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Career summary

AI Strategy & Innovation Executive | 15 Years Experience | Enterprise Transformation

Senior leader with 15 years turning AI strategy into measurable business outcomes across global manufacturing, sustainability, finance, and commercial domains. Built and scaled AI functions from zero to enterprise in two global organizations, delivered 15+ production AI products, and upskilled 1,500+ employees across functions. Known for bridging executive vision and technical execution — securing board-level buy-in, building commercial roadmaps, and driving P&L impact through AI at scale.

Key domains: Industrial AI · GenAI & LLMOps · AI Governance & Responsible AI · Product Commercialization · AI Literacy at Scale · Executive Stakeholder Engagement · Innovation Portfolio Management

Core Strengths

Strategy & Innovation Business & Commercial Leadership & People
Enterprise AI Strategy & Roadmaps P&L-aligned AI Portfolio Management Cross-functional Team Leadership (up to 25)
Innovation Research & Incubation AI Product Commercialization AI Upskilling Programs (1,500+ employees)
Responsible AI & Governance Market Positioning & Business Cases Talent Development & Mentoring
Change Management at Scale AI-to-EBITDA Translation Executive Stakeholder Engagement

Professional Experience

Director of Research & Innovation | Associate Partner

Company INSUS AG — Industrial Sustainable Solutions Location Switzerland / Romania (Remote) Start Sept 2025 - End Present

Strategic innovation lead for an AI consultancy serving energy-intensive industries (cement, chemicals, steel, utilities). Own the end-to-end AI innovation portfolio from market insight to product-market fit and commercial scale.

  • Own the AI innovation strategy and portfolio, aligning investments, roadmaps, and resources with INSUS’s growth objectives and client demand in energy-intensive industries.
  • Define and validate new AI business lines end-to-end — from market insight and positioning to product-market fit and scale — ensuring clear P&L impact and long-term value creation.
  • Lead cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders to prioritize initiatives, establish governance frameworks, and translate AI strategy into executable roadmaps and measurable business outcomes.
  • Engage client C-suites to translate complex industrial challenges into AI-driven solutions with quantified ROI, acting as a trusted strategic advisor.
  • Position INSUS as a thought leader in industrial AI through strategic partnerships, external forums, and innovation content.

AI & ML Manager for Strategic Portfolios

Company Holcim (CIO Office — Strategic Portfolios) Location 100% Remote Start Feb 2023 - End Aug 2025

Led the enterprise AI function for Holcim’s global CIO Office, managing a team of up to 25 internal and external AI and data professionals across multiple business lines.

  • Delivered 15+ enterprise AI products across cement, ready-mix, aggregates, HR, L&D, sustainability, and commercial business lines — from ideation to production.
  • Upskilled 1,500+ Holcim employees globally through the AI & ML Accelerator program, AI for Business (middle management education), and AI literacy initiatives for subsidiaries.
  • Acted as AI Product Manager for solutions transitioning from MVP to enterprise-grade products, ensuring stakeholder alignment, business adoption, and post-launch impact tracking.
  • Member of the AI Tech Board — a global committee of AI representatives that drove strategic alignment, knowledge sharing, and AI governance across Holcim’s worldwide business units.
  • Secured executive sponsorship and funding for new GenAI and ML initiatives, managing full business case lifecycles from ideation through board approval and budget allocation.
  • Embedded Responsible AI principles and governance frameworks across the portfolio, ensuring ethical, explainable, and auditable AI deployment at scale.
  • Represented Holcim at key industry events and external AI forums as the company’s AI strategy and thought leadership ambassador.

Senior MLOps Strategy Lead | MLOps Engineer

Company EDV Werke for Holcim Start Mar 2022 - End Feb 2023

  • Designed and implemented the MLOps strategy for Holcim, accelerating ML model deployment, reliability, and scalability for predictive maintenance and industrial use cases.
  • Led cross-functional teams to build and optimize production-grade ML systems, improving time-to-deployment and overall solution quality.

Senior Data Scientist

Company Dell Technologies Location Bucharest, Romania Start Sept 2017 - End Mar 2022

  • Developed predictive models for Dell Bank in credit risk, analytics, and process automation using Python and R, introducing new methodologies and tools including R Markdown and FlexDashboard.
  • Represented Dell at DevTalks 2018 and Innovation Rally 2019, presenting AI/ML best practices to the broader industry.

Earlier Career (2010 - 2017)

  • Deutsche Telekom Business Services (2016-2017): Credit Data Scientist. Led credit analytics workshops and developed ML proof-of-concepts to support data-driven credit management across Europe.
  • Indeed (2015-2016): EMEA Site Operations Senior Associate. Built centralized analytics infrastructure supporting EMEA expansion; drove upskilling in data science across international teams.
  • Symantec (2013-2015): Senior Business Analyst / Performance Forecasting Analyst. Built analytics and BI solutions (QlikView, Salesforce, Business Objects) for senior Sales, Operations, and Customer Service leadership.
  • Accenture (2013): Statistical Reporting Analyst supporting Microsoft Credit Services. Built predictive models and migrated reporting to BI tools.
  • Oracle (2011-2013): Financial Analyst. Automated compensation processes and led analyst teams.
  • Romanian National Police (2010-2011): Fraud Investigator / Police Officer. Investigated financial crimes and supported tax evasion cases.

Advisory, Mentoring & Community

  • AI Mentor @ MentorCruise: Top-rated mentor supporting professionals in AI strategy, MLOps, career transitions, and leadership development in AI.
  • Founder & Author @ The Baby Data Scientist: Blog focused on applied AI thinking for business, leadership, and life.
  • Speaker: Big Data Week Bucharest, Holcim EMEA Digital Center, DevTalks; topics include AI adoption, industrial AI, responsible AI, and making AI human.

Education

  • MSc International Project Management (2011 – 2013) | Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest. Dissertation: EU Financing Application — Applied Project Management (POSDRU / ASIGMA)
  • BA Management (2008 – 2011) | Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Galați.
  • BA Fraud Investigation (2007 – 2010) | Romanian Police Academy “Al. I. Cuza”, Bucharest (Military University).
  • Technical Baccalaureate — Mathematics & Informatics (2003 – 2007) | National College “Vasile Alecsandri”, Galați.

Certifications

Year Certification Issuer
2026 Generative AI Leader Certification Google
2025 Early Career Leadership Program Ivey Business School Executive Education
2024 ClearML ClearML
2023 C3.AI Data Science C3.AI
2022 Certified Associate — Data Science v2.0 Dell Technologies
2017 PMP Preparation CODECS Bucharest
2015 Database Management Essentials Coursera Course Certificates
2015 R Programming (John Hopkins - Coursera) Course
2014 QlikView Developer 11.2 QlikView Course: Dublin, Ireland
2014 Information Technology Infrastructure Library - ITIL e-Careers Limited Ireland
2014 NICE Systems Designer NICE Course: Dublin, Ireland
2013 PHP Programmer Fundamentals Info Academy: Bucharest, Romania
2012 SQL/MySQL Fundamentals Info Academy: Bucharest, Romania
2005 European Computer Driving License - Complete (ECDL) ECDL European Institute
Language Cambridge Certificate in Business English (BEC Higher) Qualification awarded by Cambridge University, Uk - License no. 0035831704

Languages

  • Romanian: Native
  • English: Proficient (Cambridge BEC Higher)