Georgina will be present at DevCon Live 2021, Women in Tech, on the 3rd of November, talking about How Can Leaders Make a Team Great?

We believe that she is a real inspiration for the Romanian tech communities, therefore we have invited her to a short interview for the daily inspirational dose.

Who is Georgina Lupu Florian?

Georgina: I am the founder and CEO of Wolfpack Digital, an award-winning web and mobile design and development company based in Cluj, Romania, with a team of 70+ people. I am also a co-founder of the Women in Tech Cluj community and I am part of the Board of Directors of the Transilvania IT Cluster. I started my tech career as an iOS developer and Wolfpack Digital’s story started in 2015, when I returned from London, after studying and working there for a couple of years. The company is inspired in its values by the spirit of the Wolf (and the team is a ”wolf pack”), and the name of the company stems from my surname. So far we’ve partnered with more than 60 startups, scaleups, and large-scale corporations, with a strong focus on strategy, design, and development in the health, finance, beauty, and transportation sectors. Wolfpack Digital also builds internal digital products, one of them being the first integrated health tech treatment for gambling addiction. I am currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program focusing on machine-learning applied to psychology, and I am actively involved in various communities and regularly join events and programs as a mentor or speaker.

What do you love most about your work?

Georgina: What I love about my work is that it gives me the opportunity to bring together my multidisciplinary interests, as my background is diverse (in software engineering, management, psychology, and the creative industries). Making connections between all these areas feels “sparkly” to me.
I also love the fact that I feel that I can have a real impact on the communities around me, starting with our own team. Working in tech means we get to help businesses and people with technology solutions to their problems while putting a smile on their faces.
In my work, I get to hear groundbreaking ideas, and meet incredibly driven entrepreneurs and companies, along with fantastically talented professionals. What I love most is working with them on a day-to-day basis as part of my team, or with them as our partners. I love every engaging conversation I have with these smart and inspiring people.
Last but not least, I am driven by taking on difficult challenges, learning from failure, and improving myself and the world around me, while doing it with as much joy and kindness as possible.

What hobbies defines you?

Georgina: I enjoy reading, especially “whodunnits” (crime novels) and watching mystery films. I also enjoy running, since I used to compete in athletics competitions as a kid. I am a big fan of traveling and I have a soft spot for Asia, and my next mission in this regard is to visit South America. I am also a big fan of all cats, big & small. In my free time, I sometimes paint, which has been a constant hobby of mine since I was 3 years old. 🙂

What inspires you most?

Georgina: In a nutshell: I am inspired by good ideas, a job well done, and by seeing a positive impact on people’s lives through any contribution. Passionate, competent, and driven people inspire me too and I see them as role models.

What about your work life balance in the past year?

Georgina: Although challenging overall, I am fairly happy with my work-life balance in the past year. I am not sure if the pandemic has helped in this regard (less social engagements, meaning more time for self-reflection etc.) or if the result of this assessment is despite the general situation of the pandemic. Overall, my company has become more mature, strategic, and stable, and has reached some wonderful achievements in the past year, so this is a contributing factor. I could say I grew together with the company. Also, I’ve managed to make more time for friends & family.

What future technology excites you the most?

Georgina: I am super excited about what ML & AI will bring to the world in terms of both health tech and sustainability. I sense that what we are experiencing is only the beginning. Additionally, electric cars are already here, and becoming our universal reality, which I think is simply amazing, not just for the environment, but also in terms of an incredible industrial disruption that we are witnessing! New technologies need to have support from policy-makers and this is what most recent accomplishments have shown us most. The entire ecosystem is connected, and technology is becoming part of every human activity. This is the most exciting part! And I think mobile technologies, especially, are relevant in the deep transformation society is experiencing.

What is your message for Romania IT community?

Georgina: Keep shining your light and putting Romania on the IT map!
We truly have something special here, and by taking care of our working environments, we can be both happy & productive here. Let’s just make sure we put our talents to use in the best way, that also benefits Romania as much as possible.