"The open culture allows us all to share our ideas for change and collaboration."

Joined Capco:   2021
Role:                    Senior Consultant 
Primary skills:    Digital Financial Services, Insurance, Retail Banking, Bancassurance
Interests:            Travelling, cooking, coaching

Born and raised in Romania, with grandparents coming from Greece and Bulgaria, I inherited the Balkan explorer mindset and mentality to step out of the comfort zone and see what is out there. I have studied, worked and lived in several countries in Central and Eastern Europe, having spent the last 12 years exploring cultures and organizations and meeting great people. 

Growing up, my parents taught me that I could become whoever I wanted to be, if I believed in myself and never let the smile fade away. This reflects the person I am today, trying to look at every situation with optimism and developing a sense of motivation through enthusiasm. And this is something I want to pass on to my nine-year-old daughter – everywhere around, you can find something positive and motivating – you just need to be open to it. 

Throughout my career in banking and insurance, I have always had roles that revolved around people. Empathy for clients is in my DNA, thus I am driven by a deep focus on customers’ needs and expectations, which has led to building personalized value propositions and approaches in all my jobs.

As a Principal Consultant at Capco, I am passionate about finding ways to overcome challenges and solving problems in different projects, together as a team, aiming to create a motivating environment that enables everyone to flourish, feel good and be proud of working together.  

Capco for me was the right place, at the time and with the right people. After the initial talk with the Bratislava colleagues, I had interviews with German colleagues and then talks with colleagues in Vienna - all in three months. What counted greatly in my decision to join, was the seniority, the experience and expertise I encountered in all discussions, giving me the confidence that I would work with smart and professional people, from whom I could learn and develop myself. Also, the transparency and the lack of formal barriers or hierarchical boundaries were important and played a great role in my decision.

At the beginning, working on building projects and proposals, I benefited a lot from my coach’s help, the support of two Partners responsible for insurance, not to mention the team. Even though we are in different locations – Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, and Frankfurt - we connect (virtually) and get along, as if we have known each other for a long time, and this feels great.

In addition, access to multiple training modules, workshops and proposals supports and encourages professional development - it is just a question of choosing the right ones, fitting your career goals. Last, but not least, there are many women and mothers at Capco, at various seniority levels - from Consultants to Manging Principals and Executive Directors – who have worked and enjoyed being part of Capco for many years.

For me, the biggest pleasures in life are traveling and discovering new places, cooking for my family, and having parties with friends. I have spent a lot of time travelling and enjoyed every minute. Also, as I grew up in Romania where parties are special and celebrations are memorable, I try to bring that spirit to where I live now in Vienna - with friends, colleagues and our kids’ friends, organizing parties for all occasions, having fun and sharing lovely moments - as I think these memories count the most and they will be vivid in our children’s minds too.

I have been blessed to have my daughter who is now nine. The whole universe revolves around her as I rediscover the great things around us - the joy of a small painting she does, or the beautiful song she sings, or the delicious muffins she bakes - I just love those moments. I have a great family - my super supportive and active 73-year-old mum, and my understanding husband, supporting me all the time. And I am also lucky to have fantastic friends, in all places I have worked and lived, whom I can rely on, no matter what. 

At Capco, I am part of the Human Connection Stream, an initiative in the Austria, Germany and Slovakia region, as I believe that social connections, the way we interact and communicate with each other - especially in this new virtual world - are the most important ways to establish and cultivate employee engagement, to motivate and recognize people’s work and merits. And it is very rewarding to be part of shaping these new ways of working and communicating. I have also become ‘buddy’ to new colleagues and really enjoy being able to support and guide them on their Capco journey.