Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Cristina Neamtu, Head of Studio at AMC RO. A studio that provides digital art creation, content solutions and technical tools for the games industry. She speaks about the importance of culture, strategy and servant leadership.

Hi Cristina! How would you describe the game culture in Romania?

Hi! In my opinion, Romania is the top emerging Europe location for game development after Poland, and the industry’s turnover has been steadily growing. In recent years, Romania has become a real hub for game companies, and the business successes enjoyed by the sector leaders (Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Gameloft) have led to several smaller studios raising growth capital. So I think at the moment, it is relatively easy to raise capital for new companies, even those only working on their first title. There is a robust network in Romania doing its best to make things happen, and there are a couple of active associations putting together the gamedev ecosystem’s efforts to promote the industry, such as the Romanian Game Developers Association (RGDA) and Women in Games Romania.

Which areas of business and people management are essential for running a successful studio?

Well, this is a long story (😊) and it has to do with how we see the world we live in.  Long story short, in a company, we need a strategy, and we need culture. Both are equally critical. And, as they say, culture eats strategy for breakfast, so I believe that a powerful and empowering culture is the best route to organisational success. So success is possible only if it means that everybody is happy in the end. We cite this at the office: when asked, which is more important, the destination or the road to it, we say the company of people we hit the road with to that destination. 😊 

I am grateful to work in a company that empowers people to grow, contribute and make an impact; in a company where more than 50% of the leaders are women, in a company where we privilege people over processes.

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What does the term leadership mean to you?

A leader should be the most humble team member, the most significant contributor and the most discreet person in the room. I know it’s a bit counterintuitive, but I genuinely believe in “servant leadership”. It is a concept that everybody praises now and, in fact, it has been with us for thousands of years now. Leadership gives the power to create the context for your team to grow, thrive and create new leaders.

I also think that a leader should be able to lead their own life first and then (try to) lead others. This way we can practice what we preach.

Thanks for this interview, Cristina!

Cristina’s links: LinkedIn │ AMC RO │ Women in Games Romania │ RGDA

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories Feature by Sophie Brugmann