Interview with Mr. Corneliu Bodea, CEO of Adrem and President of CRE for investenergy.ro

Mr. Corneliu Bodea, after a difficult year, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, do you think that 2021 will be easier or harder for energy businesses?

I believe that 2021 brings important opportunities for economic reconstruction, including skipping some stages and recovering in terms of modernization, digitization and innovation processes, through instruments such as the Green Deal, which provides generous funds offered by the European Union. At the same time, securing financing will be a challenge, after 20 years in which no investments were made, in which the foundations of a competitive energy market were not laid – and we see that in the last two years Romania has become a net importer of energy – and in which human capital in the field has gradually deprofessionalized. In order to capitalize on the opportunities offered by European funds, we need first of all a predictable, fair and coherent legislative framework that encourages investors and then concrete projects prepared by capable people who can carry out the necessary studies, technical analyses, and deal with design.

Last but not least, the energy sector is entering an energy transition process with an outdated infrastructure, with few automations, low energy efficiency, as can be seen very clearly from the fact that less than 15% of the thermal energy needs are delivered to the localities that operate centralized supply systems. I believe that 2021 can be a good year if political decision-makers hurry up to develop the legislative framework I was talking about earlier, if they encourage large entrepreneurial projects and we start modernization works that will increase both Romania’s efficiency and competitiveness at regional level.

The most important lessons learned in the pandemic… How has the pandemic changed the future?

The pandemic has shown us some important things on a societal, business and personal level. It gave us the opportunity for introspection, which, although forced by circumstances, was necessary to understand what is really important to us. We learned to value health, family and jobs, the environment and last but not least all the things we considered to be given – freedom of movement, opportunities to participate in cultural events or socialize. We understood as a society that we cannot do without each other, that it takes a common effort, solidarity and mutual help to overcome shocks. Businesses suddenly stopped their quest for profit and faced the most important test in times of crisis: the confirmation of values. During the pandemic, we have seen which are the businesses that have truly assumed the declared values and that have acted through their prism – those that put people’s health first, and at the business level, they have proven to be reliable partners, capable of acting responsibly, professionally and, last but not least, with openness and desire to communicate.

If we focus on the business environment, the pandemic forces us to make some structural changes, starting from the way we work to the leadership style. In the group of companies I lead, Adrem, we conducted a survey among employees and around 70% of them want a hybrid work system in the future, which would allow them to combine remote work with office work, something that my management colleagues and I must take into account. I believe that many businesses will make this transition in the longer term, which also involves rethinking workspaces, for example. At the same time, leadership, which has suffered during this period, can only be a collaborative one, which allows an exchange of ideas and a common construction, including with employees, towards the assumed objectives. And, last but not least, at the level of the business environment, there will continue to be a need to promote partnership, communication, responsibility and mutual support.

From these perspectives, the pandemic offers us many opportunities that translate into that sustainable and responsible construction that we did not know how to reach. Now there is no other way.

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