Ömer Tetik, CEO of Banca Transilvania, spoke to Revista Biz about his experience of the Biz CEO Exchange, his leadership style and the decisions that define a leader’s role. Read the full interview below:

How was the Biz CEO Exchange experience for you? What did you like most and what did you take away from this role swap?

Biz CEO Exchange was a very enjoyable, interesting and valuable experience—one I would gladly repeat. We were fortunate to be paired with PepsiCo East Balkans, a model team in every respect. I appreciated how they opened their doors to help us understand from the inside the pace of an extremely dynamic industry, FMCG.

For me, the role swap was more than a professional exercise. It was a real opportunity to see what decisions, challenges and operational pressure look like in a sector very different from ours.

Of course I also found common ground: the need to adapt quickly, the importance of strong teams and the role of leadership in setting direction and energy. Whatever the industry, people make the difference, and when you meet a team as well-connected and professional as the one led by Radu Berevoescu, whom I value greatly, you leave with fresh ideas about the many ways performance can be achieved.

Many thanks again to the PepsiCo East Balkans team for the welcome, to the BIZ team for the organisation and the initiative, as well as to the BT team who joined this experience.

What is the toughest decision you’ve ever had to make as a CEO?

The toughest decisions are always the ones involving people. Whether we’re talking about reorganisations, changes in direction, stepping away from projects or quick calls in a crisis—all of them come with pressure and responsibility. There are no easy decisions, but there are necessary ones, and a CEO’s responsibility is to take them with clarity, empathy and integrity. And with courage.

I remember that, during the 2008 crisis, many companies reacted with rapid restructurings. Those are decisions I wouldn’t take because they affect trust and the sense of stability. I believe it’s easier to get through a crisis than to repair an organisational culture damaged by hasty decisions.

What never appears in a press release but defines your organisation’s culture?

Our press releases are about news, projects, results. Every three to four days we have something new for journalists—that’s the pace across the BT Group. What you can’t capture in a press release is everything related to human banking: how we get involved, how we respond, how we handle challenges, our internal humour, the solidarity among colleagues.

How would you describe your way of leading? What leadership style defines you?

I’m oriented toward people, action, efficiency and results. I like to stay close to teams, understand what’s happening on the ground and make quick, well-founded decisions. My leadership style is entrepreneurial—I encourage initiative, give autonomy and make room for new ideas, while building trust.

The pace at BT is very fast, and in our culture people bring energy, courage and team spirit. My role is to sustain that energy, channel it into what’s needed and build together an environment where people perform and grow.

What do you find hardest about being a leader? When was the last time you felt real fear in business?

As a leader, I have to keep the balance between speed and prudence, between courage and realism, between the pressure of the moment and the company’s long-term good. I’ve been concerned in the face of external events you can’t control that can affect confidence.

It’s important that situations like this mobilise you, make you even more attentive, more responsible and more anchored in what is happening—even if it’s not directly related to banking.

What is non-negotiable for you as a leader, regardless of the economic context or pressure?

I don’t negotiate on the quality and speed of decisions. In the CEO role, indecision is a business’s biggest enemy. An imperfect decision taken on time can be adjusted and corrected, but a postponed one stalls progress, drains energy and erodes trust. For me, a quality decision doesn’t mean perfection; it means relying on data, experience, intuition and the right people, setting it all in context.

Who do you consult when you make important decisions for the company? Or does the “loneliness of the leader” apply to you as well, because more often you decide and feel you’re on your own?

I rely on the management team when I make important decisions. They know the business in detail—each in their own area—which helps us see both risks and opportunities. Discussions with them help me look at things from different angles and make well-founded decisions.

On the most important topics, it’s essential for me to consult with Horia Ciorcilă, Chairman of the Board. His experience and the balanced, mature way he sees things are, for me, a real form of mentoring every time.

I believe a good decision is built on different perspectives. The responsibility remains with me, as CEO, and that means ownership, not loneliness. Even so, in every CEO’s life there are moments when the final decision is yours; that’s why the “loneliness of the leader” is not a myth.

What daily habit improves your work the most?

Exercise—it gives me the energy to keep a CEO’s pace.

What matters most in a company to deliver good results?

The right strategy, brand strength, the relationship with stakeholders, consistency, adaptability, investment in technology, and discipline in execution. And none of this would be possible without the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.

How many business events do you manage to attend purely for networking? How many CEOs/peers do you interact with in a year?

I show up where the context or the events help me stay grounded in reality, understand trends across industries, where there are relevant dialogues and where, why not, it could be the start of new partnerships. But I don’t have an actual number or a target for this.

If you were no longer CEO tomorrow, what would you like people to remember from the way you led?

I’d like people to remember that I led with respect, passion and responsibility. That I made decisions which helped them grow as members of the team, and helped the bank grow as well.

Which leadership books have been useful and would you recommend?

I would recommend these books:

• The Ride of a Lifetime, the autobiography of Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney
• Poor Charlie’s Almanack, about Charlie Munger
• Values – An Economist’s Guide to Everything that Matters – by Mark Carney, currently the Prime Minister of Canada