Carmen Mihalache began her career in recruitment at the largest real estate company in northern Bucharest, North Bucharest Investments, and currently owns PRO HR, her own recruitment company. Her greatest mentor and leader is Vlad Musteata, whose dedication and professionalism gave her the courage to start her own company and strive for more. It takes courage and the desire to aim higher.

C&B: How would you describe yourself in a single sentence that would capture the attention of someone who doesn’t know you?

Carmen: A problem solver.

C&B: Looking back, what has been the “common thread” guiding your professional journey?

Carmen: Looking back, the common thread throughout my professional journey has been the desire to build trusting relationships and generate results through impactful projects. Regardless of the role or industry, I have consistently focused on identifying opportunities, finding the right candidates, developing partnerships, and turning challenges into practical solutions.

One defining moment was choosing to get involved in projects that required direct interaction with partners and clients, a decision that strengthened my communication, negotiation, and business development skills.

The second key moment was taking on responsibilities in large-scale projects, where I understood the importance of collaboration, efficient coordination, and a results-oriented approach. This experience confirmed that sustainable performance is built through consistency, adaptability, and strong relationships.

What has remained constant throughout all my choices is the desire to keep learning, create value for the organizations and people I work with, and contribute to the development of meaningful projects based on professionalism, trust, and a long-term vision.

C&B: What was a difficult moment or a failure that truly changed you?

Carmen: One of the moments that truly changed me was managing a period in which an important project did not develop as expected, despite the team’s dedication and hard work. It was an experience that forced me out of my comfort zone and helped me understand that success depends not only on competence and effort, but also on context, timing, and the ability to adapt.

C&B: What is a bold (or counterintuitive) decision that significantly influenced your career path?

Carmen: One of the boldest decisions I made was choosing projects with long-term development potential instead of opportunities that offered immediate benefits but limited future prospects. It was a counterintuitive decision because it involved greater responsibility, a higher degree of uncertainty, and results that would only become visible over time.

I carefully assessed the risks—from taking on ambitious goals to the possibility that the investment of time and resources might not produce immediate results. At the same time, I rejected the alternative of a comfortable but predictable career path because I believe that real growth happens when you choose challenges that expand your skills and perspective.

The result was accelerated professional growth, the strengthening of valuable partnerships, and involvement in impactful projects that gave me the opportunity to contribute strategically while developing both my leadership skills and my ability to make decisions in a dynamic environment. This experience confirmed that the most important opportunities often arise from decisions that require courage and confidence in your own vision.

C&B: How have you changed over time as a leader and professional?

Carmen: My transformation as a leader came when I learned to understand that we are all different, that everyone has their own potential and limitations—whether they choose to overcome them or not—and to accept other people’s limitations or even their lack of desire to strive for more.

C&B: What do you think people who work closely with you say about you—beyond your public image?

Carmen: I believe that people who work directly with me would describe me as someone committed, results-oriented, and reliable. I place great value on professionalism, honoring commitments, and building relationships based on trust and collaboration. I enjoy creating an environment where everyone can express their ideas and contribute meaningful value.

At the same time, I know that I can be demanding, both with myself and with those around me. When I commit to a goal, I have high expectations regarding quality and accountability, which may sometimes be perceived as perfectionism, a very intense work pace, or occasional criticism.

C&B: What truly differentiates you in the way you build or lead?

Carmen: I believe what truly sets me apart is the way I turn relationships and ideas into tangible results. To me, leadership is not just about coordination—it is about creating a framework in which people, partnerships, and objectives converge around a shared vision.

In every project I lead, I start with a clear understanding of the objectives and build processes based on communication, accountability, and transparency. I prefer making decisions grounded in data and context, while giving equal importance to intuition developed through experience and continuous dialogue with my team and partners.

One defining characteristic of mine is being solution-oriented. Whenever obstacles arise, my first step is not to identify who is to blame, but to understand the root cause and find the most effective way forward.

C&B: How has the current landscape (technology, AI, the economy) changed the way you work?

Carmen: The current landscape has significantly changed the way we approach recruitment. Artificial intelligence and digitalization have streamlined many operational stages, while also making it even more evident that recruitment remains, at its core, a people-centered process based on understanding the business context.

We have integrated digital tools and AI solutions into activities such as writing and optimizing job descriptions, market analysis, candidate sourcing, and automating administrative processes. This allows us to reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks and devote more energy to interacting with people, assessing the compatibility between candidates and organizations, and delivering a high-quality recruitment experience.

At the same time, the economic environment has changed the way we advise companies. The focus is no longer solely on filling positions quickly, but on sustainable recruitment, talent retention, and identifying candidates who are the right fit both in terms of skills and organizational culture. Today, the success of a recruitment process is measured not only by making a hire but by the candidate’s long-term integration and performance.

I believe technology and artificial intelligence will continue to transform the recruitment industry, but they will not replace the elements that truly make the difference: empathy, judgment, experience, and the ability to build trusted relationships with both employers and the professionals we represent.

C&B: Is there a habit or routine that has had a significant impact on your performance?

Carmen: It’s very simple—for me, there is no such thing as “it can’t be done.” Discipline is extremely important, as is perseverance.

C&B: What principles guide your most important decisions?

Carmen: In recruitment, important decisions must combine objectivity with an understanding of the human context. The principles that guide me are transparency, integrity, accountability, and a focus on sustainable results. I believe that a good decision is one that creates value for both the company and the candidate, not just one that solves an immediate need.

One principle I never compromise on is the genuine fit between the candidate and the organization. Over the years, there have been situations where I advised a client not to finalize a hire, even though the recruitment process was at an advanced stage and there was pressure to fill the position quickly. Our assessment showed that, beyond professional competencies, there were significant differences between the candidate’s values and the organization’s culture, which would have negatively affected long-term integration and retention.

Although this decision meant restarting the recruitment process and making an additional effort, the outcome was finding a candidate who successfully integrated into the organization and contributed to the team’s long-term development. To me, this is a clear example that the right decisions are not always the fastest ones, but those that create lasting impact and are built on trust, professionalism, and responsibility.

C&B: How do you see your industry evolving over the next three to five years?

Carmen: Over the next three to five years, I believe recruitment will become increasingly strategic and more heavily influenced by technology, without diminishing the importance of the human factor. Artificial intelligence will automate a significant portion of administrative and sourcing activities, but decisions related to candidate selection, compatibility assessment, and relationship building will continue to rely on the experience and judgment of recruitment professionals.

C&B: What role do you aim to play in this evolution?

Carmen: I would be tempted to say that I want PRO HR to become the largest recruitment company in Romania, but let me correct that—I want PRO HR to become the best recruitment company in Romania.

C&B: What genuine advice would you give to someone who wants to build something meaningful today?

Carmen: My first piece of advice would be to invest time in truly understanding the market’s needs before investing in solutions. Very often, the enthusiasm of building something new leads entrepreneurs to focus on what they believe is valuable rather than on what customers genuinely need. In my opinion, listening to the market is one of the greatest competitive advantages.

My second piece of advice is to build relationships before chasing results. In recruitment, as in business in general, trust is earned over time and becomes a true differentiator. The most valuable collaborations and opportunities come from relationships built on consistency, professionalism, and mutual respect—not from short-term objectives.

Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned is not to confuse speed with progress. There were times when I tried to do too many things at once, and experience taught me that sustainable results come from prioritization, discipline, and consistent execution. Today, I prefer building step by step, with clear objectives and well-founded decisions, rather than pursuing rapid growth that cannot be sustained over the long term.

C&B: What is an uncomfortable truth about your industry that few people talk about?

Carmen: An uncomfortable truth about recruitment is that, more often than not, the problem is not the lack of candidates, but the lack of a clear definition of what the employer is actually looking for. Many recruitment processes are prolonged not because of the market, but because the candidate profile changes throughout the process, the decision-makers are not aligned on the selection criteria, or expectations are not consistent with market realities.

Another aspect that is rarely discussed is that recruitment cannot compensate for an organization’s internal problems. Neither the best recruiter nor the most suitable candidate can succeed in an environment where clarity, leadership, or a healthy organizational culture are missing. Recruitment can bring the right people to the table, but retention and performance depend on what they find after joining the company.

That is why I believe the future of recruitment is not only about identifying talent but also about playing an increasingly important role as a strategic consultant, capable of providing organizations with a realistic perspective on the market, candidate expectations, and the conditions required to build high-performing teams for the long term.

Carmen Mihalache’s interview provides an authentic perspective on the future of recruitment, the role of artificial intelligence in HR, trust-based leadership, and the importance of aligning people with organizational culture.

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Oana Constantinescu describes herself as a “pure-blood” HR professional, meaning that specialization in human resources is not just a profession but a passion that has accompanied her for nearly 20 years. Closely connected to this field, throughout her experience Oana has also carried out activities in communication, PR, event organization, and blogging.

C&B: If we were to look at the narrative thread of your career, what were the key moments that defined you?

Oana: My career in HR began during university and, gradually, from a junior role in recruitment, I specialized in several areas, becoming first a generalist and then an HR Business Partner. Over time, I have also provided consulting services to both small companies and individuals looking for jobs.

C&B: What were the biggest challenges you encountered in managing teams and how did you overcome them?

Oana: The most difficult mission for an HR professional is to calibrate employees’ expectations with the company management’s objectives, while maintaining practices that are as ethical, fair, and consistent as possible.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?

Oana: My ambition is related to professionalism and growth in everything I do: to always provide correct and as complete information as possible, to be an authentic support both for people and for the business, and to understand their needs and their sources before offering advice.

C&B: What were you like at the beginning of your journey and how do you feel you have transformed until now?

Oana: At the beginning I believe I was, like any young person, more idealistic. Now I know that you can only change yourself and that this is how you have a chance to influence the contexts you are part of, that it is sometimes necessary to make compromises, sometimes even lowering standards to achieve results, and that everyone sees things through their own filters, so it is important to make sure, before drawing conclusions, that all parties share the same understanding of a concept.

C&B: If we were to meet your team or collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?

Oana: They would say that they appreciate my dedication, accountability, and adaptability, and they would probably advise me to be less demanding regarding results and to put less pressure on myself.

C&B: What is the most important decision you have made that changed your trajectory?

Oana: I believe that every time I changed my job it was a difficult decision, and I only reached that point after convincing myself that I could no longer grow there. My trajectory has been quite linear in an upward sense, and I have learned something from every experience that helps me today.

C&B: How did you build your leadership style or the way you make decisions? Was it a natural or learned process?

Oana: My natural tendency is to document myself very thoroughly before making a decision, to look at the situation from as many perspectives as possible in order to minimize risks and impact. However, throughout my career I have learned that sometimes it is necessary to act faster and adapt along the way in order to achieve results.

C&B: How did your journey in the People & Organization area begin and what initially attracted you to this field?

Oana: From the very beginning I have been close to people, and the organizational side comes together with the administrative area that I covered especially in smaller companies. I believe HR and office coordination go hand in hand, and I enjoy the challenge of always being connected to so many diverse activities.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now and which moments of the day bring you the greatest satisfaction?

Oana: I am involved in all HR processes within the company, so my activity varies a lot. I am also part of cross-functional projects, being responsible at a regional level for implementing and monitoring certain areas (for example, performance evaluation). I am constantly in contact with colleagues from other countries and work at a very fast pace.

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do and how do you apply them day by day?

Oana: As I mentioned before, I strive to ensure good quality in everything I do. I like helping and contributing to causes that improve the lives of a group or a community.

C&B: What does the role of People & Organization Business Partner involve and how do you contribute to the success of the organizations you collaborate with?

Oana: It requires a great openness to understand what each side is facing, both employees and management. At the same time, they also need to understand that things cannot function in just any way; there needs to be structure and respect for certain rules that, at first, may seem to make work more difficult, but once embraced, they actually help. A major challenge in HR is to make people-oriented processes more transparent, to make them as fair as possible while still maintaining confidentiality and each person’s uniqueness.

C&B: How do you see the evolution of the HR field in the coming years and what skills are becoming essential for People & Organization professionals?

Oana: Skills such as knowledge, curiosity, adaptability, and resilience are essential in a volatile, fluctuating, and uncertain world.

Oana Constantinescu’s professional journey reflects the balance between rigor, empathy, and adaptability – three essential benchmarks in a field where people and organizations are constantly evolving.

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Marius Girlea is a man with many hats. On one, it says pediatric specialist doctor, on another it says business consultant (among others for The Walt Disney Company), on another it says wine specialist (most likely the only Romanian with a tourist visa as a wine judge on both coasts of the Atlantic, in Georgia, USA and in California), on another it says human resources (the first virtual 3D career fair in Romania), on another it says… He is a person with many roots, which he calls “home”: Constanța, Timișoara, Bucharest, the United States, and again home, Bucharest. And he is also the only wine man who makes wine history on social media…

C&B: How would you describe yourself in a single sentence, in such a way that you would make those who don’t know you yet curious?
Marius Girlea: You have to be really smart to summarize 57 years in one sentence… So I’ll borrow someone else’s sentence, truly wise: To be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society is not a sign of health (Krishnamurti).

C&B: If we were to look at the narrative thread of your career or business, what were the key moments that defined you?
Marius Girlea: At every point in my career, there was a providential person. In the sense that meeting someone made me change direction. Whether for better or worse is hard to say post factum, just as it is hard to decide a priori… Some don’t change anything and remain in the “train track syndrome,” which, in the long run, is most often extremely efficient because it almost inevitably carries you upward hierarchically. Others change a little, let’s say not the field but the company, the department. That’s OK too. Others change direction completely—and that’s me.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment in your journey so far, and how did you overcome it?
Marius Girlea: In life and in Romania, you have to choose between a professional CV and an entrepreneurial CV. Theoretically, nothing stops you from moving from one to the other whenever you want. Practically, however, it is easy to change the professional one into the entrepreneurial one, but the reverse is a whole different story. I myself neither knew nor foresaw this reality, so once I stepped into entrepreneurship, whether I liked it or not, I had to manage within it. Take what I say now as applicable only to me. Surely other people are more performant, more versatile, and more resilient.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?
Marius Girlea: Yes, something not very heroic or romantic. Actually, two things: “the 10 o’clock movie” and “I’m not a good employee.” In short, I wanted to be able to go to the movies at any hour—read: schedule freedom—and I couldn’t work without getting bored in routine areas—read: occupational ADHD. I wish I had a more engaging answer, but each person’s truths are rather simple and human… The movie one, anyone can understand. The employee one, maybe fewer. And maybe some find themselves in that situation without realizing it. Careful, it’s not about the person–activity binomial but about the person–…

C&B: What did you look like at the beginning of your journey, and how do you feel you have transformed up to now?
Marius Girlea: I was tempted to say I haven’t changed too much but, frankly, that would be lying… I started with the first Private Practice License in Romania granted to a trainee doctor in 1992 and ended up moving across so many fields… It’s impossible for all this not to change you, not to round off some corners or sharpen some sensitivities!

C&B: If we met your team or collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?
Marius Girlea: My best collaborators today have their own companies, some even on other continents. I have no idea what they would say, but I believe—or more directly put, I hope—that our words would mirror each other. I was never particularly skilled with people, but I was lucky with colleagues. Moreover, I was kind of a lone wolf once I realized I wasn’t a performant boss. So when it comes to the “team” chapter, at least numerically, I don’t score too high…

C&B: What is the most important decision you’ve made that changed your trajectory?
Marius Girlea: Definitely leaving healthcare. How many doctors do you know who quit entirely?… I mean, not working in pharma, not in healthcare administration, not in anything related to medicine… So I am a rara avis from this perspective, and certainly, I haven’t made a bigger switch since. So that’s number one. Number two hasn’t been awarded, and number three is moving to the United States. Between them lie 20 years! The first decision gave me confidence that there is life outside the medical system, and the second brought me into the world of wine, which today fills my free time in the most delightful way possible.

C&B: How did you develop your leadership style or your way of making decisions? Was it a natural or a learned process?
Marius Girlea: I am far from having a leadership style. I don’t follow a specific pattern when making decisions. In principle, human contact helps me in decision-making. This, I think, I can say hand on heart I have learned: to evaluate my interlocutors’ reactions, to identify sensitivities, to navigate between the islands of potential negative triggers. I work a lot with people, I am helped by genetics, by foreign languages, and by a native ability to adapt to diverse human ecosystems. Now that I list them, I realize it’s not much my merit. Since people are a combo of biology and society, I think I’ve been quite lucky in both departments.

C&B: What do you think differentiates your business or your professional approach from the rest of the industry?
Marius Girlea: Which business? To refer just to the wine industry, where I do live presentations and wine history in short online, I think I’m quite unique, with this emphasis on “if you don’t know history, how can you understand the present and especially imagine the future.” On the business consulting side, the focus on lobbying and communication could be a differentiator, but I don’t think it’s decisive. Chemistry with the person in front of you matters most. Before Excel and databases! And that’s my strong point and most likely my main asset.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now, and what moments of the day bring you the greatest satisfaction?
Marius Girlea: I work remotely, haven’t had an office for over 10 years. That’s both good and bad. In both cases, there’s a big dose of uncertainty. If the phone rings, especially friends, the whole schedule goes down the drain. So I can work at any time during the 24 hours of the day but can also have battery-recharging breaks just as unpredictable. Obviously, I subconsciously prioritize what I like doing, and obviously, I push the areas where I either have no ideas, or no crystallized opinion yet, or don’t know where to start, as far away in time as possible. But who doesn’t do that? I think we’re all the same here!

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do, and how do you apply them day by day?
Marius Girlea: Any deed, action, or word can influence you in only three ways: for better, for worse, or be indifferent. I try not to harm anyone. Usually, when asked “what are you doing?” I say “I only do good things”… It’s not an effort; it’s a normality.

C&B: How did you come up with the idea to start this business and give it this name?
Marius Girlea: The stories of the businesses I’ve tried to build are nice, but they’re long. Let me tell the one with wine, which is just as much, if not more, a hobby, quickly. Year: 2014. Providential person: Sorin B. Essential circumstance: visit to the United States. Key change decision: setting up a company importing barrels from Europe into the USA. Opportunity: wine judge on both American coasts, 3,000 wineries visited, over a period of 7 years. Continuation in Romania: wine presentations/tastings and wine history online.

C&B: If you were to send a message to people following your example, what would it be?
Marius Girlea: Take another example, with or without me the sun will rise tomorrow. I’d rather give some banal advice:
a) Learn what you like—in the sense that it is inefficient to waste resources correcting your weaknesses, and it is much easier to develop your strengths.
b) Read as much as possible, gather information from everywhere, otherwise you’ll never know what you like.
c) It’s easy to do what you like, harder to like what you do; many people never discover what they would have liked to do, and if you are one of them, that’s okay.

Marius Girlea is living proof that passion, courage, and adaptability can shape a truly unique career path. From medicine to business consulting, from human resources to wine, he shows that success means following your intuition and turning experiences into opportunities.

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