"To 'reinvent' yourself and grow alongside your team is part of the formula for success," says Viorel Ionescu, the new Commercial Director of AGRICOLA.

The beginning of this year brings, for Agricola Internațional S.A. - one of the significant players in the Romanian poultry meat market - the implementation of several measures aimed at consolidating the team and strategy in the company's commercial operations.

The strategic route that Agricola aims to follow relies on several important pillars for the business, namely a consistent approach to increase the operational efficiency of the sales team (given the increasingly competitive market in the sector), as well as increasing the contribution of the commercial team in streamlining investments in media and communication.

In this context, Viorel Ionescu - a specialist in management and business remodeling, who has previously performed in corporations such as Coca-Cola, KB - FMCG, as well as in other companies in top management positions - is the new Commercial Director of Agricola Internațional:

"I am honored to be part of the Agricola top management team, and at the same time, I understand that this entails a corresponding responsibility. In my professional career, after many years spent in various corporations, where I defended, supported, and promoted international brands, I considered it a privilege to support, promote, and grow the reputation of a strong Romanian brand like Agricola.

Someone coming from the outside can easily notice certain characteristics of organizational culture compared to other organizations. It's challenging and beautiful at the same time. When we talk about change, we understand changing the perspective of how to think and act not only for your colleagues and team but also for yourself! To 'reinvent' yourself and grow alongside your team is part of the formula for success.

It is evident that, in doing so, I have adopted an objective approach both in sales channels and regarding the policies addressed by Agricola. This industry has a particular specificity, characterized primarily by ultra-fresh products, which involves a fantastic dynamic compared to any other industry.

If we add the fact that it is a decomposing industry (of chicken carcasses, for the marketing of value-added products, ed.), we easily realize that we are talking about an exponential increase in the level of complexity of commercial activities," he confesses.

The first measures taken by him, to consolidate the sales team, include the establishment of a second position of Modern Retail Sales Director, which was awarded to Radu Popescu:

"The IKA sales channel has been coordinated in Agricola by a single colleague for many years, given that this is a very complex and dynamic sales channel. The entry of Radu Popescu into the team and a fair distribution of coordination responsibilities with the partners, I believe, brings a fresh breath, an external perspective, and a different approach.

Also, to support the improvement of execution quality in the IKA sales channel, I proposed modifying the organizational structure of the Sales department, so that the field team has national coordination through the promotion of Vali Blăguță - National Field Sales Manager," says Viorel Ionescu, the new commercial director.

Additionally, Raluca Simion - until recently Category Manager for poultry meat - was appointed Trade Marketing Director for this category, a position allocated specifically to the trade area, to directly contribute to improving the quality of sales execution, rigorous planning of promotions, and ensuring a consistent and uniform image on the shelf, at the market level.

"We welcome Viorel Ionescu and Radu Popescu to the Agricola team, congratulate the other two colleagues for their promotion, and entrust them with the same thing I affirm to all colleagues: success stories are those validated by time; they are born and carve their way through science, will, passion, and creativity of the people who assume them.

AGRICOLA is a beautiful and interesting story that several generations of people, management teams, have written with honor, skill, humility, but also with the courage with which they have overcome all crises and difficult moments that we have gone through over time.

I trust that AGRICOLA will remain an important player in the Romanian agribusiness for many years to come. The commitment of the management teams of the companies in the group is to increase the value of the companies and increase the satisfaction of stakeholders: shareholders, employees, business partners, community, all responsibly and sustainably.

Preparing the teams of tomorrow to carry the business forward is another ongoing concern. We have been working for many years on systems that pragmatically delineate levels of responsibility, encourage accountability and performance, and constantly share them," says Grigore Horoi, president of the Agricola Group of Companies.