Event Report

Legal 500’s GC Summit Romania brought together general counsel and senior in-house lawyers in Bucharest for an afternoon of discussion on the legal and regulatory issues affecting businesses in Romania. The programme examined how legal teams support investment, manage investigations, and respond to growing regulatory pressure, while remaining closely involved in commercial decision-making.

The summit opened with remarks from Filip Neagu, general counsel at OMV Petrom, who welcomed attendees and spoke about how the general counsel’s role continues to expand as organisations face greater regulatory and operational demands.

The first panel, held in association with Popovici Nițu Stoica & Asociații, focused on infrastructure and investment projects. Florian Nițu, Lavinia Nucu of CPI Property Group, Veronica Titel of Swietelsky Construct, and Daniel Călin of Medtronic discussed project structuring, procurement, and risk allocation. The conversation highlighted the importance of clear legal frameworks and early legal involvement, particularly in sectors such as energy and infrastructure.

The session on internal investigations, in association with Mareș & Mareș, examined how in-house teams handle sensitive issues. Liana Iacob of Mareș & Mareș, Larissa Cenan of Capgemini Romania, Aurelia Puiu of Renault Group, and Roberta Ștefania Groze of DP World discussed common trigger events, the decision to involve external counsel, and the practical challenges of managing cross-border investigations and whistleblower reports.

After the break, the focus turned to commercial growth and M&A in a session held in association with Suciu Partners. Miruna Suciu, Alina Dumitrașcu of PPC Romania, Mădălina Năstase of IMSAT, Mihai Rotaru of Banca Transilvania, and Cristian Buzan of Engie Romania discussed current transaction trends and the role of general counsel in supporting deals from structuring through to completion.

Competition law was the subject of the next session, held in association with GNP Guia Naghi & Partners. Manuela Guia and Otilia Vîlcu were joined by Cosmin Vânătoru of Danone and Alina Vlădoianu-Teau of Mega Image to discuss enforcement trends, foreign investment screening, and how competition risk is affecting business decisions more broadly.

This was followed by a session on competition economics in merger control, in association with Intuitive Economics. Paul Prisecaru, Oana Romano of the Romanian Competition Council, and Alex Șotropa of eMAG discussed the growing role of economic analysis in merger review and the importance of assessing risk early in the transaction process.

The final session, held in association with CMS, focused on compliance and risk management. Mihai Jiganie-Șerban of CMS Romania, Nicolae Garofil of ENGIE Romania, Claudiu Damian of Al Dahra Group, and Ana-Maria Nistor of Booking Holdings Romania discussed how legal teams are strengthening compliance systems and preparing for closer regulatory scrutiny.

We thank all our sponsors for their support in delivering the summit and look forward to welcoming participants again at future GC Summit events.