Twenty-eight Romanian companies, with a combined turnover of €7.4 billion, have launched the second edition of the COMPETITIV executive program, developed by the New Economy Hub Association in partnership with Raiffeisen Bank Romania, the program’s strategic partner. Running from September 15, 2026, to February 4, 2027, the program focuses on prioritization and decision-making within large and medium-sized enterprises—the companies most exposed to current economic pressures.
The cohort brings together over 50 representatives from decision-making and implementation roles across sectors such as energy and utilities, retail and distribution, technology, industry and mobility, agri-food, construction and infrastructure, and medical and security services.
The companies selected for the 2026–2027 COMPETITIV edition are: Adrem Invest, Agroconcept Impex, Apisrom, Apotheka, AROBS Transilvania Software, Autonom Services, Avi Prod Grup, Bitdefender, CIT One, Diana, E.ON Energie România, Eldomir Tour, Electromontaj, ENGIE România, Euromaster Tyre & Services România, Five Continents, Frizon Holding, Metro Cash & Carry România, Prime Batteries Technology, Quartz Matrix, RebelDot, Servicii Publice, SkyTower Building, Synevo România, Vectra Eurolift Service, Viarom Construct, Waldevar Energy, and West Co Impex.
Participating companies are clarifying their strategic priorities in a landscape where energy, carbon, resources, data, and AI are increasingly influencing access to finance and competitiveness. The second edition of the program addresses the simultaneous pressures facing companies today from multiple directions—including demands from business partners, reporting obligations, lender requirements, and consumer expectations—which impact strategic direction, organizational structure, and costs all at once.
“For Raiffeisen Bank Romania, supporting Romanian companies means more than just providing financing. It means standing alongside entrepreneurs and managers as they make decisions regarding investment, expansion, or repositioning, all within a context where multiple market variables are shifting simultaneously. The competitiveness of these companies increasingly depends on the quality of executive-level decisions and the management teams’ ability to translate them into clear growth trajectories. Through COMPETITIV, we bring together financial, legal, tax, and strategic expertise within a practical framework that helps companies clearly evaluate their options and turn sound decisions into long-term growth,” says Alin Neacșu, Director of Large Corporates at Raiffeisen Bank Romania.
Participants follow a guided path structured into four modules, where executive sessions focused on context and strategy alternate with the practical application of concepts and tools within their own companies between modules. The journey begins with the economic pressures facing the company, proceeds to the prioritization of risks and opportunities, and concludes with an assessment of actual execution capacity and a decision on the chosen strategic direction.
The topics covered include the indicators and tools integral to modern economic analysis, ranging from carbon emissions and circularity to data and artificial intelligence. One of the topics with the most direct impact on these decisions is energy; this year’s edition dedicates a specific analytical focus to it through a partnership with E.ON Romania, serving as the Energy Partner.
“Energy has become a key variable determining the competitiveness of Romanian companies. Decisions in this area have long-term consequences and require both technical expertise and economic judgment—all within a sector that has undergone rapid change in recent years. We aim to share practical examples through a format that fosters a hands-on dialogue with the management teams participating in the program,” stated Mihnea Zamfir, Head of Strategy and Sustainability at E.ON Romania.
“In every company, strategic issues often end up in different silos: energy goes to operations, carbon to sustainability, and data to IT, while budgets are determined separately. The challenge arises when these areas compete for the same resources and implementation capacity. We built COMPETITIV on the premise that these functions—which usually operate in isolation—can contribute to a unified corporate initiative,” says Andreea Nicolae, President of New Economy Hub.
Multidisciplinarity is the principle on which the program was built, not just its way of working. The program is co-created by recognized practitioners who work in distinct fields – banking, energy, carbon and circular economy, research, strategy, leadership and organizational transformation – and who build here, together, a single course. The organizations they come from are Carbon Tool, Cult Research, Delgaz Grid, Econos, E.ON Energie Romania, Marco Polo CEE, Promise Group, Raiffeisen Bank Romania, Stratos Management, Take the Lead and The CSR Agency.
Access to the program is based on application and selection and is aimed at people in a leadership position. The pilot edition was completed by 28 companies, with a cumulative turnover of over 6 billion euros. The program continues after the end of the modules through Club COMPETITIV and COMPETITIV PRO, work formats dedicated to the monitoring of the implementation, the exchange of experience and the applied support for the execution of the actions undertaken.