From Hospitality to Consulting
My educational background is rather unusual for this field: I studied Hospitality Management in The Hague, Netherlands. However, I didn't work in the hospitality sector afterward. Instead, I worked in real estate investment before returning home and making the switch to consulting.
My decision to go into consulting was primarily driven by the desire to challenge myself. After studying and working abroad for six years, I desperately wanted to stay in Bucharest. At the same time, I felt that the local career opportunities were not exciting enough. My thought process was: What is the most demanding thing I can do while staying in Romania?
Why I chose scty
I worked for two years at a larger consulting firm, where I met Victor, a former colleague who brought me to scty. I admit that joining was a real gamble. I was one of the first people Victor hired for the new Bucharest office, and we didn't even have a fixed office space yet.
The main reason for my change was the search for a better work environment. My previous workplace was incredibly tense and stressful; I was burned out there. I had immense trust in Victor because, even in that challenging atmosphere, he was always the one who showed humanity and took the time to ask how I was doing. For me, that was a clear sign of a more human approach. I explicitly sought an environment that felt safe and did not prioritize work above everything else.
Shaping the start-up
In the beginning was heavily involved in standardizing processes at scty and have witnessed significant growth since I joined. I notice that for newcomers today, the company no longer feels as much like a start-up as it did when I started. In the early days, any initiative I had – such as training topics – could be implemented immediately because it didn't exist yet. That was very rewarding. Unlike my previous workplace, where I felt that nothing I contributed was truly valued, every one of my ideas was welcome here.
What I value in our daily work
What I appreciate most about my daily work life at scty are my colleagues – especially Corina and Andrei in the Bucharest office. We choose to come into the office almost every day because it feels like we are meeting up with friends first and then working together.
I also greatly value our company culture of "no unnecessary stress." I regard this mindset as precious and actively try to protect it, especially when new team members arrive from high-pressure environments. I resist the tendency to compete over who works the most. My goal is for all of us to "have a good life while simultaneously doing our best possible work."
Contributing to European Security
My most exciting project was my most recent one, which I just completed. It involved supporting an automotive engineering company in shifting its business towards the defense sector.
Initially, I had personal reservations about the defense topic. However, I now feel a strong "internal motivation, social determination, and responsibility" for this work. I consider the topic incredibly relevant for protecting our peace and democracy, and I hope that scty will continue to pursue such projects.
What defines us
I firmly believe that we have some of the best people at scty, both in terms of their professional skills and as human beings. Most of my colleagues are "very, very interesting people with many hobbies and interests outside of work." I particularly love it when they bring these passions into the team, allowing all of us to learn about new topics and perspectives. That makes collaboration very enjoyable.
