On 16 November Tekwill hosted Tech Women Ambassadors Gala 2019. I was one of the guests and was very surprised already in the lobby when I first saw women with whom I worked wearing floor-length dress with bare shoulders. Thank goodness that we still live in that part of the world where you can openly admire female beauty.

The event was opened by the speeches of women - project ambassadors. The first speaker was Olga Surugiu. Read an interview with her.

Olga, you are Tech Women’s Ambassador and you...

And I'm Director at Orange Systems. Let's call it IT Hub Orange Moldova...

Apparently, you aren’t the goddess of mobile communications, but the queen of developers...

It seems that you are still impressed by the Ambassadors Gala. But, if we switch from a holiday state to a working one, then I have about 500 subordinate colleagues and we are engaged in the development of creative IT projects that improve interaction with both customers and employees. We are involved in the internal projects of Orange Moldova, providing services within the network for Orange offices in Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia and France, and we also work with large telecommunications operators outside Orange, for example, in the UK and Switzerland.

I’m impressed again. The largest teams I’ve ever managed included 50 people each. You have an order of magnitude more. So you can understand why you were proposed to become the ambassador of the Tech Women project. It’s really, very interesting, where does the path to such a position begin?

I’ve been member of the Orange member for 14 years. But I started not in Chisinau, but in the Romanian office. I studied in Bucharest, then I obtained a master’s degree in France, in 2005 I returned to Bucharest and started working at Orange and moved to Chisinau only in 2010. But I didn’t become immediately leader of the team of developers. I managed the division of outsourcing of services for customers, then I coordinated the work of the retail network of Orange and only in 2016 I began to manage the development of software products.

Why and how did you become a Tech Women Ambassador?

Since March this year, I’m also the Vice President of ATIC. As the only woman in the “board”, well, what else could I do? In addition, it’s sincerely important for me to pass on my experience and passion to young girls and women, after all, there are not so many women in Moldova to run such large IT companies. It’s important for me to be among the organizers of training courses and professional reorientation. In the IT world, everything is changing so rapidly that the willingness and ability to change specialization becomes an integral part of life in IT. I want to convey to society what I know and can do, without high words. Often, girls and women simply don’t have the courage to show themselves in this area. I‘m sure that Tech Women will help and encourage them to do so.

Olga, we’ve already spoken half of the interview, but I still haven’t asked for a definition of what the Tech Women project is.

It’s a platform for all girls and women who are looking for positive and motivating examples in the field of innovations. A place where there will be a lot of enthusiasm and useful meetings. And information that will help women find themselves in the field of IT and high technology.

Ok, this is a mission. And what are the specifics?

There will be a calendar of events. Regular meetings with interesting speakers who will inspire our community. Every month an event on a selected issue. And once a year a big event will be organized with many women speakers, from both Moldova and abroad.

And when will it all begin?

It has already begun. Last weekend there was a networking brunch with Ana Chirita. The girls wanted to know how to build the development strategy of a center like Tekwill. And until the end of November there will be another event dedicated to design thinking. It will be led by Mariana Gurghis.

And will male journalists be allowed to attend Tech Women events?

Pavel Zingan