Leaders of CGM: Alexandru Păsăilă: Between Code, People & World Maps (and maybe a tennis racket)

Our Leaders of CGM series is back, and this time we bring you the story of someone who could just as easily have become your geography teacher... but luckily for us, chose to lead people and write code instead. Meet 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐮 𝐏𝐚̆𝐬𝐚̆𝐢𝐥𝐚̆ — .NET Developer, Team Lead, Functional Lead for the .NET Community, passionate traveler, and secret tennis comeback hopeful.

When Alex joined CGM 5 years ago, he was welcomed into a team of seniors and loved every second of it. Step by step, he took on more and more responsibilities and naturally grew into leadership, proving that 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐲 (with .NET in one hand and a team in the other).

“I always like to start as a developer, grow slowly, and earn the team’s trust first. If your team doesn’t trust you, you can’t be a true leader.”

And honestly, we couldn’t agree more. His leadership journey is not built on titles but on trust and patience — values that have guided him even when stepping out of his comfort zone felt like jumping into deep water (without the floaties).

Alex admits he still feels naturally drawn to the developer’s role — it’s where he feels most in control. But every leadership challenge, every workshop, every team meeting has shaped him into a better version of himself. He’s especially grateful for 𝐂𝐆𝐌’𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, with dedicated programs, workshops, and the top-notch onTarget trainers, whom he describes as: “Hands down, the best trainers I’ve ever had!”

And he’s not just leading a team — he’s leading an entire .NET Community, which managed to double its size last year and is still growing strong. 𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬. His only “challenge”?

“They are fantastic people and great professionals. All I want now is for us to meet face to face more often and socialize beyond work topics.”

Fun fact: Alex almost didn’t end up in tech. His first love? 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲. His teenage dream was to roam the world with a map in hand, not Visual Studio. But while Geography stole his heart, Informatics stole the show. Already a pro since middle school, Alex aced countless 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐓 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, making it impossible to ignore his obvious talent.

So, he chose the IT route — and looking back, we’re pretty sure he made the right call.

Beyond code and leadership, Alex has another fun “blend” going on. While CGM is known for mixing healthcare with technology, Alex does the same thing at home. He’s the tech guy, and his wife — a talented doctor specializing in internal medicine and gastroenterology — handles the healthcare side. Together they’re basically a walking 𝐞𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞, minus the business cards.

Life took him from Milișăuți to Iași, where he studied and lived for years, and later to Dorohoi, where he now enjoys a quieter life with his wife — returning to Iași every couple of weeks to reconnect with his teams and the CGM vibe.

When Alex isn't leading teams or community meetings, you'll find him:

• Packing his bags for another 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (Thailand, Indonesia, Ireland, Singapore, just to name a few countries he has been to, and soon Japan for Easter).
• Playing 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬, because every leader needs to sharpen their stealth skills, right?
• Plotting his glorious 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬 comeback — but this time on a real court, not just in the backyard.

For Alex, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭. And for us at CGM, this is exactly the kind of leader we are proud to support and invest in.

Leaders like Alex remind us that 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞 — 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

Stay close — more stories from our Leaders of CGM series are on their way.