Mike Makar, Head of MassMutual Romania | Episode 3 | CxO Off the Record by Cegeka скачать в хорошем качестве

Mike Makar, Head of MassMutual Romania | Episode 3 | CxO Off the Record by Cegeka

Imagine leaving behind everything familiar to start something completely new in a different country. That’s exactly what Mike Makar, Head of MassMutual Romania, did and in this podcast, he shares his journey alongside Lucian Popovici, Engineering Director at Cegeka Romania. If you’re curious to find out more about leadership, the Romanian IT landscape, AI or how to launch a tech hub in a middle of a global crisis, then this episode is your next listen. LinkedIn:   / cegeka   Facebook:   / cegekaromaniamoldova   Instagram:   / cegeka_ro_md   Website: https://www.cegeka.com/ro/ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:20 - But who is Mike Makar outside business hours? 08:04 - Who have been your biggest influences or mentors in your career, and what have you learned from them? 09:35 - What challenges did you face in setting up, scaling up and building a technology center from scratch, fully remote? 11:31 - Why did you choose Romania, what was the process behind of selecting Bucharest and Cluj in the detriment of other potential locations across Europe? 14:13 - What key lessons from your professional experiences in US have you implemented at MassMutual Romania? 15:40 - How do you foster collaboration and innovation? 18:30 - How do you envision the role of a tech leader evolving in the next years? 20:06 - What’s your take on AI? Should we be afraid of it, or should we embrace it? What impact do you think it will have on tech jobs and the workforce in the future? 22:10 - What new skillsets do you think will be crucial for tech professionals/engineers in the coming years? 25:06 - What are some of the biggest tech challenges you’ve faced in your role? 28:43 - What were the biggest cultural adjustments you had to make when moving from US to Romania? 31:42 - How do you think the Romanian IT needs to change so that it adds more value and continues to grow? 36:22 – What’s your relationship with Romania?