Part of our contest consists of interviews with the participant. They must answer all the questions in the three sections in order to demonstrate the jury that they really are Empowered.Resourceful.Spectacular.

Liviu Olaru is National Field Sales Manager for LaDorna.

Career

Trainart: What made you want to have a career in this field?

L.O.: I started with this because I wanted to practice the profession I had studied for, but it wasn’t just that, it was an entire range of circumstances which influenced this decision, to a higher or lesser extent.

Trainart: Which one of you passions would you turn into a business?

L.O.: Product development. Thanks to my work I am always connected to the market so I can notice certain trends before other people do. In many cases I have opinions about products or packaging, even if it’s only about changes with visual impact. Or the simpler option: a B&B with a tennis court and wharf for boats somewhere on a Mediterranean island.

Trainart: How do you measure you own success?

L.O.: According to a combination between self-satisfaction and my colleagues’ or my company’s appreciation.

Trainart: Who are you, outside your job?

L.O.: I am a guy interested in all new things, in all shapes and forms. I am a trendsetter and a leader.

ERS

Trainart: If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend the day?

L.O.: With my loved ones, for sure.

Trainart: If you had a message for the entire world, what would it be?

L.O.: Think about the fact that you could have been born in Siria.

Trainart: What would you like to do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

L.O.: A few motorways to solve the problem of traffic in mountain areas. And a ring road around Bucharest, a solution I’ve had for ten years now . And much more.

Trainart: Which was the most difficult decision you’ve had to take this year? Tell us about it.

L.O.: Changing a merchandising system, from the traditional one, with our own merchandisers, to one based on outsourcing. It’s much easier to work with `your own`.

Trainart: Tell us about the most recent event that made you go out of your comfort zone.

L.O.: It happens almost every time I see and I get reminded that there are people, especially children who are starving, while we are throwing out so much food. And we complain about how `bad we’re doing`.

Trainart: What movie/theatre character do you identify with? Why?

L.O.: Indiana Jones or MacGyver. I like adventure and I find solutions to almost everything.

Trainart: If you were in the jury, what would be the reasons you’d choose yourself as the winner?

L.O.: Because I’ve done many things throughout my career, not only in the area I work in now. I have a lot of experience in many fields.

Creative Innovation

Trainart: If you could invent a revolutionary product, what would it be?

L.O.: Around 15 years ago I was thinking about a remote control for cameras. There were remote controls for TV sets, so a device to trigger the camera seemed quite simple. So you wouldn’t have to run to get in the picture while `counting to ten`. It would also have an exposimeter that would transmit relevant information to the camera, including the distance to the camera. I imagine something like that has been invented by now.

A common database for all the government institutions, with all the people, so that the institutions can access whatever information they need. So I wouldn’t have to go to Public Community Service of Personal Records with my birth certificate every time I changed my ID card. And smaller ID cards, as big as a credit card.

These ideas are not really revolutionary, but they are possible. And I have more. 

Revolutionary would be to invent an engine that would enable supersonic speeds and space travel, so we could solve the space problem we have here, on Earth. Or some kind of device that could control climate, or green energy for everybody…

Trainart: If you could pass a law everybody must obey, what would it be?

L.O.: I’d dissolve all armies, everywhere in the world. I’d keep only police forces and troops that could intervene in case of natural disasters. All budgets for armies or weapon research would be used for solving the food problem,or the energy problem, etc, the main reasons we have military conflicts in the first place

Trainart: If you had a superpower what would it be and what would you do with it?

L.O.:I don’t really believe in superpowers…I believe that our level of intellectual development would turn us into villains, rather the good guys. History stands proof of that. I believe in diversity and mutual respect even if sometimes I believe that my ideas are the best .