My passion for numbers and speaking to people has guided me through my entire career. I was the first in my family to go into finance, which was challenging as I didn’t have a role model to follow.
I joined PwC Moldova and Romania as a tax consultant in 2007. It was a good career start as I was part of a firm that gave me exposure to various clients across many different industries and was where I first heard about ACCA.
I’m not just a number cruncher; I’ve developed a passion for telling the stories behind the numbers, and the story behind the wine
In 2011, I felt that finance was larger than just taxation and advisory, so I took a financial controller role at telecom company Orange Moldova. My experience in the telecommunication sector was unforgettable and had a significant role in shaping me professionally. It also opened the way to the ACCA Qualification.
In 2015, I was headhunted for a senior position in an agro-industrial holding company, operating more than 20 different businesses in three different countries. This was the right place to test all my knowledge as I faced a multitude of financial situations.
In 2017 my career path brought me to Horizon Capital, a private equity firm in emerging Europe, serving as its representative in Glass Container Company, supervising financial and operational control, until this asset was successfully sold to another strategic investor.
In 2019 I was relocated to another company in Horizon Capital's portfolio – Purcari Wineries Group, one of the largest wine Groups in Central and Eastern Europe, which is listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Working in the wine industry has allowed me to rediscover myself. I’m not just a number cruncher; I’ve developed a passion for telling the stories behind the numbers and the story behind the wine. You need real passion when explaining to investors how our company is performing and how shares could add value to their business.
Looking back at my career, I’m happy that I’ve met more than 2,000 people and seen many different management styles, processes and industries. I’ve brought my contribution to the bottom line of each of them, through cost efficiencies, challenging the status quo and setting controls.
I really enjoy my job as it is not a passive one; it allows me to fully understand the mechanics of the business
I really enjoy my job as it is not a passive one; it allows me to fully understand the mechanics of the business. I’m sure that very few financial professionals have had a chance to get inside a human-operated volcano: the furnace of a glass company that continuously operated for more than 15 years and only stopped for reconstruction.
Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe but has huge undiscovered potential, and the success of Purcari Wineries Group is proof of this. We face challenges being an ex-Soviet Union country sitting between two geopolitical systems: the Russian Federation and European Union. However, this could be an opportunity, with Moldova becoming a bridge between these two worlds.
If I had lawmaking powers, I would unify accounting systems. It sounds like a utopia but having IFRS Standards, different GAAPs and local accounting standards is like the myth of the Tower of Babel.
If I were not a financial professional, I would probably have been a project manager or an IT software developer. I’d like to be a guy connecting people and making things as simple as possible, not just simpler.
Away from work, I enjoy clearing my mind by running 10Ks, spending time with my family, tasting wines and collecting new stories from people I meet.
