Leaders of CGM: Alexandra Chircu - From Urban Dreams to Bug-Hunting Queen. No Maps Needed

Today in our Leaders of CGM series, meet someone who once dreamt of planning cities but took the scenic route to IT — and we're so glad she did. Say hello to Alexandra Chircu, Team Lead of the fantastic DaVinci team — one of the eight brilliant teams behind our CGM Stella project. 

Alexandra’s journey into IT wasn’t exactly planned — in fact, it started with a beautiful mistake. Let’s take a ride through Alexandra’s adventure-packed career path, full of detours, new beginnings, and a lot of heart.  

Alexandra’s first love wasn’t code, computers, or even bug reports — it was Geography. After high school, like many of us trying to figure out life, she chose to do what she loved most: studying the world.  

She dreamed of working in urban planning, earned a Master’s in Tourism and Regional Development, and even pursued a Ph.D. in Urban Geography. 
Talk about dedication, right? 

She eventually landed a job as a GIS Specialist (that’s fancy talk for creating digital maps and spatial magic), but after a year and a half, monotony kicked in.  

Alexandra realized she needed something more dynamic, more... unpredictable. 

One friendly tip later, Alexandra stumbled into the world of software testing. 
She started a QA internship in the automotive industry... without fully knowing what QA even meant. (Relatable!)  

At first, she found it really hard to wrap her head around testing — she didn’t have any context, and everything felt completely new and unfamiliar. It was like learning a new language with no dictionary in sight. Luckily, she had Victor, her now-husband (and then-boyfriend) — a patient developer and her personal QA tutor — who helped her find her way. 
 

Three months of internship, a full-time job, and a year and a bit later, she realized something else: Automotive testing was too niche. Time to shift gears again. 

This time, she went into web testing — and stayed for two and a half years, absorbing everything she could about QA like a sponge on a mission. 

Then came 2021. After the pandemic shook the world, Alexandra found her new professional path at CGM. And it was love at first sight. From day one, she loved the welcoming, awesome vibe here, and spoiler alert: she still does. 

“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒 — 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠.” 

Within just a year and three months, she took on a new challenge: becoming a Team Lead. 
 

Was she nervous about doing performance reviews? Absolutely. 
Did she nail it anyway? You bet. 

Now, she handles leadership like a boss (sometimes literally). 

Alexandra calls herself a perfectionist — she sets the bar high and pushes herself constantly. 
 

Her biggest challenge as a leader? 

“𝐺𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 — 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑠 — 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐.” 

She credits her leadership style to her mentor, Emil Oprea, the original Team Lead of DaVinci, who taught her the power of community and trust. Today, she continues that spirit — and she's proudly Team DaVinci 4EVER. And you can tell she really means it. 

When asked whether she prefers being a QA specialist or a Team Lead, she confirms that balancing technical deep dives and leadership responsibilities keeps her energized every single day: 

“𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑠 𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦.” 

Just like she combines her passion for QA with her love of travel, Alexandra has also blended her hobbies into her work life: she's the organizer of the annual Travel Smart Quiz for CGMers, last year she hosted a Bug Hunt for the winning app from the CGM Hackathon, and next month she’s heading to Italy to run an even bigger, more complex Bug Hunt for all QA specialists across the Pharmacy project. 

When Alexandra’s not busy leading projects or organizing bug hunts, you’ll probably find her somewhere on a motorbike with Victor, chasing sunsets and stories across Europe — no detailed plans, just pure adventure.  

Their style? Just a motorbike, a vibe, and a passion for discovery. 

Along the way, Alexandra collects Christmas ornaments, bookmarks (each matched to a specific book she’s read), and handmade pottery. 

She's a hands-on creator — reading, crafting, and appreciating the beauty of small, intricate things. 

Oh, and if you ever want travel tips, Alexandra's basically a human Lonely Planet guide, especially if you’re into mountains. She lives for them.  

If we tried to list all the places Alexandra has traveled, we'd need a whole book.  
So here’s the short version of European places she haven`t been yet: Iceland, Faroe Islands, Scotland, Belarus, San Marino, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete. 

 
Favorites places so far: 

• The Dolomites 
• Switzerland 
• Southern France 
• Tenerife 
• Lofoten Islands, Norway 
• Lisbon — which she calls "a musical poem" and would move to in a heartbeat.  

(We may or may not have a business unit in Portugal... but we’re keeping that secret from her for now. We love having Alexandra right here with us too much). 

Alexandra is a shining example of what leadership looks like at CGM: 

• Authentic 
• Passionate 
• Driven 
• Human 

Her story reminds us that you don’t have to follow a straight path to find your perfect fit. Sometimes the most beautiful careers are built on detours, second chances, and unexpected passions. 

If you want to work in a place where leadership is real, people are inspiring, and every day feels like an adventure — follow us on social media and check out our open positions. 
 

Your next great story might just start at CGM.