Rite 2026

Paul VIXIE

Paul Vixie served as VP and Distinguished Engineer at AWS Security, and is a Director at SIE Europe U.G. He was previously the founder and CEO of Farsight Security (2013-2021).

He founded and operated the first anti-spam company (MAPS, 1996), the first non-profit Internet infrastructure software company (ISC, 1994), and the first neutral and noncommercial Internet exchange (PAIX, 1991).

Vixie was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2014.

Tony KAY

Tony Kay is AI Lead and Senior Principal Architect at Red Hat, where he works on the practical adoption of AI across enterprise platforms and developer workflows. His work spans agentic AI, Model Context Protocol (MCP), secure AI application architecture, and the operational challenges of running LLM-powered systems in production. He also brings deep experience in Kubernetes and container security, DevSecOps, cloud automation, and open-source software supply chains. Tony focuses on making emerging AI capabilities useful, governable, secure, and deployable in real environments—connecting experimentation with the engineering discipline needed for dependable systems.

Ovidiu PISMAC

Since 2006 in Microsoft, Ovidiu is trusted advisor for biggest Microsoft partners in Central Europe & Microsoft Romania customers. He is Senior Security Cloud Solution Architect in Partner Solutions Architects team, Central Europe. Ovidiu is passionate on multiple aspects of Microsoft management and security platforms: Threat Protection with focus on Microsoft Defender XDR and entire Defender Stack; Cloud Security (Azure Arc for Windows and Linux); Data Protection and compliance, Data Loss Prevention, compliance (NIS2, DORA); AI Security (AI Security Posture Management, Purview Data Security Posture Management, Security Copilot for AI management platforms); Heterogeneous infrastructure management with ; Threat Intelligence platforms. Over the past 26 years Ovidiu has also worked as an IT dept. manager at the National Bank of Romania – Giurgiu branch; System Engineer at GeCAD and Security Engineer at UTI Systems.

Adina FLOREA

Adina Magda Florea is a doctor in Computer Science and professor of Artificial Intelligence at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest. She is the Director of the International Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, president and founding member of the Romanian Association of Artificial Intelligence (ARIA) and president of the “Réseau de Recherche Francophone sur l’Intelligence Artificielle” (RéFIA). Adina created the first artificial intelligence course in the university and founded the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence program in POLITEHNICA Bucharest. She was the dean of the Faculty of Automation and Computers (2012-2020) and vice-rector of the university (2020-2024). She is currently the Director of the strategic national project HRIA – “Romanian HUB for Artificial Intelligence”, Cod SMIS 2021- 351416, 2025-2029.

Eduard POPOVICI

Eduard-Cristian Popovici is a PhD in Telecommunications and an Associate Professor at POLITEHNICA Bucharest, in the Department of Telecommunications, of which he was the director from 2016 to 2020. He coordinates the SAIM Lab (Solutions based on Agility, Innovation and Multidisciplinarity). He initiated the SMICES (Security Management of Informational and Communication Equipment and Systems) master’s degree, where he teaches Software Systems Security. His work connects interdisciplinary software architectures, telecommunications, cybersecurity, AI/ML, digital twins, smart areas, UAV/C-UAS, blockchain and quantum/post-quantum technologies, with a focus on resilience, smart infrastructures and AI-assisted decision-making.

Silviu TEODORU

Silviu Teodoru has 23 years of experience in Cloud and Information Management, covering roles such as DWH&BI Team Leader, Data&AI Architect or Cloud Architect. He has spent the last almost 20 years within Oracle, providing technical advisory to enterprise customers in Romania – Telecommunications, Financial Services, Energy and Public Sector. Silviu has a strong focus on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning by interacting with Oracle customers and partners, academic bodies, AI&ML communities and working groups (e.g. Oracle Machine Learning Research Group). Inside Oracle Romania he founded “Data Science Ambassadors” community with the purpose to share knowledge on AI&ML related topics. He also holds a PhD in Decision Support Systems since 2009. Motto: There is no AI without IA! (AI = Artificial Intelligence, IA = Information Architecture)

Adrian POPA

Adrian Popa is the president of the National Association of Internet Service Providers in Romania and is a telecommunications professional with over 20 years of experience in IT&C projects. He is currently the Technical Director of Euroweb Romania where he coordinates the technical departments, develops business plans and IT&C services. He worked in several companies in the telecom industry, holding managerial or consulting positions.

Alexandru ROTARU

Alexandru Rotaru is a founder of the Association of Romanian Unix Users – GURU (in 1992), the initiator and main organizer of the ROSE (Romanian Open Systems Event) series of conferences held between 1993 and 1996. He was a board member in EurOpen, being present at various events in Europe that marked the launch of Internet services on the continent. Currently he leads the Internet services company RoLink Plus SA, being a member of the ANISP board from the RoLink company and founder of ANISP, but also a member of the ISOC Romanian Chapter board. Alexandru is the chair of the organizing committee of the RITE 2025 conference.