16 February, 2024
Daniela Crinta
I am honoured and grateful to feature for Wo.Men in Finance, along with brilliant and charismatic ladies, some of whom I have worked with, others whom I have admired from the distance, and yet others whom I now discover from their respective stories.
It never crossed my mind to publicly tell a story about myself, so it took me a while to figure out how to start, let alone what inspirational message to deliver. But recently I came across a post on my LinkedIn network, which gave me the perfect tone. It went like this: "Pushing the door, is leaving the known for the unknown, the past for the future, the material for the spiritual, the worldly for the heavenly, or even the darkness for the light. ... Opening a door is making a choice and so is not opening one..."*
And quite a few doors did I open, by will, by curiosity or by the force of circumstances. What I have learned along the way is that the worlds that unfold with each door opened are all worth discovering, that each door leads to another, that the learning and marvelling is endless and that with it comes self-discovery and personal development.
A few remarkable doors in my life were: moving to Belgium from an East-European country, then getting to work for Euroclear - a world in itself in so many aspects and then - the most beautiful of all doors - motherhood.
Coming from a rather uniform environment, I discovered in Belgium the richness of a multicultural and open society, the diversity of opinions and... the art of compromise. These have gradually shaped me into a less self-centered person, able to see and tap into a multitude of possibilities in any given situation. Coming from an engineering background, I discovered at Euroclear the world of finance, its interconnectedness, its global challenges. This was a door I pushed with a lot of hesitation back in the days, but once in, the constant learning gave me great satisfaction and confidence. My journey in Finance was mostly in Network management and Banking, and currently in Risk management. The key skill (typically claimed by engineers) that helped me all along the way was the analytical one, which allowed me to approach with ease and flexibility many complex assignments in a variety of domains, from pricing reviews, recovery planning, to ESG risks more recently, to name but a few. Along this journey I encountered wonderful people from many walks of life, some of whom were mentors to me, some became good friends and some - great colleagues with whom working has always been a pleasure. For me, the common thread of all these encounters was - actually is - a sense of togetherness and dedication whenever it comes to contributing to a common objective. Working hard together, delivering, celebrating. Being grateful to each other. Having purpose.
As for the parenting door... as a mother of triplets, I made a few choices, as I had to balance my energy levels while still having a fulfilling professional life. Looking backwards, it was all worth it! What I discovered along the way will resonate with many of you: the immense joy of the first steps, of the first words, of the first day of school, of the first concert..., along with the worries that come with the first cold, the first bike accident, the first overnight school trip... and then later, the joy of seeing them growing into confident young persons, carefully selecting their first doors...
As a perfectionist, I am (still) learning every day that scoring high on all dimensions is by no means a good idea and that on a long term, it can be counter-productive and even damaging. Every progress is good and is to be understood as leading me to the best of myself at that given moment. The journey is thus full of positive experiences!
And yet, there are doors that I still haven't opened and I would like to come back to them at some point, to see what they hold for me on the other side. Discover the immense field of expression at the opposite pole from engineering and finance: playing music, writing... rounding up analytical skills with creative ones, this is my next challenge.
I would therefore encourage my younger self to open as many doors as possible and to not be afraid to try different paths at any moment in life. The road is not a straight line, it has sometimes dead ends, obstacles, traps, but hey, young girl, keep going, take each challenge, each experience is unique and eventually makes you a better person!
