Meet the Ona: Stefan Popa
Today, we announced a series of strategic expansion efforts, including a new product research and development center in Romania, as well as the introduction of Stefan Popa, Ph.D, MBA, as Director of Engineering and Site Leader.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I have 18+ years experience in IT&C R&D working for global IT companies: 7+ years as a software developer and 11+ years in various management roles putting together, leading and managing software development teams – mid-sized to large teams. Most of my experience is local in Bucharest / Romania, but I have also managed remote teams, teams based in Minsk / Belarus, Brno / Czech Republic and Edinburgh / UK.
I have built my software development / research and management expertise while working for Intel, Freescale Semiconductor, Deloitte Digital, Honeywell, SolarWinds and Microsoft. I have a PhD (2012) in systems science / computer science studying information exchange computational models in biological systems from Politehnica University Bucharest. And an MBA in general management from Vienna University of Economics and Business (2017).
What brought you to Onapsis?
I have prior experience with greenfield local setups for IT&C R&D global IT companies where I have created software development departments from scratch. Onapsis just opened in Romania and we are planning to create a 250+ people R&D engineering site over the next 3 years which will contribute to securing our clients business applications.
What was the biggest factor for you joining the Onapsis team?
The biggest factor for me joining the Onapsis team is this initial moment of setting up the local presence and the cybersecurity domain, which I am passionate about while working in different roles.
What are you most excited about to be leading our team in Romania?
I am most excited about the opportunity I have to be able to contribute to creating a significant R&D engineering presence in Romania working in cybersecurity. This location has such an innovative technical talent which is attracted by this domain.
What do you think is the biggest opportunity for the team there?
The biggest opportunity for the team is that it will be working on building up engineering and research capability developing end-user cybersecurity products, which will help Onapsis better secure our global clients’ business applications while leveraging the local innovative technical talent.