Beyond Business School

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔.
𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒔.

On May 27th, our Beyond Business School community gathered for another edition of CEO Talks.

This time, we explored a topic that sits at the heart of modern organisations:
Beyond Delivery – Building Enterprise Engines for Growth.

A compelling discussion led by an exceptional panel of leaders:

Elisabeth PERIE – Allianz Trade Global Competence Center Bucharest
Vincent Meney – TotalEnergies Global Services
Cristina Maria Ionescu – KPMG
Gabriela Vasilică – Accenture
Ioana Grigore – Orange Services

Together, they shared perspectives on leadership, transformation, talent development, operational excellence, and what it takes to build organisations that can scale and remain resilient in a changing environment.

What makes CEO Talks stand out is not only the expertise on stage, but also the quality of the conversations that follow.

Thank you to all speakers and participants who contributed to an evening of thoughtful dialogue and shared learning.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈.
𝑵𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆.

Entrepreneurially yours,
Andra Ghibuțiu and Grégoire Vigroux
Founders, Beyond Business School

What do a top leader from Orange Services, one from eJobs, and another one from Uber have in common?

Our CEO Talks.

At Beyond Business School, we bring together top executives from radically different industries and backgrounds to expose our executive program students to diverse leadership journeys, visions, and experiences.

This Friday, we had the privilege to welcome:

🎙️ Laurent MARINI - Orange Services
🎙️ Ana Maria Borlovan - Uber
🎙️ Bogdan Badea - eJobs

Three top leaders.
Three diverse industries.
Three very different worlds.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓: 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍-𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔.

Our community had the opportunity to hear personal stories, lessons learned, key career moments, and honest insights from leaders operating at the highest level.

That’s the DNA of CEO Talks.

Not theoretical leadership.
Real leadership.
From the field.

We are also very thankful for the warm welcome at Orange Services HQ in Bucharest for hosting this inspiring encounter.

➡️ Until the end of 2026, we will host one CEO Talk every month in Bucharest.

Want to join the Beyonders community?
Reach out to our founders.

Entrepreneurially,
Andra Ghibutiu & Grégoire Vigroux
Co-Founders, Beyond Business School

Most organizations don’t struggle because they lack strategy.
They struggle because they over-index on ex*****on.

Last week at Stripe Bucharest, together with Anne Dumitrache, we hosted the seventh event, part of the “Upskilling the Romanian IT Industry” pilot series, called 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 & 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

A big thank you to Stripe and Aleodor Tabarcea for hosting us and for supporting conversations that challenge how we think about leadership, contribution, and impact in the Romanian tech ecosystem. 🙏

One of the core ideas discussed throughout the evening was that strategic thinking is often misunderstood.

We tend to associate strategy with hierarchy: something created “at the top” and executed elsewhere.

But in reality, 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹, professionals who understand context, make intentional decisions, prioritize effectively, and connect their work to broader business outcomes.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗽-𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺-𝘂𝗽.

A few ideas particularly resonated with the audience:
🔹 Strategic thinking starts long before a leadership title
🔹 The difference between ex*****on and strategy often comes down to perspective, not seniority
🔹 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
🔹 Self-leadership means taking ownership not only of tasks, but also of direction, prioritization, and impact
🔹 In fast-moving environments, the ability to zoom out becomes just as important as the ability to deliver

Because when everything feels operational, there is little room left for reflection, long-term thinking, or intentional prioritization.

And yet, those are exactly the capabilities increasingly required from future leaders.

On stage, the discussion was guided by:
🎙️ Aleodor Tabarcea - Engineering Manager @ Stripe
🎙️ Anne Dumitrache - Trainer, Coach & Organizational Psychologist

Perhaps the strongest takeaway from the evening was this:
𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁, 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

More events, discussions, and learning experiences are being prepared by Anne Dumitrache as part of the “Upskilling the Romanian IT Industry” series, bringing together leaders, practitioners, and communities willing to challenge how we work, lead, and grow in the AI era.

Stay tuned for the next editions. 🚀

Entrepreneurially yours,
Andra Ghibuțiu & Grégoire Vigroux

𝗔 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗖𝗘𝗢, 𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗘𝗢, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺.

Sounds like the start of a business joke, right?

But it’s not!

It’s the latest - and deeply inspiring - CEO Talks session we held last Friday at the prestigious L’Oréal HQ in Bucharest.

This time, three exceptional leaders took the stage to share their journeys, insights, and lessons learned along the way:

🎙 Ioanna Christopoulou - L’Oréal Romania

🎙 Benjamin Turquin - Societe Generale Insurance Romania

🎙 Mihai Pătrașcu - evoMAG Romania

Each of them opened up about the challenges they’ve faced, the pivotal decisions that shaped their careers, and the values that drive them every day.

They also gave us a fascinating glimpse into their industries (beauty, insurance, and e-commerce), three completely different worlds, yet united by a common thread: leadership in motion.

At Beyond Business School, that’s exactly what we aim for.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 - bringing together leaders from contrasting sectors, with diverse experiences and leadership styles - to broaden perspectives and spark new ways of thinking.

Their stories reminded us that leadership isn’t about titles or corner offices.

It’s about vision, resilience, and the courage to grow - again and again.

➡ What’s next?
Till the end of 2026, we'll hold one CEO Talk per month in Bucharest,

Want to join us?
Reach out.

Entrepreneurially,
Andra Ghibutiu & Grégoire Vigroux
Co-Founders, Beyond Business School

The speed of change in IT, accelerated by the rise of AI, is redefining what “keeping up” actually means.

Last Thursday, at Edenred Digital Center Bucharest, we had an open conversation about performance in a context where change is no longer an exception, but the default, and where the real challenge is not just to keep up professionally, but to stay well while doing so.

A big thank you to Edenred Digital Center Bucharest for hosting us and for supporting spaces where performance and mental well-being are discussed together, not in isolation. 🙏

One of the clearest takeaways from the discussion was that today’s reality is no longer just about delivering on what we already know, but about continuously adapting, without slipping into chronic pressure, self-criticism, or burnout

We explored not just performance, but what sits underneath it.

A few key ideas stood out:
🔹 Mindfulness is not a concept, but a practice of awareness - noticing what is happening internally, not just reacting to external demands
🔹 The way we relate to ourselves matters: a healthy mindset asks “what did I learn?”, while an unhealthy one defaults to self-criticism
🔹 When we add self-judgment to pressure, we amplify psychological suffering, not performance
🔹 Personal energy is not infinite and burnout often starts with subtle signals: fatigue, sleep disruption, irritability, inability to relax

We also discussed how burnout unfolds in stages - from “fuel shortage”, to emotional and physical symptoms, and eventually to crisis points where the body forces a stop.

One important distinction was between healthy striving (clear, realistic goals) and unhealthy perfectionism (constant pressure to “be better”).

Another powerful idea was the shift from managing time to managing energy and understanding that every task either drains or replenishes us.

This led to a very practical reflection:

👉 What are the activities in your day that are enjoyable in themselves?
👉 And which ones are only rewarding through results?
Because sustainable performance comes from balancing both.

On stage, the conversation was guided by:
🎙️ Anne Dumitrache - Trainer, Coach & Organizational Psychologist
🎙️ Florin Enache - Global Head of Security Operations, Edenred Digital Center
🎙️ Simona Chesaraicu - Psychologist & Mindfulness Teacher

Perhaps the most important reflection from the evening is this: the challenge is not only to keep up with change, but to do it without losing ourselves along the way.

These conversations are part of a growing series focused on shaping how we think about work, performance, and leadership in the Romanian IT community.

If this resonated with you, Beyond Business School, in partnership with Anne Dumitrache și Catalin Stoiovici created a program designed exactly for this next step👉 Emerging Tech Leader Program.

If curious, reach out to Andra Ghibutiu to learn more.

Entrepreneurially yours,
Andra Ghibuțiu & Grégoire Vigroux

Sadly, it's over.

Beyond Business School is coming to an end.

That’s what it felt like on Saturday, March 28th.

For a moment, it truly felt like we were closing something much bigger than a cohort.

But we’re not.

We’re just closing Cohort 3.

And what a beautiful journey it has been!

Ten weekends.
One hundred and fourty hours.
Forty-three Beyonders.
One transformation.

𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏.
𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑.
𝑾𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.
𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.
𝑾𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔.

Somewhere along the way, a group became a circle.

And that circle became a strong pack.

A real one.

March 28th.

Capstone day.

And the Beyonders delivered.

Confidence.
Clarity.
Depth.
Real growth.

Led by Alex M Dascalu and an outstanding jury:

↳ Antonela Ghinda (KPMG)
↳ Marius Istrate (TechAngels)
↳ Colin C. Lovering (Lovering Consulting)
↳ Raluca Dumitra (eJobs)
↳ Alexandra Maftei-Timofte (PWC)
↳ Luka Zivkovic (Bonapp)

⸻

It's time to give a big shoutout, also, to the strategic partners of our 3rd cohort:

↳ Orange Romania and their amazing team: Julien Ducarroz, Veronica Dogaru, Alexandra Nedelcu.

↳ Supertree and to Gianina Craciun for their warm welcome and flawless hosting.

↳ Domeniile Averesti Romania, Rares Florea and Crina Dulute Florea, whose contributions go far beyond wine to our events.

↳ Nazzuro Aqua and Ioan Bențe

You made this possible! 🙏

⸻

We came for knowledge.
We leave with more.
A mindset.
A network.
A lifetime circle.

⸻

𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂 𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓.
𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂 𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓.

To be continued.

⸻

Entrepreneurially yours,
Andra Ghibutiu & Grégoire Vigroux
Founders of Beyond Business School

Guess who closed Cohort 3 with us?

Friday night. Final CEO Talks:

At Google.

And what a way to end it.

Three leaders.

Three journeys.

Three powerful lessons:

- Elisabeta Moraru - Google
- Vincent Meney - TotalEnergies
- Daniel Tudose - Ericsson

Elisabeta hosted us. Again.

Because she is more than a supporter.

She is the godmother of the Beyonders.

Every cohort starts there.

Every cohort ends there.

And yes - we are proud of that!

⸻

This wasn’t just another CEO Talk.

It was the closing chapter of a 10-weekend transformation.

You could feel it:

Emotion.
Pride.
Energy.
Connection.

This is why we built Beyond Business School:

To go further.

To think deeper.

To connect business with meaning.

⸻

Cohort 3 is now closed.

But something tells us… this is just the beginning.

⸻

Beyonders forever!

Entrepreneurially yours,
Andra Ghibutiu & Grégoire Vigroux

P.S. Graduation moments drop tomorrow. Stay close.