In what has become an endurance test for every company, the last 12 months have also brought about change and innovation and fast-track digital transformation in many industries in Romania. 

What was a crisis adaptation strategy can become a pathway to emerging even stronger from it. Strategies and their effects were the main focus of the “Spotlight: Leaders of the Future” webinar organized by Romania Insider and the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce on February 9. This lively online event and debate was made possible with the support of Vodafone Romania.

Company owners joined CEOs and top managers to see how the pandemic has also brought some clear advantages and how companies used them. 

Marius Hanganu, Managing Partner at Tremend, Andrei Dudoiu, CEO and Co-Founder of Seedblink, and Alexandru Baloi, Director SoHo at Vodafone Romania joined the conversation moderated by Colin Lovering, Vice-Chairman of British Romanian Chamber of Commerce - BRCC. Over 45 participants participated directly in the talk, and some 200 people joined live via the Social Media platforms of Romania Insider and BRCC.

They explored together case studies from the attending organizations and best-practices the event panelists use when managing change during this period.

"Today's unprecedented context has seriously affected many businesses, testing their flexibility and ability to rapidly adapt to a new reality. But it has also acted as a catalyst for change and innovation, fast-tracking digital transformation in a wide range of industries. This last year has been an endurance test for every company, but it has shown us the benefits of digital acceleration, in terms of streamlining operations, increasing productivity, and cost efficiency. We're likely to see many more organizations jumping on the new tech bandwagon, thus emerging stronger from this crisis." said Marius Hanganu, Managing Partner at Tremend.

“We had some clear advantages generated by the pandemic times, one being the increased interest of the investors for technology start-ups - especially since the digitization was accelerated with 10 years (according to a report) - after one year of SeedBlink more than 3,500 investors opened an account in our platform. Another one, on the operational side - we had indirect support from the institutions like the Registry of Commerce accepting the paperwork to be digitized, hence offering to our investors a much smoother way to become shareholders.”, added Andrei Dudoiu, CEO and Co-Founder of Seedblink.

“Adaptability is key for the success of small and medium businesses, especially in the current context and digitization is the main enabler for success: digital presence through web-shop or website,  access to wider markets, presence in Google Maps, online payments, home delivery, video connectivity, digital signature, partnerships with marketplaces. This is applicable to almost all small businesses and types of entrepreneurs, from restaurants, coffee shops to psychologists, construction companies, manufacturers. Digital economy in Romania is contributing around 6% in GDP and in a couple of years this sector can become one of the main contributors and drivers of growth in our country.”, said Alexandru Baloi, Director SoHo at Vodafone Romania.

 “As for Vodafone, adapting to this new context also meant accelerating our own digitalization and putting even more focus on new digital tools and channels for our customers so that they can stay in contact with us more easily and faster, including digitally. We had to stay in contact with our customers much more than before. Either we speak of our customer care teams, our colleagues in stores or the account managers dedicated to our business customers, all have been putting all their efforts to manage each customer request on a case by case basis, as each of them has been facing very different situations and challenges during this difficult period. And this has been part of our commitment to be a trustful partner to our customers in challenging times.” added Alexandru Baloi.

The last part of the event was dedicated to questions of the participants, who participated lively in an interactive discussion with the moderator and the participants.

To watch the full webinar, go here or the recording or watch it below.

In the “Spotlight: Leaders of the future” series of exclusive webinars, BRCC and Romania Insider offer practical learnings from leaders of different industries in Romania. They share their views on leadership, digitization and their specific approaches to leadership and business models.

The next event in the series will take place in spring 2021, exact date to be announced. You can sign up here to stay informed about this and the following Leadership events from BRCC and Romania Insider. 

If you are interested in joining the event series as a partner, check the ways to collaborate and get in touch with us here.

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The British Romanian Chamber of Commerce is the premier business-led organization promoting bilateral trade and investment between the United Kingdom and Romania. BRCC plays an influential role in creating and sustaining an environment in which free-trade and investment flourishes. The BRCC is an independent organization with more than 20 years of activity in Romania. 

Romania Insider is the most read and trusted online source for news and features in English dedicated to Romania, with over 4 million readers a year from all over the world. For more than 10 years, Romania Insider has been providing reliable information from Romania through selected, clean, clear & easy to understand content, and by being editorially independent and free from bias in reporting. Our past and upcoming events can be seen here.