Confirmed Speakers
 | RICHARD ANZBÖCK CEO, Civil engineer for ship technology Kanzlei Anzböck After graduating from the Technical University of Vienna in 1974, Mr. Anzböck dedicated almost four decades to the Vienna Model Basin, specialising in hydrodynamics until 2013. By 1980, he had risen to the position of deputy director and head of the Towing Tank Department, and since then has been providing consultancy services in the field of naval architecture and marine engineering, guiding clients through complex challenges. Mr. Anzböck has been the head of the "Kanzlei Anzböck" since 1980. |
 | RAZVAN BANICA Sales Manager TTS (Transport Trade Services) SA Mr. Banica holds an MBA in Business Administration and Management from CNAM Paris and ASE Bucharest. Furthermore, he completed the FIATA Freight Forwarding Complete Course, enhancing his expertise in logistics. He also holds a Master's Degree in Marketing and a Bachelor's Degree in International Economics. Currently, Mr. Banica has a dual role as Sales Manager and Deputy Manager Operations in the Minerals Division, with tenure as Deputy Manager Operations at TTS. Previous positions include Senior Key Account Manager, Key Account Manager, Account Specialist and Junior Account. |
 | JANIS BARGSTEN Chief Commercial Officer SEAFAR NV Janis’ experience extends along the maritime value chain where he held various commercial and operational leadership roles. Prior to joining SEAFAR, Janis build out the European and German presence of an US-based digital freight forwarder. Janis has a Master’s degree from Rotterdam School of Management and Stockholm School of Economics in International Management. |
 | LUCA FARKAS Policy Officer European Commission, DG MOVE Ms. Farkas has worked in consulting for thirteen years, at various consulting companies. She was leading numerous projects in several industries including railways, multimodal supply chain, aeronautics and automotive industries requiring affinity to technical and digital aspects. At the Commission DG MOVE D.3 she has been working as a Policy Officer and has dealt with various files for waterborne/inland navigation: digitalisation and logistics, matters related to market access, Danube and Solidarity lanes. |
 | TURI FIORITO EFIP Director European Federation of Inland Ports Turi Fiorito is the Director of the European Federation of Inland Ports. He has over 8 years of expertise in EU transport policy. On behalf of EFIP he represents over 200 inland ports across Europe along all the major and minor waterways. His focus areas are infrastructure development, green logistics, alternative energy, urban logistics rail and inland waterway transport. He was the former Transport Policy Advisor to Member of the European Parliament Wim van de Camp, working on legislation such as the Mobility Package, Port Services Regulation and the Fourth Railway Package. Mr Fiorito has an expertise on EU legislative processes, policy making and institutional practices. He combines this with his knowledge of the entire transport and logistics sector. |
 | MARKUS FISCHER Authorised signatory - Head of planning department WIGES GmbH Dr. Markus Fischer, born in 1976, is a civil engineer specialising in hydraulic engineering and water management as well as hydraulics and hydrology. After graduating in 2002, he worked as a project engineer before joining the Department of Hydraulic Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. Since 2008 he has been working for WIGES Wasserbauliche Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH, initially focusing on waterway development and river morphological issues. Over the years, he advanced to team leader, project manager for the Danube expansion Straubing-Deggendorf and, since 2017, head of the planning department of WIGES GmbH. Since 1 January 2023, Dr. Markus Fischer has been an authorised signatory of WIGES GmbH. |
 | SABINE GANSTERER Head of Department Projects via donau – Austrian Waterway Company Sabine Gansterer studied Business Informatics at the University of Vienna & the Technical University of Vienna and Applied Knowledge Management at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland. She started working in project management at viadonau in 2002 and has since implemented international, national and internal projects in the areas of knowledge transfer, organizational development and software development. She is also responsible for viadonau's central knowledge management, which includes various education and training activities. Since 2023, she is Head of the Department Projects of viadonau. |
 | HANS-PETER HASENBICHLER Managing Director via donau – Austrian Waterway Company Hans-Peter Hasenbichler graduated from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna. Following his studies, he worked as Project Manager for the Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen AG (ÖSAG) in the field of traffic planning and construction. In 2004 Mr. Hasenbichler started as Head of Internal Audit at the government infrastructure holding ASFiNAG and later became Head of Financial Controlling. On 1 November 2008 Mr. Hasenbichler was appointed as Managing Director of via donau – Austrian Waterway Company by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action. |
 | THOMAS KAULBACH Managing Director Rhenus PartnerShip GmbH & Co. KG Thomas Kaulbach started his career within Rhenus Group in 2012 as company lawyer. He held various managing director positions in Rhenus Group. Since 2020 he is managing director of Rhenus PartnerShip GmbH&Co. KG which controls over 800 inland vessels in Europe. |
 | CHRISTOPH KREUZINGER Product manager and Sales / Specialist in SSE projects Stadtwerke Würzburg, Port of Würzburg Christoph Kreuzinger is a Master of Electrical Engineering and holds a degree in Sales Management from the University of Applied Sciences Schmalkalden. He has been working for Stadtwerke Würzburg (Energy supply company) in various positions since 2011. Since 2017, Mr Kreuzinger has been responsible for product management, sales and, in particular, the development of shore-side electricity systems for inland vessels at Stadtwerke Würzburg and the Port of Würzburg. |
 | FRITZ LEHR Vice President European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) President Pro Danube Austria Managing Director Port of Vienna Fritz Lehr, a graduate of the Vienna University of Business and Economics, holds an MBA from the University of Toronto. His professional journey began at the Chamber of Labor in Lower Austria, where he served as Head of Business Administration from 1994 to 1999. Transitioning to the aviation sector, Mr. Lehr held several key positions at the Vienna International Airport, including Head of Strategic Planning (2000-2006), Managing Director of City Air Terminal BetriebsgmbH (2002-2007) and Vice President of Aviation (2006-2011). In December 2011, he assumed the role of Managing Director at Hafen Wien GmbH. Mr. Lehr has also been instrumental in shaping the inland port sector, serving as Chairman of the Austrian Public Ports (IGÖD) since 2013 and President of Pro Danube Austria. His leadership extended to the European level as President of the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) from 2019 to 2022, representing nearly 200 inland ports across 18 European countries. |
 | ROBERT LICHTNER Head of the Danube Strategy Point EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) Dr. Robert Lichtner is head of the Danube Strategy Point, the secretariat of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR). The EUSDR is a large-scale transnational strategy for territorial cooperation, cohesion and regional development and comprises 14 states (EU members and EU accession candidates) with a total of 115 million inhabitants. Mr. Lichtner has extensive management and board experience in the private and public sectors, including media and publishing, non-university research and development as well as in public and private institutes, institutions and associations. He holds a PhD in Slavic Studies from the University of Vienna and speaks 7 languages. |
 | CARMEN MANESCU Manager IT Compartment ACN Carmen Manescu has been working at ACN (Administration of the Navigable Canals) since 1993. She has been responsible for the management of the IT department and has been in charge of projects such as NEWADA duo and FAIRway Danube. She is currently managing the CEF project "FAIRway Danube II". Her involvement in several projects such as RoRIS, NEWADA and Danube STREAM proves her commitment to innovation. |
 | LILIANA MARTES Trainer CERONAV ROMANIA PhD Liliana Martes has been working for CERONAV since 2004, currently responsible for professional training of experts involved in teaching and training of inland navigation and maritime crewmembers. Since 2016 she has been involved as project manager/technical expert in EU co-funded projects, such as IWTCOMP, GRENDEL, INNOVATIVE SKILLS, GREEN DANUBE, COMPETING, 1 System 4 IWT, RELAR, DERIN, to find the best transnational solutions to bridge the gap between current and future labour market needs and the education and training institutions preparing future employees in the IWT sector. She is also responsible for Train the Trainer course as an integral part of the implementation of the new EU directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications in Inland Navigation. The course includes activities designed to find solutions to alleviate the shortage of crews in inland navigation and provide an update on current developments. |
 | GERT-JAN MUILERMAN Head of Department for Strategy and International Affairs via donau - Austrian Waterway Company Gert-Jan Muilerman received a Ph.D. degree in business logistics from Delft University of Technology. Since 2020 he is Head of Department for Strategy and International Affairs at viadonau, the Austrian waterway administration. His main responsibilities include conception and implementation of corporate strategy, coordination of the European Strategy for the Danube Region (Technical Secretariat Priority Area 1a), development of a project portfolio in the field of infrastructure development and development and implementation of a strategic key indicator system. |
 | JASNA MUSKATIROVIC Expert Danube Commission Dr. Jasna Muskatirovic is an expert for climate change impact on Danube navigation at the Danube Commission Secretariat. She joined DC team mid-last year. Before that, for 17 years, she was a head of Department of Fairway and River Information Services at the Serbian Directorate of Inland Waterways – Plovput. She graduated at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, University of Belgrade, and holds the Ph.D. on topic of sediment transport modelling and environmental impact assessment from the University of Idaho – Center for Ecohydraulics Research. |
 | MICHAELA PICHLER Chief Operating Officer RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG Michaela Pichler, who studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, started her professional career as employee in the public agricultural administration in 1998 at Agrarmarkt Austria. From 2005 to 2015 she was engaged as expert, project leader and finally Resident Twinning Advisor in numerous EU-funded projects all over Central and Eastern Europe. From January 2015 to April 2021, Ms. Pichler worked at the International Society for Grain Science and Technology (ICC) as Secretary General and Managing Director. As of April 2021, Ms. Pichler has taken over the role as Chief Trading Officer (CTO) for agricultural products at RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG. 2023 her responsibilities changed to trade operations, logistics and risk management for agricultural products at RWA as Chief Operating Officer (COO). |
 | MILAN POPOVIĆ Managing Director & Port Manager Smart Danube Service GmbH; Logserv Gmbh Captain M.-Ing. Milan Popović, born in 1991, is a qualified engineer and captain. He serves as the managing director of Smart Danube Services GmbH and the port manager of Logserv GmbH in Linz. Graduating from the School of Shipping, Shipbuilding, and Hydroconstruction Belgrade as a Nautical Technician for River Navigation in 2012, he embarked on his nautical career. Over the course of 8 years, Popović progressed through various stages to attain the rank of captain, concurrently pursuing studies in engineering management at the University "Union – Nikola Tesla". With experience garnered from multiple shipping companies, he ascended to the roles of managing director of SDS in 2020 and Logserv port manager in 2021, positions he currently holds. |
 | PETER ROJKO Head of Business Development & International Affairs Port of Vienna Peter Rojko has been Head of Business Development & International Affairs at the Port of Vienna since 2009. After studying architecture at the technical University in Vienna and passing his civil engineering examination, he worked in the field of architecture and project development. In recent years, three Ten-T grant applications have been approved under his leadership, and several national and international projects have been positively evaluated. Since 2013, he has been the initiator of innovative, cooperative research projects at the Port of Vienna and is responsible for networking at national and European level. In addition, he represents the interests of the Port of Vienna at international conferences and at the European level in Brussels. Since 2017 he has also been responsible for Development & Network at thinkport VIENNA, the mobility lab in the Port of Vienna. Since 2020, he has been responsible for the development of the topic of alternative forms of energy for the Port of Vienna, where, in addition to the support of the association of european inland ports, two funding projects have also been approved. |
 | MARKUS SIMONER Head of Department W2 - Shipping - Nautics and Technology Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology Markus Simoner graduated from the Technical University of Vienna in 2001. Following his studies, he worked 20 years in different functions for via donau – Austrian Waterway Company. On 1 September 2022 Mr. Simoner was appointed as Head of the Department Shipping – Technical and Nautical Affairs in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology. |
 | ROMEO SOARE Head of branch River Administration of the Lower Danube - AFDJ DI Romeo Soare graduated Geology and Geophysics at University of Bucharest in 1993. He works for the River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati in field of inland waterway management. He is responsible for navigation safety as marking system, hydrotechnical and fleet management. In his work he has carried out hydrographic and hydrological surveys, his involvement in development studies for river geomorphology and he has been involved in project management activities for several TEN-T and CEF actions: IRIS Europe, NEWADA, FAST DANUBE, SWIM-SMART, FAIRway Danube and PRIMUS. Improving waterway infrastructure to ensure good navigational conditions and developing River Information Services infrastructure were the main objectives of these projects. After 2011 he coordinated the GIS Forum Danube. |
