utilities, developers, manufacturers, NGO’s and governments through owner’s engineering, technical advisory and due diligence assignments, business viability studies and policy advice. His first project in solar PV was in 2002 with the Dutch regulator exploring the possibilities for grid regulation to enhancing the penetration of distributed photovoltaic systems. One of his most recent ones comprises technical advisory to the EBRD to finance landfill solar sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although his focus is on solar, Paul gained working experience on other power system’s themes in multiple occasions, energy storage amongst them. As mechanical engineer, Paul graduated from the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Before joining DNV in 2004, he worked at The Boston Consulting Group, Heineken Breweries, and he was employed by the Dutch state energy regulator in The Hague.

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Hrvoje Pandžić is a professor at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. He is the Head of the Department of Energy and Power Systems and the Head of the Demand Response Laboratory. He coauthored a number of scientific publications and technical reports on energy markets, integration of renewable energy and energy storage. He holds a patent determining one-way efficiencies of lithium-ion batteries.

Margareta Rončević works as a Policy Officer in the European Association for Storage of Energy, where she works on promoting essential provisions for the energy storage sector on the EU level. Her focus lies on thermal energy storage, battery storage and net-zero industry. By engaging with association members, policymakers, and key stakeholders, she facilitates effective communication and collaboration to advance the field of energy storage.

Saša Jovičić heads the Projects, Infrastructure and Energy practice in the Zagreb office of Wolf Theiss. He has been advising a number of prominent international clients and is currently focusing on energy projects in Croatia and the region. He regularly advises clients on market entry and regulation, all stages of project development (including permitting and environmental topics, financing and project acquisition), commercial contracts and, if need be, dispute resolution in the energy sector.

Goran Majstrović is an Assistant Director and Head of Transmission and Distribution Department in the EIHP, Croatia where he has been working since 1998. EIHP is a research and energy consultancy institution. Field of Goran's interest is RES integration, transmission system planning and analysis as well as electricity market design. He served as a consultant for the World Bank, USAID, European Commission, EBRD, KfW, Energy Community, different governments, regulatory agencies, power companies, TSOs, DSOs etc. As an author he published more than 120 studies and more than 90 papers. Goran holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and serves as a lecturer at post-graduate MBA study Energy Economics at University of Rijeka, Croatia and external colaborator of European University Institute, Robert Schumann Center, Florence School of Regulation, Florence, Italy and Energy Regulatory Regional Association (ERRA), Budapest, Hungary. He is a vice-president of Croatian CIGRE Committee and a Member of the Scientific Council for Energy in the Croatian Academy of Art and Science.

For over two decades, Milan Pudich has been a driving force in the energy sector, shaping the future of energy production and consumption in Europe and Africa. He has held various influential positions, including board member roles, where he has delivered outstanding results in productivity and sales processes, leading teams in energy companies like Shell. Milan has also embraced the challenge of transitioning from traditional energy sources to new energies, gaining expertise in bio-LNG, GTL, hydrogen, and the solar industry. Currently, he leads the Sales Utilities team in Eastern Europe, including Balkan, at Trina Solar, one of the world's largest solar and storage manufacturers, where he oversees operations and drives growth in 20 countries. Milan is not only a successful leader, but also a passionate visionary with a mission to implement more innovations, green energies, and new ways of working to make our world a better place to live. He is always looking for new opportunities to create value, improve efficiency, and reduce environmental impact. He inspires his colleagues and partners with his enthusiasm, dedication, and optimism.

Victor is the Technical Support Manager for the EU region for Runergy. Victor Rada has extensive experience as Chemical Engineer, Renewable Energy Engineer, PV Power Plant Auditor for a major TIC company, as well as the PV Module Technology Expert for a large Solar Project Developer. His role is based on providing technical support to the sales team of Runergy as they expand further into the European module market.

Dražen Lovrić works as a director of a Energy park Korlat Ltd. and as a director of HEP Department of Strategy and Development. His focus is in preparation and realisation of renewable projects, especially solar, wind and hydro projects. After finalisation of Korlat wind farm, he participated in development of solar power plant (SPP) Korlat. Project preparation was enhanced with significant energy potential of location, which was being prepared for the construction of Korlat wind warm at that time. Additionally, the location was characterized by favourable topographic conditions, and there was an option of using the same space and mutual infrastructure (grid connection, access etc.) for both facilities with an aim of optimizing investment and operational costs as well as optimizing the occupation of the location itself.

Ante Krecak is Head of Project Finance, with a focus on financing infrastructure projects and renewables in Croatia and markets in the close region. His previous professional expertise included Corporate financing, Financial restructuring and Commercial Real Estate. He has overseen numerous financing transactions over the local and regional markets including renewables projects such as solar, hydro, wind projects, etc. With his teams, he regularly advises clients on market specifics and the bank's preferred financing conditions, beginning from the early stages of development and continuing through the period of defining offtake structures until financial close and operational stages.

Martina Vajdić works as a Policy Officer at the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, where she focuses on regulatory cooperation, reporting guidance, and policy activities to support REMIT reporting mandates. With over 9 years of experience as a Market Specialist and Analyst at the Market Operations Department of Croatian Power Exchange, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her current role. She holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, and an MBA, from Cotrugli Business School, providing her with a strong foundation in both technical and management skills. She is experienced in energy market implementation, testing, and operation projects, with a keen interest in data analysis from both technical and economic perspectives. Fluent in Croatian, Slovenian, English, German, and Spanish, she has successfully managed and conducted educational workshops and has been an active participant in various panels and conferences.

Head of connection in the transmission system operator responsible for the implementation of procedures for connecting new network users to the transmission network. In scope, responsible for managing and coordinating the procedures for connecting renewable sources as well as conventional energy sources. Also responsible for the development and improvement of legal and by-law regulations concerning the connection and use of the network.

Aljoša in his 20+ years of professional experience, which started in ICT sector on management positions is sales, for last 15 is in renewable energy sector as pioneer especially in solar PV. From development and construction of first large scale PV project in Croatia in 2012, is involved in founding and establishing several Croatian renewable energy association and actively participating in opinion making and creating of RES legal framework. Since 2015 is general manager of Acciona energy Croatia, part of Acciona group, in charge of development, construction and operation of utility scale RES projects in Croatia and region.

Managing director of wpd Adria, a member of German wpd group working on new large scale wind park projects in Croatia and its region. Board member of wpd’s SPVs in the Adriatic region, including four operating wind parks. Professional with extensive management experience in the energy sector, with in-depth understanding of the public sector.

Queen Mary, University of London and King's College London graduate, after post-graduate course at the Sorbonne, Elena began her career as a business analyst at American Express (UK). Before starting the "Evklips Energy" adventure, Elenagained valuable experience at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she worked as a financial analyst. The dream of a "greener future" becomes a driving force for the transition from large corporations towards the establish of company. To date, Evklips Energy is among the leaders in the construction of photovoltaic plants throughout Europe. In the last 6 years, the company has over 1 gigawatt of installed capacity. Evklips Energy is the investor and owner of 4 solar power plants in Bulgaria (18 MWp). With a team of over 250 professionals, Evklips Energy also offers full EPC services in Bulgaria.

Richard is a journalist with over 20 years’ experience reporting on Europe’s energy markets. Richard has reported in depth and breadth on the profound transformation from dirty fossil fuels to a renewables-based system. Starting out as a market reporter, Richard became Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Richard speaks five languages and is responsible for a team of 50 journalists across Europe who cover the energy transition, gas and power trading, green certificates, energy regulation and policy. Under his stewardship, Montel News has seen its subscribers increase with a reach of up to three million views a year on their news website alone, reporting on energy markets in 11 languages simultaneously. Montel News is the leading energy news service having broken market leading stories including issues with French nuclear plants, German policy decisions, interviews with energy ministers as well as important carbon market news. Our journalists also covered the covid pandemic and the energy crisis in depth.

Jovanka Atanacković is the Head of Development for WE at CWP Europe, where she leads strategic renewable energy projects across multiple markets. Prior to joining CWP, she served in high-level government roles, including State Secretary in the Ministry of Mining and Energy. With over two decades of experience in the legal and energy sectors, she played a pivotal role in shaping Serbia's energy transition by drafting the country’s first Law on Renewable Energy Sources in 2021. Her expertise spans legal reform, energy infrastructure, and policy development, making her a leading voice in advancing sustainable energy solutions in Europe.

Danijela Isailović is a manager of RES Serbia, business association founded in 2021 with support of EBRD, that aims at improvement of the business environment in the field of renewable energy sources and environmentally motivated promotion of the generation and use of electric power from renewable energy sources. RES Serbia has 45 members which produce more than 95 percent of the green energy in Serbia. She participated in the development and construction of the first wind farms in Serbia. Danijela is an expert in corporate communications and public policy and is dedicated to the energy transition and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.

With more than 10 years of experience in the energy sector; Branimir Beljan currently works as a country manager for several West Balkan Countries and Ukraine at Danske Commodities AS. He has a Master’s Degree in Business from University of Zagreb and before joining the Danske Commodities, Branimir have worked in PwC Tax department. During the years of work in DC, he has changed several positions and headed various markets in SEE. Beljan specializes in cross border trading in South East Europe, Power Purchase Agreements and business development of power trading operations in SEE. Currently; Danske Commodities is the biggest off taker in Croatian PPA market with 7 wind parks in their portfolio.

Nela Vlahinić Lenz is the founder and president of XEnergy - Empowering Women in Energy Transition, an association of experts working for the empowerment and visibility of women in the energy industry and the promotion of renewable energy, innovative and low-carbon technologies and green finance. Nela Vlahinić Lenz is a full professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Rijeka and the founder and director of the postgraduate MBA program in Energy Economics. By combining this MBA and XEnergy, she has created a broad networking platform that connects all key players in the energy sector in Croatia - from energy regulators, power grid and market operators to leading energy companies.

Neven Vukadinović is experienced electrical engineer who is currently working as a senior project developer at Statkraft. He has extensive previous experience in transmission grid development and connection processes. His main responsibilities are to grow the RES portfolio and grid connection process for all Statkraft's projects in Croatia.

Andrija has over 18 years of professional experience working in capital markets, including investment banking as well as asset management. He has been with PBZ since June ’23 in the role of Executive director of Corporate Banking Products responsible for Cap. Market, Brokerage, Structured finance, Custody, Investment, M&A and advisory activities. Beginning his career as a broker/ dealer covering regional equity markets he transitioned into asset management beginning in investment fund management and then at Erste Plavi pension fund mangement company, one of the largest institutional investors in Croatia managing 8 pension funds with assets reaching over EUR 3 bn. There he spent 14 years in various front-office/managerial roles, the last being the Chief Investment Officer. Andrija holds a degree from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb and has been a CFA chartholder since 2011.

An Expert on the United States, Italy and Middle East markets, he conducted multiple energy storage studies on geographies as different as Latin America, Australia and Europe. His main expertise covers market and regulatory analyses, techno-economic and financial assessment of energy storage and hydrogen systems as well as the management of GWh-scale procurements. He is also spearheading knowledge management activities around several topics such as long-duration energy storage and fire safety of li-ion battery systems. Naim El Chami is a graduate of CentraleSupélec, Université Paris Saclay and Saint Joseph’s University. After initial experiences in Saudi Arabia on project management and at EDF in France developing a proof-of-concept analysis for a novel power storage solution, Naim joined Clean Horizon in 2018.

Ferid is an independent Attorney at Law practicing in Sarajevo in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners. He is experienced in advising clients on all aspects of corporate, financial, regulatory and tax matters. Ferid has extensive experience in M&A matters and specialises in advising clients from the energy and mining industry. He also has significant experience in advising clients on local data protection regulations and GDPR compliance.​

Ioanna joined Aurora in October 2023. She is part of Aurora’s Southeastern Europe Power and Renewables Research team which offers market services in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. Ioanna has 8 years of energy and environmental consulting experience.

Hao Ge is the Senior Product Solution Manager at LONGi Solar, where he drives product strategy, market development, and regulatory compliance. With 7-year extensive experience in the solar and battery industries, Hao has contributed to propelling innovation and operational efficiency.

Corentin de Ricaud has significant project finance expertise and over 16 years of experience acquired through leading financial institutions and energy and infrastructure companies working on projects in the power and renewables industries. At Apricum, Mr. de Ricaud works on a range of clients including project developers, governments and institutional investors, helping them to develop bespoke project and financing solutions as well as successful investment strategies. Before joining Apricum, Corentin was an investment officer at the European Investment Bank where he was involved in the financial close of the Scaling Solar 34 MW PV project in Zambia and was active in originating new project finance transactions in MENA countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and West Africa. Prior to that, he spent five years as a dedicated in-house financial advisor at ENGIE, where he led the landmark Gulf of Suez 262.5 MW BOO wind project in Egypt from inception to financial close, being the very first renewable energy IPP project in the country. Prior to that, he held positions at BNP Paribas and Bouygues Construction. Corentin holds a master’s degree in finance and strategy from The Paris Institute of Political Sciences (“Sciences Po”).