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CEO Clubs, one of the most popular global business networking organizations, will soon celebrate a decade of presence in the local market. What was the recipe for success in developing the network in Romania?

Clearly the fact that we managed to redefine „importance” and „networking” and convince the local ecosystem that our version works. From the very beginning we approached leaders as the people they are and not as the turnovers they bring. For us an „important” Leader is the one that has the right character (successful, simple, polite, openminded, approacha-ble, cool, well-intended), is into continuous learning and most importantly is willing to share his knowledge and experience with others (leaders, students). The same thing happened with „networking”. Many believe that it is measured by how many contacts one has on his phone. We believe that it is how many of your contacts smile when they see your name calling. That makes all the difference. So it’s all about buil-ding relations that are based on trust, chemistry and common values. Another reason is that we live our brand promise which is that „We Understand Leaders”. Our Members are people who also get a lot of pressure from several stakeholders, they are responsible for thousands of families and at the same time they are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters. We know that these are many balls for one person to juggle and that’s why it is very important for their Club to understand them. To offer solutions to problems and not add new ones. To give them the space they need to be themselves without having to act or play a role. To know when to ask or NOT to ask a question. That is how we interpret understanding.

How important is the networking component in the agenda of a company manager or an entrepreneur?

It is extremely important but NOT when it becomes a target. Networking is the reward. The reward of one being a good professional, a solid character others feel they can depend on. Someone with those characteristics is someone you know you like working with, hanging out with, dreaming with, generate value with and most importantly: you will introduce to others!!! Your network is not only the people you know. It’s also the people who you know, know. And whether they will decide to introduce you to them is a result of who you are. In that form, yes, networking is vital as it is the extension of our reputation. And as you know very well, it takes years to build one and a few minutes to ruin it. That’s what others reward: the consistency of our behavior and our loyalty to our values. All that is how we define networking.

You are the founder and hold the position of Executive Vice President within the CEO Clubs, Executives Club and Owners Club in Romania. How many members do the clubs currently have and what is the annual membership renewal rate?

We currently have 300 Members. CEO Clubs was launched 9 years ago and reached 100 Members in less than two years. Since then we have decided to limit the number of our Members to 150-155 maximum, where we also stand today. Executive Club was founded (as „Next Gen Club” until 2019) in 2014 and today has 120 Members, all of them top Executives. Since the end of 2018, we are very proud to have also launched CEO Clubs Transylvania that now has almost reached 50 Members already and Owners Club, which is a sub-group withing CEO Clubs. The number of our Members will always be limited as exclusivity lies in the quality and not in the quantity in life. Our renewal rate has always been above 70%, in all the years we operate. In 2020 this rate has increased even more. In challenging times leaders are in need of solid information, good advice, fun and positivity. Our Clubs stand for these values and build everything around them (events, meetings, activities).

What were the main challenges and how did you adapt your activi-ty in the context of the health crisis generated by the new coronavirus?

Our number one target was to keep people connected at all times so we reacted immediately to what was coming. We were the first organization by far to switch our meetings to online even as of March 12th. Bold move but we trusted our instinct, which unfortunately proved right once more. So during the lockdown we organized 20+ events with Professors from Harvard and IESE, regional Directors from Google and Microsoft, successful authors from Romania, psychologists, parent specialists and many other acknowledged personalities. Our preparation from the previous years also helped us a lot. For example, it’s been years since we set up what we call Advisory Boards, which are groups of 10 Members who meet regularly. The same people every time, so they build trust in order to soon become trusted advisors one to another. These groups switched to online immediately and that is only one example. Until things get better, we will keep on focusing on smaller groups, helping our Members learn new things, stay together and discover or dive in their Passions, while gathering people every time we are allowed to. Our digital tools such as our mobile app, our brand new websites and our ERP ensure that we can quickly react from live to online and vice versa.

What are your short and medium term business development plans in Romania?

My favorite football team’s (Olympiacos) moto is „We keep on dreaming” and this is what we have been doing since we started. We will make sure that we offer top content to our Members, we surprise them positively with everything we do and as a result we will keep on attracting the best leaders in the country. The more good people we sit at our table, the more value they will generate for all of us. Also, we will make sure we will strengthen our great team even more with the best people out there.

What does a regular work day look like in your schedule? How do you spend your free time, what are your hobbies and passions?

To begin with, my regular day has a lot of meetings with the Members or other stakeholders. It is very important for me to be out there talking to people, connecting ideas, getting inspired and bring back in new views and business. At the same time it is also crucial to make time to talk to our people all the time. Asking them how they are and evangelizing again and again what’s important in this period of time. Priorities change and leaders find themselves in a difficult crossroad many times: we know a lot but we may be able to share just a little! Therefore coaching the people continuously is necessary so that we all keep our focus and feel comfortable in our place of work and with each other.

On my free time I meet with my friends, I drive with my music on or I read. Recently I also started attempting writing a book. We’ll see…

An Interview by Ioan Dornescu

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