How Romania’s First Diversity Awards Are Rewriting the Rules of Business Success
At the inaugural Romanian Diversity Awards (RDA), companies, activists and students came together to prove that inclusion is no longer a “nice-to-have” — it’s a strategy for innovation, competitiveness and long-term growth.
The room at The Marmorosch Bucharest went quiet as Paralympic athlete and coach Arian Notreţu stepped forward to accept his award. Recognised for promoting equal access and visibility for people with disabilities in sport, he wasn’t just holding a trophy — he was holding up a mirror to what Romania’s future could look like when inclusion is treated as strategy, not charity.
This was the tone of the first-ever Romanian Diversity Awards, hosted by the Romanian Diversity Chamber of Commerce (RDCC): a gala that looked like a classic business event on the surface, but underneath was busy redefining what “good business” means in a country reshaping its place in Europe.
Backed by partners including Beiersdorf, Dentons, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Kaufland, Orange, SERVE and The Marmorosch, the awards brought together corporate leaders, civil society, entrepreneurs and students to celebrate those turning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into real-world outcomes.
From buzzwords to business strategy
Opening the evening, Perry V. Zizzi, RDCC Board Member and Managing Partner at Dentons Romania, didn’t talk about DEI as a side project. He talked about competitiveness. Diversity, he reminded the audience, is now central to Europe’s ability to innovate — and to Romania’s ability to keep pace. He linked the gala to RDCC’s five-year evolution: DEI certification programmes, international partnerships, accessibility solutions, national campaigns and now a landmark awards platform.
Then Marius Cara, Head of the EIB Group Office in Bucharest and RDCC Honorary Member, offered a quiet challenge to leaders tempted to sideline values when the world feels volatile. In a tense geopolitical and economic climate, he argued, values are not a luxury — they’re a resource. They help organisations navigate uncertainty rather than retreat from it.
That framing runs through RDCC’s mission. The Chamber describes itself as a business-driven organisation for inclusive economic growth and corporate innovation, supporting companies to weave fairness and forward-thinking strategies into the core of their operations. Through advisory services, ED&I certification and executive training, RDCC helps organisations build resilient, diverse workforces and inclusive supply chains — and bridge the gap between compliance and real business value.
Three ways inclusion is reshaping Romanian business
Instead of a single “diversity award”, the gala spotlighted three pillars: Organisational Excellence, Networks & Employee Groups and Individual Recognition — each one showing a different way inclusion drives performance.
1. Organisational Excellence: Inclusion as long-term investment
Winners in this category didn’t just tick boxes; they changed how opportunity flows through their sectors.
Betfair Development Romania – “Techable”
By offering IT training and employability pathways for people with disabilities and vulnerable adults — including older workers reskilling into tech — Betfair is building new talent pipelines for a sector that constantly complains it can’t find skills. That’s social mobility and workforce planning rolled into one.Prodlacta
Working in disadvantaged rural areas, Prodlacta combines Roma inclusion with local economic development, creating long-term jobs and supporting local producers as part of a sustainable value chain. In a market where supply chain resilience is under pressure, anchoring business in local communities is both ethical and strategic.Antibiotice S.A.
With strong gender balance in leadership and across the workforce, plus an inclusive health portfolio and community-driven initiatives, Antibiotice shows how gender equality and local inclusion can sit at the heart of corporate strategy — not in a CSR annex.
Together, these winners point to a clear pattern: when companies design for inclusion, they also design for sustainability, talent retention and market expansion.
2. Networks & Employee Groups: Culture change from the inside
The second pillar recognised internal communities that are quietly transforming boardroom commitments into everyday practice.
Philip Morris – advantAGE tackles ageism head-on, challenging stereotypes about older workers and promoting intergenerational collaboration as a driver of innovation and productivity.
Lenovo – PRIDE Chapter pushes beyond rainbow marketing to build a visible, supported network for LGBTQIA+ employees and allies, advocating for inclusive policies and safer workplaces.
Banca Transilvania – Women’s Network links internal empowerment with business strategy, connecting women’s leadership development to dedicated financing and education programmes for women entrepreneurs — directly influencing who gets access to capital and growth.
These communities are more than social clubs. They’re change engines that improve retention, sharpen decision-making and make companies more credible to increasingly diverse customers.
3. Individual Recognition: Faces of courage and consistency
If systems need changing, they still start with people. The Individual Recognition category honoured professionals who use their platforms to shift narratives and policies in tangible ways.
The jury selected Arian Notreţu as the winner for his work championing equal access and visibility for people with disabilities in sport. As an athlete and coach, he uses performance, mentoring and public engagement to challenge stigma and push for systemic change — work that ripples beyond the sports sector and into how employers, media and policymakers see disability.
Two Special Awards completed the picture of how inclusion shapes society and markets:
“Bursele de 10” by DIGI FM – Media Project of the Year for scholarships that help talented children from vulnerable communities stay in school, while shifting public narratives about merit and potential.
Apex Alliance – Diversity Champion of the Year, for turning hospitality jobs into engines of social mobility through inclusive hiring focused on refugees, ethnic minorities and returning Romanians. At a time of labour shortages, this is not just generosity — it’s a smart response to real business risks.
Why a student jury changes the conversation
One of the most forward-looking elements of the Romanian Diversity Awards wasn’t on stage, but behind the scenes: the jury was made up of representatives from student associations across Romania.
By giving young people a direct say in which initiatives deserve recognition, RDCC did more than tick an engagement box. It brought the perspective of the future workforce into a process that usually stays locked in corporate or NGO circles. As RDCC Board Member Andreea Baciu, Chief Culture Officer at UiPath, emphasised on stage, involving students builds a bridge between business, academia and youth organisations — and signals to employers that tomorrow’s talent is already watching how they show up on inclusion today.
Beyond the gala: RDCC as an engine for inclusive growth
The awards crowned five years of RDCC activity, but they are only one piece of a much larger ecosystem.
From the stage, Perry Zizzi highlighted several of the Chamber’s flagship initiatives:
The ED&I Certification, a structured framework that helps companies measure, improve and benchmark inclusion. At the gala, Telios Care received its certification, represented by E-Health & Healthcare Communication Specialist Alexandra Aur.
The Inklusiv app, co-developed with Accenture, which allows users to report discrimination — turning individual experiences into data that can guide corporate and policy change.
AccessABILITY Expo, now a leading platform for disability inclusion in Romania, bringing together over 55 exhibitors and around 1,000 visitors per day to showcase accessible products, services and solutions.
Purple Night Romania, a nationwide campaign marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which in its latest edition illuminated over 137 landmarks and ran an accessibility campaign across 43 Metrorex stations on 289 digital screens, in partnership with Kaufland, ING, Dentons and Beiersdorf.
Looking ahead, RDCC is preparing to launch a Procurement Sustainable Ecosystem in 2026, connecting inclusive suppliers and forward-thinking buyers — a move that could reshape who gets access to corporate and institutional contracts in Romania.
All of this is powered by a growing community: 40+ corporate members representing more than 70,000 employees in Romania, 12 flagship events in 2025 alone and 71 expert speakers mobilised to turn insight into action.
What’s at stake for companies and policymakers
For corporate leaders and policymakers, the Romanian Diversity Awards are more than a feel-good moment. They are a snapshot of where the competitive edge is moving.
Companies investing in inclusion are building deeper talent pools, especially in sectors struggling with recruitment.
Those integrating gender, age, ethnicity, disability and LGBTQ+ inclusion into strategy are mitigating reputational and regulatory risk in a region where expectations from Brussels, investors and employees are all rising.
Organisations that treat marginalised groups as partners — not afterthoughts — are unlocking new markets and stronger community relationships.
This is precisely the space RDCC operates in: helping businesses read the writing on the wall and respond with concrete, future-ready strategies rather than one-off campaigns.
As the evening drew to a close, RDCC Founder Lestat Monroe thanked sponsors, partners, the Board and the executive team, before leaving the room with one simple line: inclusion is not just the right thing to do — it is smart business.
The first Romanian Diversity Awards made that statement hard to ignore. The question now is not whether inclusion belongs in Romania’s business agenda — but which organisations will move fast enough to turn it into their advantage.
The first Romanian Diversity Awards made that statement hard to ignore. The question now is not whether inclusion belongs in Romania’s business agenda — but which organisations will move fast enough to turn it into their advantage.
If you’d like to be part of the story in 2026 as a sponsor or strategic partner of the second edition of the Romanian Diversity Awards, we invite you to get in touch with us at contact@rdcc.ro and explore how we can build something meaningful together.
And if you’re working on a project, initiative or employee network that you believe should be recognised next year, make sure you subscribe to our newsletter and stay tuned for the 2026 call for nominations. The next wave of award winners is already out there — we’d love to hear from you.