IWD 2024 - Interview with Ioana Vlad Rădulescu, Director, Global Payroll

Hello, Ioana, and Happy International Women’s Day! We are so glad to have you with us and to learn from your experience as a successful woman. You have been, for quite some time, an amazingly valuable part of our team here at Mazars, but let’s give our readers a glimpse of it too. Can you tell us more about your role and the responsibilities that come with it?

Hello and thank you for this opportunity! I can proudly say that my journey within Mazars has been stellar so far, and I’m very happy with the experiences I’ve had. I joined the team in 2017, opening a support center for Mazars within our Bucharest office. Following that, I transitioned to a role in the Payroll service line, where my main responsibility was developing a growth strategy for the department.

Currently, my role within Mazars is that of Global Payroll Director, overseeing several processes related to the payroll services offered by the company, such as technology solutions, building our capabilities, or certification processes. One important aspect to mention is that, from my personal experience, you never really get bored while working in payroll, our clients have diverse needs, contributing to a dynamic and challenging professional journey.

How did your journey up to here look like? What were your passions and hopes and how did you use them to get to this point?

Looking back, I always knew that I wanted to work in an international environment, characterised by multicultural aspects, and have an insider look into a global business. My career started in a Big 4 company, as part of their tax advisory team, continuing with international project management in a large US corporation. I have spent over 12 years there, tackling multiple roles, predominantly in finance transformation and M&A. The Mazars experience followed shortly after, joining the firm more than 6 years ago.

I am someone who enjoys planning, organising, and driving projects. My motivation comes also from the satisfaction I obtain when a project is completed, seeing its outcomes directly in practice. More than half of my career was process and project focused, and for that, my academic background came as a valuable asset, being the owner of a master’s degree in the management of international projects.

Over the years, the need for results and clear outcomes shifted slowly towards people management, leading me to embrace more people focused roles along the way. I truly believe that this aspect, alongside the opportunity to experiment with different scenarios has played an immensely important role in my overall development. All of the previously mentioned aspects blended into my most recent role, which is especially focused on strategy and business development.

On a more personal note, leaving my professional experience aside for a bit, I can acknowledge that I could not have felt complete without the support of my family, especially my kids. This area of my life has always represented my top priority and focus, and it’s important to point that out.

What are your most important pillars in terms of motivation? On what elements do you build the energy to move forward, evolve, and succeed?

The most powerful motivational factor in my life is, and will always be, my family. At some point in my thirties, I really took the opportunity to reflect upon the true meaning of success in life. I realised quickly that for me, the notion of success encapsulates more than one aspect, being a mix of family, friends, professional achievements, and personal hobbies. All of them are, to a certain extent, intertwined and bring me motivation in various ways and areas of my life, offering me energy and vitality. I strongly believe that this energy plays an essential part in any role I find myself in, whether as a mother, wife, or director, being the driving force that gets me out of bed every day.  

What are the inspiring factors that influence your leadership style? What would you tell the future generation women in leadership, to use as inspiration?

When it comes to leadership, I strongly believe in the power and importance of responsibility. This belief of mine offers a lot of freedom to the people in my teams, each of them starting with the same amount of trust and credit to their name. After this, they must assume and honour their responsibilities.

Also, another important aspect for me when managing a group of people is empathy. The ability to place yourself, even for just a moment, in another person’s shoes and understand where they’re coming from gives you an opportunity to bond with your team, to establish a connection, as well as good communication. As a leader, it is my responsibility to help everyone understand the direction the company is moving in and the reasons behind it. With the experience accumulated in my many roles, I can conclude that, as a leader, being rational and transparent is always the approach you want to have, being the foundation you need to build upon.

What are your best practices to use when trying to create an equilibrium between yourself, work and family life?

The most important achievement in my life is my commitment to prioritise my family in any type of situation. However, because I love what I do (on most days, anyway), I sometimes have the tendency to work a lot. For this, I think it’s absolutely critical to have the ability to compartmentalise everything.

In my case, after I take my kids to school in the morning, my mind is fully dedicated to work and all aspects related to it. In the evening, after I shut down my laptop, my top priority is to be fully present and connected with my family. In the times that we live in, one of the most important abilities one can have is to be present in the moment and truly focus on the situation you’re in, whether it’s personal or professional.

What piece of advice would you give to all young women at the start of their careers?

If I could give them one piece of advice, it would be to start defining the very notion of success in their life, as early as possible. They should, after this, plan their career according to their unique definition. Success is a multidimensional concept, it can never be seen from only one angle.

If you could talk to your 10-year-old self, knowing all that you know now, what is the one thing you would tell her, that you would like for her to keep on this amazing journey?

That’s a hard question… If I could go back in time and talk to my 10-year-old self, I would tell her to follow her dreams, whatever those dreams might be. To do this in the best possible way, with accountability and respect for herself and others, because that will offer her the satisfaction of a job well-done.

I would also tell her that everything she does, slowly builds her personal brand in all aspects of life and the most important thing is to live a life that makes her proud of herself. Looking back, she should be able to say Wow, did I really achieve those things?

Everything we do and everything we touch, even with our energy, represents our legacy in life. To my 10-year-old self: take your time to reflect on that and aim high, personally, spiritually, and professionally!

Thank you, Ioana, for your wisdom, honesty and willingness to give us a glimpse of your personal and professional journey. To our lovely readers, we hope that our discussion with Ioana will give you just the right amount of inspiration and courage to work hard, prioritise what’s important and aim for the stars. Even though March is the official month in which we celebrate women, for us, International Women’s Day is everyday. Let this be your reminder to empower the women around you and to stand with them, building together a better future.