Business Review No.23, June

NEWS: Bucking the recession, Xerox expects to post double digit growth this year, with positive figures on all segments of the business, says Gabriel Pantelimon, country general manager of Xerox Romania and the Republic of Moldova »page 6

TOP MANAGEMENT CHANGES THE TELECOM SECTOR HAS SEEN MANY NEW APPOINTMENTS, FROM THE RANKS OF TOP AND MIDDLE MANAGERS

ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY

June 27 - JULY 3, 2011 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 23

»PAGE 8

ELECTRIC CARS ARE HERE The The first first charging charging point point for for electric electric cars cars was was inaugurated inaugurated in in Bucharest Bucharest as as part part of of aa pilot pilot project project signaling signaling the the increasing increasing interest interest in in developing developing the the needed needed infrastructure infrastructure for for this this type type of of vehicles vehicles »page »page 44

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

RESTAURANT With a friendly, relaxing atmosphere and few changes to the menu, Le Monde makes a place to come back to, BR’s restaurant critic discovers » page 13

FOCUS The crisis has helped retailers’ sales of private label products, with the local market estimated to reach up to EUR 1.2 billion this year » page 10-11

NEWS Romanian travel agency Perfect Tour has opened an US branch to better serve clients interested in leisure and business European destinations » page 4

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

3Q Dan Boboescu

NEWS 3

NEWS in brief WEEK in numbers

18.5 Liters of alcohol per year is what the typical Romanian consumes, compared to an EU average of 15 liters, according to data from the local Alliance against Alcoholism (ALIAT)

Tamisa Trading CEO and shareholder

What were your financial results last year and what are the biggest challenges you have faced so far?

Tamisa Trading’s 2010 turnover was RON 37.4 million, up 18 percent against 2009. All things going as planned, this year we should boost that growth rate and close the year with around RON 48 million, give or take a little. The key development project, at least for this year and the next, is the new line of business I have already mentioned. One challenge would certainly be the impact that the state has on the market.

The crux of the matter for the entire pharma market is the lack of predictability of decisions made by the officialdom.

What are the best-selling pharmaceuticals in Romania and why?

The dominance of oncology and cardiology medication amongst the drugs with the highest sales in Romania is overwhelming. Drugs targeting cancer and cardiovascular diseases make up two of the three best sold drugs, seven of the top 10, and 10 of the top 15. On a background of a declining and aging population, the number of people suffering from various forms of cancer has risen from 290,000 a decade ago to 370,000 nowadays, but cancer associations believe that the real number could be more than double that. It is largely the effect of changing lifestyles in relatively recent years – unhealthy food leading to a steep rise in obesity and excess body weight, little to no physical exercise, smoking, all blended with hefty amounts of daily stress. corina.dumitrescu@business-review.ro

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

What will be the most important sources for growth Tamisa Trading this year?

We expect growth in all our traditional lines of business – distribution of drugs, of para-pharmaceutical materials and products, and certain medical devices. However, the bulk of the growth will come from a new business line that we will be launching within weeks. It will be related to what we are doing right now, yet different in nature.

We believe this new activity will account for a substantial portion of this year’s growth and will really take off in 2012. Nevertheless, on a market where there’s cut-throat competition I must be excused for not disclosing more at the moment! The pharma market is a very complex one, where both state and private stakeholders interact with the consumer. There are many built-in uncertainties.

IMAGE of the week Open for traffic…

The Basarab flyover opened for traffic last Sunday. The 1.9 km flyover is said to be the widest pillar-supported urban bridge in Europe. The construction of the flyover was initially announced when now-president Traian Basescu was serving as the mayor of Bucharest. Its construction, which has cost the Bucharest city hall EUR 240 million, ended 29 months later than initially planned.

33 Romanian firms were included in Deloitte’s Central European Top 500, a ranking of companies in the region based on revenues

1,000 Km of railway will be rented out by the government, while another 1,000 km will be shut down in a move to cut costs

ONLINE

PROPERTY

ADVERTISING

LinkedIn launches Romanian version

First phase of AFI Business Park Cotroceni to be delivered in summer 2012

McCann Erickson Romania garlanded for Rom campaign

The professional network LinkedIn, which has more than 100 million users worldwide, has launched a Romanian version, as well as ones in Turkish and Russian. The site was previously available in six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

More than 400,000 employees in Romania already have a LinkedIn profile and over 1,000 online groups have a connection with the country. The industries that have the best LinkedIn presences in Romania are financial-banking, IT& services and telecom.

ZebraPay to invest USD 3 mln to expand terminal network ZebraPay, an instant payment terminal company, will invest more than USD 3 million this year to expand its national network. The firm will add another 1,000 terminals in 2011. The first stage of the project has been finished after 200 instant payment terminals were put in place in Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Craiova, Galati, Braila, Constanta, Iasi, Targu-Jiu and Bucharest. At the moment, the terminals allow users to recharge their prepay cards. By the end of the year ZebraPay plans to launch new services such as bill payment for utilities, payments to public institutions and sales of software licenses, train, coach and concert tickets.

The first phase of AFI Business Park will be delivered in summer 2012, The Advisers/ Knight Frank, the leasing agent for the project, has announced. Located in the immediate vicinity of AFI Palace Cotroceni Mall, the park will have 70,000 sqm of Class A office space. The building will provide 11,000 sqm of GLA, on ten floors. The first phase comes with 173 underground parking places for the employees.

POWER EBRD and IFC lend EUR 114.8 mln to Cernavoda wind farms EBRD and the IFC are lending EUR 114.8 million to co-finance the construction and operation of the 138 MW Cernavoda I & II wind farms. Cernavoda Power SA, majority owned by EDP Renováveis, will receive EUR 57.4 million to finance the building and running of the wind farms.

Cernavoda I, which has 69 megawatts, is already in operation, while Cernavoda II, which will have another 69 megawatts, is being commissioned.

Both will retain EUR 42.2 million for their own accounts, syndicating EUR 15.2 million each to a group of commercial banks.

McCann Erickson Romania has won two Grands Prixes in the promo/activation and direct categories at the Cannes Grands Prixes for its American Rom campaign for client Kandia Dulce. This is Romania’s first Grand Prix, though it has won a few Lions in the past. The agency also received two Gold Cannes Lions (for the Food and Non-Alcoholic Drinks category and the Fast Moving Consumer Goods category), as well as two Bronze trophies in PR, in Consumer Goods and Best Launch or Re-launch categories.

RETAIL Lidl opens 107 stores by rebranding Plus Discount network All 107 local Plus Discount supermarkets have been rebranded as Lidl stores.

The retailer’s expansion process is expected to continue this year as new units are under construction. Lidl has announced on its local website that it is interested in buying or renting land in towns with a population of over 30,000 inhabitants in order to open new stores.

Discount supermarket chain Lidl bought the local low-cost chain Plus from German owner Tengelmann in February 2010.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

4 NEWS

TRAVEL

ELECTRIC CARS

Romanian travel agency Perfect Tour expands to US

First charging station for electric cars opens at Unirii Square T L Photo: Laurentiu Obae

he first charging station for electric cars was opened close to Unirii Square in Bucharest, on the grounds of the headquarters of Transelectrica, the Romanian national power grid company.

The project required an investment of about EUR 36,000 and was developed by the Romanian National CIGRE Committee, a professional association affiliated to the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) in partnership with Mitsubishi Motors Romania.

The station is a pilot project with no commercial value, but the authorities are looking at the available options to open such stations in the near future in various locations such as shopping malls and supermarkets, said Laszlo Borbely, minister of the environment.

The station is equipped with two levelone charging points where charging is done single-phased at 230 volts with a 16 A power intensity. Access to power sockets is done through a personalized card, and payment can be made by subscription, card, end-of-the month bill or pre-pay card. The cost of fully charging an electric car is between RON 3 and 6.

At the launch, the Romanian National CIGRE Committee received the keys to a Mitsubishi i-Miev model, becoming the first

The first charging station for electric cars is located at Unirii Square

local owner of an electric car.

Daniel Antor, executive director of M Car Trading, the Mitsubishi Motors dealer for Romania, part of Tiriac Holdings, told BR that at this point it is hard to estimate how many i-Miev models will be sold locally this year. “Our initial target was five units but demand surpasses this target.

There is a lot of interest in this car but until now it has not been clear whether companies as well as individuals can also benefit from the government’s support scheme,” said Antor. Companies are mostly interested in acquiring the model, according to Antor, who said that recently the company got an order for five such cars from a lo-

cal courier company.

The cost of a i-Miev Mitsubishi is EUR 36,640. Using the on-board charger, the vehicle can be fully charged with a 100V or 200V power source available in any home in about six hours. Using quick-chargers the charging duration decreases to about 20 minutes. The model has a range of 160 km.

Present at the event, Borbely said the government was taking measures to encourage the acquisition of hybrid and electric cars. Through the Rabla national program for replacing old cars, those interested in buying a new car can receive six vouchers for their old vehicles compared to three vouchers for the acquisition of a normal model. Drivers interested in buying a green vehicle outside the Rabla program can also benefit from financial incentives. The government will subsidize up to 10 percent of the price of a hybrid car, to a maximum of EUR 1,800, and 20 percent of the price of an electric car up to EUR 3,800.

Renault Romania recently announced three partnerships to work on developing infrastructure for electric cars. The first three agreements were signed between Renault and Siemens, Schneider Electric and Electrica. ∫ Simona Bazavan

ocal travel agency Perfect Tour has announced that it has opened an office in the United States, to better meet the needs of its international clientele, especially those with an interest in leisure and business trips to Europe.

Pacific Perfect Tour offers tickets to destinations like Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, Chisinau and Kiev, as well as popular European destinations like Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. The travel agency also includes packages for medical treatments and spa stays in Romania. Its 24 / 7 support is available in English, Russian, German, French and Romanian.

The new office in Los Angeles will be Perfect Tour’s second one abroad. “The opening of Perfect Tour’s new office in the United States is an important step towards continuing our strategic expansion,” said Corina Pacuraru, general director of the group. Perfect Tour registered a turnover of over EUR 24 million in 2010, according to company information. The agency has 15 branches in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and the US. The new opening follows a USD 150,000 investment and is aimed to help generate a turnover of USD 300,000 in the first year.

Corina Dumitrescu

Romanian Retailers Turn to Call Centers to Boost Sales

by Grégoire VIGROUX, Co-Founder at CallPoint New Europe. With 1000 seats and 10 M EUR turnover in Romania and Bulgaria, the company is one of the leading call center and BPO providers in South-Eastern Europe.

center outsourcing. We have asked Grégoire VIGROUX, from CallPoint, to tell us about how call center outsourcing can help retailers to boost their sales up.

What type of call center campaign work best for retailers?

The most effective type of campaign call centers can offer to retailers is the “client reactivation campaign” (contacting the clients who have not showed up in the shop for several months to bring them back by offering a gift or special discount).

The real value of the offer What other outbound camdoes not need to be very costly paigns work for retailers, bebut has to be persuasive enough to reactivate the client. sides reactivation?

Clients always like to feel Reactivation campaigns have taken care of. With simple high conversion rates (10% to words saying “hello and thank 20% of “lost” clients will return you for being our customer” or to the shops).

Besides the experience of “is there anything we can do in order to make your customer the chosen call center, the sucexperience better?” customers cess of reactivation campaigns will feel important. fundamentally depends on Moreover, this call is a great three criteria:

opportunity to enrich or verify some information about the customer, such as her/his email address and the postal address.

Are there any innovations call centers may provide?

We live in the Internet era, and the trendiest retailers are those that show their customers they understand these new channels. In this sense, we advise retailers to have a chat box in their website and interact with them.

Live chat is a powerful sales tool with lot of potential. A good idea is to start chatting with clients who are staying a certain time on the product description page. By chatting with a hesitating client, you can solve his doubts and convince her/him to convert.

Please contact gregoire.vigroux@callpoint-group.com and learn how call center outsourcing may support your sales efforts.

Advertorial

The Romanian retailing sector operates in an extremely competitive environment. Retailers struggle, now more than ever, to keep their existing customers base and attract new ones. Some are in survival mode.

Therefore, traditional retailers in Romania are constantly exploring new channels that help them to boost their sales.

And there is a growing trend among such retailers for call

The value of the offer made: the deal offered can be a discount, a gift voucher or a special promotion to the customer.

The tailor-made approach: loyalty-cards track clients’ purchasing behaviour offering retailers a full profile of customers based on their purchase history that can be use to tailor the campaign.

The quality of the database: this is the most important parameter. The database has to be updated at least once a year to track the people who have changed some of their contact details.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

6 NEWS RETAIL

Romania out of top 30 emerging countries for retail development

R

omania is no longer among the top 30 most attractive emerging countries for retail development, according to the 2011 edition of the A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). The development came after Romania dropped five positions to 28th position in 2009.

The index ranks the retail expansion attractiveness of emerging countries based on a set of 25 variables including economic and political risk, retail market attractiveness, retail saturation levels, and modern retailing sales area and sales growth.

The most attractive country for retailers in 2011 is Brazil, found the research, followed by Uruguay, Chile, India, Kuwait and China. No Eastern European country made it into the top ten.

Commenting on the study, Michael Weiss, partner of A.T. Kearney’s Bucharest office, told BR that the key message for the Romanian market is that it is highly saturated, something foreseeable through A.T. Kearney’s life cycle indicator across the years. “Now in this situation it is a strategic imperative for CEOs to understand how to reinvent their business model and adapt it to the local market or what kind of niche model are needed to systematically harvest the market,” he added. In the next

couple of years the local market will be less driven by simple expansion and the opening of the same formats as during the 2004-2008 boom period, he added.

According to A.T. Kearney, a marginal recovery for 2011 and 2012 is expected in overall revenues. “But as this recovery of retail revenues might not be sufficient nor sustainable, we will see on the short to mid term an ongoing trend towards niche-retailers, innovative business models for sales channels and the shake out or exit of certain players in the market. We are not expecting the overall volume of modern trade to increase on the short term, while the traditional markets will decrease,” Weiss concluded.

Nevertheless expansion plans continue to be in the cards for retailers. Lidl opened 107 stores by rebranding the former Plus Discout units and company representatives confirmed to BR that 2011 will see the opening of the first units built entirely by Lidl. French DIY retailer Leroy Merlin will open its first local outlet in Bucharest this August and Carrefour should also see the opening of two new hypermarkets this year, with other retailers also likely to join the march.∫ Simona Bazavan

IT

Xerox Romania expects double digit growth this year

X

erox estimates that it will post double digit local growth this year, according to Gabriel Pantelimon, GM of Xerox Romania and the Republic of Moldova, who added that he expects the company to post growth in all segments.

Xerox intends to improve its network of partners. Pantelimon told BR how the company works with clients. “When dealing with large companies, we have a team of five direct consultants, each of them in charge of an industry. In this way, we cover approximately 200 large clients in industries such as telecom, finance (banks and insurance), manufacturing and utilities. We also have a consultant for the public sector and a consultant for the

graphic art segment,” said Pantelimon.

Additionally, Xerox has 24 strategic partners for medium sized enterprises, who have a footprint all over the country.

“We approachs the market of small clients via five distributors who are direct importers and have a network of resellers selling smaller equipment. There are probably 1,000 resellers at this point,” noted the GM. At the moment, Xerox has 240 employees in Romania. Of this total, 70 work in the company's offices while the remaining 170 are based at the customers' headquarters. There are over 25 people working in the Xerox scanning and archiving center in Bucharest. ∫ Otilia Haraga

Executive Director opening at United Way UWRo is looking to select awill qualified Al new Let’s do it, Romania! take individual for the position of United Way Romania’s Director.

United place this yearExecutive on September 24. At the Way Romania (UWRo) is a Romanian foundation to United Worldwide. The Executive Director is the same time asaffiliated volunteers were Way being head of foundation’s executive team, and called to action, the results of last year’s is responsible for the administration and management of the organization, including but not limited to the development of effort were officially made public. resources, financial stewardship, management of staff and volunteers, public Over 200,000 volunteers all of Ro- of relationships within and external to the communications and thefrom development mania’s 41 counties took part in the community. clean-the-whole-country-in-just-onel To meet the challenges ahead the candidate will need: minimum 5 years of day campaign experience, organized for the first management including both budget and staff administration, prefertime in September, collecting ablylast in ayear non-profit organization (a mix of both “for-profit and non-profit” expeover 55,000 sacks waste, results success in complex resource/fund derience would be aofplus); to the demonstrate show.

Five central authorities to andthe overcommunity; strong oral and written velopment; commitment communication and customer service 2,000 local authorities were involved in skills; to be fluent in English and Romanian (written and spoken); a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree (postgraduate degree or studies desirable); computer skills.

Please send your application letter and CV to adriana.stoica@unitedway.ro.

Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.

www.business-review.ro Business Review |June 27 - July 3, 2011

7

Romania has power to attract oil & gas investment Representatives of the oil & gas sector in Romania voiced a lot of optimism at the BR event organized last week, mostly on account of their industry’s openness towards investment. Alternative fuels, although a viable option in the future, cannot currently replace traditional sources of power, agreed the specialists at the event. Moreover, they emphasized, there is plenty of room for development in this sector, in spite of the pessimistic predictions.

Richard Zulauf, management consultant, Accenture “Plug-in electric vehicles have the potential to cause significant market disruption, but have a number of critical challenges.

Lithium is very expensive and scarce.”

An estimate of seventy attended Business Review’s Oil & Gas Event on June 21 Bogdan Popescu, managing director at Zeta Petroleum Romania

“I think we should look at the neighboring country, Ukraine, which is drilling consistently below 5,000 meters and finding and producing gas.”

∫ CORINA DUMITRESCU

Black Sea developments make waves

Investment opportunities on the local market were on everyone’s lips at the Energy Series BR event held on June 21. There are two main arguments in support of Romania’s investment potential: “Romania is in a really privileged position: it is a growing market with both natural and human resources. There are definitely opportunities for investment here,” said Tudor Gafton, general manager of Petrofac. Romania’s 150-year tradition in the oil & gas industry is another one of its competitive advantages, attendees also heard.

Investment will also be encouraged through a new strategy that will be considered by the Ministry of Economy this autumn, announced Corneliu Condrea, general manager at AGRI Romania (the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector gas transportation project), which as Anca Ionita, Business Review business development director and the event moderator, pointed out, will provide a suitable context for organizing a new Oil & Gas event. “The new strategy that will be adopted by the ministry will be an incentive for Business Review to organize a new roundtable to discuss it and try to understand where we are heading next year,” she stated.

Romania currently has a stable position on the oil market, producing 4 million tons of oil per year, noted Condrea. However, new developments on the continental shelf of the Black Sea will have a substantial impact on local oil production, he added. “Romania is a Black Sea paradox because it is the only country that is producing oil in the Black Sea so far,” added Bogdan Popescu, managing director at Zeta Petroleum Romania, as well as president of the Petroleum Exploration & Production Managers Forum in Romania.

It will also be an important source of natural gas for Romania. The country’s involvement in the Nabucco project also came under discussion, as did its inclusion in AGRI, the Azerbaijan-Georgia Romania Interconnector gas transportation project.

Offering a wider perspective on the investment issue, Popescu commented on the higher prices charged by the industry in Europe, about 50 percent higher than outside the continent. “Getting back to the deeper prospects of Romania, I think we should look at the neighboring country, Ukraine, which although it does not have the most up-to-date technology, is drilling consistently below 5,000 meters

Tudor Gafton, general manager, Petrofac “For any oil & gas company, the challenges especially concern operations, to which high market and financial risks are added.

Optimizing costs is also a priority.”

Corneliu Condrea, general manager at AGRI Romania

All photos: Laurentiu Obae

Opportunities for investment were on everyone’s lips at the event

“Germany’s decision to renounce nuclear energy will surely cause serious changes not just in the strategy of EU countries, but in its neighbors’, as well.”

and finding and producing gas,” he stated, were in favor of the move, several were comparing this to the depth of around against and the majority were neutral.

3000 meters reached in Romania so far. He “This decision will surely cause serious added that Romania has been making changes not just in the strategy of European progress in this area, however, since Petrom Union countries, but in countries in the and Hunt joined forces in exploring onshore vicinity of the EU, as well,” commented in Romania.

Condrea on the subject. He also stated Another topic discussed at the event that there is currently sufficient nuclear fuel was the mooted “end of the global finanfor reactors 3 and 4 to be started up at the cial crisis”, which, however, seems to be local Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, as continuing in the energy field on account well as the necessary coal to run them. of the energy mix and its reconsideration, Zulauf continued to fuel a heated dissaid Condrea. Other discussions drew atcussion by raising an unexpected pertention to natural gas in Romania, the spective on alternative energy sources. He price of which depends on that of oil. Howargued that there is currently no natural adever, as the extracted and marketable natvantage in biofuels or electrification. Moreural shale gas has developed significantly over, “plug-in electric vehicles have the poin the last five years, observed Condrea, the tential to cause significant market disrupnext five to ten years will bring major tion, but have a number of critical chalchanges on the natural gas market. Condrea lenges. For example, lithium is very expredicted that, on an international level, pensive and scarce.” this will generate gas versus gas competiThe consultant pointed out that the tion, rather than gas versus other fuels. larger economies of the world are investing in battery development (he mentioned that the US has invested USD 2.4 billion in Nuclear power and alternative this area). Zulauf then told Business Review fuels prove hot topics that electric car infrastructure will fully deGermany’s decision to renounce nuclear velop in Western countries in about five energy provoked reaction from the audiyears, and about ten in Romania. Therefore, ence, after a show of hands requested by until the technology advances, natural gas Richard Zulauf, consultant at Accenture. Of and oil remain the main fuels to meet curthe 70 attendees present at the BR event rent needs. held at Ramada Plaza Bucharest, none

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

8 LINKS

Telecom players hit redial with management teams Leaving aside the more visible announced or rumored appointments at the top, telecom companies in Romania have also renewed their middle management teams. Who are the fresh faces appointed by telecom players to management positions this past year? BR reviews past changes and outlines possible future developments in the structure of these companies.

Jean-François Fallacher, will be CEO of Orange Romania starting with July 1.

Previously, Fallacher was CEO of consultancy company Sofrecom, part of the France Telecom- Orange group.

∫ OTILIA HARAGA “With a management position, a very important factor is the candidate’s proven capacity to run a team or teams efficiently, and to stimulate the development of the team members,” Orange officials tell BR. Starting July 1, the firm will have a new CEO, Jean-François Fallacher, who replaces Thierry Millet. It remains to be seen what changes the future CEO has in mind.

However, Orange has already made some appointments in key positions this year, with all of these new managers being Romanian. “With middle management, the ratio of Romanian employees is higher, while in top management positions there is a balance between Romanian and foreign managers,” say Orange reps.

Madalina Suceveanu is the only woman in the France Telecom-Orange group to have a top management position in the technology department. Since March, she has been chief technology officer at Orange Romania, a key position in telecom companies. She joined Orange as network planning expert in 1997 and in 2008 she became network director, with her name being linked to the WiMax network and the first EDGE network in Romania and Europe.

Ioana Marcu, who has 10 years of experience in management and consultancy, joined Orange Romania at the end of last year as HR manager. She started at Orange in 1997 in the customer care department. In 1999, she switched to the corporate team as corporate & major accounts manager and later became regional corporate sales manager. In 2007 Marcu moved to Accenture Romania where she was put in charge of the management of HR outsourcing operations first in Romania, and then in Europe.

A newly created position at Orange Romania was that of IT manager. After the IT department was reorganized at the beginning of this year, Bogdan Rotunjanu became the first to be appointed to the role at Orange. Rotunjanu spent a year in customer services and then joined the application development team within the IT department.

Between 2006 and 2008, he led the CRM development team, and since 2008 he has headed the department for the development of business solutions and customer services.

“A constant pool of talent is internal can-

Stefanos Theocharopoulos, 43, has been CEO of Cosmote Romania since January 2008.

He will reportedly take the helm of Romtelecom. The company declined to comment when asked by BR. didates, who are already familiar with the values and culture of Orange,” say Orange reps. The operator seems to rely heavily on internal promotions to fill newly available positions: all of these new managers had worked for the organization at some point.

“Via the internal organization of the HR department, we also aim to cover executive search roles. In this way, we are aiming to reduce as much as possible the need to resort to the services of a head hunting company,” say Orange representatives.

It’s been all change too at Orange’s main local rival. After Spaniard Iñaki Berroeta was named CEO of Vodafone Romania in December 2010, new faces in the management team were not far behind.

The two most recent appointments have been made public in the past month. One of them, Mihai Ghyka, is a well-known executive on the local market, even though he does not have a track record in telecom.

Ghyka was appointed chief commercial officer of the Vodafone consumer business unit effective June 20. Previously, he was president and general manager of Bergenbier Romania (former InBev).

The other announced appointment was for chief marketing officer. Angus Slater, who joined from elsewhere in the Vodafone organization, assumed the position. After joining the operator in 2003 he worked across all areas of marketing including product, proposition, handsets, content services, strategy and brand in a range of territories including the UK, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.

However, there were other changes taking place in the background, with the proportion of Romanian and foreign appointments being roughly even. One of these is the appointment of Dragos Chivu as data marketing director. Vodafone poached him from Nokia Siemens Networks where he worked as country director. Another Romanian who has taken over a new position in the organization is Anamaria Rotar, 37, the new director of Vodafone stores. She has also been with the organization for only a year, since May 2010, as director of credit and collection, and shortly after she became interim director of customer operations.

Two other expats complete the team.

Till Streichert, 37, was promoted to chief financial officer as of June. Previously di-

Yorgos Ioannidis, 61, was appointed GM of Romtelecom in February 2007

Inaki Berroeta, 43, became CEO of Vodafone Romania in December 2010

He steered Romtelecom in a major restructuring process. Previously, he was GM of OTENET, starting 2007, and CTO of OTE, since 2004.

Before, he was appointed CEO of Vodafone Malta since July 2007. He joined Vodafone, in 1995, when Vodafone Spain was still Airtel Movil S.A.

rector, planning & reporting, finance, at Vodafone, he is taking on the role of CFO after working in the consumer business unit and has had responsibilities in channel marketing, regional strategy, sales and logistics operations. Streichert joined Vodafone Romania three and a half years ago.

Last but not least, Errol van Graan, 37, is the new senior director, customer operations, and member of the company’s executive board. Van Graan came to Vodafone Romania from Vodacom, South Africa, where he previously held the position of national executive head, customer service support.

Even before Greek group OTE announced the merger between Romtelecom and Cosmote, rumors that Stefanos Theocharopoulos, currently CEO of Cosmote, may also take over as the head of Romtelecom began to circulate on the market. Currently, Romtelecom is led by general manager Yorgos Ioannidis. The two companies declined to comment to BR on the topic.

“This has happened in other places where Deutsche Telekom or OTE changed management. The mobile industry is much more cost efficient. It is a logical move, as a general principle, to prefer to have the management of the mobile company at the top,” Nicu Pana, independent telecom consultant, commented to BR. More recent appointments at Cosmote Romania include Alexandru Munteanu, 38, being promoted to sales operations senior manager, starting April 1, and Mihai Barbut, 41, assuming the position of sales and customer care division director starting March 1.

Munteanu has spent the last two years as sales operations manager at Cosmote Romania. Previously, he was commercial manager at Germanos Telecom Romania, in charge of the commercial strategy of Romania’s largest telecom retailer. The other newly appointed member, Barbut, joined Cosmote in June 2008 as indirect sales department senior manager. He has 14 years’ experience in telecom, in the area of direct and indirect sales, having worked for companies such as Orange and Telemobil.

Meanwhile, Romtelecom’s executive manager of technology and operations, Wolfgang Breuer, will leave the company on June 30 to continue his career in Germany. A selection process will take place to fill his position, announced Romtelecom.

NEW APPOINTMENTS Vodafone Romania Mihai Ghyka was appointed Chief Commercial Officer Consumer Business Unit starting with June 20 Angus Slater was appointed Chief Marketing Officer starting with June Dragos Chivu was appointed Director, Data Marketing in the Consumer Business Unit Anamaria Rotar was appointed Director of Vodafone Stores Till Streichert was appointed Chief Financial Officer starting with June Errol van Graan was appointed Senior Director, Customer Operations

Orange Romania Madalina Suceveanu was appointed Chief Technology Officer in March Ioana Marcu was appointed at the end of 2010 as HR Manager Bogdan Rotunjanu was appointed IT Manager at the beginning of this year

Cosmote Romania Alexandru Munteanu was appointed Sales Operations Senior Manager starting April 1 Mihai Barbut was appointed Sales and Customer Care Division Director starting March 1

Romtelecom Romania Wolfgang Breuer Executive Manager Technology and Operations will leave Romtelecom starting June 30.

A selection process is under way to find a replacement.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

10 FOCUS

Retailers push private labels on penny-pinching public Ever more present in the past couple of years in Romanians’ shopping carts, private label products are gaining strategic importance on the agenda of local retailers. The crisis has also helped boost sales as consumers have become more price-aware. The market for own brand products is estimated to reach up to EUR 1.2 billion this year after amounting to EUR 0.9 billion in 2010. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Looking beyond sales volumes, the concept itself has come a long way since more than a decade ago when it was introduced locally. Private labels – products manufactured or provided by one company under a retailer’s own brand – were for a long time perceived as simply cheap merchandise, but as retailers have upgraded their approach, consumption has followed suit.

On the short and medium run the market will see major growth on this segment, Sorin Spiridon, manager at Ensight Management Consulting, told BR. “All major retailers have set ambitious targets regarding private labels, which are considered a critical success factor in differentiating themselves from the competition,” he said. In his estimation, the private label market reached approximately EUR 0.9 billion last year and will grow beyond EUR 1.1-1.2 billion in 2011.

Data from Contrast Management Consulting confirms that retailers are placing growing importance on developing their own brands. However, the transition from product and price policy to a brand strategy will be the determining factor for sustainable success, Remus Laes, managing partner at Contrast Management Consulting Romania, told BR. “Presently, the Romanian private label segment is in an early development phase.

We anticipate a growing trend in the coming years, as the results of this strategy will generate competitive advantages such as customer loyalty,” said Laes.At the end of 2009, sales of private label products represented 10 percent of the total sales of big retailers in Romania, according to Contrast Management Consulting. “By comparison, at a European level, this share stands at 20-30 percent. So we estimate considerable growth for Romania, as the market will follow the normal steps to maturity,” argued Laes.

In the very beginning, private labels were used by retailers as differentiation elements, but they have become a sine qua non factor in the portfolio of any player who wants to remain competitive, said Andreea Enache, senior marketing consultant with Ensight Management Consulting. “Currently, private labels are mainly responsible for maintaining competitiveness and supporting a certain price policy.” While private labels are of course a source of income and profit for retailers, their main function is to attract and generate customer loyalty, added Enache.Looking at more mature FMCG retail markets, private labels can be a far more profitable business than selling na-

From flour to gourmet products, private labels are taking up increasing space in Romanians’ shopping baskets

stronger orientation towards customer tionally advertised brands as lower shelf needs and competitive prices – the comprices generated by reduced production pany’s private labels have been developed and marketing costs translate into highbased on the specific business needs of er margins.In addition to providing difMetro’s clients, in terms of quality, perferentiation from other players in the formance, packaging and price.The avmarket and supporting consumer loyalerage sale price of a private label is 10-20 ty, private labels also have the advantage percent below that of equivalent brands. of reducing dependence on suppliers and thus allowing retailers to better man- “At the same time these products provide age their cash flow and the stock turnover, a quality standard comparable with the best on the market,” said Ariciu. thinks Laes.

Metro’s private label portfolio inMetro Cash&Carry was the first playcludes six major brands: Aro, Horeca Seer on the market to introduce the concept lect, Rioba, H-Line, Fine Food and Sigma, of private labels in Romania. The new aptargeting Horeca companies, resellers proach to private labels is an important and other clients. “All the products, which pillar of its overall strategy, with the are developed both locally and internacompany planning a stronger focus on the tionally, are produced by suppliers that client, Adrian Ariciu, head of own brands are audited in terms of the technological management at Metro Cash&Carry process and their capacity to create a Romania, told BR. He added that sales of product based on the defined profile,” private labels have increased in said Ariciu. By 2012, Metro Cash & Carry 2011 compared to the same period of wants to increase the percentage of prilast year. Ariciu said that through their vate label sales to 20 percent. main characteristics – optimized range, a

The further development of its own brand portfolio is a priority for Billa Romania in 2011 and the coming years, Sabin Fane, marketing director with the company, told BR. “We are permanently looking for solutions to diversify and to improve our two private labels, Clever and My,” he said.

The crisis has generated changes in customer behavior, boosting the sale of private labels. And while when they first try such products the competitive prices determine the purchase, the quality-price ratio later creates loyalty, says Fane.

Billa’s present portfolio includes over 300 food and household products under the Clever brand and over 50 cosmetics and personal care products under the My brand. More than 80 percent of these products are manufactured in Romania says Fane, adding that the company plans to continue and further develop relations with local suppliers.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

Romanians show bigger appetite for private label products Some 90 percent of Bucharesters have bought private label products, according to Nielsen’s Shopper Trends 2011 survey conducted at the end of 2010. In other Romanian big cities the share reaches 84 percent. Countrywide, 54 percent of respondents have said that their perception is that private labels target customers with a low income, 4 percent less than in 2009. Low prices remain the main reason why consumers choose private labels over “name” brands, especially in the present economic context, but the purchasing decision is beginning to be more and more influenced by retailers’ capacity to build customized brands, following the classic product development process, with clear quality benefits and a brand positioned to a well-defined target customer, thinks Laes.

In the beginning, private labels were pretty much synonymous with very low prices, as the first such products were positioned on the low-end segment. Lately retailers have developed their private label portfolio by targeting new segments, says Enache. For example, Real has three private labels in its portfolio, Tip, Quality and Selection, positioned on the economy, medium and premium segment respectively, and a fourth, Bio. Retailer Cora has economy private label products such as Cora and Winny but these are supplemented by the premium Patrimoine Gourmand merchandise. The same happens at Auchan, which in addition to economy products sells delicacies under the Mieux Vivre Bio private label. Laes argues that the future growth of the private label market will depend greatly on retailers’ capacity to diversify their portfolio of private labels, offering entry-level products, medium and quality. Such portfolio segmentation has led to a change in perception, thinks Enache, as customers have grown used to expecting high quality from such products at lower prices than those of the usual brands.

“In most cases, the customer is not aware that private label products do not include marketing costs and they also come with certain cost benefits unlike other brands. What matters for them is the trust transferred by the retailer through the private label, and the price, which is below the average price on the market for identical products. The quality-price ratio remains the most important factor, while aspiration-based choices and emotional choices are less relevant,” said Enache.

Lower prices for private labels mainly come from reduced costs for marketing and communication activities which will never be as much for a private label as they are for traditional ones, thinks Enache.

“And it wouldn’t make sense, considering that they already benefit from three important factors: brand awareness, brand favorability and shelf presence,” she argued. The main products chosen for private labels are food and personal care and cleaning products as well as soft drinks, spirits and stationery.

The producer’s perspective Private labels also mean business opportunities for local companies that go into partnerships with retailers to manufacture such products.

FOCUS 11 Spiridon says that private labels can be a win-win situation both for retailers and producers. Producing under private labels can mean lower general costs for large manufacturers whose portfolios include well established labels, while smaller ones can benefit from such partnerships by using the profits to build their own brands, asserts the manager.

But at what point do producers risk sacrificing their own brand by generating competition for their products through private labels? The risks are highest for those who don’t enjoy great customer loyalty for their products, says Spiridon.

Private labels are a profitable business for retailers when they generate higher margins than “name” brands. But in order for this to happen, retailers have to be able to sell these products at the lowest possible prices, putting pressure on producers. “The only option for many producers will be to sacrifice quality. This will be the weak point from which producers can benefit if they advertise their own brands as being of higher quality.”

Local cosmetics manufacturer Farmec Cluj-Napoca is presently producing under

1.2 EUR billion - the estimated value of the private labels market for 2011

private label over 45 personal care products for Carrefour following a partnership that began in 2009, Mircea Turdean, the company’s general director, told BR. The firm is also producing a house cleaning product for Rewe and last year it made six aerosol products for ReckittBenckiser.

Turdean says that private label production helps correlate sales volumes with production volumes, adding the benefit of an association with internationally appreciated brands. “To some extent it helps boost turnover. In Romania there is growth potential for private labels as consumers are more open to such

products than they were a few years ago,” said Turdean. He also argued that private label production doesn’t affect the company’s own brand. “Private labels are not individualized products; their price is the main differentiation. Farmec products also come with a very good qualityprice ratio but they also bring other benefits which are generated by the brand’s added value,” added Turdean.

He estimates that this year the production of private labels will generate about 10 percent of the company’s turnover after it contributed approximately 5 percent of the roughly EUR 22 million turnover last year. In 2011 Farmec Cluj-Napoca will continue its partnership with Carrefour and it is considering new ones with other retailers.

“As for the long term strategy, we will continue production under private labels as long as there is demand and such partnerships are beneficial, but we don’t expect private label production to make up more than 25 percent of the turnover,” said the general director.

simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

12 PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL

RESIDENTIAL

Alinso Group opens green Adama delivers Evocasa Viva warehouse in Ploiesti West Park project in Brasov

Courtesy of Adama

Courtesy of Alinso

The recently opened warehouse has 17,800 sqm Half of the apartments have been sold Alinso Group has opened a 17,800-sqm environmentally friendly industrial warehouse in Ploiesti West Park, the first local warehouse with Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certification. BREEAM is a method assessing the environmental impact of buildings. The warehouse is dedicated to small and medium-sized companies. The EUR 750 million Ploiesti West Park, which covers 250 hectares, accommodates tenants such as Unilever, Lufkin Industries Inc, Toro, OTZ Logistics and British American Tobacco.

Unilever has a 30,000-sqm warehouse in the park, OTZ Logistics a 12,000-sqm one,

while BAT has an 8,300-sqm site. For Toro, Alinso is building a production warehouse of 13,000 sqm on 3.4 hectares of land bought by the company. With 50,000 sqm of logistics warehousing already built, Ploiesti West Park is ready to deliver an additional 20,000 sqm of class A logistics warehousing, the first 17,800-sqm BREEAM-compliant SME building, a 9,000sqm building for small companies and several other specialized buildings and facilities such as cold storage warehouses, all by the end of 2011. By this deadline, over 100,000 sqm of buildings will have been constructed in the park. ∫ Staff

Adama has announced that it has delivered the first stage of the Evocasa Viva residential project in Brasov, following a EUR 14 million investment. Evocasa Viva includes two ten-storey apartment build-

ings located near the Noua Lake in Brasov and only a few minutes away from the city’s downtown area, says Adama.

The two blocks feature studios, tworoom and three-room flats. Some 50 percent of the total 148 apartments have been already sold says Asher Lax, VP marketing & sales at Adama. The company also offers the option to acquire the apartments in monthly installments.

Lax told BR on a previous occasion that the company plans to start building two more blocks on the grounds of the already existing Evocasa Optima and Edenia Titan in Bucharest. Construction will start this summer and will probably be finished in the spring of 2013. Adama has sold roughly 1,000 flats countrywide. In Bucharest sales amount to 700 apartments and there are 150 left.

Adama is present in five Romanian cities and has so far built over 1,500 apartments. ∫ Simona Bazavan

INVESTMENTS

C&W: EUR 201 million invested in Romanian property in H1 Investors have put EUR 201 million into Romanian property in the first half of this year, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. The sum covers investments in retail, office, industrial, as well as single asset and portfolio deals.

“In Romania, the investment volumes registered in the first half of 2011 equalled and even surpassed the entire investment volumes for 2010, if we also consider the recently announced major deal between Immofinanz and Adama. Investors are interested in the Romanian market – the most attractive sector is the Bucharest office market, although we expect increased interest in retail properties as well in the next 12 months.

We have noticed greater interest in land development, but prices are far lower than during the peak in 2007-2008,” said Costel Florea, partner at Cushman & Wakefield Romania.

“The CEE region, presently, is not characterized by homogeneity, and Poland is the preferred market at the moment.

Nevertheless, we expect an increase in investors’ interest in Romanian real estate market for the next period, Q3-Q4 2011,” he added.

Central and Eastern Europe has seen combined investments of EUR 2.09 billion in the first half of this year in the core markets of Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

This is ahead of the EUR 1.83 billion invested in the second half of 2010 and suggests that total volumes for the region could reach EUR 4.8 billion by the year’s end, according to the Cushman & Wakefield report. Only last week, Immofinanz increased its shareholding in developer Adama to 100 percent in a transaction worth EUR 43.42 million. ∫ Staff

House in Snagov to let or sale A new Let’s do it, Romania! will take

Private owner sells or rents a house in Snagov built in 1997. It is a onestorey house with basement. The ground floor consists of a living room, a built-in kitchen, a pantry, a bathroom and a 24 sqm terrace. The first floor comes with four bedrooms, a bathroom and a balcony with lake view.

The house has total surface of 173 sqmthis with a 68 footprint. courtyard is 330 sqm. The property offers place year onsqm September 24.The At the lake access (approximately 70m). Furnishings and other facilities: sandstone, glaze, parquet, central heating system on gas and TV cable.

For more information, please call: 0722 221949

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

CITY 13

RESTAURANT REVIEW

GREAT POTENTIAL

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Le Monde keeps some of the original design of Elements in place

Le Monde, 50 Buzesti Str., tel 0736 10 10 10 ∫ MICHAEL BARCLAY I have always liked this building. Le Monde is in the premises formerly known as Restaurant Elements, almost opposite the

Big Generali Building. Elements spent a fortune on the premises when it was theirs, but inexplicably they went bust. It languished unoccupied for nine months until recently new owners took over the site.

It was a wise choice because the original Elements design is still in place. The decor is wood, with a large white marble center ‘gondola’ bar and table livery in purple and black, a similar color theme to

restaurants Mju and Mangradora. And why not, for it works well!

But I wasn’t happy with the menu choices. They have a French chef, so I expected to see ‘sexed up’ contemporary (not haute cuisine) French cuisine. But no.

There was nothing French about it, as all the dishes could be best described as ‘European bistro’. OK, that is my impression, it does not mean that your choice is the same as mine, and you may well love what they offer. So let me list a selection.

For starters there was a choice of beef burger, chicken pate, melted Mozzarella and vegetable salad, Caesar salad, Greek salad House style and Dorada Tartar with citrus and ‘perfumed oils’. Well, if that excites you, go for it. What we went for was a perfect beef tartar, amusingly presented in a glass on a bed of ice, together with a joke egg filled with ketchup. A nice touch.

We followed with an equally perfect risotto made with sparkling wine and flaked Parmesan. Both of these starters were comfortably large, and we were pleased. But it then went downhill. For we ordered the most expensive item, an Argentinean steak with béarnaise sauce at a whopping RON 125. Mains were acceptable at an average price of around RON 60.

Our waiter told us it was a fair price as the steak was a giant, around 400 grams. So we ordered it “medium rare.” I even went to pains to tell him that our version of medium rare was the way the French cook it (seared on both sides and nearly raw in the middle). He nodded reassuringly. But when we received our eagerly anticipated dish our instructions had been ignored and it came the traditional Romanian way of being burned and overcooked.

Likewise with my main of Dorada. I or-

dered it to be s-l-o-w-l-y grilled and coated with butter, and then to leave it for five minutes to rest and to let the fibers relax. The kitchen ignored me and, again, did it the same way as the steak, overcooked, and as dry as a bone. This was sad as I had two giant fishes, and the House was generous with its portions.

But the culprit was soon found, for the French chef was not in the kitchen at the time. If he had been, I have no doubt that he would have reined in his Romanian assistants to ensure that the customers’ instructions were obeyed!

We passed on duck breast with lemon grass and anise, and Moroccan chicken with couscous, fruit and nuts. And that (together with a few desserts we did not try) was the menu. It is a short one, and I like that, for at least you know that everything on the menu will be in stock in the kitchen. My dining companion was an old friend, visiting Romania for the first time.

Before we left to go to Le Monde, he asked if I was taking him to one of the top restaurants in Bucharest. “Of couse,” I replied. But I lied. The irony is, that with a few changes, Le Monde really has the potential to shine.

My advice to them would be to tear up the menu and start again. But I may well be wrong. Maybe my expectations are placed too high, and it could well be that their customers like this safe and familiar menu over my choice of adventurous, risky, leading edge stuff.

In any event, I sincerely recommend the place. Irrespective of my reservations expressed herein, we experienced a calm, friendly relaxing atmosphere and I will definitely return.

mab.media@dnt.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 27 - July 3, 2011

14 IN TOUCH WHO’S NEWS

CULTURAL EVENTS Concerts Rock the City July 1, 2, 3 Piata Constitutiei Rock the City has settled upon Piata Constitutiei as its venue, having initially been scheduled to take place at Romexpo. The first Rock the City festival will feature WhiteSnake, Judas Priest, Prodigy and Mike and The Mechanics.

Bucharest Music Film Festival George Enescu Square June 24 – July 2 ArCuB, the Center of Cultural Projects for Bucharest City Hall, organizes the Bucharest Music Film Festival, now on its sixth run, between June 24 and July 2. During this time George Enescu Square becomes the capital’s center for classical European music, dance and opera.

Romanian Athenaeum July 2 19.00 Symphonic concert (the final performance of the season) On the bill: Conductors: Christian Badea (orchestra), Iosif Ion Prunner (choir) Performers: Irina Iordachescu (soprano), Sidonia Nica (mezzo-soprano), Giuseppe Varano (tenor), Riccardo Ferrari (bass) Fashion July 2, 3 Cotemporary Art Museum Sfantu Gheorghe Annex (Calea Mosilor 62-68) Fashion festival Pasarela returns this year with a weekend dedicated to fashion and young designers. An exhibition of accessories entitled Pasarela Acces, a contest, fashion and design fair, a fashion parade film projection and art installations are all on the schedule.

Museums June 16 – October 16 Contemporary Art Museum, 4th floor Romanian Comic Book Museum The international events that will take place at the Comic Book Museum include film projections by the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Czech Center in July and an exhibition

by Portuguese artist Eugenio Silva.

Autumn will also bring a British

Council series of events.

Brigitte Schmitt

Contemporary Art Museum June 9 – August 28 In between Frames Artists: Adad Hannah, Anetta Mona Chisa si Lucia Tkacova, Bettina Hoffmann, Jason Arsenault, Jerome Delapierre, Perry Bard, Rozalinda Borcila The artworks featured here – seven video and interactive media projects created by acclaimed artists from Canada, the USA and Europe – explore issues such as cultural hybridization, broken relational spaces, dissolution of the narrative, critique of representation and political borderlessness.

is the head of the shopping center services division of Oasis. She is a former head of the property management division of DTZ Romania. Over the past 20 years she has worked both in Romania and in Germany. Schmitt spent 11 years at ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. KG. She graduated in business administration and management from the Julius Maximilians Universität and is about to obtain a bachelor’s degree in real estate legislation from the Westfälischen Wilhelms Universität Münster.

By 31 December 2011 Theodor Pallady Museum Volume and Perspective in the Graphic Creation of Theodor Pallady This event is part of a cycle of exhibitions that began in 2003 to highlight the graphic work of Pallady, sponsored by the Serafina and Gheorghe Raut Collection. The collection comprises a few canvases by Pallady and 800 drawings and engravings representative of his Parisian period.

Open-air July 16 Otopeni air show Henri Coanda Airport The top professional pilots of the moment will take to the sky between 9.00 and 13.00. Access is free of charge from 8.00. A special guest is Svetlana Kapanina of Russia, a multiple world champion and believed to be one of the best female acrobatic pilots in the world.

Cinema Mr. Popper’s Penguins Directed by: Mark Waters Starring: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Madeline Carroll Plot: The life of a businessman begins to change after he inherits six penguins.

As he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional life starts to unravel.

On at: Movieplex Cinema Plaza, The Light Cinema, Hollywood Multiplex, CinemaPRO, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Cinema City Cotroceni, Baneasa DriveIn Cinema, Patria.

In the June 20 issue of Business Review a list of insurance companies included the information that Alico Romania had registered gross written premiums of EUR 43.94 million. The value of the company’s 2010 GWP was in fact EUR 48.7 million.

ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

BR welcomes information for Who’s News.

Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.

Get in touch at simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor SENIOR JOURNALIST Otilia Haraga JOURNALISTS Simona Bazavan, Corina Dumitrescu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe COLLABORATORS Anda Sebesi, Michael Barclay ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean PHOTOGRAPHER Laurentiu Obae LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu

John Webster has been appointed partner at PwC Romania, taking over as assurance leader for Romania and SEE. He comes from PwC Canada, which he joined in 1981. Webster was managing partner for the British Columbia Region based in Vancouver for a number of years. He has also recently served as technology and mining leader. Webster built a number of practices while in Vancouver in mining, technology and private company services.

Radu Stoicoviciu has been appointed the new advisory leader of PwC, leading a team of more than 100 management consultants. He joined PwC Romania in 1992 and became a partner in 2007, leading the Ro-

manian deals team and the SEE corporate finance and business recovery department.

Stoicoviciu is specialized in project finance, privatization, mergers and acquisitions, and valuations.

Calin Matei 34, is the new deputy GM of Groupama Asigurari. He has 12 years of professional experience in the field of insurance.

Matei joined OTP Garancia Insurance in 2005, as deputy general director, and in February 2009 was appointed CEO. He graduated from the Faculty of Cybernetics, Statistics and Economic Mathematics of the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, and took actuarial studies at Corvinus University in Budapest.

Alexandru Leondari has been appointed chief commercial officer of Eureko Asigurari. Leondari is a graduate of the Gr. T Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi. He has formerly worked for Aviva Group Romania as deputy general manager and chief distribution officer. Before coming to Romania, Russell held several executive positions for Eureko, in Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

BUSINESS AGENDA June 27 11:00 McCann Erickson Romania organizes a press conference on winning two Cannes Grands Prixes at the company headquarters. By invitation only.

11:00 Google Romania organizes a press conference to announce the launch of a new service at Bonton Palace. By invitation only.

16:30 Franke organizes a press conference at its headquarters. By invitation only.

June 30 The Employers’ Association of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS) and

PUBLISHER Anca Ionita EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George Moise SALES & EVENTS DIRECTOR Oana Molodoi MARKETING MANAGER Adina Milea SALES & EVENTS Ana-Maria Nedelcu, Claudia Munteanu RESEARCH & SUBSCRIPTION Lili Voineag PRODUCTION Dan Mitroi DISTRIBUTION Eugen Musat

the Ministry of Communications organize a bilateral economic forum between Romania and China on IT&C. The event will take place at the Novotel Hotel in Bucharest. By invitation only.

July 1 16:00 Artmark organizes an event to celebrate its three-year anniversary at the Cesianu-Racovita Palace. By invitation only.

July 5 Provident Financial organizes an event to celebrate its five-year anniversary at its headquarters. By invitation only.

ADDRESS No. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3 Bucharest, Romania LANDLINE Editorial: 031.040.09.32 Office: 031.040.09.31 Fax: 031.040.09.34 EMAILS Editorial: editorial@business-review.ro Sales: sales@business-review.ro Events: events@business-review.ro