#dtseczpeople: Vali

10.10.2022

Meet Vali: a Solution Architect and a passionate Clouds expert!

Vali, can you tell us more about yourself? 
My name is Valentin, but people like to call me Vali, just to avoid the famous „Valentine“. I was born in Romania 42 years ago, finished my Master’s degree in electrical engineering in the beautiful city of Timisoara. I’ve been living in Brno since 2005. I enjoy spending time with my son, watching and playing football and socializing with my friends over a beer or coffee. 

What exactly do you do at your job? 
My job role is a non-typical one. As part of TEPOS (Technology and Portfolio Strategy) group, the common goal is to shape the DTSE business architecture and technology mix, always do technology market research to be able to define the right tech strategy for DTSE. This might sound over the top, but in essence we want to make life easier for DTSE people, by bringing new and modern technologies into the game. Besides that, I started building a cloud community in Brno opened for enthusiastic people who want to further develop their skills and expand their knowledge in „clouds“ and more. 

https://dtse.cz/media/vali.png

Your team TTM (Technology transformation management) is one of the smallest in DTSE CZ. Does it have its benefits? What do you appreciate the most about your teammates? 
It’s true that only a few colleagues in CZ are part of TTM, the majority of them are located in various parts of Europe. The diversity in TTM is probably the biggest benefit here as I am talking on a daily basis with people from: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Romania, and so on. Learning about different cultures, mindsets and meet interesting people on this journey is always beneficial and fun at the same time. 
Speaking of the team, the collaboration is the key. And this is what I appreciate the most about my colleagues: always open to new ideas, transparent with their work and always putting the cards on the table.  

What is the best memory of being part of DTSE CZ so far? 
Besides the regular fun at work, perhaps the best memory came from the DTSE football tournament held in Cologne a few months ago, where I had a chance to meet many people from various DTSE locations, get to know them better and have a lot of fun together.  
Being part of the TTM squad which consists of 10 people from 6 different nationalities was an amazing experience (we managed to score a few goals; can you believe it!!). 

Is the Czech mentality very different from the Romanian one? Are there some particularities of the Czech culture that you first didn’t understand, and now you love them? 
Yes and no. As I am coming from an area of Transylvania which has a similar history as Moravia, I’ve found a lot of similarities in both cultures/mindsets. Moreover, Romania is home to a large community of Czechs and vice versa. So, you can imagine many common things visible mainly in the areas of culture, food, behaviors, etc. 

Having gotten the chance to work with Czechs and Romanians, I’ve noticed a difference (I can’t judge what is better, though):  Czechs care a lot about planning while doing something , compared to Romanians who tend to act first and discover, rather than spend so much time with the planning. 

Back in 2005, I pretty much did not get the point of dumplings (Knedlík meals) and I was always asking for bread while ordering lunch or dinner at the restaurants (it looked very weird for my Czech colleagues at that time). Nowadays, I love to have a good „svíčková“ or „ Vepřo knedlo zelo“ always accompanied by a large beer.  

Would you call Brno a good city to work and live in? 
Definitely! I consider Brno my home these days and not only because I have family and friends here, but also because it’s a great place to live with many parks and lovely nature around. In addition, the city is very innovative, international and very friendly. There are always places and events to go to and your friends will keep inviting you to more activities. 

How do you spend your time with family in Brno/Czech Republic? Do you have your favorite spots? 
I am spending a lot of time with my 8 years old son and do some activities together such as: riding bikes, visiting museums and castles, reading, playing and watching sports, especially football (we are trying hard not to miss any game of FC Zbrojovka).