Interview
Maria Racuciu
Customer Operations Director
I started my career in tech 17 years ago as a software engineer before moving into agile project management four years later.
Throughout the course of my career, I have built up more than 13 years' experience in project, program and portfolio management, delivering in excess of 40 projects and programs for both regulated and non-regulated industries. In one of my roles as Head of PMO and Head of Delivery Best Practices, I coordinated a community of more than 80+ project delivery and operation delivery managers. Together, we established frameworks and standards for programs and project management for both regulated and non-regulated industries. We standardised all the delivery governance roles, including competencies frameworks and learning journeys.
I have established experience in both on-the-ground and strategic roles, which really helps me deliver in my role at ddroidd.
I am responsible for strengthening customer relationships and growing our existing portfolio, as well as being a key player in supporting new business activities. Working to help our clients drive and deliver their business objectives, I create and deliver key strategies to support the growth and happiness of our clients.
As Customer Operations Director, I help standardise the opportunity to the client from project set-up and operational processes to ensuring we have happy clients and happy people. Working with the delivery units and finance team, I also work to ensure we have clarity, happy customers and teams with a dedicated focus on high-quality engagements, as well as being the bridge between clients, the delivery units and finance, to drive business growth and success.
The lack of diversity in the tech industry is a well-documented problem.
Women specific conferences such as the recent one I attended in Cluj, help to address this issue by creating a space where women can come together to feel supported and included. I was able to meet other women who work in tech and other industries, learn about their experiences and career paths.
We need diversity in tech including gender, age, skills, ethnicity and social backgrounds. It’s diversity that creates a more beneficial product for a significantly wider audience, resulting in higher revenue and year-on-year company growth.
Gender diversity reduces the gender bias that is currently prevalent in male-dominated industries. As discussed in a recent Forbes report, gender-balanced leadership team has been proven to be more profitable, attract more women into the business, and boost employee performance, ultimately increasing the business’ revenue.
We need more women in leadership roles to inspire young women into the tech industry and for them to aspire to be, by demonstrating the realistic positions they could aim for in their career.
It was such an interesting and inspiring event. One of my favourite talks was Reframing Aging by Amalia Sterescu.
The talk focused on how you can be successful at any age, and why it is important to free your mind from the various social conditions/patterns planted there by mothers, grandmothers, and the environment around us; and how to step into your powerful YOU!
Amalia discussed how people don't really grow old until they stagnate. And to succeed, it takes a combination of various factors such as a clear goal, hard work, perseverance, discipline, resilience, adaptability, continuous learning and improvement, networking, taking calculated risks, being open to feedback, and having a positive mindset. So, age is not included.
It was such a powerful and thought-provoking talk.
Success doesn't necessarily have to be a goal, it's the consequence of doing things well, consistently, with passion!
It’s important to remember that success is subjective and can mean different things to different people, so defining what success means to you is also crucial in achieving it. Each stage of life has its unique benefits and challenges.
There are many who view age as a limitation when it comes to pursuing their dreams and often at times use it as an excuse. “I’m too young to do this.” “I’m too old to do that.” “I don’t have enough experience.” “I need to wait a while more.” “It’s too late for me to pursue what I want in life.” Whichever side of the spectrum you’re on, the one thing that is clear is when it comes to success and pursuing our dreams, age shouldn't be a factor.
For many women, there’s this misconception that if you haven’t accomplished certain things by a specific age then you’re a failure. In today’s world, women are under tremendous pressure to accomplish so much in a short amount of time. Whether it’s getting married and starting a family or rising to the top of our career, many of us feel like we’re racing against the clock. The truth is, age should not be a factor by which we measure our success and accomplishments. There is no age limit to success.
At ddroidd we have a diverse leadership team, in both gender and experience, which allows us to see different perspectives, and options and debate the best outcome for the situation.
So, women in tech (and all industries for that matter), let’s continue to support each other, and together we can keep creating outstanding results for clients together with our male counterparts.
If you would like to connect with me, find me on LinkedIn.
