Warm, full-of-life people with boundless enthusiasm? We’ve got plenty! But when we think of this particular mix of strengths, the first colleague who comes to mind is none other than Ramona Catargiu-Szasz.

One of the redheads with genuine energy and a passion for the everyday work, Ramona is the kind of person who never shies away from a new challenge and fills the whole office with her broad smile and the zest for life she shows, nonstop.

Even so, our colleague never imagined she’d be the manager of the Microbusiness Customer Relations Department at Banca Transilvania — and certainly not in Cluj-Napoca. She was born in Medias, studied Economic Engineering in Sibiu, but the universe nudged her in such a way that she had to return to her hometown, and the course of her story changed.

In Medias, a vacancy opened at Bancpost and, since she was looking for a job, she went there determined and said: “I don’t know how to do anything, I have no experience, but I want to learn!” Something about Ramona’s presence impressed them, so they couldn’t turn her down. “I’m not the type to give up at the first hurdle. Throw me out the door? I’ll come in through the window!”

She started out as a teller and learned everything on the fly. After three years at Bancpost, she spent five years at Banca Romaneasca, and three years ago she moved to Cluj and joined us at Banca Transilvania: “It’s good to make a leap every now and then; otherwise you stagnate. (...) My temperament goes hand in hand with the bustle of the city. I said I wanted Cluj and I wanted BT!”

Even now, after 11-12 years in banking, her sister still teases her that she’s become one of the “ladies at the bank”. But she’s nothing like someone who does the job on autopilot: “You know how it is? It’s not the client’s fault that you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, your hair won’t cooperate and you’re not in a good mood. No. When a client comes in, they should feel understood and heard — and actually want to come back. We get to know each other, we sort it out, we find solutions. I’ve made a lot of friends. (laughs) Some clients who were very difficult at first are now my best friends. The greatest satisfaction at the end of the day is knowing you’ve managed to help someone.”

Ramona values experiences, loves to travel the world and celebrates all those memories through photos — at her place in Floresti, she has an entire wall with pictures from different moments in her life (from her engagement to her husband, from the wedding, family photos and snaps from all the places she’s visited).

She recharges by taking in the sunrise, which she catches in the sky almost every morning; by Sunday dinners with her husband and her sister; and, of course, by the beauty of orchids, her great passion — her home is full of orchids, and not just orchids! Flowers, in general, make her happy.

Ramona, you are one of the #Oameniidelabanca who help us keep our energy up. You brighten our days with your spirit and we’re happy to have you on the team! ❤

Photo credit: Vlad Cupsa