An unbelievable 2021 with big expectations for 2022

2021 is almost done, so we had a little chat with Christopher Roy Turner, General Manager at CGM Romania, in order to find out how was this year for him, how did he adapt in Iași and what are his wishes for 2022. Let`s find out!  

If you could sum up this year in a single word, what would it be and why?  

“Unbelievable”. I think this is the only word that can describe this year. On so many levels. I would have never believed that my life would take a turn like this. To get this opportunity, to onboarding and achieving all that we have achieved makes me proud. The reason I chose unbelievable is because, if someone would have said, in the next 12 months this is going to happen to you, I would have laughed and told them to get serious. However, it happened, I am here, and we worked hard and achieved so much. I have also gone through a lot and evolved so much on a personal level, I’ve learned a lot about who I am. This whole evolution and ride have been truly unbelievable.  

What is your best memory from this year?  

It is really hard to say. There are so many that I want to point at and say this one, but then another one pops up and I feel like it should be that one. Let me mention 2 that keep returning to my mind. One work related and one personal related.  

In chronological order, our first team building, which was also in a way our 5-year celebration together. It was great to see and meet so many colleagues in person. To see them walk, talk, breath and interact with each other. It was one of those moments that made this whole ride that much more real. When you see 120+ people all united by the flag of our company together it hits you. It hit me. This is not a game, not just a job, but this is about people. Great people and our task with the leadership team is to help them, because in return they are going to help us, our clients and we can make healthcare just that bit more accessible, synchronized and efficient. After this moment the reception and the connection I felt with everyone just warmed my heart so much.  

Now the personal one was this last weekend. I became close with a colleague who left CGM relatively early in my tenure. We started just talking and after meeting him and his wife a couple times in smaller and larger groups, this last weekend I was invited to a weekend getaway with them and some of their friends. We went to Gura Humorului and had a great night talking, bbq-ing and sharing a few drinks. That night was the first time I realized, I now have friends here as well. My life in Iasi has become more then a job and a list of tasks and people that I am responsible for, but it has a personal part. This gives me stability and happiness and an extra reason to start looking forward to the next trip.  

It was the year that you joined CGM as GM. What are your achievements for this year within CGM?

I spent over 6 months here at CGM as their new General Manager. I am convinced that my ramp-up was as fast and efficient as we could make it. I am also convinced that we became more transparent, more people focused and have laid the foundation that is going to accelerate our strategy for 2022. Let's get more concrete. We first increased transparency and communication, we increased our presence on social media platforms (we now even have an Instagram account). This allows us to be more open to the world and ourselves. We introduced a new set of benefits, including the ability to work from home as much as colleagues wish. We increased vacation days. We have organized exponentially more trainings allowing our colleagues to develop. We restarted our mentorship programs with great enthusiasm. We now started to bring much more customer feedback to the teams, and we have a focus on leadership, so we make sure we take care of our people. Our functional areas have a new mission statement, and they are now becoming communities. This is a long list and to be honest I think it is not even half of the things that we have achieved together.  

You met a lot of people this year, and also a lot of Romanian habits. What do you think about Romania and what habits caught your eye?  

I’m not sure if any caught my eye particularly. I already had a good understanding about Romania and what Romanians are like. Unsurprisingly very similar to Hungarians in that sense. We have so much in common. Maybe to name two things here as well that “re” caught my eye. One is driving. Driving is a bit more chaotic here than elsewhere and every time I land in Vienna, I have to remind myself that there it is not the survival of the fittest as somehow I feel it here in the Podu Roș roundabout. The other one is cooking. I love that Romania isn’t afraid to put a lot of seasoning on meat. I love it. I’ve really come to enjoy the cooking culture, whether it is done on a barbeque, on the stove or in the oven. I enjoy the meals here a lot and have already incorporated some of these habits into my own cooking at home.  

What does Christmas mean to you?  

It’s interesting because Christmas went through a lot of change for me over the years. For some time after I turned 20 it had the feeling of being a chore. Buy gifts, decorate the house, visit relatives, eat this and eat that. It felt like it all became a routine. Then next year is when this stopped. I had a tough few months leading up to Christmas. People close to me got sick, some had big surgeries and unfortunately some even passed away. All of this boiled up and there was tension in me. This tension was released for the first time during Christmas. I think after a long time I was able to enjoy Christmas for what it should be about. Being with the people that mean the world to us. I was able to not see the task behind Christmas, but see the beauty in it and that was a good feeling.  

What are your wishes for the CGMers for Christmas and 2022?  

My wish is simple. Find the beauty in it if you lost it like me before, if you didn’t then just keep enjoying it. Spend time with those that matter. We work not only for fulfilment, but to allow us to take care of family and friends. This is about giving back. I hope everyone has time to relax, to forget about the grind that work is. I have big expectations from 2022. I think all of us are looking forward to it. After that foundation that we have laid below it is time to jump-off and reach for the goals that we have set. We need all the energy, motivation and dedication that we can get and thankfully being with loved ones allows us to refill our tanks and come back swinging harder than before.