MEET OUR SPEAKERS
The Product & UX Design Stage [12th of November 2024), powered by Google, brought together top experts in the UX/UI field, including product specialists, researchers, writers, and professionals from various domains, fostering innovation and creativity.
This playground extended its reach to product design professionals and the IT industry, providing a space to explore cutting-edge UX/UI principles and their practical applications in personal and professional projects.
*Access to this stage is granted to those who were eligible for the event and filled in the form.
Lavinia Neagoe
Director of Engineering & Bucharest Technology Site Lead
Lavinia Neagoe is Director of Engineering & Bucharest Technology Site Lead at Google, with +15 years of experience in leading global engineering teams. Her mission is to drive excellence in building new technology for businesses and customers. Her ultimate goal is to impact people’s lives in a positive way through technology and innovation. Lavinia is also an active member of the business community, driving education initiatives and bringing in her passion for technology at a very early age. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Opening Speech
Benedict Davies
Sr. Staff User Experience Designer
Benedict Davies joined Google in 2007 as part of a small team designing the first-generation of the company's mobile apps. He has subsequently worked on YouTube, Google Arts & Culture, and extensively designing for Google's users in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Based in London, he currently leads a team located in London, Bucharest and San Francisco working on wearable experiences. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: [UXD] Future-proofing your design career
Cera Radu
Interaction Designer
Cera is an Interaction Designer, based in Bucharest, focusing on building experiences on both smartwatches and trackers. She studied architecture and has 10+ years experience working as a designer in e-learning, gaming, mobile apps and wearables, trying to bring the “fun” element in user’s digital experiences. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: [PM+UXD] Facilitated networking & Design for everyone
Alina Vizitiu
Product Manager
Alina is Working as a Program Manager with the Fitbit trackers team. In her role she is coordinating projects alongside design leads, creating and implementing processes, enabling better communications between stakeholders. She believes that Structure and Clarity are the pillars for success and enjoys developing process and operational support so designers can focus on creating spectacular products. Her background in Advertising and planning large scale events taught her resilience, the importance of communication and just how amazing it is when it all comes together. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Time Travel for Teams: Conquering Time Zones for Collaborative Success
Andra Bobaru
Technical Program Manager
Andra is a Technical Program Manager, with over 15 years of experience in banking large scale organizational transformations, delivering value towards internal and external customers. Her motto is “never stop learning”, but she is also passionate about understanding problems, breaking them into manageable pieces of complexity and then turning them into opportunities. In all her assignments, she contributed to creating business value and achieving program goals by acting as a bridge between cross functional, geographically distributed teams. Outside working hours, Andra will always enjoy a good book (especially if it is her children’s math school materials). 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Time Travel for Teams: Conquering Time Zones for Collaborative Success
Daniel Chis
Product Manager
Daniel is a Product Manager, working at Google from Bucharest. Daniel leads the experience of managing Google’s first party devices: from the Pixel Watch to Fitbit Wearables. With years of experience in the tech industry, working on both B2B and B2C products, Daniel has worked on products all across the industry, from gaming to banking, analytics, health and consumer devices. Currently Daniel is focused on solving complex problems in order to change the way we interact with wearables. Passion is what defines his work and the teams he partners with. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Evolving your product strategy & Panel [PM/UXD/UXR/ENG]
Alina Munteanu
Product Manager
Alina is a Product Manager with experience across Telco, Consumer Electronics, eCommerce and Classifieds. Basically, if there's a product to launch, improve, or reimagine, she's ready for the challenge. Now, for the past year, she's been focused on helping people live healthier lives @Google - one feature at a time.
Laura Munteanu
UX Researcher
Since joining Google in 2023, Laura has led UX research for their health and fitness trackers. Her background includes impactful UXR roles at eJobs, Intralinks, and 8x8, where she focused on UXR team and program growth. An avid non-fiction reader and traveler, Laura enjoys relaxing in cafes and planning her next trip.
Ben Krupp
User Experience Research Manager
Ben has been at Google for 2 years, and has worked on a number of projects - all in the health and fitness space. An anthropologist by education, he has spent the last 10 years working in digital health, but has also worked in the service industry and sports coaching. He leads a team of user researchers spread across Europe focussed on uncovering user needs for Google's fitness and sleep products.
Radu Popovici
Sr. Software Engineering Manager
With an experience of over 15 years in global tech companies, Radu Popovici is a Senior Software Engineering Manager at Google, overseeing the development of Activity and Fitness features. His team’s most recent accomplishments are launching the new feature lineup for Pixel 3 watches: the brand new Running Experience, Cardio Load and Daily Readiness. In the past his team has also been responsible for the development of Active Zone Minutes, Temperature and the Wellness Report.