Top Management Profile: Allianz Services Romania

I’m Claudia Cutumisu, Global Source to Pay Lead at Allianz Services (SSC, with over 1000 employees, whose provided services include: Finance Business Services, Operational Engineering, HR and Governance, Actuarial, Professional Services).How did you start your career? Which were your first steps? How did you envision your career?
 I started my career in a small company, as Database Administrator in 2007, and after 2 years I joined Genpact (2009) as Accounts Receivable Associate, Finance and Accounting area. After 3 years (2012) I got my first Team Lead promotion within Procure to Pay area and developed my career in Source to Pay for the next 11 years, my last role in this company being Europe Account Lead. Starting with 2021 I joined Allianz Services as the Source to Pay Delivery Lead for Romania and in 2022, I’ve evolved into a global role within the same area.
I envisioned my Management career since 2011 and wanted to become a good Leader for my future teams and since then, I’ve kept striving to become better and to motivate and develop the people I work with.
What were your key career moments?
 My first career moment was when I joined BPO environment and started to work in a multinational company. Then, the first promotion to the Team Lead role made me realise that I will always like to work in Business Services, which gave me the ambition to overachieve my performance and become the Operating Lead in a few years. The last career moment was when I decided to make a change and join Allianz Services after 12 years in the same company, applying my knowledge and experience in a new company and growing new teams.
What are the three most valuable career lessons you have learnt?
 The first lesson was that I needed to work hard to obtain what I want, there is no easy way to develop your career, and I always needed to prove myself before getting recognition.
Secondly, I needed to go out of my comfort zone and try new things in order to continuously develop my Leadership skills.
The third thing would be that I was always open to all opportunities that happened even though they came with additional effort.
Why did you choose Business Services Industry? What were the top 3 reasons for choosing your company?
 It’s difficult to mention why I chose Business Services Industry, but I would highlight the following reasons: I wanted to work in a multinational company and develop my career in an international environment, not a local one, and also use my German language skills in a business environment.

Regarding my top 3 reasons for choosing Allianz Services as my company, I would mention these as being the most important ones:
1) Focus on a great employee experience (development opportunities for all levels and in many areas – Finance, Actuarial, HR, Governance, IT— with a lot of training possibilities for hard and soft skills, access to international certifications, etc.)
2) Flexibility and improved work-life balance
3) An inclusive and engaging environment
Tell us a little bit about your private life: your passions, family. What do you do to relax?
 I am married, and I have a daughter. I was born in Constanta, moving to Bucharest for studies in 2006. I like to read books, travel, and spend time with my family. Weekends and vacations are always dedicated to my family.
If now you were starting your career, knowing the present and near future opportunities, what would you do?
I would take the same steps, I don’t have any regrets about my career choices. Looking at future opportunities, I will continue to be the one who I am and will continue to give my best.
What are the top 3 skills that you would develop?
 1) Leadership, because from my point of view, Leadership is a continuous journey no matter the years of experience accumulated
2) Public speaking, to become more relaxed when I speak to an audience I am not familiar with
3) Negotiation skills
What would you do and what would you avoid doing?—practical advice to young professionals

I would continue to follow my dream and strive to become better and better every day. From my point of view, it is important to like what you are doing in order to get motivation and satisfaction from your work. I would not do anything that I didn’t like, because the best results are obtained with passion on top of effort.

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