Ivaylo Slavov talks about the most important lessons he has learned in his career and over 20 years of experience in leadership positions.
Frankfurt, Germany/ Sofia, Bulgaria, January 27, 2022
The independent media The Recursive published an extensive video interview with DIGITALL’s CEO, Ivaylo Slavov, featuring him as a special guest in the weekly episode of The Recursive podcast on January 25. Diving deep into his personal development and professional life, Ivaylo shares his experience and the most important lessons he has learned over these more than 20 years in management positions.
The Recursive is an independent media committed to shining a light on the innovation ecosystems in Southeast Europe and telling the stories of distinguished digital leaders who shape the future economy in the CEE region. Naming Ivaylo Slavov “one of the most prominent executives in the IT industry in Bulgaria”, the Recursive podcast traces his path from the very beginning of his professional career through the establishment of BULPROS to the merger with ec4u into DIGITALL.
In the interview, DIGITALL CEO talks about the challenges he has faced along his way to becoming a successful leader and entrepreneur starting from the dot-com era in the late 90s, through taking part in developing the Bulgarian ecosystem from the beginning and turning his ideas into global business success.
Early career
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Ivaylo Slavov graduated with a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia. One interesting fact in his biography is that he started his professional career in the finance sector in Germany. He then moved back to Bulgaria (circa 15 years ago) to help with the set up of the HP Global Delivery Center in Sofia as a general manager of Adecco Bulgaria.
Establishment of DIGITALL
In 2010, Ivaylo Slavov founded BULPROS, which grew rapidly and quickly became one of the largest technology companies in Bulgaria but also one of the fastest-growing IT organizations in Central Europe. In 2021, the company merged with the German company ec4u into DIGITALL with the ambitious goal to become a leader in digital transformation and cloud experience in Europe. The new organization is on a mission to digitalize and protect customers, employees and data, supporting its clients to transform their core business processes securely in the digital world. DIGITALL operates globally and its growth plans include further expansion with a focus on the US market, where the company already has business.
The important lessons
According to Ivaylo Slavov, merging two different organizations into one is a challenge and the toughest part of this process is the change management and overcoming the cultural differences in order to work successfully together as one strong team. He points out that having “joint targets” and “understanding for different cultures” is of key importance to the successful integration between merging companies.
Slavov also adds that there are many right ways to achieve a goal and they have to be taken into account because “otherwise you can miss an opportunity to use the best things of a culture or a company if you go and say “my way is better”.
Looking back from today’s perspective, Ivaylo Slavov realizes that one of the most important leadership lessons he has learned so far is the answer to the question “Who is behind you in bad times”. The second important lesson he had to learn the hard way is about “loyalty” to the people you are working with.
At the end of his interview for the Recursive, Ivaylo Slavov points out that his biggest passion is “the learning curve” as continuous development is very important for him and he likes to set new goals to pursue.
If you want to hear the whole inspirational story of Ivaylo Slavov on how to grow, learn and think big watch the full episode of the Recursive podcast.
About DIGITALL
We are DIGITALL – a digital leader born from two technology and business driven consulting companies with more than 20 years of success and experience on the global market. By joining forces, we deliver the next generation Digital Transformation & Digital Cloud Experience to enterprises. We digitalize and protect customers, employees and data. Our customers rely on us to transform their core business processes in a secure way in the digital world.
DIGITALL operates on a global scale with over 1,400 employees across 27 offices in 12 countries located in Europe and North America.
In addition to building a competitive portfolio, our team of expert employees has established strong relationships with strategic technology partners, including Salesforce, Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Oracle, Cisco, Snowflake, Zuora, etc.
About Recursive
The Recursive is an independent online media focused on the emerging tech and startup ecosystems in Southeast Europe. Its mission is to tell the stories of those shaping the future economy in the region and promote them around the globe. For more information, please visit: https://therecursive.com/.