Innovation Consultant | CEO, Loop Operations | Co-founder & General Manager, TEC Cluster | PhD Researcher in Innovation
Rodica Lupu is an influential voice in the field of innovation, with more than two decades of experience at the intersection of entrepreneurship, public policy, and sustainable development. She is the founder and CEO of Loop Operations, a consultancy specializing in innovation management, strategic funding, and ecosystem design, as well as General Manager of the TEC Cluster, a collaborative platform accelerating digital transformation and innovation across the built environment.
She is currently pursuing a PhD in Innovation, combining academic research with real-world impact through the development of funding models, public policies, and collaborative mechanisms that enable both startups and large-scale systems to innovate with purpose. She has developed and coordinated national and transnational innovation initiatives, attracting more than €130 million in public and private funding and supporting over 300 companies throughout their innovation journeys.
As the founder of Ingenius Hub, she created one of Romania’s most active entrepreneurial infrastructures, with locations in five major cities and more than 450 startups funded over the past seven years. Her work focuses on bridging innovation theory and practice by developing scalable models for inclusive and sustainable growth.
Rodica is also a European Commission expert (TAIEX) in the fields of the internal market and services, as well as a business angel, speaker, trainer, and strategic consultant in innovation ecosystems and public policy reform. Her academic and professional background includes an MBA with international experience in London and San Francisco, alongside ongoing doctoral research focused on innovation-driven transformation models.
At the heart of her work is a clear mission: to design and implement innovation as a tool for systemic change, rather than merely as a driver of economic growth. Through her thought leadership and cross-sector work, she contributes to redefining how we innovate responsibly in an increasingly complex world.