Putting clients closer to their customers. Interview with Michele Macrì, Proekspert Business Unit Lead

In the spotlight

05.01.2023

“Observe the teammates around you, take from them what inspires you, and make it yours.”

Please introduce yourself and tell us how long you’ve worked at Proekspert?

My name is Michele Macrì, and I have been with Proekspert for a little over 15 years.

Tell us about your unit and how it operates.

My unit is Digital Services. Our work falls in two main categories:

We build custom software solutions that make the value offerings of our clients easily accessible to their customers.
We help our clients with the digitalization of complex processes, aiming to eliminate paperwork, reduce costs, increase efficiency and enhance the quality and value of the products and services our clients provide.

This often translates into web-based solutions and its ecosystem, including service design, backend integrations and microservices.

My business unit naturally evolved from some of Proekspert’s historical roots: decades of working with telcos, fintech companies, and card payment solutions providers.

Our clients are among the world’s leaders in their business areas, and we are proud to help them make a positive impact on the world.

We operate like the rest of Proekspert: following Agile principles, mostly with dedicated project-based teams.

How many team members do you have and what are their positions?

In the Digital Services unit we have 51 engineers. That said, I consider a lot of other people in the company to be my team members. Like the business development team, other business unit leads, delivery leads, customer success managers, marketing people, and sales people. And of course you have to add support units like HR, IT, and accounting. So, according to my way of thinking, it’s a lot more than 51!

What projects are happening in your unit at the moment?

Referring to the two categories I mentioned above, we have many web portal projects running at the moment:

Web portal to manage subscriptions of business clients of a telco company, with the main user being Helsinki City, who manages more than 50,000 subscriptions using our portal.
One of the most popular self-service portals in the Baltics for job-seekers and companies who offer open positions.
Web portals and backend integrations for FinTech clients and card payment solutions for some of the most popular banks in Estonia.
Software solutions (both web- and mobile) that aim to digitalize and optimize complex procedures performed by veterinarians in big farms.
A software tool to digitalize and standardize measurement procedures performed by light fixture installers in non-residential buildings.

The list would be much longer if I would list all the smaller projects, but the above gives a good overview.

Can you tell us what an average day at the office looks like?

After what the world went through with the pandemic situation, the meaning of “day at office” has changed drastically for many companies. Proekspert’s mindset hasn’t been affected so much, since we have always been used to remote working. We often have teams where members are located in different cities, and online meetings were normal for us long before the Covid era.

Since work is based on agile principles, our days start with a good coffee and a standup meeting, where we organize our work for the day.

There is strong cooperation and teamwork in most of our activities, which often engages our clients. One of the best compliments that we get from our foreign clients is that for them it always looks like we are sitting in the next room.

Although we enjoy the opportunity of working remotely, we often come together in our offices and enjoy time together, both for work and other activities. Our HR team takes great care of us in terms of well-being, so there is always a chance to get together for a training, seminar, or leisure event and connect and share with our colleagues.

I, personally, spend a lot of time with our BizDev people working on sales, trying to understand the business scenarios of our dream clients, the smart device- and machine manufacturers. Some days I spend analyzing financials results, forecasts, budgets. Then there are the quiet days I spend refining our value proposition message.

What are the challenges in your unit?

As Proekspert’s biggest business unit we have a lot of clients, and it would be difficult for me to follow up on everything. Luckily, I have talented CSMs that take great care of our clients and of our teams.

Another challenge is that, by nature, we also have smaller projects that last only a few months or half a year. But we see that as an opportunity to keep changing and learning something new every time.

You’ve been with Proekspert for 15 years. What’s made you stay?

I come from engineering, and I can easily say that my colleagues have always been a source of learning and inspiration.

What kind of advice would you give to a newcomer?

Observe the teammates around you, take from them what inspires you, and make it yours. It does not take long to realize how much you are growing and enjoying the journey.