Thursday, 13 November 2025
09:00–09:15 – Official Opening of the Conference
• Minister of National Defense – TBD
• Lieutenant General Dragoș-Dumitru IACOB, Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff
09:25–10:30 – Guest speakers
• H.E. Radko VLAYKOV, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Romania
• H.E. Gavin Robb BUCHAN, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Romania
• H.E. Angela GANNINGER, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Romania
• H.E. Lili Evangelia GRAMMATIKA, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Greece to Romania
• H.E. Paweł SOLOCH, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Romania
• H.E. José Antonio HERNÁNDEZ PÉREZ-SOLÓRZANO, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain to Romania
• H.E. Özgür Kıvanç ALTAN, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Türkiye to Romania
11:00–12:15 – (1) Approaching NATO Deterrence and Defence Posture by Enhancing Resilience on the Eastern Flank,
Defense Staff / Center for Strategic Defence and Security Studies – CSSAS, Marble Hall
Moderators:
• Colonel Dan-Lucian PETRESCU, Deputy Commandant, “Carol I” National Defence University
• Colonel Florian CÎRCIUMARU, Director, Center for Strategic Defence and Security Studies
Speakers:
• Lieutenant General Dragoș-Dumitru IACOB, Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff
• Lieutenant General Piotr BLAZEUSZ, Strategic Advisor to the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces
• Major General Stayko PROKOPIEV, Commandant of „G.S. Rakovski” National Defence College
• Major General Eugen MAVRIȘ, Commandant (Rector), “Carol I” National Defence University
• Major General Constantin NICOLAESCU, Chief of Staff, Multinational Corps South-East – MNC-SE
12:30–13:45 – (2) Ukraine – A Protracted Attritional Technological Conflict in the 21st Century. Full Spectrum Warfare
CPC&EW, Marble Hall
Moderator:
• Narciz BĂLĂȘOIU, Director, Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning
Speakers:
• Patricia MORRISSEY, CEO, Global Foresight Strategy
• Brigadier General (r.) Mario GRECO, Certified Executive in Strategic Foresight and Comparative Assessment at Global Foresight Strategy, former NATO Strategic Analyst
• Simona COJOCARU, Defence Policy Director, Ministry of National Defense
• Alexander KHARA, Executive Director, Centre for Defence Strategies, Ukraine
• James SHERR, UK, Honorary Fellow, International Centre for Defence and Security, Estonia
• Iulian CHIFU, President, Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning
14:45–16:15 – (3) Black Swans in the Black Sea: Avoiding Strategic Surprise and Regional Deterrence
New Strategy Center, Marble Hall
Moderator:
• Lieutenant General (Ret.) Vasile TOADER, Member, Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center, Former Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff
Speakers:
• Admiral (Ret.) Ihor KABANENKO, Senior Fellow at the Saratoga Foundation Former Deputy Minister of Defense, Ukraine
• George SCUTARU, Chief Executive Officer, New Strategy Center; Former Presidential Advisor for National Security
14:45–16:15 – (4) The Role of Information and Strategic Influence in Contemporary Military Competition
Defence intelligence Training Center „General Nicolae Condeescu”, Alba Iulia Hall
Moderator:
• Colonel Dorinel MOLDOVAN, Director, Defence Intelligence Training Center „General Nicolae Condeescu”
Speakers:
• Major General (Ret.) Adriean PÂRLOG, Professor, Center for Global Studies, Sibiu University
• Major General (Ret.) Paul HURMUZ, Senior Associate Expert, New Strategy Center
• Vice Admiral (Ret.) Iuri Alexandru COVALEOV, Senior Associate Expert, New Strategy Center
• Silviu NATE, Director, Center for Global Studies, Sibiu University
• Nicolae-Sorin DRĂGAN, “Petru Maior” Faculty of Sciences and Letters, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, Târgu Mureș
16:30–18:00 – (5) Security and Defense of Europe: Change of Responsibility
CPC&EW, Marble Hall
Moderator:
• Iulian CHIFU, President, Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning
Speakers:
• Sergey KONOPLYOV, Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Ian BRZEZINSKI, Senior Fellow with the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security & Member of the Strategic Advisors Group, Atlantic Council
• Greg SIMONS, Daffodil International University, Dhaka
• H.E. Matthew BRYZA, Atlantic Council in Turkey, Global Energy Center
• Teona AKUBARDIA, Associate Expert, Georgian Strategic Analysis Center (GSAC), former Deputy Director, National Security Council, Georgia
• Omar ASHOUR, Professor of Security & Military Studies, University of Exeter/Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
• Darko TRIFUNOVICI, Director INIS (Institute for National and International Security), Serbia
16:30–18:00 – Military History – Academic panel, Alba Iulia Hall
Moderator:
• Scientific Researcher Dr. Ion RÎȘNOVEANU, „King Ferdinand I” National Military Museum
Friday, 14 November 2025
09:00–10:15 – (6) Consolidated National Defense
Strategic Planning Directorate, Marble Hall
Moderator:
• Major General Dacian-Tiberiu ȘERBAN, Chief, Strategic Planning Directorate
Speakers:
• Lieutenant General Dragoș-Dumitru IACOB, Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff
• Lieutenant General Piotr BLAZEUSZ, Strategic Advisor to the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces
• Brigadier General Cornel-Traian SCURT, Chief, Operations Directorate
• Colonel Sabin ANGHERU, Head of the Training, Modelling and Simulation Facilities Coordination Section, Doctrine and Training Directorate
09:00–10:15 – (7) Emerging Cyber Threats and Cyber Defense Strategies
Communications and IT Directorate, Alba Iulia Hall
Moderator:
• Colonel Dănuț ȚIGĂNUȘ, Deputy Chief, Communications and IT Directorate
Speakers:
• Major General Adrian BRÎNZĂ, Chief, Communications and IT Directorate
• Brigadier General Răzvan-Marian TUDOSE, Commander, Cyber Defense Center
• Colonel Cornel ARGINT, National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC)
• Alexandru GEORGESCU, Scientific Researcher, National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest
• Colonel Dănuț TURCU, Director, Department of Information Systems and Cyber Operations, “Carol I” National Defence University
10:30–11:45 – (8) Civic Resilience in Times of Crisis: Bridging Civil-Military Cooperation
Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Marble Hall
Moderator:
• Stefan HOFMANN, Director, Konrad Adenauer Foundation Romania
Speakers:
• Inga SAMOŠKAITĖ, Policy Analyst and Advisor, Ministry of National Defense (Lithuania), Former representative on NATO Civil Society Panel
• Pekka KALLIONIEMI, Influencer and Manager of Vatnik Soup, Twitter-based series of threads of Russia disinformation actors, Finland
• Colonel Andreas ECKEL, Branch Chief for Planning and Operations, Civil-Military Cooperation, Bundeswehr Joint Forces Command
• Monica JITARIUC, Communication Consultant, Trainer and Mentor
10:30–11:45 – Defence Resources Management – Academic panel, Alba Iulia Hall
Moderator:
• Colonel Dorel BADEA, „Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy
10:00–13:45 – (9) The Evolution of Romania’s National Military Structure in the Historical Development of the State: Doctrinal Shifts and Strategic Transformations
Institute for Defense Policy Studies of and Military History, Mirrors Hall
Opening Address:
• Carmen-Sorina RÎJNOVEANU, Director, Institute for Defense Policy Studies of and Military History
Panel 9-1 Moderator:
• Manuel STĂNESCU, Deputy Director, Institute for Defense Policy Studies of and Military History
Speakers:
• Petre OTU, University of Pitești
• Ion RÎȘNOVEANU, Scientific Researcher III, “King Ferdinand I” National Military Museum
• Doina ANGHEL, Expert, “Grigore Constandache” Central Archive Repository
• George UNGUREANU, Expert, “Grigore Constandache” Central Archive Repository
Panel 9-2 Moderator:
• Colonel (Ret.) Petre OTU, University of Pitești
Speakers:
• Andreea BĂDILĂ, Scientific Researcher III, Institute for Defense Policy Studies of and Military History
• Colonel (Ret.) Ion GIURCĂ, Hyperion University
• Colonel Andi Mihail BĂNCILĂ, “Ferdinand I” Military Technical Academy
12:30–13:45 – (10) Industrial Cooperation and Innovation in the Field of Security and Defense
KPMG, Marble Hall
Keynote speaker:
Ramona JURUBIȚĂ, Country Managing partner, KMPG in Romania and Moldova
Moderator:
• Air Flotilla General (Ret.) Adrian DUȚĂ, Senior Advisor, Defense & Security, KPMG Romania
Speakers:
• Stefan HEFTER, Partner, Consulting – Public Sector, KPMG Germany; Head of Defense Division for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMA)
• Tudor-Alexandru GRECU, Partner, Head of Advisory, KPMG Romania & Republic of Moldova; Head of Defense Division for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
• Cristian VLAD, Partner, Strategy & Transformation, KPMG Japan
• Bogdan SHYSHKOVSKYI, Senior Manager, Tax & Legal, KPMG Ukraine
• Kiejstut ZAGUN, Tax Partner, KPMG Poland
12:30–13:45 – Intelligence and Security – Academic panel, Alba Iulia Hall
Moderators:
• Colonel Cristian ICHIMESCU, „Carol I” National Defence University
• Florentina-Loredana DRAGOMIR, „Carol I” National Defence University
14:00–15:30 – (11) Multi-Domain Operations: Adapting the Armed Forces to Future Conflicts
Operations Directorate, Marble Hall
Moderator:
• Brigadier General Cornel-Traian SCURT, Chief, Operations Directorate
Speakers:
• Brigadier General Daniel COCOLICI, Deputy Chief for Analysis, Military Intelligence Directorate
• Brigadier General Virgil Nicu FLORESCU, Commander, Land Component Command
• Air Flotilla General Ioan MISCHIE, Deputy Chief for Operations and Training, Air Forces Staff
• Rear Admiral (UH) Marcel NECULAE, Deputy Chief, Naval Forces Staff
• Colonel Costel MAFTEI, Commander, Cyber Defence Center
• Lieutenant Colonel Georgian Tudor, Chief, Space and Radiocommunication Agency
14:00–15:30 – Military Theory and Art – Academic panel, Alba Iulia Hall
Moderator:
• Colonel Ștefan-Antonio DAN-ȘUTEU, „Carol I” National Defence University
• Colonel Adrian MIREA, „Carol I” National Defence University
• Lieutenant Colonel Daniela-Elena HRAB, „Carol I” National Defence University
