10 New Tech Companies to keep an eye on in 2023: Meet MassMutual Romania

1. Can you tell us in brief, who is MassMutual globally and what is the role of MassMutual Romania?

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) is a leading mutual life insurance company based in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1851 and run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners, the company has been constantly guided by one consistent purpose: to help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. The company ranked No. 100 on the 2022 FORTUNE 500® list and has been consistently ranked as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE® and America’s Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes.

MassMutual Romania was established in 2020, as a subsidiary of MassMutual, with offices in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. Our focus is technology and our mission is to help the parent company accelerate its digital capabilities and enable it for the next stage of growth in the digital-first world we live in. From an employer’s perspective, our priority is to invest in people, support our employees’ growth and contribute to the development of the local tech community.


2. I know that you are working with some of the latest technologies. Can you give us some info about the type of projects you develop in Romania and what is the technology stack you use?

At MassMutual Romania, we develop digital products and technological solutions that help MassMutual’s customers protect themselves financially while offering an integrated customer experience that exceeds expectations. We work with a diverse range of technologies as we continue to migrate to a digital end-to-end platform, simplifying the user experience and remaining innovative.

Specifically, we focus on developing technology by utilizing Data Science, Data Modeling, Data Visualization, Data Engineering, also developments such as Java, .Net, Solution Architecture, Cloud, Cloud Engineering, API development, ETL development, Database engineers, SAP, Security and Risk, and more.
 
3. MassMutual attracted tech professionals from all over Romania, and you are now a team of over 300. What is the secret? What attracts them to MassMutual Romania?

MassMutual Romania has seen fantastic growth since its opening, and we strive to continue this success moving forward. Working as part of our company means joining the subsidiary of an established global firm, where mutuality runs through the heart of everything we do. That means our employees have the chance to be a part of a new company with the endless support of a stable company with a rich history.

We believe that our people are the key to the success of our business, and we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic environment that values innovation and collaboration. We encourage a free exchange of ideas while helping and supporting employees’ personal and professional development. We rely on each other to grow and succeed as a team, and this contributes to our success.

4. Although MassMutual is a huge corporation, MassMutual Romania has more of a start-up feel. How would you define the culture?

MassMutual Romania is an exciting, ambitious tech start-up backed by a financial services company with a heavyweight legacy. We constantly take calculated risks to evolve in our journey, while having fun and bringing passion to the table. Our biggest asset is our people, a group of highly driven individuals who thrive in a positive culture where they can always rely on each other.

Creating a culture of ‘living mutual’ is at the core of everything we do. That is why we cultivated a flexible, inclusive, and collaborative work environment where all employees and their contributions are seen, valued and respected. Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace leads to more innovative solutions and drives better decision-making and outcomes. We strive to ensure that they have the resources, growth opportunities, flexibility, competitive compensation, and benefits to perform at their best.

The company’s culture shines through even from the first contact that a person has with us, as our recruitment strategy aims to attract talented people while being authentic about what it means to work at MassMutual Romania. This helps potential candidates decide whether this is a place that aligns with their working styles and personal values.

5. Culture is driven in part by a strong leadership team. Tell us more about the team at the helm of MassMutual Romania. What is the management style they prefer and how does this translate to the well-being of your colleagues?

Our amazing leadership team consists of Mike Makar - Head of MassMutual Romania, Marius Clapon - Head of IT Delivery, Mihaela Berechet – Head of HR, Andreea Blenche – Romania Finance Partner, and Costin Teodorovici - Chief Legal Officer.

They understand the importance of being there for each other, knowing that true collaboration brings better outcomes, and they lead by example to facilitate open communication and teamwork. All our people at MassMutual Romania value autonomy, independent thinking, honesty, integrity, and trust. We do our best to make sure that we live by them every day.

At MassMutual Romania, we strive to bring out the best in people, inspiring them to relate to others and see themselves as part of something bigger. We created and promoted a culture where everyone is encouraged to speak up and challenge the status quo. We also make sure that all our employees have a clear career path, where they are learning along the way through training, coaching, and mentorship opportunities, and they feel like an important part of reaching our goals. We are strong proponents of diversity, equity, and inclusion and believe in doing the right thing.

We also believe that to grow, we must trust our employees and hire people that have values that resonate with our winning ways. Our focus is on building high-performance teams and putting the right people in place, with the right skills, that also complement and support each other.

6. Diversity & Inclusion is a hot topic in the tech world but not only. What is your approach?

We are a company about people helping people, and as a team, we rely on each other to identify new opportunities to generate value. Our employees help us grow, and we remain committed to helping them succeed.

At MassMutual Romania, we acknowledge that learning and development work best when employees take ownership of their career development, so we offer full access to self-learning platforms for all employees, such as LinkedIn Learning, Degreed, and O’Reilly, as well as custom training and certification courses in line with their interests and career paths.
Along with supporting our employee’s career growth, we provide them with an array of benefits to support healthy lifestyles, assist in building financial security for themselves and their families, and help them live well-balanced lives. This translates into comprehensive medical coverage, an annual incentive plan, different allowances, a 3d pillar private pension plan, as well as generous time off and leaves.

We also value the flexibility that a remote work environment offers and the value that comes from connecting and collaborating in-person. Therefore, we have a completely remote working policy, while having office spaces available for those employees who decide to come into the office on occasion. We aim to foster a strong work-life balance, where people have the time and space they need for their personal lives.

We also proactively engage with our employees to understand what is going well and where we can do better. For example, bi-weekly company-wide meetings are scheduled wherein employees can ask or state their concerns to the senior management. This feedback helps improve our culture, leadership, engagement, and organizational effectiveness. As we continue to build and develop our culture, we encourage our team to rely on us and speak up if they see a chance to improve how we do things.

Moreover, MassMutual Romania has been named TOP Employer for 2022 by Undelucram.ro. The company not only ranked 1^st Place as Top Employer in 2022 for the IT&C industry but also won 1^st Place as Top Employer of the year for the general market.

At the beginning of 2022, MassMutual Romania clearly articulated the long-term goal to transform the company into an Employer of Choice in the next couple of years. “Entering the Undelucram.ro Top Employer list is truly an honor, even more so as this distinction is based on the reviews from our colleagues. We strive to provide them with the resources, opportunities, and benefits they need to perform at the highest level. We believe that our people are the key to our success, and we rely on each other to grow and succeed. I am proud to work with this fantastic team, and I can't wait to see what wonderful things we will achieve together next.” said Michael Makar, Head of MassMutual Romania.

7. For those interested to find out more and stay in touch - what are the social channels/web pages they should follow?

If you haven’t had the chance yet, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, MassMutual Romania, or on our website, https://careers.massmutual.com/massmutual-romania/, and find out more about who we are and how we are shaping a culture of digital innovation and mutuality to help people secure their future and protect the ones they love.