Bucerius HIAD Conference 2026

Secretary General, CAM-CCBC, São Paulo

Luíza Kömel is Secretary General of the CAM-CCBC (Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada) and a fellow of the CIArb (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators). She has obtained her law degree from the University of São Paulo (USP) and is certified in civil law by the University of Paris II: Pantheón-Assas. She has acted as counsel and case manager in domestic and international arbitration proceedings and has over 11 years of experience working in the field from the institutional perspective.

Bucerius Law School, Hamburg

Professor Dr. Stefan Kröll is Professor for International Dispute Resolution and Director of the Center for International Dispute Resolution at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg. Since 2012 he is one of the directors of the Willem C. Vis Arbitration Moot Court, responsible for writing the problem every year. Stefan’s publications include several internationally renowned monographs, treatises and commentaries, as well as a considerable number of articles in international journals and he is in the board of editors or advisory boards of several international journals. From January 2022 to January 2026 Stefan served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the German Arbitration Institute.

Vice President MAA – HANEFELD, Hamburg

Dr. Christian Johannes Wahnschaffe works with the dispute resolution boutique HANEFELD in Hamburg and serves as Vice President on the Executive Board of the Moot Alumni Association. Further to his practice, he lectures on International Dispute Resolution at the University of Münster, where he also obtained his doctorate in the field of institutional arbitration. He publishes and speaks regularly on investment and commercial arbitration, as well as international sales law and contract law. He is an alumnus of the University of Münster and The Hague Academy of International Law and clerked with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Vienna.

Co-Head of Case Management, DIS, Bonn

Dr. Carina Alcoberro Llivina is Co-Head of Case Management and Compliance Officer at the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), where she plays a key role in overseeing arbitration and ADR proceedings under the DIS Rules. She holds a doctoral degree in law from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and has studied law in Germany, France, and Spain. With over a decade of experience in arbitration, she has worked across a broad range of international dispute resolution matters, including international commercial and investment arbitration proceedings, and gained experience as counsel and tribunal secretary in the London arbitration practice of a US law firm.

Gleiss Lutz, Hamburg

Lukas is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Team of Gleiss Lutz in Hamburg, Germany.Lukas advises national and international clients on arbitration and on national as well as cross-border litigation before state courts. He has extensive expertise as counsel and arbitrator in both domestic and international arbitration proceedings with a special focus on project-related and construction disputes, post-M&A disputes, joint ventures and general commercial law. Lukas also specialises in litigation related to cartel damage claims, banking and finance and general commercial law.Lukas studied at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg as well as in Boston and Oxford (M.Jur. 2008) and obtained his PhD from University of Passau. He is a lecturer at the Bucerius Law School for collective redress.

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, Zagreb

Full Professor, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law (courses taught: Private Inernational Law, European PIL, Arbitration); President of the Permanent Arbitration Court at the Croatian Chamber of Economy (PAC CCE); Sole Arbitrator and Co-Arbitrator in arbitrations under the Zagreb Rules, Vienna Rules, ICC Rules, and UAR; Croatian delegate to UNCITRAL WG II – Dispute Settlement; Member of the Permanent Arbitration Court, The Hague; Member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators.

Fundação Getúlio Vargas, São Paulo

Independent arbitrator and legal expert based in São Paulo, Brazil. Private Law Professor at FGV Direito SP. PhD in Civil Law (Universidade de São Paulo). Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). Author of books and scholarly articles on Brazilian Private Law and CISG.

State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro

Daniel Gruenbaum is Professor of Private International Law and Head of the Civil Law Department at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. He holds a J.D. and a Ph.D from the University of São Paulo. He is also the founding partner of Gruenbaum, Rivoli, Cereja Advogados Associados.

NOVA School of Law, Lisbon

Member of VdA since 2023 and Partner in the Litigation & Arbitration Practice. Focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration as counsel and arbitrator. She has acted in complex arbitrations seated worldwide and before leading institutions (ICC, LCIA, ICSID, CAC/CCIP, CAM). Specializes in Civil Procedure and Alternative Dispute Resolution, particularly arbitration and mediation. Full Professor at NOVA School of Law; former Dean (2018–2022) and former partner at PLMJ.

President, CIArb – Justen, Pereira, Oliveira & Talamini, São Paulo

Cesar Pereira C.Arb FCIArb serves as the global President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators - Ciarb for 2026. He is a partner at Justen, Pereira, Oliveira & Talamini, in São Paulo, Brazil, and is a co-head of the firm's infrastructure and arbitration practices.He has a doctorate in public law and has been a visiting scholar at  Columbia University, University of Nottingham, and George Washington University, in the areas of dispute resolution and government contracts. He often sits as an arbitrator in international and domestic proceedings under a variety of institutional rules in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. His practice as counsel, arbitrator and legal expert focuses mainly on infrastructure projects, government contracts, and international sale of goods, topics he has covered in books, articles, and book chapters. Among other positions, he is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Vis East Foundation, in Hong Kong, a co-chair of the AAA/ICDR Brazil Arbitration Advisory Committee, and President of the Court of Arbitration of the Lusaka International Arbitration Centre (Zambia).

Gleiss Lutz, Stuttgart

Dr. Stephan Wilske, Maître en Droit, LL.M., Rechtsanwalt (Germany) and Attorney-at-Law (New York), is a partner of Gleiss Lutz, Stuttgart. He advises clients in international commercial and investment arbitration proceedings as well as cross-border litigation. He is a honorary professor at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena and lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. He is a Vice-President of the CAAI, Court of Arbitration, Member of the American Law Institute, co-founder and guitar player of the VIS-terious Rockin’ All Stars band. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, he regularly serves as party-appointed arbitrator or chair.

QMUL, School of International Arbitration and ARBITRA, London

Professor Dr. Crina Baltag, FCIArb is Associate Professor of International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at Queen Mary University of London, School of International Arbitration, and an independent international arbitrator with ARBITRA. Crina is a qualified attorney-at-law, member of the Romanian and Bucharest Bar, having acted for over twenty years as counsel, arbitrator, expert, and institutional leader. Crina is Vice Chair of the Board of the SCC Arbitration Institute, a Council Member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law, and Director of the Global Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Nivalion, Frankfurt

Jakob Hübert is Head of Germany & Nordics at Nivalion AG, a leading litigation funder, and head of insurance at Nivalion Alternative Risk Solutions GmbH, an insurance agent for a large German insurance company. In his roles, Jakob is responsible for Nivalion's funding activities in Germany & the Nordics and Nivalion's cooperation with insurance companies in the area of litigation risk insurance. Before joining Nivalion in 2020, Jakob worked for around a decade in leading law firms in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf handling complex disputes in state court litigation and international arbitration proceedings. Jakob lectures on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration at the University of Frankfurt and regularly speaks on topics covering legal finance and litigation risk insurance. He is recognized as a Thought Leader in Third-Party Funding by Who's Who Legal (WWL). Jakob is admitted to the German bar and holds law degrees from the University of Frankfurt and the University of London (LL.M.).

HEUKING, Hamburg

Elke Umbeck is a German lawyer (Rechtsanwältin) and partner of the German independent law firm HEUKING (ranked among the top ten German law firms) since 2008. Elke is based in Hamburg and co-heads the law firm’s litigation and arbitration practice group.With over 20 years of experience, she regularly advises national and foreign clients on complex disputes and acts as arbitrator and counsel in national and international commercial arbitration proceedings. Her area of practice covers energy law (e.g. photovoltaic, onshore and offshore wind projects, gas price revision disputes), construction, corporate and general commercial law. In 2022, she was included in the list of arbitrators by the European Commission for disputes under EU trade agreements.Elke Umbeck has been a lecturer for international commercial law (Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht) at the Technical University in Hamburg for almost 10 years. She frequently publishes articles and regularly speaks on international commercial and arbitration law.

CMS, Berlin

Inga Witte works as counsel and arbitrator. She regularly handles large construction, infrastructure and engineering cases, with a focus on the energy sector. Inga is admitted to the bar in Germany and speaks German, English and Spanish.