In September 2020, we welcomed back Simona Todoroska to our ⋮IW family as Industry Solution Manager with the goal of conquering new heights and completing even bigger projects together. Simona carries long years of experience in the IT industry with her, especially in the field of integration. Her expertise comes from the long years she has spent in ⋮IW as well as in a few companies in the Netherlands. Following is her full life story and find out why she decided to return to the ⋮IW family.
Who is Simona?
I wanted to start this by saying how old I am, but my birthday was around the corner and I am already a year older, so….let’s skip that part. ? Simona is a person who still believes and values the good in people the most. Living and breathing in Amsterdam together with my boyfriend, with a huge passion to grow ⋮IW on the Dutch market. When I was 10 years old, my mother was an accountant and she brought Intel i386 at home, with some accounting program on it for managing her documents. I remember that I could not sleep and I was going around the service guy that was installing the accounting program on the PC and was asking him all kinds of questions. Then, I started playing around with the PC and MS dos command (I had a notebook where I documented all the commands that I know :D) and after I gained confidence in my knowledge, I talked to the librarian in my primary school and proposed an introduction of a system for book organizing. Luckily, she agreed and we organized all the books in a “small system”, printed forms for the library, printed membership cards and it was my first project for which I was more than proud.
It naturally came for me to go in that direction, I enrolled at the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering in Skopje and have grown in that field more ever since. Prior to my job at ⋮IW I worked as a web developer, participated in a few “grant” competitions with “failed” ideas and projects. ⋮IW was one of the major game-changers for me since I learned many things and grew on a personal and professional level. I remember that I was too shy to speak to anyone when I came and too afraid of everything. But, with all the support that I got and all the effort that I put, I became the person that I am today.
Why did you decide to return back to ⋮IW?
Because I felt like I have never left. It was always part of me, even though I was miles away. I believe in the vision and the value we deliver to our customers as well as all the good things we provide for many people and companies. You cannot get that everywhere and being part of such a team, makes me proud. Having in mind that there is always someone that has my back, for real like true friends, makes me confident in the values that we stand for and support together.
What is the job of an industry solution manager?
TOO MANY MEETINGS! ?))) My role, for me, is an interesting part of the entire IT journey, because it means that I’m in the middle of business and technology. Translating business ideas into actual solutions, mapping problems with possible solutions, a day to day point of contact for the Client and the team, participating in the presales process, preparing demos, POCs, kickoff projects, etc. I am trying my best to be a strong standalone bridge between the business and technology and correlate those two things in the tightest link possible. Still, there are many things that I should still learn and I am learning, and that is what inspires me because without a challenge I become lazy.
Tell us about an experience that shaped you as an individual?
There are many experiences that I can point out, but the latest experience worth mentioning is my moving to The Netherlands. You can imagine that coming to a new country, without knowing anyone, can be quite a challenge. All the things I needed to go through, new processes, different cultures, people, learning curve, way of communication, expectations, etc., were quite a wake-up call from the comfort zone that I was living in for quite some time. Too many emotions involved during the process, learning more about myself and my partner, re-thinking every decision and every step which shaped me into the person that I am today. Even though a year is a relatively short period of time I would say the experience grew me at the fastest pace possible.
What are you most proud of?
My family and all the support that I am constantly getting from them. Not sure if that is proud or grateful, but it is something that I must mention. I am proud of the way they are handling all the long hours and support the sacrifices that I need to make. They are with me in the process 100% and I have their unconditional support.
What is life like in the Netherlands?
Netherlands is a very open country and has a quite open-minded society which is one of the things I love the most. Nowadays life is the same as everywhere, not many things to do because of the pandemics, but you can always go out in nature or cycle 50km to the next city. 50km in a flat country is not so much, don’t worry. 🙂
Simona, we are glad that you joined us again. We are looking forward to many new challenges, successes, and joyful moments spent together.
