In this edition of our spotlight series, we asked Ciprian Radu, FCI's Manager of Business and IT Solutions, to answer a few questions so you can get to know him better.

What got you started in the industry?

On a winter day of February 2003, a phone call from a friend told me that they had an open position as a beginner with no previous experience required in a mystery to me factoring department at a multinational bank in Romania. I had only an IT background rooted in passion and a bachelor's degree in economic cybernetics. Hearing at the job interview that new software was implemented in the department, I felt it might be interesting to be part of this due to my curious nature. Since day one, I’ve worked for 16 years on the operational side of factoring. Due to the ongoing challenges that operational factoring presents, I was hooked and had the chance to develop further my IT skills creating a fusion between my day-to-day tasks and IT.

How have you seen FCI’s new Edifactoring 2.0 platform help FCI Members?

Being an operational user with a decent experience in the former version, I’ve tried to infuse as much as possible all those features and elements I wished I had in the previous version but were not available. If the interaction with the new platform reduces the amount of time in finding required data for day-to-day business work but also provides a safe work environment, then Edifactoring 2.0 will certainly help FCI Members. With this in mind, a multitude of quality-of-life improvements only possible with the new framework was made available to generate a much more user-friendly experience and safe work environment than it was in the past for the users. If I have to pick only one element, this will be the development introduced as a complete novelty in the Edifactoring 2.0 platform, the Message by Ledger feature. This development wanted to offer a quick way to generate an Edifactoring structural message based on the existing data bringing something completely new and ultimately opening a new path in the possibilities of the new platform. This new platform is also far more manageable in terms of fine-tuning and updates delivery, and this is going to provide help in the long run and ultimately make users happy. I believe that this is only the start, and in the future new things will start to be available in Edifactoring 2.0 platform.

What is your favourite movie?

If I remember correctly, when I was 10 years old, on my usual summer trip with the family to the sea, I found a Science Fiction almanac forgotten in a hotel drawer. It was love at first sight. I was fascinated by the stories depicted inside, and since that moment, I was always attracted to these imaginary worlds and how the future might be. There are many Sci-Fi titles that I’ve enjoyed, and one I would like to mention is Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan. In this movie, I’ve seen the human frailty and strength alongside a sense of love, hope and sacrifice that ultimately describes us when we are all found in impending doom. I’ve sensed a good balance between human and scientific elements.

What is your favourite song?

I am a rock music listener at the base. I like many rock artists, but to keep it short, I will resume and mention one of them, Pink Floyd. To name a favourite from their discography is hard, but one special song would be “Learning to fly”. Also, a special mention is Queensryche's song “Silent lucidity”.

We want to thank Cipi for letting us get to know him a little more. Next week we will interview more of our Secretariat, so stay tuned!