NATALIA FUTEKOVA TO SP. MANAGER: SUCCESS IS THE POSSIBILITY TO HAVE INFLUENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
The IT sector is so competitive and dynamic, and the struggle for cadres is so serious that companies just can not afford to harness stereotypes about sex.
Prof. Dr. Natalia Futekova is a member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies and Managing Partner of ERP.BG, one of the leading Bulgarian software development companies. It combines successfully the entrepreneurial career in the field of technology with academic and scientific activity, as well as with its active participation in educational and other social causes.
Natalia Futekova is the winner of the Junior Chamber International Award for Academic Achievement or Leadership Award and has been nominated for the international format TOYP. She is the founder of ERP Academy – an innovative project of leading companies in the ERP branch in Bulgaria, which together aim to make higher education more adequate to the real needs of the business. Together with Higher School of Insurance and Finance (VUZF), she is the founder of the first bachelor’s program in Bulgaria and the first master program in business management systems.
Natalia Futekova actively cooperates with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) in the development of innovative technologies in information systems. It is the initiator and main engine of the innovative projects “Innovative Technology for ERP Systems Efficiency Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises” and “Production Schedules and Vehicle Record Management”. She is also a co-founder of the Professional Association “European and National Development Programs” (PA-ENPR), a member of the jury of the “Innovators in Education” ranking, as well as a mentor in the Start It Smart entrepreneurial club pre-club.
THE BEGINNING
I have always been confident in my ability, and it was that confidence that was my most important asset at the beginning of my career. It was also crucial that I realized early on the potential of high tech to transform our society and dedicated myself to this dynamic area.
THE RIGHT CHOICE
In my profession, the dynamics and the scale of the changes generated by business management systems have attracted me. Today, this segment is key to the functioning of most businesses and the economy as a whole. When I went into the profession 20 years ago, that was not the case, but the signs of the potential of this type of software solutions were there.
TO HELP YOUR WORK
Loving your work is a feeling I have touched for a long time and I wish every professional to find it in their field. You realize it when you find that your job is as pleasurable as the rest. And that’s where the real successes come, no matter what you do. Of course, balance with privacy is also important, because if you only give up on the job, you risk sooner or later overheating and losing your creativity.
SIGNIFICANCE OF SUCCESS
Success for me has never been expressed only by business measures. I am convinced that we can`t succeed if the environment around us develops in a positive direction. It is a pleasure that in ERP.BG I found many people in this field and our team strives to participate actively in many public initiatives. We support Bulgarian schools and community centers, develop partnerships with a number of universities and create new bachelor and master programs. I appreciate my success mainly through the prism of these initiatives and the achievements in them, it is related to this sustainability and positive influence on the environment. One of the new aspects of my attitude to success is our striving for an international expansion of our business as well as of public initiatives and partnerships.
FEMALE TIMES
Personally, I have not encountered any difficulties and prejudices in my career because I am a woman, and my feeling is that in the technology industry this problem is less common. Today, the IT sector is so competitive and dynamic, and the battle for cadres is so serious that companies just can`t afford to harness such stereotypes.
MESSAGE TO THE NEXT GENERATION
I am convinced that the environment in Bulgaria allows women to do business successfully, and proof of this are the great examples around us – the hundreds of owners and managers of Bulgarian and international companies. Examples we see on a regular basis also on the pages of Manager Magazine. My advice to the next generation of women in business is to find the realm in which their passion and skills interweave, to indulge her, and then just follow their path, no matter what difficulties they will encounter. We should not give up, because successes sometimes come slower than we want.