SPEAKERS

	Gabriel Armanet is a Director for the Construction branch of FTI Consulting, working for the Forensic and Litigation team based in Paris. Gabriel has an academic background in construction law, international procurement, economics and business administration management. He has provided services for the main engineering and construction companies operating in the construction industry across the globe (Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Pacific). Gabriel is experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution (mediation and arbitration). He has been involved in ICC arbitrations, supporting the preparation of the filing submissions up to final hearings, notably on Quantum matters. Gabriel has also been involved in the preparation and participation of mediation at the Singapore International Mediation Centre. In 2017-2019, Gabriel has reinforced its academic background in construction law and dispute resolution at King’s College London. Gabriel won the King’s College UK Society of Construction Law prize for the best MSc dissertation in 2019, and the second prize of the European Society of Construction Law in 2020.
	Murray Armes is the founder of Armes-ADR, based in the UK, and is a Chartered Arbitrator, Dispute Board Member, Adjudicator and Mediator. He has been involved in Dispute Boards for around twenty years and is included on the FIDIC Presidents’ List of International Adjudicators. He is appointed to the dispute board for the ITER Prototype Fusion Energy Project in France, which is the world’s largest energy project and was also appointed to the Adjudication Panel for the new High Luminosity Project at CERN in Switzerland, and for anew Data Centre at CERN and to the DAB for an EPR nuclear project in Scandinavia, an energy supply network in West Africa, an embassy project in Central Africa and a cutting edge building project in Iraq, as well as other projects for CERN and in South East and Central Asia and the Caribbean. Murray is the author of many articles and has contributed to a number of books, and regularly speaks at international conferences and carries out training in dispute avoidance and resolution, including under FIDIC contracts. Having gained his Honours Degree and Diploma with distinction in Architecture at Sheffield University in 1978 and 1981 respectively a Master of Arts with distinction in Architecture in 1981 and a Master’s Degree in Construction Law from King’s College, London in 2003, he became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2007. Murray is also on various dispute resolution panels with the RIBA, CIArb, RICS, FIDIC, ICC, and IDRS.
	Mariam Badeyan is an accomplished legal professional with over 15 years of experience, including a decade in senior legal roles within complex, large-scale construction projects. Her portfolio encompasses landmark initiatives, such as the “North-South Road Corridor Investment Program” Tranches 1, 2, 3, “Bagratashen-Sadakhlo Crossing Point New Bridge Construction Project”, “M6 Vanadzor-Alaverdi-Georgian Border Intersect Road Project”, “Civil Works for Meghri Border Crossing Point Modernization” and others. Renowned for her expertise in FIDIC contract management, Mariam has successfully led intricate cases involving claims, disputes, and arbitration proceedings. She currently serves as the Head of the Legal Department at A.A.B Project.
	Bill Barton has specialised in construction and non-contentious construction for over 30 years. He has particular expertise in drafting and negotiating specialist bespoke contracts whether in relation to wind farms, renewable energy such as solar, biomass, office and industrial developments, colleges or standard construction projects. As a result, he is experienced in drafting amendments to and negotiating not only standard forms of contract such as JCT, NEC and ICE, but also the FIDIC Red and Silver books as well as IChemE Burgundy, Red and Yellow books. Bill acts for owners and promoters of projects, international contractors, sub-contractors as well as advising other law firms on complex construction issues, in the UK and internationally. Bill is a Fellow of the Institute of Arbitrators, and has substantial experience in conducting adjudications, mediations and arbitrations, as well as litigation within the TCC and ICC. Bill has advised large international contractors on the operation and administration of Dispute Boards, and has drafted submissions and advised on the wider approach required to achieve the best possible outcome.
	Charles Blamire-Brown
	Cremona Cotovelea is Partner with Tecuci Paltineanu SCPA, where she serves as a construction lawyer, mediator and DB member / FIDIC Certified Adjudicator with over 25 years of experience. She is also trained in project management and public procurement. She is the main author of two FIDIC accredited modules (‘FIDIC Basic’ and ‘FIDIC in Public’) and a friendly reviewer of the 2017 FIDIC Red and Silver books. Cremona is also a FIDIC internationally accredited trainer. Cremona is a founding partner of the first Romanian construction law firm SCPA Tecuci Păltineanu (2001) providing integrated advice: construction law, related public procurement or EU / MDB financing. She is a member of several professional associations (DRBF, ArbitralWomen, ARIC a.s.o.). Cremona is a member of the DRBF Region 2 Board of Directors, representing Europe.
	Taner Dedezade is the founder and Head of Chambers of International Construction Chambers, London. Taner is an international construction barrister, dispute resolver, published author and world-renowned speaker. FIDIC President's List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators; ICC Arbitrator; FIDIC Certified Trainer; FIDIC trainer of the Year 2020. International construction barrister: Taner specialises in the resolution of disputes arising out of international construction and engineering projects, particularly FIDIC. Dispute resolver: Taner has sat as DB Member, ICC and CIArb arbitrator. Speaker: Taner delivers FIDIC lectures and training, globally. Author: Taner has contributed to chapters on enforcement of DB decisions in 2 books.
	Giovanni Di Folco is the President, co-owner and Senior Partner of Techno Engineering & Associates Group, an international techno-legal Consulting Engineering Firm specializing in Integrated Contract Management, Claims and Dispute Avoidance & Resolution internationally, with experience in representing clients in international Adjudication, Arbitration and Litigation. He is a Civil Engineer, Arbitrator, Adjudicator, Expert Witness in Delay and Quantum and a legal arbitration practitioner with more than 30 years’ experience of managing multi-disciplinary civil engineering projects around the world. Mr Di Folco is a past Director and Past-president of the DRBF Region 2 Board of Directors and is listed on the FIDIC President List of Certified Adjudicators. He is also a FIDIC Accredited Trainer, a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator and an Expert in project & contract management, contract administration, claims preparation and defense, delay analysis and quantum ascertainment. He is the Vice President of the Romanian Association of Consulting Engineers (ARIC) and a Director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Romania. He has authored and published, books and many papers and articles over the years regarding civil engineering, Dispute Boards, adjudication, arbitration, procurement, claims and contract management matters.
	Sean Gibbs is the CEO of Hanscomb Intercontinental, a global expert witness firm. With over 35 years of experience in construction and engineering, he has worked on major projects worldwide. Beyond his role as an expert witness, Sean serves as an arbitrator, adjudicator, expert determiner, and Dispute Board member. He's actively involved in industry organizations, including being the Chair of the Adjudication Society, Council Member Society of Construction Law UK, Committee Member ICP International Bar Association, and member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation Region 2 Board of Directors. Sean is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators and a FIDIC President’s List Adjudicator and Mediator.
	Jeremy Glover is a partner at Fenwick Elliott LLP, the UK’s largest construction law firm and is listed as a leader in his field in Who’s Who Legal: Construction 2020. An accredited adjudicator and member of the CIArb Adjudication Sub-Committee, he advises on all aspects of projects from initial procurement and strategic project advice to dispute avoidance and resolution. Jeremy is the co-author of Understanding the FIDIC Red and Yellow Book: A Clause by Clause Commentary, the third edition of which was published in 2018, and lead editor of Building Contract Disputes: Practice and Precedents. Jeremy is a member of the Board of Examiners on the Construction Law MSc programme at King’s College, and also teaches on the MSc Building Information Modelling Management Programme at Middlesex University. He is President-elect for the DRBF Executive Board of Directors.
	Leo Grutters, BSc (civil) MBA DipArb FCIArb FDBF, is a Civil Engineer and a Dispute Resolution Expert with over 30 years of professional experience. He holds an MBA and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. As a Member of FIDIC's President's List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators he has been involved as an independent neutral expert in many large prestigious international engineering projects involving such wide-ranging sectors as roads, power generation & distribution, off-shore, marine, renewable energies, etc. He is a forensic analyst focused on the logical and fair resolution to contractual disputes. Due to his extensive participation in international contractual dispute resolution procedures such as Adjudication, Dispute Boards and Arbitration, he is a project-focused expert who understands the interaction between complex engineering methodologies and the unavoidable legal and commercial implications when seen in a contractual environment. He also regularly lectures on dispute resolution methodologies, proactive contract administration systems & procedures and he is a regular speaker at related international events. He routinely conducts training and coaching events on the entire FIDIC Rainbow Suite of Contracts, as well as other construction management related topics. He is a Past President of the DRBF Region 2 Board of Directors.
	Levent Irmak is a Civil Engineer (MSc in Construction Management and LLM in Construction Law and Arbitration) with 30 years of experience. He is a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator (enlisted in FIDIC President’s List of Approved Adjudicators), FIDIC Certified Trainer and has served as Dispute Board member (sole, 3-member and DB chair in roads, railways, water/wastewater treatment plants, power plants and power transmission projects). He has been appointed as Expert Witness in arbitration cases both as party-appointed and tribunal-appointed in quantum and technical matters in industrial plants, mixed-use real estate developments, hospitals, wastewater treatment plants. His project experience includes projects valued at over 21 billion USD and spans more than 25 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. He is Past-President of DRBF Region-2 and serves as DRBF Region-2 Mentoring Committee chair.
	Xavier Leynaud is a Founding Parner of LEYNAUD & Associés and is a Construction Delay & Quantum Expert. He serves as Treasurer of the DRBF Region 2 Board of Directors and on the DRBF's Finance Committee.
	Vlatko Mihajlov Civil Engineer with a Bachelors degree in Roads and Railways, also a Chartered Quantity Surveyor for over 23 years. Started career in the Balkans area, working as a Contractor for the leading construction companies in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo and continuing career worldwide in the States of Qatar, Moldova, Ukraine, Nigeria, St Vincent and Grenadines, Georgia, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Egypt representing various supervisor Engineers, project owners, engineering and law firms (Safege -France, IRD Engineering -Italy, Ingerop -France, Spark -Sweden, Bring - Croatia, Julius Berger- Nigeria, Hill International-USA, Sinohydro- China, Cinetics-Montenegro, HBK- Bosnia and Hercegovina, Yuksel- Turkey etc.). Currently self-employed in “Contractual Claiming” providing Contract and Claims expertise on various scale projects preferably in the Balkan area. Suitably qualified person based on extensive experience as a contractor as well as a Contracts and Claims Management ,on a FIDIC based contracts. Country Representative for North Macedonia of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF).
	Boyana Milcheva is a partner at Dimitrov, Petrov & Co. (DPC) Law Firm and leads its Construction Law Practice Group. She has specialized in construction, real estate, and tax law for more than 18 years. Boyana possesses in-depth expertise in construction law and has advised local and regional market participants on major transport infrastructure projects – road, railway, highway and airports construction and rehabilitation. Boyana is a board member of the Bulgarian Society of Construction Law (BSCL) and Bulgarian representative at the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF). She has actively contributed to the BSCL initiatives of compiling the first Bulgarian Construction Law Handbook and translating the latest edition of the FIDIC Yellow Book in Bulgaria. She is regularly invited as a speaker at construction law seminars and training courses for both lawyers and industry representatives. Her proficiency in the area of construction law is highly praised by all leading global legal guides - Who’s Who Legal, The Legal 500, Chambers Europe, and IFLR 1000, which also recognizes her in the elite Woman Leader category.
	Gerard Monaghan is a Chartered Engineer with some 30 years’ experience in the delivery of major construction projects in Ireland and internationally with a particular focus on energy and renewables. Gerard is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a CEDR accredited mediator and a member of the Engineers Ireland Arbitration, Conciliation and Adjudication panels. He is an experienced ADR professional and is appointed regularly as arbitrator, adjudicator, mediator/conciliator and Dispute Board member. Gerard is a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator and member of the FIDIC President's List of approved Dispute Adjudicators. Gerard is also a member of the Minister’s Panel of Adjudicators established in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Construction Contracts Act 2013. Gerard is the current Chairman of the Engineers Ireland Disputes Resolution Board, a former Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Irish Branch) and is the Ireland country representative of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation.
	Florin Niculescu has over 30 years of experience in the field of civil engineering, having worked in the field of design, works supervision, works execution, International Financing Institution and procurement. He works in the field of works contracts administration and particularly, in the field of construction dispute adjudication, resolution and arbitration. He has dealt with several types of construction projects, such as roads, railways, maritime ports, inland waterways, airports, industrial and civil buildings, wastewater treatment plants, water supply and sewage networks, irrigation networks and solid waste. He generally works as a freelance consultant, running his own enterprise, SC Ab Initio SRL (www.abinitio.ro), and collaborating with numerous world recognised companies, both in the country and abroad. Florin is also an excellent trainer in procurement, Conditions of Contract, Works Contracts implementation/ management and Works Contracts Disputes Resolution. He specialises in dealing with contentious issues and particularly, avoidance and resolution of disputes. He is a member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation and a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator.
	Cristina Olariu is a Partner at Oglinda & Partners Law Firm and founder and CEO of IUS (Infrastructure United Solutions). She is a lawyer and consultant specialized in construction law (especially infrastructure projects). Cristina assisted Romanian and foreign Contractors in continuous matters related to tender procedures, contract management and dispute resolution projects for roads, highways, railways, bridges and water supply systems. Cristina has 10 years of experience in construction and arbitration, gaining her expertise by being involved and coordinating more than 160 infrastructure projects (contract management, consultancy, assistance, DAB procedures, ICC arbitrations, CICA-CCIR arbitrations, UNCITRAL arbitrations, Romanian National Courts cases). Most commonly, she coordinates the combined team of lawyers and engineers assuring full coverage of all issues related to every project.
	Alfonso Pelosi holds an MSc degree as civil hydraulic engineer, 40+ years of experience in Contracts Management and Construction of infrastructures, Roads, Highways, Railways, Bridges, Viaducts, Tunnels, Dams, Hydroelectric Power Plants, Water and wastewater systems. Alfonso acted with the team of the engineer, the contractor, the designer and consultant of the employer, as designer, project manager, contracts manager and FIDIC Engineer. International experience, 24+ countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand and Central America. Projects financed by EU, WB, ADB, Italian government. Alfonso has a comprehensive knowledge of the FIDIC Conditions of Contracts and he is a member of the FIDIC contracts committee, in the sub-group for drafting the conditions of sub-contract of the Yellow, Red and Emerald books. Alfonso is a trainer and a regular lecturer at a post-graduated master classes in “Contracts claims and delay management” held at Politecnico of Milan. Alfonso also has 11 years of experience as a tender specialist and tender department manager, with practical knowledge in preparation of tenders for international and Italian work contracts. Alfonso is a chartered member of the Institution of Engineers (Italy), a member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF) and a member of the Society of Construction Law (SCL).
	James (Jim) Perry is a member of the District of Columbia Bar (1985) and has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (1981). Based in Paris since 1988, and focused on construction, Jim serves as an arbitrator and dispute board member, but also works as counsel, specializing in the construction industry. In 2003 Jim opened PS Consulting, a founding member of the Leading Construction Lawyers International Alliance (LCL). Jim has served on numerous dispute boards, including in the Baltics, Central Europe, Central Asia, Africa, SE Asia, Australasia and the Middle East and Latin America and been appointed on ICC, DIAC, ADCCAC, CEPANI, VIAC and ad hoc arbitral tribunals. Jim has experience with dam construction, bridges, port terminals and marine construction, airports, highways, water supply and treatment, hydro and thermal power plants, oil and gas, rail, factories and the built environment. Jim is member of the FIDIC President’s list of dispute board adjudicators and a Past-president of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF). Jim received the *Al Mathews Award for Dispute Board Excellence* in 2016, the DRBF's highest honor.
	Domagoj Petrinović holds a master’s degree in law and is a member of Croatian Bar Association. He is a Partner in the Law firm Kožul and Petrinović, having wide experience in providing advisory services and representing clients from construction, energy and public sector. Several times he has held the role of team leader during set-up and management of different infrastructural projects (railways, airports, water-supply, power plants). He has wide experience in applying different FIDIC Conditions of Contract, representing both Employers and Contractors as well as acting as adjudicator in dispute resolution proceedings.
	Vanja Podhradski is construction engineer with 12 year experience in management of FIDIC contracts. He acted as an Employer Representative/Project Manager (in Public Company Motorways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ltd. Mostar) on several motorway projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His current position within the Company is Head of the department for implementation monitoring and technical support. He has experience in procurement, construction and closing phases of the project under FIDIC contract with emphasis on the preparation of the particular conditions of the contract, variation and clam assessment, project and contract management, project controlling, administration issues, financial project control, coordination with authority. For past nine years he had active role in DAB's proceedings on motorway projects, which include preparations of referrals and participation in hearings. He is a FIDIC certified professional (FCL Certified Contract Manager).
	Maja Koršič Potočnik is a specialized attorney in commercial law and public procurement at Potočnik & Prebil Law Firm in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She has advanced her expertise at King’s College London and the FIDIC Academy and is a listed Slovenian FIDIC adjudicator. She advises clients on public procurement, construction contracts, and disputes, regularly representing them in court. Maja is also a member of Slovenia’s largest construction law and procurement conference committee. An active author, she has co-written key publications, including the FIDIC Red and Yellow Book Guide and the Comprehensive Construction Law Handbook.
	Siniša Radaković is a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience in construction. He is a co-founder of Exstructa, one of the leading consultancy companies in Croatia. In the last 25 years, Siniša has been involved in large number of construction projects as project manager, supervision engineer, FIDIC engineer or team leader. In the last decade, he has been frequently appointed Dispute Adjudication Board member under FIDIC contracts. During his presidency of the Croatian Association of Consulting companies in Construction (ACCC), a FIDIC member association, he initiated and managed translation of the FIDIC 1999 editions, Red Book and Yellow Book in 2013. Additionally, Siniša is a certified engineer registered with the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars related to project management, FIDIC contracts management, public procurement, risk management, etc.
	Basar Sahin holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and an LLM degree in Construction Law. He is an arbitrator, expert witness, and Dispute Board member. He has held contract, commercial and project management positions with firms for nearly 25 years and gained experience in contract-claim management with a special emphasis in cost control, scheduling and dispute resolution methods. His hand-on experience includes involvement in a wide variety of projects such as railroads, highways, tunnels, airports, power plants, marine works, housing and oil-gas business in countries including Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Albania, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Hungary, Slovakia and the USA. Basar currently serves as a member of the DRBF Region 2 Board of Directors.
	Oana Soimulescu is a Romanian construction lawyer and the founder of Soimulescu & Partners, established in 2005 as the first Romanian law practice focusing exclusively on construction projects. Oana deals regularly with public infrastructure projects such as road, railway, airport and water/environmental projects, in Romania and in the Southeastern Europe. She has extensive experience in dealing with various forms of construction contracts with specific focus on FIDIC forms of contract. She has been regularly involved as counsel since 2005 in complex construction arbitrations under the ICC and CCIR Rules. Oana lectured between 2008 and 2011 as an associate professor of the Technical Construction University of Bucharest, teaching FIDIC Contract Management and Construction Legislation to graduates from the Roads and Railways Construction Department in a MSC programme. She is an alumna of the ICC Advanced Arbitration Academy and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
	Giorgiana Tecuci is an international lawyer with over 20 years' experience in construction law and procurement. She is actively involved in FIDIC contracts, with particular emphasis on dispute resolution in both the public and private sectors. As an adjudicator, arbitrator and trainer, Giorgiana regularly contributes to the organization and running of both FIDIC related activities and those of DRBF, where she serves as President of the DRBF Region 2 Board of Directors and the DRBF Representative for Romania.
	Emilian Traista
	Igor Zirojevikj is an engineer and FIDIC-Certified Adjudicator with more than 20 years’ experience in multinational infrastructure projects, including water, wastewater, roads, railways, and dams. He blends engineering expertise with contractual and legal knowledge to ensure successful outcomes under various contract forms, including FIDIC. As a dispute board member, he focuses on helping parties avoid disputes and, if avoidance proves impractical, on delivering an efficient resolution.
	Eugenio Zoppis is an engineer with a law degree and an MSc in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution from King’s College in London, where he is doing research for a Ph.D. in law. He has published widely on construction law, and engineering topics. He is a certified adjudicator, a reviewer of FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Underground Works, and a leader of a sub-group for drafting contracts. As project manager for contractors, he has 35 years of on-site experience in large international projects, having built large dams (totaling 17 million m 3 of concrete or rock fill), tunnels and shafts (over 45 km), roads (over 1,300 km), bridges and buildings. He is currently managing a project for the construction of a 1800MW hydropower plant in Ethiopia.