Most of my friends and colleagues in the Romanian digital industry know me as Anda Bogdan. Currently, I’m what some would call ‘digital business transformation consultant’ & founder @ Business Booster.
I’ve started my career as a copywriter back in 1999, working for Vision Advertising. It’s there where I learned the first tricks of the trade thanks to two great talented creative guys, Stefan Ferenzci and Calin Georgescu. One year later I took a chance on exploring unknown territory, by joining OgilvyInteractive, the first interactive agency in Romania, part of a global group. Gradually I took over other roles such as information architect and content strategist.
10 years of building digital capabilities on the client’ side
In 2001 I made another surprising shift and left the agency to join Zapp, the first CDMA telecom operator in Europe. I did not know then that I would be spending the next ten years on the client side, developing eBusiness departments from scratch and adding value to services for some of the most agile clients in telecom, banking (ING Bank Romania), media (KanalD / Dogan Group) and e-commerce (Altex & MediaGalaxy) industries.
Back to Agency Life
For some of you reading this is no secret that in 2011 I accepted an offer impossible to say no to. How could I have said no to three really smart, good-looking and innovative guys I admired and worked with for years? Therefore there I was once again on the agency side, teaming up and dreaming with the amazing people at Grapefruit, the most internationally awarded digital product development and branding agency in Romania.
April 2014 marked the beginning of another incredible chapter of my life. I’ve joined R/GA as the first General Manager of Bucharest office. It was the Agency I had been admiring since the ’90 for its surprising and innovative work. It’s common knowledge for those familiar with the agency world that throughout its history R/GA has reinvented itself every nine years. Consequently, you can understand why for a while it had been amazing to get to know its secrets and some really amazing people.
Chakana.me – my digital love project
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” (Forrest Gump)
In October 2016 I’ve made another change—surprising for some, expected for others, and decided to start my own entrepreneurial adventure of growing and scaling Chakana.me, a personal transformation project aiming to help people heal and live their lives to the fullest potential.
Consulting on business transformation projects
In October 2017 I’ve started my own digital consultancy company called Business Booster. It helps clients understand how digital actually works. There are some major areas where I can use the best of my professional experience. From small to large projects, here are the top 5 main areas:
- Building digital team
- Digital project management
- Content strategy and content management
- Auditing for digital projects and businesses
- Digital presence management (personal & business)
Burger Show, Discovery Channel (petsofchampions.com), Mindspace, Globalworth, Sparking Capital and 10ceruri.com are just some of the brands I have been working with. If you want to find out more, or just what to meet, contact me.
Iscodescu.ro
Some ask me how I do not write on my blog as often as I should. Well, the answer it’s not that difficult. It has to do with the consultancy and digital transformation projects I do for Business Booster customers, but it also has a lot to do with iscodescu.ro. This is the latest digital content publishing project I have launched in December 2018 with my dear friend and partner Liviu Cristea, a very experienced media production guy who loves Romania as much as I do. And, that is just one of the reasons why we decided to share the stories of all great Romanians and their local businesses that help our country develop. Of course, we also talk about traditions, customs, symbols and awesome places you can visit. Going well and growing better than expected! Just wish it had more than 24 hours! 🙂
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There are a few great lessons life taught me and worth sharing. Always be true to yourself even when things get complicated. Appreciate good advice from someone you trust, but make your own decisions. Honesty and authenticity are difficult to find, so appreciate it when you find it.
Learn to listen to your heart and instinct as they never fail you. Question the status quo and you may be surprised at what you can find. Things change no matter what you do. People do change if they are willing to! Believe in your dreams, take one step at a time and sooner or later it will happen! Take responsibility for your own actions no matter how hard they may be. In the end, it will turn out the best.
And never forget to be thankful for what life grants you!
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It would be impossible to summarize in two sentences how my life changed because of the chances I took and the amazing people I met or the things I learned from them. I do hope one day I will have the time to write about them as they deserve some credit for who I am today.
Ana Maria Bogdan
aka Anda Bogdan