Bucharest Leaders’ Summit:
The Highway to Success
Speakers 20 November

Didier Balcaen bio

Specialized in project and financial management, Didier Balcaen has over 25 years’ worth of experience in the international construction and real estate market, 15 of which he spent in CEE and Romania in particular. He is a Belgian National that graduated with a Master’s degree in Building Management finished at De Nayer Institute in Sint-Katelijne-Waver, and another Master’s degree in Construction Engineering at IH BME University in Ghent.
After finishing his studies and 5 more years of general contracting experience in Belgium, Didier Balcaen explored other parts of the world for the next 5, as an expat project manager in U.A.E, Singapore, Saudi-Arabia, Indonesia, Qatar and Mauritius. After returning from his travels, he took the role of Chief Operations Officer in real estate development in Poland, Russia, and finally, he arrived in Romania, where he founded SPEEDWELL in 2015, together with his business partner and friend, Jan Demeyere.
He is currently CEO and Partner of SPEEDWELL, a full-service real estate development company with a focus on medium to large scale mixed-use residential, office, and retail projects in Romania. The current portfolio spans over Bucharest, Cluj and Timisoara and comprises of approximately 140,000m2 of offices and retail amenities, 6000 apartments, and 20,000 sqm of industrial space, totalling a value of roughly 1.3 billion euro. All these funds are managed by over 50 professionals in the SPEEDWELL team, covering all real estate specialities.

About SPEEDWELL
At the moment, SPEEDWELL has a large portfolio of projects in Romania. This includes the mixed-use project RECORD PARK, with 236 apartments and approximately 15.000m2 of commercial spaces in Cluj-Napoca, delivered in 2021. In Bucharest, the company is developing two residential projects, THE IVY featuring 800 apartments and TRIAMA RESIDENCE with 202 units. MIRO, an A-class office building, offering 23.000m2 of leasable office spaces has been delivered at the end of 2021.
Still in Bucharest, a newly announced project is THE MEADOWS, a new lakefront residential concept featuring townhouses and apartments in low-rise buildings in northern Bucharest.
Furthermore, in 2021, SPEEDWELL started the process of purchasing a 9-hectare land plot with the purpose of developing CityZen, a mixed-use ensemble in Bucharest, on Calea Grivitei. This is going to be a large-scale project that is going to double up the company’s portfolio.
In Timisoara, the mixed-use project, PALTIM, combines 236 residential units with A-class offices, retail spaces and two refurbished historical buildings.
In Ramnicu Valcea, SPEEDWELL manages RIVERSIDE CITY, a land development of 10ha with allotments to be sold for building a potential of up to 50 houses, 1.100 apartments and retail spaces.
SPEEDWELL has also delivered its first new industrial project in 2022, SPACEPLUS, offering extra storage and production space to SMEs that are expanding their business and is planning on expanding the concept in major cities of Romania.
The company’s pipeline also includes GLENWOOD ESTATE, new residential project located outside of Bucharest, on the lakeside, in Corbeanca and a recently announced project in Timisoara, similar to PALTIM.