Ioana Petrescu

Dr. Ioana Petrescu is an economist and former Minister of Finance of Romania, working at the intersection of policy, economics, and the future of the space sector. Her career has been defined by operating at the highest levels of decision-making, shaping national fiscal policy and negotiating with international institutions, before turning her focus to one of the most complex systems being built today: the space economy.

Her work challenges the conventional view of space as primarily a technological domain. Instead, she focuses on how incentives, governance, and political decision-making shape outcomes in space. She has authored research on the role of government in fostering space innovation, the balance between regulation and growth, and the use of policy instruments such as grants and prizes in emerging space ecosystems. Her work has been presented at leading international forums, including the International Astronautical Congress and ASCEND.

Ioana is the founder of a global Space Economics Seminar, convening over 300 participants from more than 30 countries across academia, industry, and government. The initiative brings together disciplines that rarely interact, creating a shared language between economists, engineers, and policymakers around how space functions as a system.

Her current focus is on bridging the gap between research and decision-making in space. She is particularly interested in how economic and governance frameworks will shape future activities beyond Earth, including questions of resource allocation, ownership, and long-term sustainability.

Ioana brings a perspective grounded in real-world political experience and a habit of questioning assumptions and rebuilding systems from the ground up. She is driven by a simple question: as we move toward the Moon and Mars, how do we design systems that work (economically, politically, and sustainably) rather than repeating Earth’s mistakes?